The Western Terror

S. Craig Zahler's Bone Tomahawk is a film that plays out like a DnD One-Shot. A kidnapped woman, a group volunteers to go after her, a journey into the wilderness to the Troglodytes' base, and the resolution by combat with no quarter asked and none given. Here are a few things from the movie I'd like to bring into my next game session.

The Hook

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BPf_wiLEI4

There's a lot to love about the scene of the Native American guide who helps the party locate the Troglodytes' base. There's a weird power-dynamic between the Indian Expert and the White Settlers. Behind that tension, all his passive-aggressive answers build-up the mystery and danger of the mission:

• What kind of tribe doesn't have a name? One that doesn't have a language
• You'll take us to them? I won't. Cause you're an Indian? Cause I don't want to get killed
• Well what are they? Troglodytes
• What do they look like? A man like you would not distinguish them from Indians, even though they're something else entirely
• You'll show us where they're at? You'll be killed if you enter their territory
• How many do you think there are? It doesn't matter. You don't have a chance against any number of them

The Journey

One of my favorite recurring western themes is the journey through the wilderness. The party must travel over long barren wilderness to reach their destination. As DM I usually drag this out a bit, with random encounter rolls, and lots of questions about the party's camp preparations. I especially enjoy playing out the tension, will they get attacked at night. What I'd like to add is the effect of the journey/weather. Some constitution checks for men and their mounts to leave the party not at their best when they arrive.

The Terror of the Bow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFPZzWrHyvs

The ambush by the Troglodytes is great. The party is sneaking around, trying to scout out the enemy base, when out of nowhere, arrows. The attack is so silent and understated, it takes the audience a couple seconds to process what just happened.

TPK

DM's who provide real dangerous challenges for the PCs must occasionally deal with Total Party Kills, when the entire adventuring party gets wiped out in one combat. One option is to roll up a new party of characters who are friends or relatives of the old one. Bone Tomahawk uses the classic trope of "Knocked Unconscious then Wake Up in a Cage". This works if you are using a system which distinguishes between death and unconscious characters.

Fighting Fantasy Cthulhu Review

So, in March(I think) Chaosium released what's basically a free Fighting Fantasy-style book to promote the release of Call of Cthulhu 7th edition. It's been sitting on my hard drive for a while, but I finally found a few hours to play through it, so here's a review of that session.

The Rules

Alone against the flames is a 64 page pdf solo adventure to help you learn you CoC 7e. It's pretty quick to get started--just download it for free, along with an "Investigator Sheet" and the "CoC Quick Starter Rules".

As for the former, I was a bit put-off that the character sheet is two pages. That said you never use the second page and you're walked through filling out the first page step-by-step so it's actually the simplest new RPG I've gone through the process of learning in recent years. That said, no dice were used in creating the character, which was a big disappointment for me. Also, it could have used a more varied choice of careers.

As for the "Quick Start Rules", I groaned when I saw this 48-page document, but actually I only ended-up skimming the two pages on combat that it referred me to when that become relevant.  So AATF really succeeds in throwing you right into the game without making you read tons of material first.

The Adventure

So, as I mentioned before, the format is Fighting Fantasy(disclosure--I've never played a Fighting Fantasy game book before). Basically it's a "Choose Your Own Adventure" plus a character sheet.

I only played through the adventure once(over a few hours) but there are a total of 270 entries and, I'm guessing, probably half a dozen different endings(I got one where my character dies, but at least I survived till the climax and went out with a bang!)

It was quite fun and I intend to create another character and have another go at it!

Horror Games(spoiler warning!)

So playing this adventure was very different than playing a DnD sandbox or even a published adventure. It become clear very early on that we're in a classic horror story plot arc and, of course, these things have rules. In this case, the rules are taken from the story's two major sources of inspiration:

• Lovecraft's "The Shadow Over Innsmouth"
• 1973's "The Wicker Man"(arguably itself a re-imagining of Innsmouth)

For instance, the game offers to let you try walking to the next town in broad daylight. Now it was fairly clear to me that the only way I was walking out of this town is at night, with mobs of cultists chasing me Innsmouth-style. But at some point, after maybe the third time they gave me the option, I went for it. I immediately failed my outdoorsmanship skill check and it became clear that if I didn't turn back the adventure would probably end there, so I did.

Or when I met the old man, similar to the character from Innsmouth, it was clear that I had a potential ally in this outcast.

Or when you meet the town's Mayor-- it's clear the guy is the cult leader and you had better play dumb.

My point is, that in your typical sandbox adventure RPG, your imagination is the limit and you can chase whatever schemes your twisted little mind can come up with.

In a Horror Plot, on the other hand, it's more of a "game of chicken" with the "rules". It's a horror game so you know it's not going to let you run away too easy(as an aside, this provides an interesting solution to implementing the Naive Victim in gaming), but a the same time, if you wait too long to make your move, then you'll miss your chance. So you keep your eyes open and your ears pealed for any information that can help you and wait for the moment to try your luck and get away. It's quite fun, but it's a different sort of fun, and I suspect you have to be a horror fan to really get the maximum kick out of it...

Tales of Blood and Glory: Short Horror Roundup

This edition of "Tales of Blood and Glory" is a double header, with two pieces of short horror fiction: William Gibson's rejected Alien 3 script, and Michael Chabon's Lovecraftian tale "The God of Dark Laughter".

Gibson Alien 3 Script

Regarding Gibson's entry, I found the script to be a surprisingly easy read, as compared to other scripts and plays I've read. As for the story itself, in addition to the aliens themselves, which I personally find terrifying, there is a good deal of subtle horror craftsmanship worth taking note of.

One instance of this is the Cold War between the two Human alliances(an interesting twist on Gibson's "Red Star, Winter Orbit"). The message is that, for all the characters' concerns with Human politics and bureaucracy, these problems are dwarfed by the uncontainable destruction and virility of the Aliens. This is spelled out explicitly in the dialog between Hicks and Bishop in the final scene.

You can't, Hicks. This goes far beyond mere interspecies competition. These creatures are to biological life what antimatter is to matter.

Another point is the centrality of the android Bishop in combating the aliens. Gibson repeatedly emphasizes Bishop's inhuman movement and thought, mentioning his "robotic tic", the "certain effortless regularity evident" to his run, not to mention his emotionless reactions to the horrific, and his inability to understand human logic, like Hicks decided to save Ripley.

