Horror Trilogy: Bare Bones notes from an as yet unfinished adventure book.

 
I made these notes at least ten years ago. It was originally for a friend's gaming company, Silver Gryphon Games. Life got in the way, especially on the owner's part and this project and others languished. 

I'm currently revisiting a horror game for my group using the Black Hack variations which are out there. As such I decided to put these up here. Perhaps some DM out there will be inspired by them and use what they want or flesh them out for their own game. I'll probably flesh them out later for mine.

The book was to be a homage to seventies horror investigative shows such as Kolchak the Night Stalker and the Norliss Tapes. God bless you Dan Curtis.

The notes are EXTREMELY bare bones. 

Horror Trilogy: The Axeman
SYNOPSIS
Trapped in the eye of a hurricane, the PC's take shelter in an old run-down
hotel with other refugees. But they are not safe as a series of gruesome axe
murders takes place during the storm. Allied with a paranoid PI who
believes the killer is the Axeman of New Orleans and an immortal serial murderer. On their own, surrounded by booby traps, a growing body
count, and a psychotic possible immortal killing machine they must survive
the storm and the Axeman.

THE ADVENTURE
Bakersville, LA
Hurricane Lolita

The PC's
Trapped by the storm in the run-down Gloriana hotel. Flood is rising and
help is hopefully on the way.
Murders in old cheap Hotel (three stories??)

NPC's
Eddie and Edith Vachelli, 60's, owners of the Gloriana. A harmless old Italian couple. They are scared to death of the hurricane.

Pauline Adderson, 36, maid at the hotel. Pauline is a struggling single mom. The hotel barely pays her bills but she is treated well and very loyal to the Vachelli's.

Billy Keene, 46, cook. Billy is a mild-mannered man with a slight creole accent. He generally keeps to himself.

Henry Martin, 42, handyman. Henry is a large but quiet man. He rarely associates with anyone in the hotel except Billy Keene whom he is friends with.

5 trapped guests.
Oliver Monroe, 58, reporter, currently unemployed.

Immortal Serial Killer. The infamous Axeman of New Orleans.

Paranoid retired detective on the trail.

NO EXPLANATION FOR KILLER'S IMMORTALITY. NONE NEEDED.
IT IS.

Horror Trilogy: In Dreams

SYNOPSIS

Ronnie Campbell is a very unusual boy. The traumatic death of his mother

and the constant bullying from a pack of teens at school have unlocked his

latent psi power. Immersed in the world of his books, games, and movies,

Ronnie dreams of the death of his tormentors, and in Ronnie's dreams the

heroes and villians of his stories come to life to kill.

THE ADVENTURE

Liberty, Arkansas

Ronnie Campbell, age 10. Trauma from his mother's death and bullying at school has unlocked his latent psi ability.

Popular movies, horror and sci-fi. Characters come to life as thoughtforms he

dreams up and kills his tormentors.

His dream doppelganger watches the murder from a distance as the killings

happen.

Clues to who is killed ( a little gang of bullies.)

THOUGHT FORMS

Wolfman

The first. Killed Ryan Washington while walking home from the basketball

court one night. Claw marks and tracks are the clues (false conclusion:

animal, werewolf, etc).

Jason Voorhees

The second. Killed Dylan Petesky by hacking the boy to pieces with a

machete in the park while the boys were sneaking around smoking

marijuana. The other boys saw the killing. They also witnessed Ronnie's

doppelganger, but didn't recognize him.

Darth Vader

Attacks Paulie Peterson. PC's witness it. They also witness the doppelganger

at a distance.

Leatherface

Attacks Joey Gibbs.

PC's should find the link and be there. We hope.

Kong

Once the PC's have become a threat to Ronnie's subconscious, it will send

Kong after them. It will pursue them to the death. 

This is a good opportunity for a LOT of chaos. 

STOPPING RONNIE

The only way to stop Ronnie permanently is to stop his dreaming.

This can be done with drugs, a lobotomy, death, or some other permanent

solution to keep from dreaming.

INTRO

The Town

The Murders

PC Involvement

CLUES

Bodies

Witness to second killing.

