Threat Levels in Horror Gaming pt 2 - advancement

 I realized that in the last post I did not articulate a way to change threat levels. Here are some ideas for progressing from one threat level to the next:

Babes in the Woods

Lose 1/10 Sanity, finish 1 adventure, OR kill one Mythos creature.

Fighting Back

Lose 1/4 Sanity, finish 3 adventures, OR kill three types of Mythos creatures.

Hunted Becomes Hunters

One party member goes insane, the party finishes a major campaign, OR kill one servitor or major Mythos opponent.

Nuclear Option

The only way out is death, insanity, or retirement to NPC ally status.

Threat Levels in Horror Gaming

 Horror gaming in older systems such as Call of Cthulhu often does not work as intended because players don't follow the tenets of the genre. Whereas the first stop on many a PC's journey is the gun shop, arming up is usually a last resort for characters from cosmic horror, and is arguably futile.

In game terms, this mismatch often translates to a jarring gaming experience, such as a cakewalk against supposedly unstoppable odds, or a TPK from misuse of lethal weapons. I have had an entire campaign derailed by an attempt to rob dynamite from a construction site, and a PC commit suicide after being stopped for wielding firearms in broad daylight.

To keep the horror in horror while letting the PCs be heroes, I'll be using the following 4 levels of  threat escalation to determine what resources player characters should have access to.

Note that the key to using threat levels is to communicate them clearly to players and gain their agreement that the current level for individuals or the entire party matches their roleplaying motivation, backstory, or experience.

1 Babes in the Woods

The investigators don't know the horror is real yet, and are unprepared for it.Weapons are limited to improvised or any provided by occupation (ie a Policeman or woman would have a Luck roll to see if they are carrying their service revolver, nothing more). Opponents are usually human or near-human, such as cultists or disguised serpent men. Conversely, downed PCs may be captured or wake in hospital, and should rarely be killed.

2 Fighting Back

The investigators have caught a glimpse of the true nature of the universe, and the horrors within. PCs are limited to any legal armament that they have the time and finances to secure, but still have to conceal or secure these while in public or risk investigation by the authorities. They will still be unarmed in social or official venues. Opponents are bestial or monstrous, such as Byakhee or Mi Go. One PC may be killed, but fleeing should allow others to avoid a TPK.

3 The Hunted Become The Hunters

Investigators are now seasoned and somewhat paranoid, being the object of frequent attack, and never have less than one concealed weapon on them at all times. PCs have gained access to illegal armament, and are often in emergency situations where they can be wielded openly. Opponents can be aliens or servitors of the gods themselves, such as the Wendigo, or Cthuloids. If players aren't cautious, they should be warned that deaths of one or all party members are in the cards.

4 The Nuclear Option

Investigators can have any weapon, and may even call on airstrikes or torpedoes. However, considering that they are up against the Old Ones or Outer Gods themselves, this should be effectively useless, a time-biding measure to stave off armageddon. PCs are putting themselves in mortal peril, and the possibility of deaths or even TPKs should be acknowledged by all at the table.

Note that the Keeper can adjust the level of threat to match the campaign. Call of Cthulhu games typically can start as level 1 Babe In The Woods horror one shots, or else could be level 2 investigators. However, Esoterrorists characters are created with their first supernatural meeting behind them, so usually start out at level 2 or 3.

Thoughts on D&D and WotC-Hasbro

So, as you can tell, I am pretty much over D&D. When I started this blog in 2013, the OSR was well established and had gone from a reaction to the 3E glut and shocking 4E paradigm shift to a creative force in its own right. I was delighted to have access to retroclones like Swords & Wizardry, as well as all the crazy free blog materials and quality indie published materials (ASE, Death Frost Doom, and Barrowmaze come to mind). Bloggers were generally open minded and friendly. Roleplaying seemed to be entering a new golden age.

That said, I quickly moved away from ye olde game, hosted the first non-D&D blog challenge in 2014, and found my interest much higher for BRP / Chaosium games, especially the old Stormbringer game. In the early OSR days, blogs for Traveller, 007, and Villains and Vigilantes among others, were easily found, and just as accepted.