At the same time, Bishop is the hero of the film. While the Humans are trying, at best, to survive, Bishop kills a ton of aliens, sets the station's core to melt down, and ultimately saves the last few survivors with his "robotic accuracy, the rifle pivoting like the barrel of an automated gun turret." Compare this with the Humans who spend their time complaining about political ramifications, whose big counterattack ends up ruining the station's air supply, and who die in droves. Even Rosetti's big epiphany is immediately followed by his horrific death, rendering it moot. The point is that Humans aren't the real actors in this conflict. They are ultimately upstaged by those two superior forces-- the aliens and the androids.

In short, this script has the classic Lovecraftian theme of impotent Humanity at the mercy of powerful cosmic forces against which they can only score the most Pyrrhic of victories.

The God of Dark Laughter

Now on to Michael Chabon's story from the New Yorker. Here we have a classic Lovecraftian structure, with and investigator who comes to a horrible revelation. The twist is that the narrator is a Hardboiled-detective-type, so the story blends the two genres of Hardboiled and Horror.

Anyway we have some great technical Horror work here. First there's the rather macabre descriptions of the boys and Detective Ganz to set the mood. Then, as more and more is revealed, Chabon still manages to convey a feeling while leaving the gristliest details up to the reader's imagination, in one place explicitly so:

"I took enough of a peek beneath it to provide me with everything that I or the reader could possibly need to know about the condition of the head—I will never forget the sight of that monstrous, fleshless grin"

There's also this great thing Chabon does with the narrator knowing he's being watched.

I did not then, nor do I now, believe in ghosts, but as the sun dipped down behind the tops of the trees, lengthening the long shadows encompassing me, I became aware of an irresistible feeling that somebody was watching me...

Chabon continues to sell the hell out of this scene and ultimately the narrator's hunch is proven right, though it wasn't the inhuman horror he had imagined. That said, this tense scene comes back to haunt us later, when Detective Satterlee is all alone, poring over forbidden tomes, when again he senses a presence observing him--really scary stuff!

In short, a great little horror story in the Weird tradition. And once again, I'm finding that I really like Chabon's short fiction.

Child-Brain Vampire

So I just finished reading through Bram Stoker's Dracula. I was surprised what a fun, easy read it was, considering the 1897 publication date. There's a lot there to talk about: the book is part Horror, part Mystery, and part Adventure Novel. For now, let's focus on Dracula himself and gameability...

The Child-Brain

Anyway, at a few points, Professor Van Helsing, in his broken English, goes on about how Dracula is actually a relatively immature and therefore weak Vampire. For example:

“He has all along, since his coming, been trying his power, slowly but surely; that big child-brain of his is working. Well for us, it is, as yet, a child-brain; for had he dared, at the first, to attempt certain things he would long ago have been beyond our power...

An Amalgamated Mythos

I'd assumed that vampires are like zombies: different books mention different powers and weaknesses and so you essentially have different types with different "rules". Not so. At one point the professor exposes a whopping 22 different powers and weaknesses that apply to the Count which he gathered from various legends and folklore. On one hand, they are quite varied and lack a common aesthetic. On the other hand, it makes the Vampire that much more mysterious, that we can't make sense of his bizarre and inexplicably varied abilities. There's a delicious illogic to the whole thing.

No DnD Vampires, Thank You Very Much!

So, bottom line, Dracula has many weaknesses in addition to his many powers. And I rather prefer Bram Stoker's vampire to DnD's. Rather than being a 7-9HD monstrosity, Dracula can be killed by a single well-placed knife blow(during the day time, anyway). Much of the novel is about the party trying to catch the Vampire when he is weak, while he, in turn, wriggles around their defences and evades them except when he is strong. Ultimately, the result is an intelligent cat & mouse game, rather than a full-on combat.

So let's stat him up. And ultimately, the DM needs to play this guy smartly for him to provide the challenge that he should, for the PCs:

HD: 1 per century
Save: as Thief of same level
MV: 12 or as bat/wolf when transformed
AC: 10 or as bat/wolf when transformed
Attacks: per weapon. Has Hill Giant Strength at night
Special:

• Sustenance
• The vampire live on, and cannot die by mere passing of the time;
• he can flourish when that he can fatten on the blood of the living. 
• Even more, we have seen amongst us that he can even grow younger; that his vital faculties grow strenuous, and seem as though they refresh themselves when his special pabulum is plenty. 
• Physical Powers:
• He throws no shadow; 
• he make in the mirror no reflect, as again Jonathan observe. 
• He has the strength of many of his hand—witness again Jonathan when he shut the door against the wolfs, and when he help him from the diligence too. 
• He can see in the dark—no small power this, in a world which is one half shut from the light. 
• He can hypnotize his victims either with fear or seduction
• Command
• Command wolves
• Command rats
• Transmutation:
• He can transform himself to wolf(sorry, no werewolves vs. vampires in this universe)
• he can be as bat
• He can come in mist which he create—that noble ship’s captain proved him of this; but, from what we know, the distance he can make this mist is limited, and it can only be round himself. 
• He come on moonlight rays as elemental dust—as again Jonathan saw those sisters in the castle of Dracula. 
• He become so small—we ourselves saw Miss Lucy, ere she was at peace, slip through a hairbreadth space at the tomb door. He can, when once he find his way, come out from anything or into anything, no matter how close it be bound or even fused up with fire—solder you call it. 
• Infectious

• Victim killed by having blood drained becomes vampire too
• Victim made to drink Vampire's blood is existentially linked to Vampire. Can read victim's thoughts(and vice versa) and command them. If victim dies, they will become a vampire.
• Weaknesses:
• He may not enter anywhere at the first, unless there be some one of the household who bid him to come; though afterwards he can come as he please. 
• His power ceases, as does that of all evil things, at the coming of the day. Only at certain times can he have limited freedom. 
• If he be not at the place whither he is bound, he can only change himself at noon or at exact sunrise or sunset. These things are we told, and in this record of ours we have proof by inference. Thus, whereas he can do as he will within his limit, when he have his earth-home, his coffin-home, his hell-home, the place unhallowed, as we saw when he went to the grave of the suicide at Whitby; still at other time he can only change when the time come(his powers are only from sunset to sunrise, noon, or in his unhallowed place)
• It is said, too, that he can only pass running water at the slack or the flood of the tide. 
• Then there are things which so afflict him that he has no power, as the garlic that we know of; 
• and as for things sacred, as this symbol, my crucifix, that was amongst us even now when we resolve, to them he is nothing, but in their presence he take his place far off and silent with respect. There are others, too, which I shall tell you of, lest in our seeking we may need them.
• The branch of wild rose on his coffin keep him that he move not from it; 
• a sacred bullet fired into the coffin kill him so that he be true dead; 
• and as for the stake through him, we know already of its peace; 
• or the cut-off head that giveth rest. We have seen it with our eyes.
• Any other characteristics the Players are able to bring a source for in the form of authentic folklore(not pop-culture)

Undead Stats for Death Frost Doom

Here are the undead stats I used for Death Frost Doom, although only the first two made it to actual play. I was going for something a little more horror-movie like and a little further from standard DnD undead.