THE TIMELINE

xxxx

LOCATIONS

xxxxx

NPC's

Ronnie

The Bullies

Parents

The Thoughtforms

The Cops

The Dr's

National Guard

Horror Trilogy: The Pentagram Murders

Prominent members of a small town are being torn apart by a demon. They

have publicly admitted they are former members of a satanic cult and accuse

their leader, a witch, of summoning the demon to murder them and take their

souls. As a skeptical police force and citizenry do nothing, the PC's must

stop the witch and her demon before they cause further death and destruction

beyond her former cult members. AND since the PC's are now actively

involved they become targets too

OSR In Country.... Vietnam

I am forty-six as of this writing. I will always have a strong interest in the Vietnam War.
It was my uncle's war, it was my friends dad's war. It ended almost three years after I was born but we grew up in the shadow of it. Slowly at first, few people cared to talk about it in the seventies, especially to kids. You got a sense or shame, of regret, or other signs of pain. It seemed like people wanted to forget. We weren't taught about it in school. I saw John Wayne's film the Green Berets but it felt off, not quite right. Gradually, especially during the early eighties, we learned more about it thanks to pop culture interest: First Blood (Rambo), the Chuck Norris Missing in Action movies, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Full Metal Jacket, etc. Then TV shows such as China Beach and Tour of Duty. And comic books, most notably Marvel's classic The 'Nam. We were finally allowed to learn about it. And it is fascinating. As with generations of veterans and civilians of other wars we got our tales of men who only wanted to survive to get home from that terrible time that people didn't want to talk about for years. They have joined the ranks of heroes bestowed to our Grandfathers and Great-grandfathers from Korea and the World Wars.
It may seem strange to younger kids now, but that's how it was.

We have naturally turned to gaming as we do everything. I think a lot of us as DM's try to express our 'artistic side' by running games, creating and re-creating worlds and time periods. My uncles were Vietnam vets (now dead) and I took care of dozens of veterans from Vietnam to as far back as one WWI soldier. This one is a lot more personal and I mean no insult to anyone on ANY side of the war. This is written from the American viewpoint. As with any war we don't want to denigrate the horror that is actual war and not play war. Due to the nature of this one I find it a bit..... unnerving? I'm not sure of how to describe it. It's a feeling of not wanting to somehow 'fail' to show the horrors and 'cheapen' it. It's hard to articulate this feeling other than I hope we are not insulting their memories by turning the war into a game play. I don't feel this way about other wars only Vietnam. Personal hangup? The muddled nature of the war?

On to gaming.
Get a copy of Recon (Advanced or Deluxe Revised.) It was a big influence on this. It was the first Vietnam dedicated RPG I ever owned and it is still amazing. I love that game and it has a number of excellent charts for almost everything: encounters, villages, traps, ert as well as a simple vehicle system that can be used if you simply figure out cover bonuses. All good stuff and cheap on pdf and otherwise.

There is an amazing amount of info on the War and that time in history.
For our purposes the the most useful would be info on the war itself:

• Maps of the War
• Basic History of the War
• Military info on American/Allied and NVA/VC armed forces.
• Campaigns and major battles (several wargame sites actually have good info, maps, and troop movements for these to recreate and use for your games.)

We are using my Survival Horror OSR for quick character building and a wider spread of skills/abilities. Combat is still standard Classic D&D few few modifications.

I have run several adventures with this ruleset over the years: mostly action (John Wayne's Green Berets again) or weird war/horror. As with other Classic D&D and OSR rulesets it runs quickly and fairly smoothly. We had a good time. The nature of lower hit point characters lends itself well to infantry combat.

I also have actual character classes which I'll post later for whose who want even more classic character class versions for the system.

Vietnam Military Packages
Built for 2 hd characters with 12 points for abilities/skills.
All except medic and special forces have spare points to spend. Feel free to arrange any points to lower or raise certain skills for individuals.

American/Allies Arsenal

Rifles
M-16A1 5.56mm, Semi/auto
2d6/150'/20 or 30 magazine
Feed reliability was an issue with these magazines. A fully loaded 20 round magazine jams on a natural 1 or 2 roll. Loading only 18 rounds drops it back to 1.
 It takes 1d6 rounds to clear the jam.

30 round magazines were introduced in 1967 with special forces, became more common by 1971.
The 30 round magazine has the same issues with reliability unless 28 or less rounds are loaded.

XM-177E2 "Colt Commando", 5.56mm, Semi/auto
2d6/100'/20 or 30 magazine
This weapon has the same magazine loading issues as the M16.

M-2 Carbine .30, Semi/auto
1d10/80’ /15 or 30 magazine

M-14 Rifle 7.62mm, Semiautomatic
2d8/200’/ 20 magazine

XM21 Army Sniper Rifle, Semiautomatic
A modified M-14. 
2d8/200’/ 5 internal magazine
Telescopic Sight:  +4 bonus to attacks when aiming (stacks with the aim maneuver.)

