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RPGs that emulate paranormal investigators

Started by Nihilistic Mind, June 21, 2016, 01:37:19 AM

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Skarg

#15
June 21, 2016, 12:01:39 PM
GURPS Horror, and/or other books depending on the style of play you want and/or the types of things to investigate.

daniel_ream

#16
June 21, 2016, 12:41:32 PM
talysman ninja'ed me on InSpectres.  Monster of the Week is designed for exactly this.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Omega

#17
June 21, 2016, 01:04:12 PM
Beyond the Supernatural can cover haunted house style adventures pretty well.

Another paranormal investigator RPG is Dark Matter which came out for the Alternity system and I think had a d20m conversion by WOTC?

daniel_ream

#18
June 21, 2016, 01:23:34 PM
Also Conspiracy X (there's a bunch of supernatural sourcebooks; you can play it entirely without aliens if you're so inclined) and the OOP Supernatural RPG.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Nihilistic Mind

#19
June 21, 2016, 01:57:13 PM
I am going to look at Ghostories and InSpectres, with Beyond the Supernatural next on my list. Those three, upon further research, seem like the closest choices.
SO MANY RPGs OUT THERE!
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Bren

#20
June 21, 2016, 01:58:26 PM
Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;904415It seems like there isn't something that specifically addresses the haunted house investigation thing. To me, this sort of game would be best served with something fairly light on rules, for it is best if the atmosphere at the game table is taut and players are not distracted with endless rolls.
Justice Inc., a supplement for the Hero system had some good rules for paranormal. A haunted house was one of the sample scenarios.

According to the Wikipedia article
QuoteUnlike several other products in the "Hero" line, Justice, Inc. was not revised or republished in the decades after its release. However, Hero Games finally published a Pulp Hero genre book that covers much of the same ground at the end of 2005.
I haven't seen the 2005 Pulp genre book so I can't speak to how much of the psychic rules were included.

Quote from: Nihilistic Mind;904415Players would essentially play a party of paranormal investigators, mild psychics, audio/visual techs who have a knack for this sort of thing, maybe even a Catholic (or other) priest, facing their fears, or debunking frauds, creating their own case files, essentially, with each session. That seems like it would be fun.
I ran the haunted house scenario and I used some of the psychic rules and abilities from Justice Inc. and adapted them to Call of Cthulhu.
Currently running: Runequest in Glorantha + Call of Cthulhu   Currently playing: D&D 5E + RQ
My Blog: For Honor...and Intrigue
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daniel_ream

#21
June 21, 2016, 04:35:40 PM
Quote from: Bren;904461I haven't seen the 2005 Pulp genre book so I can't speak to how much of the psychic rules were included.

The Psychic rules in JI were  one-offs.  They didn't use the Champions power build system and were idiosyncratic.  The 2005 book goes for the "you can build any power with the RAW" approach, so although it includes rules for low-grade psychic powers, they're mechanically different.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

Bren

#22
June 21, 2016, 05:44:52 PM
Quote from: daniel_ream;904488The Psychic rules in JI were  one-offs.  They didn't use the Champions power build system and were idiosyncratic.  The 2005 book goes for the "you can build any power with the RAW" approach, so although it includes rules for low-grade psychic powers, they're mechanically different.
Thanks Daniel. Too bad, I liked the one off powers in Justice Inc.
Currently running: Runequest in Glorantha + Call of Cthulhu   Currently playing: D&D 5E + RQ
My Blog: For Honor...and Intrigue
I have a gold medal from Ravenswing and Gronan owes me bee

daniel_ream

#23
June 21, 2016, 07:32:04 PM
There's a certain amount of flavour that's lost when you try to shoehorn an effects-based point buy system into doing everything.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr

finarvyn

#24
June 21, 2016, 07:48:57 PM
James Ward did a haunted house adventure in an old issue of Dragon Magazine. (Just checked. Issue #42.) It's called "The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow" and is basically an old D&D (or AD&D) adventure where you play cub scouts or boy scouts who investigate the haunted house. Very cool.
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Spinachcat

#25
June 21, 2016, 08:08:05 PM
CoC is perfect for Conjuring / Insidious / Exorcist stories.

Chill / Cryptworld is a good option too, but the system is a bit wonky and the PCs are gifted with minor powers.

Regardless of whatever system you eventually choose, I highly recommend picking up Sine Nomine's SILENT LEGIONS as a sourcebook. The geeknative.com site has a good review of it. In fact, if you like OSR systems, Silent Legions comes with a fast, rules light OD&D inspired system.


Quote from: Exploderwizard;904399Ghostbusters from West End Games. All you need. ;)

Hell yeah! That's such a fun game.

Omega

#26
June 21, 2016, 08:37:10 PM
With BTS we went with the Parapsychologist, Latent Psychic, Psychic Sensitive(limit the PPE can spend to purchase powers) and the optional normal humans. Even just a group of normal people can work as long as you limit whats encountered.

Havent seen 2nd ed past a quick glance through someone elses copy.

Omega

#27
June 21, 2016, 08:48:59 PM
Quote from: finarvyn;904515James Ward did a haunted house adventure in an old issue of Dragon Magazine. (Just checked. Issue #42.) It's called "The Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow" and is basically an old D&D (or AD&D) adventure where you play cub scouts or boy scouts who investigate the haunted house. Very cool.

I have that one in my collection. Nice little adventure showing off just how versatile AD&D could be.

Jame Rowe

#28
June 21, 2016, 09:29:09 PM
I've been doing the Dresden Files version of FATE. It's capable of doing what you'd like, though it'd need some tweaking.
Here for the games, not for it being woke or not.

daniel_ream

#29
June 22, 2016, 12:33:30 AM
Quote from: Spinachcat;904519Hell yeah! That's such a fun game.

The first edition is.

To this day I consider the 2nd edition to be an E.T.: The Video Game level event in game design.
D&D is becoming Self-Referential.  It is no longer Setting Referential, where it takes references outside of itself. It is becoming like Ouroboros in its self-gleaning for tropes, no longer attached, let alone needing outside context.
~ Opaopajr
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