Revenant(slow moving corpse)

Move: 30
2d8HP(1d8 for child)
FDM: 1
AC 5
Attack: bite +1 1d4+1(+0, 1d4 child)

Contagious bite

Ghul(hungry flesh-eating corpse)

Move: 120
1d8HP
FDM: 1
AC 12
Attack: bite +4 1d6+2

Wiht(long haired, pale, silent warrior)

Move: 120
3d8HP
FDM: 3
AC 15
Attack: mace +8 1d6+3+drain
Only hurt by silver/magic

Cyris

Move: 120(240 flying)
9d8HP
FDM: 9
AC 13
Attack: claws +13 1d4+3, 1d4+3 or by weapon
Only hurt by silver/magic
Repelled by Garlic
Turn to gaseous cloud...

Death Frost Doom: Post-Session Retrospective

Map by Claytonian

So, I wanted to take a look at what worked and what didn't in the recent session where I ran Death Frost Doom for our group. This is my first time running a horror game, as well as my first time running a published module(as opposed to creating my own sandbox), so this was definitely a learning experience for me. Oh, and once again: spoiler warning!

Didn't Work: Pacing

I think this was the biggest issue with the session. We jumped right in and were at Pepe's(Zeke's) place within 5 minutes after character creation. But, despite the quick start, there was a lot of material before things heated up with the undead outbreak: Zeke, the hanging tree, dead body, the well, the weird stuff in the cabin, and exploring the dungeon underneath and I sensed the players were getting bored. So how could I have improved this?

• Start out with a bang: maybe start-out the trip with a bear attack or some-such event, since I know there won't be any more combat till the end
• Cut out some material: each of the elements of the module are great, but when your players are intent on exploring everything methodically, it can get a bit slow. I would maybe cut it down to Zeke, the body outside the cabin, and the magic picture inside the cabin. Also, perhaps provide a more direct path to the plant-monster.
• Emphasize more which direction the susurrus seems to be coming from so the players see a clear alternative to covering every single room of the place
• Ideally I would shoot for about 1/2 hour of build-up before they hit the zombies. And maybe re-arrange the place so the party can barricade themselves into a dead end and have more of the Duvan'Ku material there, before they make a break for it, rather than loading it all at the beginning of the module.

Worked: Swashbucklers & Seamonsters Firearms Rules

The S&S Firearms rules worked well. Firearms were a bit more deadly than other weapons, but the reload time meant that mid-combat reloading wasn't really an option.

Didn't Work: Reading Screw-Ups

The module(or at least the first edition of it) doesn't separate at all between player text and DM text. Now, I tried to prepare so as to minimize reading during actual gameplay, but DFD has enough tricks and complex set-ups that it just isn't always an option. So passages like this screwed me up a couple times:

The altar itself is waist-high on a human, with inscriptions inlaid with gold along the base reading (in the language of Duvan’Ku), “We hail the Lords of Death and Give Offerings to the Masters of Chaos.” Write this down and hand the note to the player who reads the inscription. If he reads it out loud, word-for-word, to the others, then everyone within earshot must make a saving throw versus spells. Go around the table,
starting at the reading player’s right. If that PC made their save, continue on until somebody fails a save. The first character to fail the save immediately intends to sacrifice one of the other people there on the altar.

I read the first part, started reading it to the players and then was like, "oh wait, I'm supposed to write this down for you", at which point no one was falling for it. It would be better to just have a small handout to cut-out and give to the players. This screw-up on my part was probably the only thing that kept them from making it to the Greater Tombs.

Horror in the Hills of Basque Country a.k.a Death Frost Doom

So I finally got to run this for our group. Basically Death Frost Doom re-skinned for a trio of Basque Pirates starting an extended shore leave. The system is Labyrinth Lord, borrowing simplified saving throws and ascending AC from DCC RPG, and equipment/occupations/Death & Dismemberment from Swashbucklers & Seamonsters. There are many DFD spoilers ahead, in case you plan on playing it any time soon.

Los Desgraciados

The party consisted of three natives of Esquiule:

• Agurtzane- the lovely Ship's Doctor, wielding dual blunderbuss pistols--a regular Pirate foil to Dr. McNinja
• Franzisko- Pearl Diver with a crowbar for opening giant oysters and a diver's helm with a hand pump to supply air from above
• Eder- the ship's quartermaster, sporting a cutlass, dual pistols, and a keg of good rum

The Diver's Helm proved the most useful item, being used for well-diving, poison spore disposal, and even saving him from a ghul that leapt on him when he peeked out of a hole in the ground.

Pepe

Our unfortunate heroes left town quietly in the early morning, when most of the inhabitants were still hung-over on garlic-flavoured ale. They headed up the taboo mountain and towards the end of the first day met Pepe, a strange old mountain man who they suspect is a serial killer. While Eder munched on the mystery meat he gave them(the others refused to ingest it), he told them about the cursed tower and that they should stay away from it. He told them that he spends much of his time carving grave-markers for the poor souls who died there without a proper burial--the party wasn't sure to believe him, thinking perhaps the grave markers are for his victims.

As it grew late in the day, they politely rejected his offers to board them for the night. Instead, they started back down the mountain, doubled back and continued a little ways up, camping in a secluded spot.

The Tower

After a short hike the next morning they crosses a ridge and saw ahead of them the remains of the tower and a graveyard. They messily bled a tree, burned a frozen corpse, went down a well of freezing water, and then made their way to the tower. After getting sent 7 hours into the future, one at a time, the party found the dead man's equipment and started feeling a bit positive about the expedition, despite the many ominous signs.

Sourcing the Susurrus

The party made their way down into the cult-area. Eder almost died from poison spores when he decided to start smashing things, but the helmeted Franzisko dragged him out of the spore-cloud and Agurtzane performed a successful tracheotomy to bypass his swollen air passage. Franzisko and Eder acquired cursed items.

The party found various creepy things, looted quite a few crypts and eventually fought the plant producing the susurrus. They then spent time clearing out the hole in the ceiling, which is when a Ghul jumped on Franzisko's head, but ended up falling past down him down into the unknown. They then baited a couple other Ghuls to follow it.