M40 7.62 USMC Sniper Rifle, Bolt action
2d8/200’/ 20 magazine

Telescopic Sight: +4 bonus to attacks when aiming (stacks with the aim maneuver.)

Handguns
High Standard Victor .22, Semiautomatic
1d4 /20’ /10 magazine

Smith & Wesson .38, Revolver
1d6 /25’ /6 cylinder

Browning Hi Power 9mm, Semiautomatic
1d6 /25’ /15 magazine

M1917 .45, Revolver
1d8 /30’ /6 cylinder

Colt 1911.45, Semiautomatic
1d8 /30’ /7 magazine

Colt Trooper .357 magnum, Revolver
1d8+1/30’ /6 cylinder

Smith & Wesson .44 magnum, Revolver
1d10+1/30'/6 cylinder

SubMachine Guns
Ingram Mac 10, 9mm, Semi/auto
1d6/50' /32 magazine

Ingram Mac 10/ M3A1 "grease gun", .45, Semi/auto
1d8/60' /30 magazine

Thompson, .45, Semi/auto
1d8/80' /20 or 30 magazine

Shotguns
Shotgun, .12 ga, Break or pump
2d8*/50’/2 or 5 break or pump

Sawed Off, .12 ga, Break or pump
2d8*/20'/2 or 3 break or pump

*Slug damage (2d8)
* Shot damage (3d6/2d6/2d6/1d6/1d6) by range increment (5 increments)
Shotguns loaded with buckshot receive a +2 hit in the first range increment.

Machine Guns
M1919 Browning .30, Auto
2d6/200'/100 belt

M-60  7.62mm, Semi/auto
2d8/200'/100 belt

M-2 .50 BMG
2d12/200'/100 belt
 

Grenades
Fragmentation Grenade
⦁ Damage is 3d6 out to the first 20', 2d6 21 to 30', 1d6 31 to 40'. Save for half damage.
⦁ The throwing increment is 20'.
⦁ The M26/61 and M33/67 have a delay fuse.
⦁ The M59/68 explodes on impact.

MK 3A2 Offensive Hand Grenade
⦁ Concussion grenade, little shrapnel, short damage range outside, incredibly lethal in enclosed areas.
⦁ Damage is 2d6 outside out to 10', 1d6 at 11' to 20'. Save for half damage.
⦁ Damage inside is 4d6 out to a solid wall or 30', whichever comes first. Save for half damage.

Smoke Grenade
⦁ Lasts 1d4 +6 rounds.
⦁ The M-8 is standard white while the M-18 comes in red, yellow, green, or violet.

M14 TH3 Incendiary Hand Grenade
⦁ Damage is 2d6 out to the first 20', 1d6 out to 60'. Save for half damage.
⦁ The damage is continuous for 6 rounds.
⦁ The throwing increment is 20'.
⦁ It has a 4 to 5 second delay fuse.

M-79 40mm Grenade Launcher
⦁ Standard High Explosive damage is 3d6 out to the first 10', 2d6 11 to 20', 1d6 21 to 30'. Save for half damage. The range increment is 100'.
⦁ Grenade shells must go 10' before arming. Otherwise damage is 1d10 from impact.
⦁ Common shells are HE, white phosphorus, smoke, CS gas, and parachute flare.
⦁ The M-79 can also fire a multiple projectile round (basically a big shotgun shell.) capable of hitting a target and to all enemies within 5' of the target if the attack roll is high enough to hit them as well.  This shell has a range increment of 50' and gives a  +2 bonus to hit within the first increment. There are five range increments and damage is affected by the range increment: 4d6/3d6/2d6/2d6/1d6.

The M-79 can be fired and reloaded once per round with a -3 to the initiative roll (1d6+ Dex bonus.)

In 1969 the US introduced a reliable underslung single shot, the M203.
Treat as an M79.

Explosives, Rockets, Etc

Claymore Mine
⦁ Damage is a 5d6 area attack in a 60 degree arc out to 150'. Everyone not under cover can still Save for half damage.
⦁ The explosion has a back bast of 40' in a 180 degree rear arc doing 3d6 to anyone in this area. Save for half damage.

C-4
⦁ One pound block. Must be set off with a detonator.
⦁ Damage is 5d6 per pound out to 10', -1d6 per ten feet after.
⦁ Each extra block adds 2d6 to the blast.
⦁ If shaped it is a Heavy Weapon.

