Horror Set Pieces: Angry Mob of Villagers (Fate Accelerated)

One of the things I like about Fate Accelerated(FAE) is the ability to treat a group of nameless mooks as a single unit effectively treating the group as a single character. In fact, many Fate Core GMs prefer to use the mook group rules from FAE instead of the rules for mobs found in Fate Core. These groups of mooks are comprised of a single aspect, a short list of things they are good at (+2 bonus) and things they are bad at (-2 penalty), and one stress box for every two individuals in the group. If you need more in the crowd, just use more than one of that group (although I suppose you could increase the number of stress boxes instead but then they would only get one action per exchange). It makes designing nameless NPCs easier and reduces bookkeeping.

One of the staples seen in classic horror films (especially Frankenstein movies) is the angry mob of villagers armed with torches and pitchforks. They find safety in numbers to go after someone (usually the monster) they would never dare confront alone and are usually more of a hindrance than a help if not an outright danger to themselves and others. Below is one such angry mob of villagers (lederhosen optional).

Angry Mob of Villagers
Aspect: Torches & Pitchforks
Skilled (+2) at: Starting Fires, Safety in Numbers, Shaming Others
Bad (-2) at: Planning Ahead, Dwindling Numbers, Being Shamed
Stress: ⬜⬜⬜ (6 villagers)

Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for CRYPTWORLD

William Hope Hodgson's occult detective Thomas Carnacki returns again tonight, this time as a player character for CRYPTWORLD by Goblinoid Games. For those who aren't familiar with this roleplaying game, CRYPTWORLD is a retroclone of the original 1984 CHILL RPG from Pacesetter Games. It's definitely old school but still a lot of fun. I'm a huge fan as you can see by a lot of the content on this blog.

Today I spent some time thinking about what other RPG systems I want to feature in this series of blog posts. Right now my short list includes Fear Itself/GUMSHOE, The Window, Masque of the Red Death (AD&D 2nd Edition), and Icons Superpowered Roleplaying (because I think Carnacki in a supers RPG would be awesome). Here's tonight's offering for CRYPTWORLD:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (CRYPTWORLD)

BACKGROUND NOTES
Profession: Occult Detective Education: Self-taught in matters of the supernatural
Nationality: British Place of Birth: Appledorn (South Coast England)
Age: 45 (1913) Year of Birth: 1868
Sex: Male Height: 5’ 9” Weight: 176 lbs
Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Features: Moustache
Residence: 427 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London

BASIC ABILITIES
Strength (STR): 48
Dexterity (DEX): 56
Agility (AGL): 52
Personality (PER): 60
Willpower (WPR): 62
Perception (PCN): 72
Luck (LUCK): 38
Stamina (STA): 62

BASIC STATISTICS
Unskilled Melee: 53 = (STR+AGL)/2
Penetration Bonus: 0
Current Stamina: 62 Stamina Recovery Rate: 5/round of rest
Wounds: 14
Current Willpower: 62 Willpower Recovery Rate: 10/hour of uninterrupted sleep

SKILLS
Humanities [History] Specialist: 82 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 15
Investigation Expert: 95 = ((PCN+WPR+PER)/3) + 30
Languages [Ancient Texts] Specialist: 82 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 15
Photography Specialist: 79 = ((PCN+DEX)/2) + 15
Preternatural Lore Master: 122 = ((PCN+WPR)/2) + 55

WEAPONS
Pistol [Revolver]: 56 (DEX) Range Modifier: -7 Ammo: 6 ROF: 4 Reload: 2 rounds

GEAR
Camera
Electric Pentacle

Carnacki tells his haunted tale after dinner.

Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for Dead of Night

Carnacki by M. Wayne Miller

Yesterday I began a series of blog posts featuring William Hope Hodgson's occult detective Thomas Carnacki written up as a player character for some of my favorite RPGs starting with Fate Accelerated Edition (FAE). One thing that came up in the G+ discussions was how much FAE exists in the language space and how you don't really need to know the rules of the game to understand who the character is and what they can do just by reading the character sheet. In fact, I was able to pull directly from the FAE character write up when building the next incarnation of Carnacki presented below.

Dead of Night is in my opinion a brilliant yet very underappreciated rules-lite horror roleplaying game from Steampower Publishing. It's meant more for one-shots rather than full campaigns with each session played being essentially a horror movie (although sequels with the survivors are possible). Character creation is fast and easy (it didn't take me very long at all to come up with the stats below) and the game is designed to keep GM prep to a minimum. It features a very clever tension mechanic that paces the game in a way reminiscent of the tension buildup/release/repeat model found in all good horror movies. Thanks to a series of "dials" the GM can tweak, Dead of Night is equally at home doing slasher flicks, Hammer Horror, Asian horror, Lovecraftian horror, psychological horror, and even black comedy. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. Here's what a Dead of Night player character looks like:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (Dead of Night)

CONCEPT: Renowned Occult Detective Practicing the Empirical Method

ATTRIBUTES
Identify: 6 / Obscure: 2 / Occult Detective: 9
Persuade: 5 / Dissuade: 5
Escape: 4 / Pursue: 6
Assault: 2 / Protect: 4 / Electric Pentacle: 8 / Saaamaaa Ritual: 8

SURVIVAL POINTS: 5

BAD HABITS: Apprehensive and Irresolute at Times

Carnacki the Ghost-Finder for Fate Accelerated

Carnacki by VoteQuimby

I thought it might be a fun exercise this week to stat up one of my favorite literary occult detectives in several RPG systems I like just to see them side-by-side. I want to not only re-familiarize myself with the game mechanics of these systems but to compare and contrast how each system handles different facets of the character. I've chosen William Hope Hodgson's Thomas Carnacki for this purpose as I've recently revisited the collected Carnacki stories while embarking on a personal project to trace the roots of the occult detective archetype in fiction, a genre that includes such notables as Dr. Martin Hesselius (Sheridan Le Fanu), Abraham Van Helsing (Bram Stoker), Dr. John Silence (Algernon Blackwood), and Jules de Grandin (Seabury Quinn). Hodgson's Carnacki stories are now in the public domain (first published in 1913) and you can read them at Project Gutenberg.