Things Heat Up

The party quickly found they were trapped, with an unlimited supply of zombies(they killed 5) approaching below and Ghuls up above. They declined sacrificing a party member, instead hoping to outrun the Ghuls by pure speed. They quickly found themselves with about 300 ghuls chasing them down the mountainside!

The good Doctor was first to fail her stamina test, but she managed to hide while the other two led the ghuls further.

Eder was second to tire, but he didn't manage to hide from the ghuls in the relatively open ground. He was torn apart horribly, but his meaty bits distracted most of the Ghuls, leaving a mere 70 Ghuls chasing Franzisko.

Franzisko made it to Pepe's place and started a forest-fire and the two were soon fleeing side-by-side through the forest. Franzisko eventually managed to outrun the Ghuls and hide in a tree. Later that night 3 ghuls started climbing his tree, but he jumped to a different tree and outran them.

Dealing with the Outbreak

Franzisko got back to town in the morning, telling everyone they must leave, but not detailing why. The next day Agurtzane arrived, having walked halfway around the mountain. They convinced their families to leave, but the rest of the town was slower to listen.

They made their way to the big city, sold their treasures. Franzisko survived surgery to cut-off the areas effected by zombie bites. While there, they heard rumours of Equiule, that it burned down in a forest fire and that the survivors were apparently driven half-mad with hunger and are attacking travellers in that area.

Taking Stock

The party did pretty well, considering. The undead hordes were released but without a general to lead them in an organized conquest. Their hometown was destroyed, along with all their childhood friends, but they escaped with their families. They achieved their goal of finding riches, with only one party member killed and another cursed.

Setup for a 1-Shot Horror Game(take 2)

Well, I still haven't had the chance to run this, but I hopefully should soon. In the mean-time, I decided to run it with Swashbucklers & Seamonsters, so I've re-skinned it as appropriate.

Intro

The mountain broods darkly over the little village 

You are Basque pirates, on leave for the Winter, visiting the village of Esquiule in Basque Country during the Semana de la Blusa garlic festival.

When was the last time we were all together? And in our home town of Esquiule, with all our friends and loved ones, and all the ale we could drink?

You are all childhood friends, who are on the high seas during the warmer months, seeking your fortunes in the wide world. Now, after a particularly difficult season, you are all back, starting your Winter-leave early to make the week-long Semana de la Blusa festival, held once every 8 years at the end of Summer.

Plan Drunk, Adventure Sober

Well, you were all out drinking together, dodging the throngs of garlic-string-wearing visitors, enjoying your 4th or 5th jug of local wine, when the conversation turned to less festive matters. While all of you have been moderately successful since leaving your home-town  none of you really met with the fame and fortune you had been hoping for.

After much lamenting over broken dreams and failed aspirations, an idea emerges. A plan whose persistence will not fade with the morning's hangover. Of course the local Yokels mustn't hear of it--you grew-up here, you know how superstitious people can get out here in Basque Country. You chaps, on the other hand, are much too worldly to allow such folk tales to deter you. If you can just quietly gather some of the more open-minded youths then your little expedition can slip-out unnoticed during the revelry and re-appear before the end of the festival with riches in tow...

End Condition

The adventure ends when one of the following has occurred:

1. The expedition is declared a success and the members now have the wealth needed to pursue their dreams
2. The party abandons the expedition or the festival ends, resigning themselves to the path of mediocrity to which they seem destined
3. The party is unable to continue, their minds and bodies shattered by the horrors they have seen and done

Character Creation

Each Player creates 1 PC:

• Labyrinth Lord, 3d6 in-order, roll HD, simplified saving throws, can have leather armor in place of either your Missile Weapon or your Melee Weapon
• L3 Fighting Man
• Give them Swashbucklers & Seamonsters Occupations, Equipment
• All PCs should be from Esquiule
• Character Sheets
• Swashbucklers & Seamonsters Rules
• Basque Names

Creepy

There's nothing quite like a horror story creeping you the hell out. There's something about it... It's like the feeling you get when you're all alone in a big empty house, except amped-up to 11 and since it's a horror story, you know something terrible is going to happen, but you're not sure what or when.

Machen's Folklore

I've been reading through Arthur Machen's "The White People and Other Weird Stories" with it's criminally misleading cover art, and he is truly a master of Creepy.  Lovecraft says of his work

the elements of hidden horror and brooding fright attain an almost incomparable substance and realistic acuteness(Supernatural Horror in Literature)

His story "The White People" has some of the the creepiest faux-folklore I've ever read. We're reading the diary of a young girl whose nanny has been secretly indoctrinating her to occult practices.  Along the way she tells us some of the tales nanny told her, hinting at what's to come...

• The tale of the Hollow Pit
• The tale of the White Stag
• The story of Lady Avelin 

One of the reasons I found these tales within a tale(within yet another tale) so creepy is that their meaning is so ambiguous, and yet you know it's something terrible. What is in the pit? Who is the lady who dwells in the heart of the woods? Did Lady Avelin meet a horrible end, or was she the lucky one?

Gaming

I'd really like to introduce more creepiness into the games I run. One option is to give a handout with a creepy tale in it, but I'm not sure my literary skills are up-to-par and long handouts in the middle of a session tend to be skimmed and then forgotten.

Perhaps if the characters find the remains, or hear the tale of some utterly strange ritual or experiment? Or if they hear strange tales about the place they are going, and then when they are there, the rules of nature seem to begin to break down...

Setting-Up the Chase in Horror Gaming

The Chase is a stable of the Horror genre, where the protagonists flee from the monster/killer etc. I've written before about how to build-up to The Chase, but now I'd like to talk about the problem with implementing it in RPGs.

Consider this chilling chase sequence from the trailer to Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

The Chase is set-up expertly, with terrifying sounds heard in the distance, and a claustrophobic map, where a monster might be hiding behind any door: very tense build-up. And once the monster is encountered, the player flees frantically to the nearest hiding spot--really good Horror.

The Problem in RPGs

So why doesn't this work for most RPGs?  Well, because your typical party is an armed band of seasoned adventurers, and their first reaction to a monster is typically going to be, to shoot first, ask questions later. Which is totally valid. But if you're trying to run a horror scenario, you want the players to at least consider flight, or be scared of engaging the monster. Amnesia overcomes this by just not giving you weapons or any means of attack, but that's hardly a general solution for adding horror to your RPG.

For some players, a really good build-up to the monster may be enough to send them running, but many will just assume their DM is being dramatic, so you'll need to take stronger measures if you want to send them running.