Det Cord
⦁ Must be set off with a detonator.
⦁ Five feet of det cord does damage of 2d6 fire to with a five foot area. Can be doubled up which adds another 1d6 to the damage. Maximum damage this way ius 4d6,

M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon (LAW)
⦁ Damage is 8d6 out to 50', 4d6 51 to 80', 2d6 81 to 100'. Save for half damage.
⦁ Range increment is 100'.
⦁ Medium Weapon

M2A1-7 Flamethrower
⦁ At full capacity the tanks have enough for 7 bursts of flame. One burst gives the operator an arc 30' wide x70' long. The arc can be doubled at the cost of two bursts.
⦁ It is an area attack weapon and the operator needs to only roll for for a malfunction (natural 1-3 on 1d20.) Everyone caught in the area of attack takes 2d6 damage and can make a Saving throw for half damage with a bonus to the Save equal to Cover bonus. This damage total is applied for six rounds unless the character is immersed in a body of water or a fire extinguisher is used.
⦁ If the tanks are hit with a piercing weapon the weapon is rendered useless.

Armor
Flak Vest
+2 to AC vs Handguns and SMG's.
+4 to Saving Throws vs shrapnel damage.
The vest is hot and heavy. It costs the wearer a 1 penalty on all personal rolls (attacks, attributes/abilities/skills, etc.)

Helmet
+4 to AC for head shots vs handguns ammo/+2 vs rifle ammo and +1 to Saving Throws vs shrapnel. (50 percent chance of coverage.)

Hand Weapons
Axe, Hatchet 1d6 /10’
Axe, Wood 1d8 /10’
Bayonet 1d6
Brass Knuckles 1d3
Butt Stroke 1d3
Club 1d4 /10’
Entrenching Tool 1d4
Knife 1d4 /10’
Knife, Pocket 1d3 /5’
Machete 1d6 /10’

NVA/VC Arsenal

Rifles
AK-47/Chinese Type 56, 7.62mm, Semi/auto
2d8/100’/ 30 magazine

SKS, 7.62mm, Semiautomatic
2d8/100’/ 10 internal magazine

Soviet SVD Dragunov Sniper Rifle, , 7.62mm, Semiautomatic
2d8/200’/ 10 magazine
Telescopic Sight: +4 bonus to attacks when aiming (stacks with the aim maneuver.)

Handguns
Makarov, 9mm, Semiautomatic
1d6 /25’ /8 magazine

Tokarev, 7.62x25, Semiautomatic
1d6+1 /30’ /8 magazine

SubMachine Guns
PPS SMG, 7.62x25, Semi/auto
1d6+1/70'/35 magazine or 71 round drum

VC modified Mat-49, 7.62x25, Semi/auto
 1d6+1/70'/35 magazine

VC Thompson Copy, .45, Semi/auto
1d8/80',/20 or 30 magazine

Machine Guns
Chinese Type-24, 7.92mm, Auto
2d10/200'/250 belt

Soviet RPK, 7.62mm, Semi/auto
 2d8/200’/ 40 magazine or 75 drum

Grenades
Fragmentation Grenade
⦁ Damage is 3d6 out to the first 20', 2d6 21 to 30', 1d6 31 to 40'. Save for half damage.
⦁ The throwing increment is 20'.
⦁ Delay fuse.

Anti-personnel Hand Grenade
⦁ Concussion grenade, little shrapnel, short damage range outside, incredibly lethal in enclosed areas.
⦁ Damage is 2d6 outside out to 10', 1d6 at 11' to 20'. Save for half damage.
⦁ Damage inside is 4d6 out to a solid wall or 30', whichever comes first. Save for half damage.

Incendiary Hand Grenade
⦁ Damage is 2d6 out to the first 20', 1d6 out to 60'. Save for half damage.
⦁ The damage is continuous for 6 rounds.
⦁ The throwing increment is 20'.
⦁ It has a 4 to 5 second delay fuse.

Rockets, Explosives, Etc
RPG-7
⦁ Damage is 6d6 out to the first 20', 3d6 21 to 40', 2d6 41 to 50'. Save for half damage.
⦁ Range increment is 150'.
⦁ Heavy Weapon

Armor
Helmet
+2 to AC for head shots and +1 to Saving Throws vs shrapnel. (50 percent chance of coverage.)

Hand Weapons

As the American/Allies above. 

Captured/Improvised Weapons

The VC had a very mixed bag of older weapons such as WWII Nazi surplus and firearms and explosives captured from first the French the  the Americans and our allies. 

That's not even counting the home-made or reworked junk firearms into single shot pistols, carbines, etc and home-made coke can grenades and improvised explosives. 

Later....

Stats for basic NPC troop types.

Troop standard weaponry and kits.

Quick vehicle rules and stats with weaponry.