I needed something relatively quick today, so here we go.
The Game: The Horror Game (no, seriously)
The Publisher: Davis Ray Sickmon, Jr.
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
This game makes me a little tired. Not because of what it is (a cheaply made, self-published homebrew; that's fine), but because it's yet another example of reinventing the wheel. It's meant to be a rules-lite way of playing the horror genre, specifically slasher-like horror, and the author talks about how it eschews detailing the stats of a scenario or a monster and focusing on the narrative flow. And I'm like...yeah. See also Slasher Flick (published a year before this) or any number of games since. Maybe I'm just salty because the title of the game makes it impossible to Google.
And I dunno, as I think about it, I'm softening on games like this a little, because it's very easy to be judgy about self-published games and how they tend to make "innovations" that have been done a decade plus before, but the reason I know about those innovations is because I actively went out and collected RPGs. I did that because I'm in the position of having enough disposable income to buy books, and because I was part of the industry for 20 years and knew the people to talk to (and trade with, when possible). But now that I'm not, now that I'm just a normal consumer in the hobby, am I going to be privy to the same direction of RPGs as they inevitably shift in focus? I don't know, Kickstarter is a thing, as is IPR, so probably.
Anyway, this is already more words than this game probably deserves, but I do love horror games in general, so let's see here. In addition to having a really terrible title (seriously, do you want people to buy it?), the character sheet is the most boring thing I've seen in quite some time. Whatever, let's see how chargen works.
Christ, first chapter is an extended "what's an RPG" thing. I usually like these, but this one is so 90s, complete with the list of "problem players." Fuck me running, I don't miss this. The Munchkin, the Real Man, blah blah. I guess I'm kind of over the type of game writing that says "look, we know these people are jerks and they don't do this right, but what are you gonna do? Get a normal hobby? Not likely, nerd." Anyway.
OK, this game resembles Slasher Flick, Horrors, and Fear Itself inasmuch as there's not a default setting, so the game would require the GM to say "OK, y'all are all cheerleaders" or whatever. The example that's mentioned is small town in western Kansas, and that sounds fine. The game offhandedly mentions that a character be "a student, a tailor, that kind of thing" and "tailor" kinda stuck in my head. I don't think I've ever seen a tailor in a horror movie, certainly not in a slasher movie, so I'm gonna make a tailor.
My character is Dylan Raille. He's just been hired on at his uncle's shop, and is planning on taking it over when his uncle gives up and heads for Couer d'Alene or something. Dylan is early 20s, shaggy black hair, glasses, kinda John Oliver energy.
Starting with Attributes, because sure. There are five (not six, even though the word "Attributes" on the sheet is the same size as the things below it, which is visually confusing), they all start at 9, and I have 3 points to add to them.
Reading through them, I'm struck by three things. First, there's no stat that covers manual dexterity; I assume it'd be Agility. Second, the book tells me that characters in horror movies are always completely stupid, which is the kind of observation that people make if they haven't watched any good horror movies (along with "the black guy dies first"; actually, there's rarely a black guy present to die first, which is a different problem). Finally, the word "loose" is used in place of the word "lose," which is one of my special bugaboos and make me cringe.
But anyway, I'll put one of my points into Luck and the other two into Intelligence.
Cool, now I get three skills. One is Tailor, obviously. I'll say Dylan knows how to handle a motorcycle just because a) it's kind of unexpected and b) it'll increase the chances of him getting beheaded, which is cool. Finally, I'll take Chemistry, because why the fuck not.
Next would be disadvantages. They'd allow me to take more skills, but I kinda don't want any, and the list of disadvantages (which are just examples) are mostly phobias along with shit like alcoholism and obesity. Quick, name me a horror movie where obesity plays a role in a protagonist's death? (I'm sure there's at least one, but again, not really a staple of slasher movies.) Anyway, I think I'm good.
Equipment, well, I figure usual pocket stuff, a measuring tape, and a little sewing kit. Done and done.
That's me done, then. I gotta pick something more fun for the next one.
