Greetings all,
Just trying to get a feeling for what users think about RPGs where players are paranormal investigators. I'm biased because I'm a big fan of Chill 1e/Cryptworld, but I would like to look into giving other systems a try, especially if they might attract more interest in playing online.
Any suggestions?
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 25, 2021, 05:59:43 PM
Greetings all,
Just trying to get a feeling for what users think about RPGs where players are paranormal investigators. I'm biased because I'm a big fan of Chill 1e/Cryptworld, but I would like to look into giving other systems a try, especially if they might attract more interest in playing online.
Any suggestions?
Don't know how popular it is now, but
Beyond the Supernatural was a blast. It's a Palladium game, so you know what you are getting, but it's definitely worth a look.
Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green can be fun too. Some people still do D20 modern for that sort of thing. GURPS might be a good fit for that.
Bloodshadows is a lot of fun
was originally developed for the Matserbook system by WEG, but Precis now owns the property and has adapted it to a new system (I think)
I was always very impressed by Conspiracy X, which was originally published as its own rather wonky system and was then picked up as a Unisystem adaptation by Eden Studios; the thing that was most intriguing, I thought, and could be really useful for any kind of urban occult dark fantasy/horror setting, is the Influence system whereby PCs determine exactly what resources and actions they can access through their official organizational status. The fact that no one group gives access to everything is one of the great incentives for a party of mixed-organization background.
GURPS Black Ops is also fun for something completely gonzo over-the-top, to come at the genre from a different angle, though if I were to seriously try to run it I would make sure I had access to the WildCard / "Bang!" skill rules from 4E.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. Does anyone recommend GURPS Horror? I seem to hear more about the GURPS system than the Pacesetter system of Chill 1e/Cryptworld. Does it generally have more support among gamers?
I'm not abandoning Cryptworld just yet, but I'm just curious as to the level of support for GURPS.
Call of Cthulhu d20 is very good. I was sort of biased against is, since I couldn't possibly see what the d20 system had to do with Cthulhu, but after reading some very good reviews I picked it up and it is actually good for any sort of occult/paranormal setting.
Beyond the Supernatural was great! I played it only for a Summer, back in the '90s and I always wondered why I didn't return to it again (possibly because with my players supernatural = CoC).
The Pundit is currently pimping his own Invisible College. I don't have it (yet) but you could consider it.
GURPS... My experience is with 3E, and horror worked wonderfully in a cyberpunk milieu - however, be advised that "the paranormal" must be intended both in a subtile and vast way in any GURPS modern setting. A M16 can ruin a whole spellcaster day, exp. if he goes against 5d6 gamage x bullet/3 rounds bursts with his five-turns-to-cast-Darkbolt, 1d6+2.
GURPS is mainly just very modular so you can add stuff from GURPS Detective or GURPS Sci-Fi and say do something like someone hunting for ghosts on a haunted mining colony on Jupiter's Moon of IO. It works as a sort of toolkit.
In its Heyday GURPS had supplements that were based on specific properties so it might have genre books like Cyberpunk or 50s Drive-In Atomic Horror or specific settings like Alan Dean Foster's Humanx setting (his Pip & Flinx stuff) or Larry Niven's Crashlander Future History stuff or George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards super hero anthologies.
Since then SJG have scaled it back a bit to genres and types again for 4th edition.
You can look over GURPS lite for free to get a feel for it.
http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG31-0004
Quote from: Reckall on July 25, 2021, 08:54:38 PM
GURPS... My experience is with 3E, and horror worked wonderfully in a cyberpunk milieu - however, be advised that "the paranormal" must be intended both in a subtile and vast way in any GURPS modern setting. A M16 can ruin a whole spellcaster day, exp. if he goes against 5d6 gamage x bullet/3 rounds bursts with his five-turns-to-cast-Darkbolt, 1d6+2.
Yep automatic rifle bursts are pretty brutal in Cryptworld too. But then again, they're not always useful depending on the creature. And I try to manage what situations characters can carry them in. If the goal is to go walking around downtown looking for Mothman, it doesn't make sense for someone to be strapped with an AR-15 in the middle of traffic, unless they want to alert the police to their presence.
Just curious, but does anyone have experience with Chill 1e, Cryptworld and GURPS? I'm wondering how the games compare. And sorry I know CoC is the big baddie in horror/paranormal RPGs, but I've never really liked the game and the mythos and probably won't be running it or playing it anytime soon.
With Unisystem you can also use Witchcraft which is free. Combine that with Conspiracy X and you can do a lot.