But gradually D&D overtook the blogosphere, and the OSR became a D&D echo chamber. Then WotC hired OSR names to recreate 5E along old D&D lines and co-opt the very movement that had opposed their corporate product development.

Along with this came incidents of sexism and homophobia that tarnished the open nature of the OSR. At the same time, the corporate marketing push to brand D&D as 'The Most Popular Roleplaying Game in the World' became insufferable and inescapable, and I joined a Facebook page called I'm Begging You To Play Another RPG, where I was both able to indulge my anti-corporate gaming snark with likeminded folk, while finding out about killer indie games like Lasers & Feelings, Bluebeard's Wife, and Thirsty Sword Lesbians. Add to that the success of scandinavian-produced games like Mork Borg and Aliens, and it seems like another golden age.

But D&D Inc. seems to be in a dark age. Although I feel no pity for the corporate overlords, I do feel lots for the old gamers who see 'their game' being warped beyond recognition, as well as the new players who have (literally) bought into the newest edition's focus on builds and character concepts linked to race + item + joke or pun, and are being asked to pony up for lower quality materials or a whole new edition. 

This year seems to be a crisis for WotC D&D considering its recent missteps. I have recently become active on Twitter, and based on some interactions I have had there, here are my thoughts on the D&D dark ages and the way ahead.

1. The Failure of Spelljammer

As I tweeted on the failure of 5E Spelljammer and WotC's apology, "How the hell can you fuck up Spelljammer?" Spelljammer and Planescape were the pinnacle of 2E gonzo settings, and both worked well, unlike Maztica or Al-Qadim, which arguably misfired. This is a huge corporate misstep and shows two things:

1) WotC does not understand D&D

2) Hasbro does not care about the legacy of D&D

Once again, these old games are available in PDF form and easily run with a retroclone. Failing to produce a quality product for the current edition is a serious shot to the corporate foot. 

2. The D&D One Announcement

On the heels of the Spelljammer debacle came the announcement of D&D One, a supposed new edition that would be backward compatible with ALL previous editions.

Once again, this is pure corporate horseshit, and people aren't buying it. I tweeted my thoughts on the matter, and got a massive response:

Hasbro needs to realize that their job isn't to develop D&D - they lack the love, the creative freedom, and the incentive to do that. instead, all they have to do is make D&D available in print, POD, or PDF, let 3rd person parties develop materials, and shut up. They do need to implement some form of quality control or repeat the 3E glut's excesses, but otherwise, shut up, steward materials, and let the money roll in.

3. The Race Problem

Now comes the WotC announcement that they won't refer to 'race' anymore, but use 'species' instead, which is stirring up some gamers. This again is corporate strategy - there is no such thing as bad press, as Barnum once said. 

Not using the term race is pure pinkwashing - corporate wokeness for profit. Branding WotC as 'sparkle trolls' misunderstands the corporate scamjob they are trying to foist on gamers - they care as little about this as most OSR gamers. 

However, living in a world as racist as this one (I'm native and now foreigner in Japan, so I know that of which I speak), I don't think saving the word race is a hill worth dying on. As I suggested on Twitter, why not use 'folk' instead? 'Species' is such a modern, scientific word, and totally takes away from the suspension of disbelief needed for fantasy roleplaying.

4. How to save D&D?

So, if you love D&D of whatever edition, you must be asking yourself this question. Here is my suggestion:

D&D is not roleplaying. You like getting a party together and dungeon crawling? There are TONS of other games that give just as good experiences, and are better suited to individual tastes. Google 'alternatives to D&D' and you get 

THIS

AND THIS

AND THIS

(I'd play Dungeon World or Heart / Spire myself. I played a game of Ironsworn a few years back and it literally mopped the floor with most D&D games I had played before).

As for Hasnro-WotC D&D next, I think Feist says it better than I ever could:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F2k1zwDymw