Death Frost Doom's Solution

Running James Raggi's "Death Frost Doom" will generally result in a Chase. Once the thousands of undead are awakened, the adventure assumes that the PCs will figure out pretty quickly that they can't stand and fight them all. This assumption relies on a couple points:

• The DM's description of hordes of undead coming after them should clue the PCs in that there are too many for them to handle
• Even if they do stand and fight in the narrow crypts, the game assumes that they won't be immediately killed in one round. Thus, the module requires levels 2 or higher, or a large funnel group for The Chase to work.  Otherwise, it will likely end like my ill-fated Night's Dark Terror 1-shot.

So that's one option.  Let the party engage the monster and see that it's too powerful for them. But this limits you to monsters who do relatively small amounts of damage each round and will win by attrition(like a horde of zombies in a narrow space.) What if I want to put something big and nasty that can TPK them more quickly?  How do I get the PC's to flee before it's too late?

The Aurebach Golem Solution

I still remember the great chase in noism's WFRP PBP game. We had just survived a really nasty Scaven ambush, when suddenly the whole place begins to shake and there's the sound of the roof caving-in down the corridor, as this Golem is taking out solid rock walls to reach us. It immediately became a game of "Who can reach the rope leading out of the dungeon faster?"  I learned two principles out of this situation:

1 Demonstrate the Creature's Power

When this Golem started re-mapping the dungeon, we knew we didn't want to mess with it. You can also do this by having your monster take-out a tough group of NPCs in view of the party.

2 Get Them While They're Feeling Vulnerable

If our party had been fresh and feeling confident, we might have tried to hit-and-run the golem, see if we could find a weak spot, etc. But the fact that we were already quite damaged meant that we just didn't want to get smashed. This is really key, either creating the feeling of vulnerability, or waiting for it to happen in the course of the game.

Setup for a Horror 1-Shot

This is the setup for a DnD-based Horror 1-shot that I'll hopefully be running soon.  This is my first time running a Horror game, a 1-shot, or a published adventure, for that matter, so we'll see how it goes.

If all goes well, maybe our group can re-use any surviving characters at a later date for a future adventure.

The Premise

Ah, Shweinenfest!

When was the last time we were all together?  And in our home town of Plock, with all our friends and loved ones, and all the ale we could drink?

You are all childhood friends, who left town years ago to seek your fortunes in the wide world.  Now, you are all back, visiting friends and family, for the month-long Schweinenfest, held every 8 years.

Best time for adventure planning?

Well, you were all out drinking together, dodging the throngs of visitors, enjoying your 7th or 8th pint of Bacon-flavoured Ale, when the conversation turned to less festive matters.  While all of you have been moderately successful since leaving your hometown, none of you really met with the fame and fortune you had been hoping for.

After much lamenting over broken dreams and failed aspirations, a idea emerges.  A plan whose persistence will not fade with the morning's hangover.  Of course the local Yokels mustn't hear of it--you grew-up here, you know how superstitious people can get out here in the provinces.  You chaps, on the other hand, are much too worldly to allow such folk tales to deter you.  If you can just quietly gather some of the more open-minded youths then your little expedition can slip-out unnoticed during the revelry and re-appear before the end of the festival with riches in tow...

End Condition

The adventure ends when one of the following has occurred:

• The expedition is declared a success and they now have the means to pursue their dreams
• The party abandons the expedition(or the 10 days left to the festival run out), resigning themselves to the path of mediocrity to which they seem destined
• The party is unable to continue, their minds and bodies shattered by the horrors they encountered

Character Creation

1. Roll up four 0-level PCs using the standard settings here and name them.
2. Write down 2 days worth of food/water under equipment

3. Pick one of them to advance to 1st level

This one if your "worldly traveller".(The rest are local youths who have spent their entire lives in Plock and it's environs)

1. Choose an appropriate class
2. Buy additional equipment, up to 5d20GP worth. Up to 4 items.  Equipment from Labyrinth Lord.
3. For Clerics/Magic Users, pick 4 spells that you know(if you want, take them from )
4. Improve your stats
• Everyone
• Attack Roll +1
• Fighter
• Ref +1, Fort +1
• HP + 1d8
• Thief
• Ref +1, Fort +1
• HP + 1d6
• Thief abilities as per Labyrinth Lord
• Cleric
• Fort +1, Will +1
• HP + 1d6
• Turn undead as in Labyrinth Lord
• Can cast 1+PER bonus spells
• Mage
• Ref +1, Will +1
• HP + 1d4
• Can cast 1+INT bonus spells
• Halfling
• All Saves +1
• HP + 1d6
• Elf
• All Saves +1
• HP + 1d6
• Dwarf
• All Saves +1
• HP + 1d8

Advancement

0-level characters who gain 10XP and make it back to town can be upgraded to 1st level.  The party doesn't start with any significant funds, but if they return to town mid-expedition, then they should be able to buy/sell any standard equipment, especially with all the visitors from the festival around.

Running a Mystery: Chandleresque Clues

Another topic Raymond Chandler touches on in his essay "The Simple Art of Murder" is Clues.  He points out that Hardboiled stories, such as his own and those of Dashiel Hammet, are inherently different from the Classic Detective Story, such as Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories or the Locked Room Whodunnit.


Chandler defines the Classic formula as presenting the reader with a logic puzzle and then solving it ingeniously:

Two-thirds or three-quarters of all the detective stories published still adhere to the formula the giants of this era created, perfected, polished and sold to the world as problems in logic and deduction. 

On the other hand, he defines the Hardboiled story as eschewing such external considerations and just giving an "honest" story of crime and the detective who follows up leads and solves it.

A Tale of Two Mystery Games

So just like there are two types of mystery story, I would propose that there are two ways to run a mystery game.

1. The Classic-Style Mystery Game

The mystery is treated as a logic puzzle with the clues presented up-front and the players must figure out the riddle.

The problem with this approach is the problem with Gygaxian Traps, they are ingenious, funny, perplexing, but you don't have much chance of solving the riddle unless you're able to probe the DM's mind telepathically.

An example of this type of mystery game is the recent Schroedinger's Cat game of "Creatures!"  The players must figure out the nature of the monster and how to defeat it before it kills everyone.  It's very smart, but relies on some considerable Player Skill at cracking mind-teasers.  In the playtest, for example, the players were completely flummoxed by the riddle, ending  in a presumed TPK.

2. The Hardboiled Mystery Game

The mystery is treated more realistically.  There are still clues, but they lead to people who can shed light on the case.  Solving the case is less about solving a logic riddle and more about tracking down leads and following up on them.