Some other household names are of course Cthulhu/Delta Green, Kult and Unknown Armies. Depends of what kind of setting you want and what type of system you like.
Genrediversion could be used with Ghostories. The nWoD blue books can be used for mortals and combined with Hunter the Vigil you got a lot of options.
As for the question of what has support...I honestly no longer have a reliable sense of who is playing what anymore. I know SJG has a pretty active forum though.
Personal favourite is the original Beyond the Supernatural by Palladium. Pretty good system that is easy to pick up and learn. And runs well with normal humans.
Very closely followed by the original Masque of the Red Death that is an alternate setting from TSR's Ravenloft. I really enjoyed what they did with the system. Magic is VERY subdued and dangerous for PCs as well.
Call of Cthulhu is next on the list. A really solid system. Gahan Wilson's review of it is what hooked me on it. Stick to older editions though. Good skill and class system and it really captures the feel of the setting.
Those are the big 3 for me.
Heard alot about the original Chill, but never had a chance to have a look at it.
Quote from: Omega on July 25, 2021, 09:13:36 PM
Heard alot about the original Chill, but never had a chance to have a look at it.
You seem to hear a lot about it (mostly fond memories of older gamers playing it back in the day), and the Cryptworld OSR clone has gotten generally positive reviews, but that doesn't seem to translate into folks willing to invest in it to play. At least not from what I've seen so far on Roll 20.
But if GURPS and the SJG forum is active, I might have to look closer at it. I wish the Goblinoid Games forum was still alive.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 25, 2021, 09:35:02 PM
Quote from: Omega on July 25, 2021, 09:13:36 PM
Heard alot about the original Chill, but never had a chance to have a look at it.
You seem to hear a lot about it (mostly fond memories of older gamers playing it back in the day), and the Cryptworld OSR clone has gotten generally positive reviews, but that doesn't seem to translate into folks willing to invest in it to play. At least not from what I've seen so far on Roll 20.
But if GURPS and the SJG forum is active, I might have to look closer at it. I wish the Goblinoid Games forum was still alive.
I own Chill 1e, but never played it. I like some parts - but feel the system is kind of clunky, and the background is kind of dull -- like how the PCs work for an agency called S.A.V.E. I did like some of the 2e supplements - especially their Vampires supplement. But I still just used them as material to mine for other games rather than running Chill itself.
GURPS is a classic that has a lot of fans - you might consider using GURPS Lite instead of the full system, especially if the PCs are mostly ordinary humans.
As something in a rather different vein, there is an excellent RPG using the Powered-by-the-Apocalypse system called "Monster of the Week". It's got a different style than the older RPGs, but still has a traditional GM/player division. It's modeled after television series like Supernatural, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. It's my favorite of the PbtA games, and I think it works really well for what it's trying to do - episodic investigations of different creatures and phenomena.
https://www.evilhat.com/home/monster-of-the-week/
Quote from: jhkim on July 26, 2021, 01:45:07 AM
I own Chill 1e, but never played it. I like some parts - but feel the system is kind of clunky, and the background is kind of dull -- like how the PCs work for an agency called S.A.V.E. I did like some of the 2e supplements - especially their Vampires supplement. But I still just used them as material to mine for other games rather than running Chill itself.
GURPS is a classic that has a lot of fans - you might consider using GURPS Lite instead of the full system, especially if the PCs are mostly ordinary humans.
As something in a rather different vein, there is an excellent RPG using the Powered-by-the-Apocalypse system called "Monster of the Week". It's got a different style than the older RPGs, but still has a traditional GM/player division. It's modeled after television series like Supernatural, Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. It's my favorite of the PbtA games, and I think it works really well for what it's trying to do - episodic investigations of different creatures and phenomena.
https://www.evilhat.com/home/monster-of-the-week/
Yes the Pacesetter system is clunky. In a way I kind of like it, because it sets up for a number of different contingencies. But it's tough getting used to, and I suspect it's one reason why I'm having a hard time finding players. My hope is that maybe with an API script on Roll 20 I can overcome this, assuming I stick with the game.
Chill 2e did indeed have some great supplements. I played it back in the early 90s. Today, though, I think I would only want to play 1e. It's the more classical version of the game and now with its OSR clone, there's more support available for play.
I've heard about Monster of the Week but so far I'm not convinced that it has any bigger a support base. I'll probably go with GURPS Horror if I switch from the Pacesetter games. It's important to have an active forum where I can recruit players and it looks like that might be the one.
