Okay, so I'm finally getting down to actually writing my post for the RPG Blog Alliance Carnival. No, seriously, I am. I really mean it this time. This month's topic, hosted by Troll in the Corner, is HORROR! This is actually a somewhat tough topic for me because I actually don't like the horror genre. The only horror fiction I've ever read is H.P. Lovecraft's works--which I highly recommend, by the way. I don't watch horror films or TV unless it's a lesser feature of something else which is of interest. The Alien series of films is a good example. I watch them as science fiction with bits of horror thrown in to provide a unique feel. When it comes to RPGs the only horror games I've run or played in have all been Call of Cthulhu ones, albeit set in differing time periods, etc. Actually, I'm in one now, as you may have noted in my earlier postings here. (Well, actually I did run an X-Files type campaign dubbed Neo Tokyo, using homebrew rules with borrowing from Palladium's Teenage Mutant Turtles, but that's a story for another day.)
But now may I direct your attention to the center ring, where the zombies are warming up. I want to use this posting to share a few thoughts about zombie survival gaming. When I think of zombie survival horror it usually involves:
running from zombies
finding gear and supplies
killing zombies
finding survivors (friendly or hostile)
running from zombies
finding gear and supplies
killing zombies
running from zombies
finding gear and supplies
killing zombies
running from zombies
finding gear and supplies
killing zombies
...and so it gets a bit repetitive after a while. Yes you can vary what supplies are available, come up with interesting tactical situations for killing zombies, use variant zombie types, have gear/supplies get ruined, etc. But you're mostly alternating between brainstorming how to get gear/supplies and fighting off attacks. It's a bit of a scavenger hunt. Now in a computer/video game or movie the fighting bits are very exciting. The Left 4 Dead series of games is a good example. But on the table top combat often bogs down the action rather than speeding it up. Yes, you can mix up the tactical situations with weird zombies, fast zombies, smart zombies, exploding zombies, etc. But, again, it's more a set of military-style tactical situations.
Where's the horror?
In films/TV/games they throw in a lot of visually disturbing images, have things jump out suddenly to scare you, have sudden loud noises, etc. They also use music and sound effects to build tension. However those are tricky to replicate at the gaming table. And anyway those are just cheap scare tactics. It's not real HORROR.
So for a GM like myself who's not even into the genre, how would I run a game. Since I started as a wargamer I'm good with tactical situations, and I'm pretty good with complicated plots so I can string stuff together from session to session. But where's the spice? Well I was thinking that a good way to add a dash of something extra to the mix is via character motivations. The first modern zombie horror film was Night of the Living Dead. What makes this story great is the personalities and motivations of the characters--it's not really about the zombies.
In a character-driven zombie survival game the zombies are almost an environmental hazard. They provide the pressure that pushes the character's buttons. It's how the characters react to the pressure and to how they react to the other characters' reactions that the story unfolds. Of course the characters will need strong motivations and personality traits. This part of character creation will be the most important. Their attributes and skills will generally be of secondary importance. The scarcity of equipment/supplies in the larger world will be less important than the scarcity and distribution within the group. The characters' personalities can be done with a rules set which strongly features this type of play, by GM creation to ensure maximum tension and plenty of secrets which will come to the surface at just the worst moment, or via a collaborative creation process by the players. This type of heavily character-driven game requires players who can embrace this style of play. With the right group it would be awesome.
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