Once the clue is found, it's a much more human exercise, figuring out if people are lying, withholding information, and getting them to admit what they know.  Cyberpunk 2020 is built for this, with a wide array of investigative skills like Interrogate, Intimidate, Human Perception, Interview, Seduction, Social, Persuasion & Fast Talk, Awareness/Notice, Library Search.  Also Streetwise for finding underworld contacts and science-skills for extracting clues.

An example of this type of mystery game is Masks of Nyarlathotep.  The clues are more "leads" to
follow up on than "riddles" to crack.  So skilled players may need to do less "footwork" following up leads, but it's less of an all-or-nothing game of "Guess what I'm thinking".

Clue where PCs can follow-up on the names/locations mentioned

Horror Gaming: Atmosphere over Accuracy

I was listening to Paizocon 2013's "Horror in RPGs Panel discussion" when they made a point that surprised me.  The speakers were giving DMing advice for how to run a Horror game and a lot of the tips were about how to create the right atmosphere(as well as some amusing anecdotes about DM's who take this too far). For example:

• Telling players to make a perception check and then telling them "never mind you don't notice anything unusual"(a sort of Meta-Game version of "Signs of Activity")
• Take a player out of the room for a chat.  Then drop clues to make the other players suspect that his character has been replaced by a doppelganger
• Have the party find clones of themselves, so that they begin to ask "am I really me"
• Having Rats, taxidermy- whisper in a PCs ear "Run away while you still can"
• Creepy Music to fill "DM preparing something" breaks, so people don't start joking and kill the atmosphere
• Have players create a characters descriptively, don't even tell them what game/system they're playing
• A PC starts growing webs between his fingers/developing mutations
• Creep out players: An NPC says "the buttons on your shirt look like my doll's eyes"

Some of these ideas I really liked, others less so.  Anyway, among all these tips for creating mood was this one:

Don't use miniatures!

Now that one took me for a loop.  I'm not the biggest user of miniatures, but I do occasionally put them to use to set-up a particularly large or complex battle.  Why are miniatures so supposedly antithetical to a Horror game?

The answer that the panelists gave is what they call the "Found Footage Element".  You want the players to see, in their mind's eye, what the character sees.  As soon as they are using miniatures instead of their own imaginations, then the storyteller's magic is dispelled, together with any potential for fear.

To put it another way, when setting-up a horror encounter, you want your players' first response to be "Oh my gosh, what is that?  Get me outa here!" not "OK, so here's a choke-point to set up ranks.  There's a side-passage for you to try and flank it...".  So you want your description to do the work, not a detailed map of your surroundings and everyone's position.  And your description will be vague, tactile, emotional.  It likely won't be clear to the players/characters what type of creature they are up against, just the vague glint of fangs in the dark, or a smell, or a deep panting sound. This sort of gets into the idea of Furtive Monsters, where the way the DM presents the monsters goes a long way to creating an atmosphere of horror.

Anyway, that's the idea.  So when I'm trying to set-up a complex encounter which will challenge the players to come-up with original tactics to overcome their adversaries, then I'll bust out the miniatures.  But when I'm exposing them to the brooding horror that dwells beneath the Earth, then I'll leave the props in their box.

Playtest! Creatures!

So, I listened to the recording of this game session over the course of a workday.  From what I understand, these guys have a weekly, rotating-DM game of horror one-shots.  Listening to RPG recordings can be pretty tedious, but I think there's value to be gleaned from seeing how other groups do things in-practice.

Agency

I really liked how the GM handled agency in what was a pretty tight locational adventure.  He was patient.  When the party wanted to flee the area, even though they were clearly leaving the defined "adventure location" he let them and he improvised.  And he gave them a very good in-character reason to return to the haunted cabin--because the police didn't believe their story and they didn't want to get charged with murder.

This was a surprise to me.  It just goes to show that having a plotted adventure doesn't have to mean taking away player agency, as long as the GM can improvise good, in-character incentives to stay on track.

And it was totally worth staying on track, since the whole thing turned out to be a rather smart quantum physics joke!(which, for some reason the players didn't really seem to get)

Actually, I think the entire 9-11, ambulance, trip back to town, police was improvised on the spot by the GM, so CHEERS TO YOU, DUDE!

Horror

So among the players there was some interesting tension here between the "Old School Caution" mindset and the "Naive Victim" mindset.  Sometimes PCs were being super cautious and grabbing any items that weren't bolted down to add to their character sheets.  Other times they were behaving more like in a horror film, where they brush-off the lurking danger and advance regardless.  There were even times when the players were arguing over which of the two approaches to take.

And the game was clearly being run as a Horror Game.  Besides the setting, whenever an NPC would go-off alone, they would turn-up dead(as opposed to the DM running a combat between the NPC and the monster).

The game ended a bit prematurely due to time constraints, but with a presumed TPK.  This demonstrated to me the value of running Horror as a one-shot, where the players aren't going to cry about their Mary Sue character getting killed-off.

Skills

At one point they needed to drive and one of the players goes "So... did anyone actually take the driving skill?"  That's why I love the CP2020 system for running contemporary settings--because you have lots of skill points to use on lots of modern-day skills, yet with a very simple to use skill system.

Horror and Gaming: The Naive Victim Revisited

I recently played through a short Flash Horror game called URBEX.  You're an Urban Explorer who has come to these industrial ruins to photograph your friend's graffiti art.  Since it's a horror game, you find more than just the dilapidated old buildings you expected.

What URBEX really brought home for me, though is that creating Horror is not so much about WHAT you do, it's about HOW you do it.  It's a very minimalist game, yet it still manages to create that atmosphere of suspense.  To quote Lovecraft:

Atmosphere is the all-important thing, for the final criterion of authenticity is not the dovetailing of a plot but the creation of a given sensation.

The Naive Victim

In an old post, I raised the question whether you can create the "Naive Victim" Horror Trope in a role-playing game, since the players tend to respond to anything suspicious with considerable caution.  In that post I suggested that one way to incorporate the Naive Victim is via NPCs, with the party running into previous victims or their remains.

URBEX takes a different approach.  By giving the PC a relatively mundane mission, to find and photograph Stinger's graffiti, the game turns you into a Naive Victim.  Even though you know it's a horror game, and you see strange shapes flitting through the shadows, the player can lie to himself and say "It will be OK." while you're pulling out your camera and clicking to photograph the graffiti.