Again thanks for all the recommendations.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 26, 2021, 02:13:28 AM
Yes the Pacesetter system is clunky. In a way I kind of like it, because it sets up for a number of different contingencies. But it's tough getting used to, and I suspect it's one reason why I'm having a hard time finding players. My hope is that maybe with an API script on Roll 20 I can overcome this, assuming I stick with the game.
I haven't played Chill (1e) in decades, but I picked up Rotworld a while back (uses the same system as Cryptworld, I believe) and my superficial reaction was they just could just flip the tables and the whole system would be mechanically equivalent but easier to grok. (This could be a false impression; I was rather disenchanted with the rest of the book so I didn't spend much time with it.)
I also think a lot of the criticism of the Chill setting misses what it does well. Of course it's a bit generic, that's the point. Chill isn't about being a novel and original take on the horror genre. It's about evoking the traditional horror that a lot of people love, and that means working with instead of subverting many common tropes and cliches. The setting is intended to be a thematic but largely a blank slate, into which each GM can drop elements from all their favorite horror books or movies (the implication is they can all fit in, somewhere). And S.A.V.E. is just a framing device, which provides an excuse for PCs to get together and go on missions. And by that standard, I think it's highly successful. Games like Kult or Unknown Armies are far more original, but they're also far more demanding, and not as suited to casual play.
Quote from: Pat on July 26, 2021, 02:36:54 AM
I haven't played Chill (1e) in decades, but I picked up Rotworld a while back (uses the same system as Cryptworld, I believe) and my superficial reaction was they just could just flip the tables and the whole system would be mechanically equivalent but easier to grok. (This could be a false impression; I was rather disenchanted with the rest of the book so I didn't spend much time with it.)
I also think a lot of the criticism of the Chill setting misses what it does well. Of course it's a bit generic, that's the point. Chill isn't about being a novel and original take on the horror genre. It's about evoking the traditional horror that a lot of people love, and that means working with instead of subverting many common tropes and cliches. The setting is intended to be a thematic but largely a blank slate, into which each GM can drop elements from all their favorite horror books or movies (the implication is they can all fit in, somewhere). And S.A.V.E. is just a framing device, which provides an excuse for PCs to get together and go on missions. And by that standard, I think it's highly successful. Games like Kult or Unknown Armies are far more original, but they're also far more demanding, and not as suited to casual play.
In fact, I was just thinking of what some do with the Pacesetter Action Table is just to roll under your attack score and whatever your roll is is your score, instead of having to subtract your roll from your attack score to determine your "Attack Margin." I could just do that, but I guess I've been trying to be faithful to the "gritty" system as much as possible. I'm probably more committed than ever, though, to just upgrade my account and add the API script that someone on Roll 20 made for me. That way with a simple macro, you'll just enter your attack score and it will do all the calculations for you, including rolling for damage. Pretty neat "hack," if it works. If it brings in players, even better.
YES thank you for "getting" Chill/Cryptworld! It is indeed as "classical" horror/paranormal as you can get. Obviously since I'm running Cryptworld I don't use the S.A.V.E. organization, but I use a similar organization mentioned in the rulebook as a government group dedicated to investigating unexplained phenomena (or, basically, the "X-Files" group). But there are others included that you can use. Again, however, even though it does a good job bringing generic horror into the 21st century, it's still important to have the support of an online community. And since Goblinoid Games seems to have gone dark for the past couple years on their website, that's a big disadvantage.
The problem with GURPS 3E (I never played 4E) is that some Advantages/Disadvantages/Powers didn't really scale well with the Tech Level. A powerful Necromancer in the Middle Ages could become a puny hopeful in a World of Uzis and barrel-mounted grenade launchers - and yet the point cost for his powers remained the same. True, this was not always the case, and the Necromancer could count on factors ranging from the fact that his powers were always with him (even on airplane, for example), to the element of surprise, to powers not tied to direct damage but to more elusive and encompassing effects ("Electrokinesis" could be devastating in a cyberware-heavy environment).
In practice, however, GURPS Magic scaled terribly bad for any TL over three/four. I always wanted to try GURPS Voodoo in a Cyberpunk setting, but I never had the opportunity.
Dunno how and if they tackled these problems in 4E. I heard great things about the "GURPS Thaumatology" line of supplements but I never checked them.
Chill has always seemed one of those games that I think I would love to read, but would be hard pressed to find players for. I do remember the GURPS horror supplement being a fantastic book.