First up is Fate Accelerated Edition from Evil Hat Games:

Thomas Carnacki, Ghost-Finder (FAE)

ASPECTS
High Concept: Renowned Occult Detective Practicing the Empirical Method
Trouble: Apprehensive and Irresolute at Times
Creature of Habit
State of the Art Gadgets
Extensive Occult Library

APPROACHES
Careful +2
Clever +3
Flashy +0
Forceful +1
Quick +1
Sneaky +2

STUNTS
Because Carnacki invented the electric pentacle, he gets a +2 when he Carefully defends when within the device’s protective circle against spectral manifestations.

Because Carnacki studied the Saaamaaa Ritual and an ancient text known as the Sigsand Manuscript, he gets a +2 when he Cleverly creates advantages when confronted by supernatural influences.

Because Carnacki possesses a sixth sense, once per game session he can choose to go first in a physical conflict with the supernatural.

Refresh: 3

Games and Media I Enjoyed in February 2018

We are now in the month of April so my monthly recap of the things I enjoyed in February is long past due. I spent most of February in nightly rehearsals for the musical Cabaret (which ran successfully in early March to good reviews and audience reception), so I had a few false starts on some of the things I began to consume (Lovecraft Country I am looking at you) but intend to return to those in the near future. I still managed to finish a few things I started and present my favorites below. (Spoiler: I spent most of March in rehearsal for Arsenic and Old Lace opening next weekend.)

BATES MOTEL SEASON 5

Bates Motel has been one of my favorite shows since it first premiered, so when the final season finally dropped on Netflix in February, I stopped watching everything else and jumped right in. I rarely have enough time to binge-watch a show in an entire day or weekend, but I will do mini-binges of two or three episodes at bedtime (I usually fall asleep by the middle of the third or fourth episode and pick up from where I left off the next night). With Bates Motel, I found myself staying up later than usual, eager to jump right into the next episode.

This season did not disappoint. I am going to avoid any spoilers, but I have to admit the temptation is great. As always, the acting was first rate. Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates) is as intense and believable as always, and Vera Farmiga (Norma Bates) is probably one of my favorite American television actresses of all time, right up there with Edie Falco. Without really giving anything away, my favorite part of the season was when the events of the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film adaption of Robert Bloch's novel Psycho began to unfold (money stolen from the bank right before the weekend up to the infamous shower scene), and were then turned completely on their head. Really well done!

All in all, the series conclusion left me satisfied with no loose ends or disappointments. I'm glad to see Freddie Highmore having continued success with his new series, The Good Doctor. 

CRIME SCENE d20 SOURCEBOOKS

Back at the start of the new millennium when Dungeons & Dragons was still in its third edition, British RPG publisher Hogshead Publishing released Crime Scene, a series of sourcebooks focusing on modern criminal investigation. All you needed was a copy of the D&D Players Handbook and you were good to go—the books included character classes, skills, and feats appropriate to the genre. Oddly, Hogshead never jumped on the d20 Modern bandwagon when Wizards of the Coast released that game based on D&D.

Crime Scene titles included Police Investigation, Feds, and Forensics, but there were two titles that particularly grabbed my interest at the time: Supernatural and Sheriff's Office: Red Pine Hollow. Red Pine Hollow is a fictional small town in the Pacific Northwest. You could use it for straight up drug/vice squad action and organized crime, but you were also encouraged to combine it with Supernatural to give it a Twin Peaks vibe. Similarly, Supernatural let you decide if psychic abilities, aliens, dark magic, etc. really exist in your campaign or are merely the delusional beliefs of cults on the FBI watch list. I decided to revisit these, particularly Red Pine Hollow, because I've been toying with the idea of formally writing up my personal default modern horror setting that I've used in many of my games over the years.

One of the criticisms of the Crime Scene line was the proliferation of skills, many seeming to cover similar ground. While there is some overlap, I never saw this as a huge problem. In a crime scene/police procedural game, you are going to have player characters who all do similar things and the increased number of skills helps to differentiate them and give everyone something to do and a specialist area to shine in. Pelgrane Press's GUMSHOE games do something very similar with their investigative abilities today (and do it very well). And while the Crime Scene titles are set in the United States, the authors unwittingly let some British-isms sneak in. A common colloquial unit of measurement in America is the football field—describing something as three football fields in length, for example; Crime Scene Supernatural amusingly used football pitch instead. Still, the books were well researched for the time but are now almost two decades old so "modern" might not fit as a descriptor anymore.

Crime Scene PDFs at DriveThruRPG

That's all for now. I hope to have a blog post about my March media consumption soon. Thanks for reading!