So if I were to run a Horror scenario in one of my games, I would give the PCs a mundane mission to do, and try and keep the focus on that mission, while all the time dropping clues that all is not right.  Then, when the tension hits it's peak, and the party decides to run for it, they hear something pursuing them and find that the way they came in has been blocked!  Forget insanity points--I'll measure success my how many players wet themselves.

The Pool of Kalem-Ra

The following material was recently submitted to Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque contest.

Chapter XXV: Descent into the Purgatorial Pool of Kalem-Ra(Billy Billerson)

CRACK!
As Count Mircea fired-off his final pistol, the last of the creatures fell down sputtering blood, a fist-sized hole in its bony back.  The Count looked to his other companions.

Ludovico stood, languid as ever, near Cassandra's prone and lifeless body.  In his hand, the servant held a rather intricately inscribed war-axe, evidently borrowed from the Trophy Room.  He delicately extracted a handkerchief to clean the gore from the family heirloom.  A few days ago the man may have wiped it so to clean it of the accumulated dust of generations, the Count mused.

As for the two yokels hired as guides, the older was tending to his grandson's wound.  One of the monsters had apparently gotten past the youth's prodigious pitchfork and given him a nasty gash in the shoulder.

The Count sheathed his blade and began to reload his pistols one brace at a time.

"Tis but a wee bit further." stated the elder yokel, having finished, stuffing the leftover bandage into his pack.

And indeed it was.  Another minute's windings and the curious party entered a high-ceilinged cave with a pool at the center.  Encompassing the pool was a short stone border, an imperfect rectangle a bit larger than a coffin, and from its murky waters emanated a strange light which illuminated the whole cavern dimly.

"This is it, then?" asked the Count dubiously, examining the strange hieroglyphs along the pool's border.

"Aye.  What are ye waiting for?" said the old man, impatiently.  With that, the Count and Ludovico lowered sweet Cassandra's body, beautiful even in death, into the waters.  It sunk slowly into the cloudy depths, disappearing almost immediately.

"What now?" asked the Count, it being his turn for impatience.

"Now we must wait." replied the old man.  "But be on your guard.  Those who return from the pool are rarely unchanged, and rarely for the good."

"Yes, yes.  You have already warned me so.  I will welcome my dear Cassandra back in any guise." said the Count edgily.

To this the old man did not reply, though he tapped nervously with his shillelagh.

And so they waited.

Suddenly, the water stirred.  As the four stepped closer for a better look, a brow broke the surface, then a dripping head, and then Cassandra stepped silently from the pool.

"Changed indeed!" though the Count.  "If anything, she is more beautiful now than before her untimely death!" he thought.

He approached her cautiously as she stood there, as still as a statue.  But when she turned and smiled at him he couldn't hold back any more, moving to embrace her, a smile of joy on his face.  But, as their eyes met he stopped dead, as if struck by a thunderbolt!  No!  Something wasn't right!  This was NOT HIS CASSANDRA!

"Who or WHAT are you?" the Count asked warily, backing away, his voice trembling slightly.

She continued to smile, that same classic smile, worn of old by the Sphinx having just asked her riddle.

The Pool of Kalem-Ra

The Pool of Kalem-Ra is rumored to exist within the maze-like cave complex under Mount Takoho. The pool is know for its ability to return the dead to life. If the tales are true, many a bereaved loved one has sought out the pool. Few have found it, fewer still have been happy they did.

Roll 1d10 to determine the effect of the pool on a body.

1. As Good as New- Character returns to life as they were before dying
2. Something Different- Alignment changed(determine randomly)
3. Not the Man I Used to Be- Lose 1d6 from random ability score
4. A Shade of His Former Self- lose 1d3 from all ability scores
5. Wisdom from Beyond the Grave- character returns  with Wisdom 20, but is emotionally detached from these "frail mortals".  Alignment true neutral.  No longer gains XP from acquired treasure, instead by acquiring esoteric knowledge.
6. Reincarnated- Character returns in another body(1-Invertebrate, 2-Fish, 3-Bird, 4-Reptile, 5-Amphibian, 6-Mammal, 7-Random Humanoid, 8-Random Monster)
7. Mix-Up at the Soul Factory- a different soul comes back in the body(roll-up random character characteristics or pick someone funny)
8. Walking Corpse- Character returns to life but their body is just as decomposed as before.  For every week they were dead, CON is reduced by 1d3-1, CHR by 1d4(to a minimum of 1).  Body continues to decompose at same rate until CON reaches 0, when character dies.  When CON drops below 3, can no longer talk, can only make a wet slurping noise.  Normal healing and healing magic does not stop this decomposition.  On the plus-side, they are immune to pain and cannot bleed to death, so they can fight-on until -10HP.
9. Pet Sematary- Character returns possessed by the spirit of a homicidal Wendigo
10. Undead- Character returns as random type of undead(powerful characters should roll for powerful undead, weak characters should roll for weaker undead types)

Mother Hippolita

The following material was recently submitted to Tales of the Grotesque and Dungeonesque contest. 

Chapter XXII: Strange Incidents Amidst the Broken Ossuary

At last they had arrived.  A compact stone vault with a heavy portal marked the entrance to the Mircea Family Mausoleum. The main body of the structure could be seen stretching out into the dark, protruding but a couple feet from the ground, like the hulk of some great reptile sprawled out across these funereal grounds.  In places the roof had collapsed, its slow but definitive decay mirroring that of its occupants' line. After a minute's work with the heavy prybar, Ludovico had the door open and the lantern lit.

The portal quickly swallowed the thin form of Count Mircea as he descended the stairs into the main body of the mausoleum, leaving his servant to await his return.  He soon found himself treading a path between the silent biers, working his way back further and further amidst his family's generations.  His father had not been buried here.  He had been an optimist, hoping to overcome the family's lot through pure will of character.  Well, for all his energetic enthusiasm, the inauguration of the new family burial plot had been the only change to leave any lasting mark.  The young Count was much more the pragmatist than his father.  You cannot change where you come from--best to reconcile yourself to it.  But then that's why he was here now, wasn't it?  Pragmatism.

Passing under a pointed archway, Count Mircea found himself staring down into the final vault of the mausoleum, into the Ossuary where the oldest of his ancestors lay.  The descending stair was in a bad way, and one side of the room had collapsed, but the center of the room was untouched, and there she sat.  Like the lich of some predatory bird, perched on a throne of granite, surrounded by the bones of her husbands and sons.  Countess Hippolita Mircea.  The Woman, or so she was called, who had both made and doomed the line of Mircea.