I hear good things about Sin Nomine's Silent Legions. Crawford seems to excel at writing material that allows one to build their own secret societies and mythos, rather than just defaulting to the Lovecraftian stuff. Then man doesn't seem to be able to do any wrong when it comes to RPG's as they are all well received and balanced.
It might be a more standard game mechanics system to get players onboard more willingly.
Quote from: rocksfalleverybodydies on July 26, 2021, 09:43:41 AM
I hear good things about Sin Nomine's Silent Legions. Crawford seems to excel at writing material that allows one to build their own secret societies and mythos, rather than just defaulting to the Lovecraftian stuff. Then man doesn't seem to be able to do any wrong when it comes to RPG's as they are all well received and balanced.
It might be a more standard game mechanics system to get players onboard more willingly.
Looks interesting. I'm not sure the art is doing it for me--usually I see more than one tentacle and I'm out (sorry I just don't get the love affair that gamers have with the cosmic horror stuff). But I'll keep reading reviews. Thanks.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 26, 2021, 10:25:47 AM
Looks interesting. I'm not sure the art is doing it for me--usually I see more than one tentacle and I'm out (sorry I just don't get the love affair that gamers have with the cosmic horror stuff). But I'll keep reading reviews. Thanks.
What do you want to see? Angels and demons? Ghosts and spirits? Vampires, werewolves, fae etc.? Conspiracies, occultism and magic?
Quote from: jan paparazzi on July 26, 2021, 12:29:26 PM
What do you want to see? Angels and demons? Ghosts and spirits? Vampires, werewolves, fae etc.? Conspiracies, occultism and magic?
Pretty much all of the above. One thing I like about Cryptworld is that the rules for paranormal talents ("magic") are optional, so if you want your PCs to behave more like X-Files-style investigators and less like psychical researchers and ghost hunters, you can use that option. My goal is to eventually run it in a medieval setting where things are more fantasy based and players can more easily wield those powers. But that will depend on how well the current campaign goes.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 26, 2021, 12:39:20 PM
Pretty much all of the above. One thing I like about Cryptworld is that the rules for paranormal talents ("magic") are optional, so if you want your PCs to behave more like X-Files-style investigators and less like psychical researchers and ghost hunters, you can use that option. My goal it to eventually run it in a medieval setting where things are more fantasy based and players can more easily wield those powers. But that will depend on how well the current campaign goes.
Well, I run it with Unisystem. Unisystem is pretty easy to scale the powerlevels. If you use Witchcraft (magic, spirit medium powers, psychic powers) combined with the Paranormal sourcebook (for ritual magic) you can do a lot. You can also add Conspiracy X to the list for a conspiracy organisation backing up the players. Unisystem is a rollover system with one d10 dice and damage multipliers in combat.
Another option is the first edition nWoD core rulebook combined with Second Sight for psychic powers and low level ritual magic. You can also add Hunter the Vigil for organisational backup, more powers and dread powers to create all types of monsters. WoD is a dice pool system where you throw buckets of dice.
Another option is the BRP core book which has psychic powers nowadays and Enlightened Magic for the ritual magic rules. For more powerful magic (Vancian spellslinging) you could the Magic Book. BRP doesn't really have spirit medium powers though if you are into that. BRP is a percentile roll under system. BRP als has After the Vampire Wars and the upcoming Rivers of London.
And another option is Genrediversion. This is probably the least known of the bunch. With the basic rules and Ghostories you can a lot. The biggest problems with it are some weird naming conventions and the fact the Ghostories is written for GenreDiversion i and the core rules are now GenreDiversion 3e edition. i used to be a 2d6 rollunder your skill and attribute system, but 3e is a rollover a target number system. So you need to convert a little.
I used Daredevils (FGU) to run a Kolchak game at North Texas a few months ago, and that worked very well. It's designed around the same sort of noirish adventures that seemed to inspire the Kolchak series, or at least Kolchak's voiceovers.
I talked to you about your Cryptworld game and one of my dreams as a gamer has been to play in an X-Files styled campaign. I'd definitely stick with Cryptworld over GURPS. I own GURPS 4e and it is quite a rules hog and not a good system imho.
Here are some system suggestions from myself:
Call of Cthulhu 7th. Edition: This horror game can literally do it all. You can EASILY strip the Lovecraftian mythos stuff out and use it for everything from pulp to modern horror to X-Files to Gothic horror to slasher flick horror, etc. The books even have stats for vampires, werewolves, etc and there are rules for magic, if you want mages and such. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150997/Call-of-Cthulhu-7th-Edition--Keepers-Rulebook (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/150997/Call-of-Cthulhu-7th-Edition--Keepers-Rulebook)
Chill 3rd. Edition:I pledged this in the Kickstarter and it is a really nice update to the Chill game. I was a huge Chill fan from way back, having owned the entire line of the 2nd. edition by Mayfair and jumping into Cryptworld as well. I know the author got into some heat int he gaming community due to hitting on some female or something but this does not make the game a bad game. It is really quite great. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148433/Chill-Third-Edition (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/148433/Chill-Third-Edition)
The Dresden Files Accelerated Edition: A FATE version that is very simple and does the setting justice. This setting has it all for urban fantasy, so this could be a great choice. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/213844/Dresden-Files-Accelerated (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/213844/Dresden-Files-Accelerated)
Unisystem: The Classic Unisystem games (All Flesh Must Be Eaten, Witchcraft, Conspiracy X 2.0, etc) are gritty and when used together you would have mostly all you would need. Hell, Conspiracy X is basically The X-Files the RPG. It is a simple system to boot. Use the Cinematic Unisystem games if you want a more cinematic/less gritty game (Angel, Buffy, Ghosts of Albion). https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3703/Conspiracy-X-20 (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/3703/Conspiracy-X-20) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1377/Angel-Corebook (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/1377/Angel-Corebook)
Liminal: This is a newer rules-lite game that is pretty amazing and can do it all as well. You can transplant the Britain-based setting anywhere you wish and it works well. There is a downloadable Quickstart also.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/267203/Liminal (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/267203/Liminal)
If you want to try a generic system with a toolkit approach I would suggest Monte Cook's Cypher System Revised + Stay Alive! horror supplement. I love this system. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/289943/Cypher-System-Rulebook (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/289943/Cypher-System-Rulebook) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303266/Stay-Alive (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/303266/Stay-Alive)
Also, Savage Worlds could do this really well and has a lot of horror settings you could run or just use the toolkits to do your own. There is a SW horror toolkit and bestiary as official supplements. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/261539/Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/261539/Savage-Worlds-Adventure-Edition) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/96041/Savage-Worlds-Horror-Companion (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/96041/Savage-Worlds-Horror-Companion)
Genesys is another generic toolkit system though it's got stupid dice and honestly I never much looked at it after I bought it, much like the FFG Starwars games.
Also there are the Open D6 Action games from WEG (they have fantasy and sci-fi versions too) and I think they had a version of BloosShadows at one time though I may be misremembering that. The books are free or cheap as PDFs now.
Bloodshadows is also around at Precis InterMedia though I'm not sure which system they use now in the current edition.
Some D20 Modern or True 20 + True 20 Modern might work if you like the D20 heyday and/or Green Ronin.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 26, 2021, 10:25:47 AM
Looks interesting. I'm not sure the art is doing it for me--usually I see more than one tentacle and I'm out (sorry I just don't get the love affair that gamers have with the cosmic horror stuff). But I'll keep reading reviews. Thanks.
As Batjon said, "Call of Cthulhu" doesn't force you to play "Cosmic Horror". It is easy to forget how about half of HPL published stories were straight horror, and the Keeper Guide has rules and stats for classic ghosts, vampires, werewolves and the like.
For example, I plan to run "Ladybug, Ladybug, Fly Away to Home" this Halloween. It is a modern police procedural adventure for CoC 7E, with strong vibes of "True Detective". I won't spoil who the big baddie is, but it is centered around an End-of-the-World cult. IMHO it could be the basis for a longer campaign based on modern horror and occult overtones without molesting either the Mythos or Cosmic Horror (just ditch the big Mythos baddie and consider his manifestation as literal). The characters are FBI agents and private investigators who are assigned to the kidnapping of a 5 years old girl. They are unbelievers but they come equipped with experience. By the end, it is easy to see how they can band up and form an organisation devoted to avoiding... er... other ends of the World.
On the classic side, to everyone who thinks that SAN rules do not apply to either classic or modern ghost stories I would suggest M.R. James' tales. More often than not the characters end up with nervous breakdowns, paranoias, phobias and all that jazz. Start with "QUI EST ISTE QUI VENIT" (also known as "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You My Lad").
Quote from: Eirikrautha on July 25, 2021, 06:34:18 PM
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 25, 2021, 05:59:43 PM
Greetings all,
Just trying to get a feeling for what users think about RPGs where players are paranormal investigators. I'm biased because I'm a big fan of Chill 1e/Cryptworld, but I would like to look into giving other systems a try, especially if they might attract more interest in playing online.