Making his way down proudly into the chamber, the young Count looked up at his family Matriarch.  Despite the great decay, this shrunken mummy didn't quite look right.  The Count had learned basic anatomy at the Academy--her bone structure, it wasn't exactly...Human.  As he surveyed her, the corpse's empty eye sockets seemed to stare back at her issue with a malignant evil that the grave could not quench.

"Countess!" he began with a tone of command.

"You no doubt know why I, Count Jander Mircea, am here and what information I need from you.  As your heir, you certainly would like to see my interests furthered.  Therefore I request that you activate your renowned ability as a provider of otherwise unattainable information."

Silence.

The Count began again "Countess Hippolita, you are reputed among the superstition peasants for your ability to reveal the Unknown, from beyond the grave, to those who seek you out.  The tales are as abundant as they are fanciful, such that I cannot help but take them seriously enough to appear here and appeal for your help."

More silence.  The Count looked again at the parched skin, tight against the skull of the lich, its expression almost mocking--No. Definitely mocking.  She was mocking him!  Her own flesh and blood and she would leave him helpless in the clutches of those vicious mongrels!

"Mother Hippolita!" He ejaculated, addressing her by the name by which her household had known her when she was still alive, his voice cracking with desperation.  "I beseech you!" he cried, falling to his knees.  "I'd do anything, give anything, to know who..."

He stopped.  Had her expression changed?  To one of smug victory?  On an impulse, he reached into his pocket and pulled out...a ticket stub...for the train to Liverpool...dated November 3rd.  Reading it, the color returned to his face.  "Of course. It must be Fredrick!  I should have squelched that insolent whelp when he was but a puppy!"

Then his face paled again.  His Right hand--it was changing before his eyes!  What was happening?  Oh no!  Anything but that!

The Count awoke lying on the cold stone floor of the ossuary.  After a minute's groping he managed to find his overturned lantern and light it.  Glancing at his hand, or what had taken its place, he turned, looking up in both horror and gratitude at the grinning visage of the Countess.  Her skin was dry, but not quite as parched as before, and her teeth shone like the polished ivory crown a Sorcerer-King from distant Stygia.

Mother Hippolita

Mother Hippolita's withered corpse sits in her Ancestral Tomb.  It is known for its ability to reveal secrets to those who beseech it.  The revealing can be quite cryptic in its own right, as the Mummy never talks or moves.  Nevertheless, Mother Hippolita's secrets come with a price, and those who receive her aid are inevitably stricken with some unnatural malady or affliction.  As such, it is only the most desperate or most foolish who seek her advice.

If she is not treated with proper reverence, the Curse will be given without the help.

Turned as Lich, though she still cannot move or speak.  Only permanently harmed by Magic Weapons.

Random Clue Form Generator

The DM should come up with a clue in the form determined by this table.  This can demand some creativity on the DM's part.

1. Diary Entry/Book/Scroll
2. Telegram/Letter
3. Business Card/Newspaper article/Advertisement
4. Ticket Stub/Event Program/Playbill
5. Riddle appearing in the air in glowing letters
6. Map
7. Photograph/Painting
8. Sketch
9. Statue
10. Coin
11. Key
12. Article of clothing
13. Body/Body-Part
14. Message in Bodily fluid
15. Familiar Smell
16. Dead animal
17. Disembodied Skull speaking in foreign language
18. Disembodied whisper directly in character's ear
19. Vision/Hallucination
20. 1d6 minutes of Time-Travel as disembodied spirit

Random Malady Generator

1. Mutant: Random limb mutation 1d6 to determine which
2. Not So Special Now- Prime Requisite reduced by 1d6
3. Blank Slate: all skills forgotten except for 1 language chosen randomly
4. Unlucky: -1 to all skill checks/ability checks/luck checks
5. Unlucky Partner: 10' aura effect of Curse
6. Aura of the Grave: Smell of Cadaver follows him around perpetually
7. Energy Drained: Total HP is reduced to 1HP per HD
8. Rotting Sickness: Body is perpetually covered in leprous sores(-4 CHR, -3 CON, -2 STR)
9. Lost Soul: all of character's acquaintances don't remember him, relate to him as a total stranger
10. Not the Man I Used to Know- swap highest ability score with lowest, 2nd highest with 2nd lowest, etc. 

Game Design Interview: Original XCOM

Speaking of XCOM, here is an interview where the designers of the new XCOM Enemy Unknown discuss the things that made the original XCOM UFO Defense great.  I found this video really entertaining and it has a number of good game design points.

Difficulty

 

Some interesting quotes from the interview:

• "the Original game was, like, unforgiving...those kinds of games have a renaissance right now"
• "succeeding in XCOM was like really succeeding"

One of the designers describes his introduction to the game.  He's all excited after hiring and equipping a squad of soldiers.  He even goes and renames them after his family members.  And then on the first mission four of them get killed in his first turn, walking out of the transport!

This reminded me of criticisms I've heard of later DnD products where enemies are carefully measured to be beatable by the party, as opposed to earlier products where character death lurked around every corner.

Meat Shields

They also describe the common XCOM tactic of bringing a few rookies along to act as 'scouts'.  They scout around, get shot by the aliens, and then your more valuable troops can pick-off the aliens now that you've located them.  In this way you can slowly build-up a team of hardened veterans, despite them generally being killable in one-shot.  (Of course, there are always those missions where you run out of rookies, or where you get flanked and your best guy gets killed!)

This struck me as similar to classic DnD where you hire Shield-Bearers as your front-line troops so that your valuable PCs are less-likely to die.

Horror

They also describe going on a night mission as a new XCOM player.  It's dark, you can't see much.  Plasma shots come out of the darkness.  And when you finally see the alien, it's strange looking and you can barely see it in the darkness.  And they expressed surprise that you could have such tension and horror in a strategy game.

I've written about this before, but for RPGs I think that Horror really comes down to DM-style.  How does the DM describe the encounter?  Does he present it with a sterile description: "you see 6 kobolds." Or does he build up the horror: first the party hears noises and a spear flying out of the darkness.  Then you can make out just the glowing eyes in the dark.  When you approach with a torch, you see a hunched creature, all teeth and claws, holding a bunch of primitive but razor-sharp javelins.  Creating an air of mystery/intrigue is much the same, giving clues the characters don't yet fully understand, etc.

Updating a Classic

They discuss a bit how they wanted to simplify the UI without sacrificing too much control.  And my opinion is that they succeeded in remaking a classic.  Their strategy in doing so was to assemble a design team of people with a lot of passion for and a good understanding of the original.  Then they could go and discuss what changes to make.

And it only took XCOM 8 sequels to get it right, so I can understand a little better what happened with DnD 4th Edition!