Any suggestions?
Don't know how popular it is now, but Beyond the Supernatural was a blast. It's a Palladium game, so you know what you are getting, but it's definitely worth a look.
This reminded me I had Beyond the Supernatural 2e on my bookshelf. It made me take a look at it. Does the Palladium system suck in general? Does it work well in this game?
Dark Streets & Darker Secrets is rules-lite and can do the job as well.
https://shop.gallantknightgames.com/products/dark-streets-darker-secrets (https://shop.gallantknightgames.com/products/dark-streets-darker-secrets)
Yeah, put out by the same folks (The Tiny Dungeon publishers) who did Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells, and Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells isn't it? They do good stuff. Diogo something. The Old Skull guy.
Quote from: palaeomerus on July 27, 2021, 05:11:01 PM
Yeah, put out by the same folks (The Tiny Dungeon publishers) who did Solar Blades & Cosmic Spells, and Sharp Swords & Sinister Spells isn't it? They do good stuff. Diogo something. The Old Skull guy.
Gallant Knight Games. That is correct.
Quote from: Batjon on July 27, 2021, 04:16:42 PM
I talked to you about your Cryptworld game and one of my dreams as a gamer has been to play in an X-Files styled campaign. I'd definitely stick with Cryptworld over GURPS. I own GURPS 4e and it is quite a rules hog and not a good system imho.
Please feel free to click the join link in my signature below! I'd love to have you for this Friday. We're running the Chill 1e adventure Village of Twilight, updated for Cryptworld.
Another RPG I forgot to mention is the now hard to find Supernatural RPG based on the tv series. It uses the Cortex Classic system and works really well for this kind of game in the modern day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iDDgmevMHc&ab_channel=GameGeeksRPG (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iDDgmevMHc&ab_channel=GameGeeksRPG)
If you are into Gothic horror like me in the vein of the old Hammer Horror films then check out these 2 games:
Leagues of Gothic Horror https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177744/Leagues-of-Gothic-Horror (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/177744/Leagues-of-Gothic-Horror)
And Rippers for Savage Worlds. Rippers has a very VanHelsing vibe, as In the Hugh Jackman movie. https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/167295/Rippers-Resurrected-Game-Masters-Handbook (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/167295/Rippers-Resurrected-Game-Masters-Handbook) https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/167294/Rippers-Resurrected-Players-Guide (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/167294/Rippers-Resurrected-Players-Guide)
I've wanted to do a Leagues of Gothic Horror campaign for so long now in the spirit of the Hammer Horror films.
Quote from: Yeti Spaghetti on July 27, 2021, 06:43:02 PM
Quote from: Batjon on July 27, 2021, 04:16:42 PM
I talked to you about your Cryptworld game and one of my dreams as a gamer has been to play in an X-Files styled campaign. I'd definitely stick with Cryptworld over GURPS. I own GURPS 4e and it is quite a rules hog and not a good system imho.
Please feel free to click the join link in my signature below! I'd love to have you for this Friday. We're running the Chill 1e adventure Village of Twilight, updated for Cryptworld.
Have you ever looked at Chill 3e? It is excellent. PM me if you would like to discuss.
Quote from: Reckall on July 26, 2021, 08:15:25 AM
The problem with GURPS 3E (I never played 4E) is that some Advantages/Disadvantages/Powers didn't really scale well with the Tech Level. A powerful Necromancer in the Middle Ages could become a puny hopeful in a World of Uzis and barrel-mounted grenade launchers - and yet the point cost for his powers remained the same. True, this was not always the case, and the Necromancer could count on factors ranging from the fact that his powers were always with him (even on airplane, for example), to the element of surprise, to powers not tied to direct damage but to more elusive and encompassing effects ("Electrokinesis" could be devastating in a cyberware-heavy environment).
In practice, however, GURPS Magic scaled terribly bad for any TL over three/four. I always wanted to try GURPS Voodoo in a Cyberpunk setting, but I never had the opportunity.
Dunno how and if they tackled these problems in 4E. I heard great things about the "GURPS Thaumatology" line of supplements but I never checked them.
Missile shield and the bullets are harmless, reverse missiles and all that sweet damage hits the shooter. So I am not so sure the spell caster is as helpless around tech 7 gear as you may think. I do not know if this existed in 3e though, as I am looking in the 4e magic book.