Law & Order ... or why modern games feel grittier than fantasy

While not always true, your average game set in more civilised times tends to reach a grittier and more tragic point than the average fantasy game.  While some Game Masters are skilful enough to make the wildest fantasy game feel realistic and gritty enough that every death matters or the most sedate and civilised countries feel playful and unserious enough that death is glossed over, generally it's easier to feel conflicted about killing in a modern world than a fantasy one.

And yes, naturally it does vary by player ... some players really couldn't give a damn about a fictional character no matter how lovingly evoked while others will find some way to empathise with a mass murdering serial killing undead squirrel enough to feel grief at their loss.

But generally, more often than not, it is easier to kill dozens of folks in a fantasy game without it feeling like murder while killing even a baddie in a Sin City-style modern world has a little kick of "Couldn't there have been another way?!"

I think it's partly because modern games tend to have a more linked in flavour than fantasy worlds.  We're so used to orphan heroes and stand alone villains that we don't think in terms of the highly kincentric big family world that actually filled the medieval era.  If you kill the evil king, there's no sense of loss to anyone.  He was just this one thing - this particular archetype - and no one would mourn that.

Plus, and more importantly even than that, the NPC reactions help build that perception.  If you clear out a thieves den in Fantasyland, the mayor will give you a medal and the locals will shower you in gold.  If you clear out a thieves den in the modern world, well, kicking down the door to a slum and slaughtering the desperate denizens for pinching stereos and television sets just has a different sort of feel to it.  If you were showered in gold for the act, you'd feel like you were in Sin City again and the average player would start eyeing off the Mayor as a better target for vigilante justice.

So I think it's also the context that surrounds the actions.

Thirdly, modern eras tend to sometimes, but not always, provide the sense that there might be an alternate option or at least there should be.  Though certainly not standard in every modern-ish genre, generally there's a sense that in any post-Victorian game there should be another way even if there isn't.  The greater the sense that jail is a suitable option, the greater you feel like a bad guy for killing folks instead.  If you want television shows involving vigilantes, especially in the modern era, there's often a sense of loss of innocence and anger that there isn't a better way to go about things.  The good guys feel forced to do bad things ... rather than happy to do what needs to be done.

Finally, and probably most importantly, modern games often colour their bad guys in shades of grey.  This isn't always the case, especially with mooks, but those games that do give a sense of potential redemption in their bad guys creates more ambiguity by necessity.  In many fantasy games, some races are bad by birth which creates a disturbing eugenics context when you look too deeply into it that allows many a forum rant about how a paladin doing their job right would slaughter infants in their cribs.  Even in those races that aren't always evil, there's more of a sense that people can fall from grace then lift into redemption (also often a theme in modern games that have a lot of violence).

Now this last example certainly isn't true of all modern games.  In a Call of Cthulhu game, the cultists are irrevocably evil so you don't feel bad about killing them.  In a World of Darkness game, on the other hand, most creatures have some semblance of redemptive possibility in them (no matter how small) reflected in their final few morality traits left to them.  Hence why the World of Darkness is so dark, you can't just slaughter people with moral impunity.  You know you're doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.

But yeah, these are all my own meanderings so feel free to query, refute or outright reject my considerations in the comments below.

Roleplaying Book Styles

I've realised more recently that I have a real preference for how roleplaying books read.  Although layout is important and I don't notice pictures except by their absence (unless it's a bestiary), I find that the books that hold my attention are the ones that write in a flavourful, succinct and precise manner - a hard combination to be sure.

I've found that Blood & Smoke is an easy read because each section clearly states what it needs it to say and does so through the use of rich analogies that also helps it paint a consistent picture of the game, style, and roleplay experience on offer.  Therefore reading it gives you not only a firm view of the rules but an equally full comprehension of what being a vampire feels like -- which is great because another culture's / creature's psychology is far harder to understand than a few basic rules!

On the other hand, I've found some of Trail of Cthulhu rulebooks a bit dry because it's rules are so quick, rapid and summative that my eyes glaze.  Ironically enough sometimes you need a few extra words to be succinct in a way that captures attentions and allows additional clarity. 

Does this mean I dislike the Trail of Cthulhu books?  Not at all.  There are parts that are rich in analogy and I love how they include extra details like clues left behind by monsters.  I just have a preference for Blood & Smoke (though not all White Wolf books - some are waaaaaaay too lengthy and spend an entire book belabouring a couple points).

I'm wondering how Call of Cthulhu 7th edition will go?  I liked the 6th edition book well enough, though I didn't find it mesmerising it was a solid read.  Hopefully it is an even better read!

Too Many Themes Spoil The Plot

Sometimes purity, clarity and simplicity are the order of the day. I don't mean simplicity within the plot itself. Oh no, you can do writhing and tangled webs of conspiracies just fine. I mean simplicity of focus. I think that's why games like the World of Darkness discourage mixing the game lines because when you have a changeling, a vampire, a werewolf and a mage in the same team you don't really get to spend much quality time exploring any of those conditions. You don't get to play up the X-Files' conspiratorial paranoia of Mage without undercutting the savagery, territoriality and intimidation that saturates a werewolf's life nor do you get to play with the twisted mythis fantasies of the changeling or the isolation and pull toward the monstrous of the vampire.

Or rather, you can play with all of them, you're forced to play with all of them, but you haven't the time and dedication to do any of them justice.

While the mythic madness and labrynthine horrors of a changeling assisting their vampiric friend through their requiem before dashing off into the hedge to hide from their enemies can attain that purity (see, two themes and two indicated moods), one has to look at where those two genres intersect and then focus on that intersection. In this case, myths match with both (though vampires deal with the kernal of truth in an ocean of falseness aspect of a myth while changelings deal with the fatalistic side of it). Humanity is a vampire's grip on reason (as opposed to madness) and Clarity a changeling's grip on reality (versus madness). Both deal in labrynthes, whether the physical version of a changeling's hedge, the conspiracies infusing the mortal realm of vampire, or the winding nature of courts of monsters that can be found in both.

But where do werewolves intersect with changelings? Where do mages? There are answers to this, naturally, though some will find easier and more intriguing connections than others. How do you find the points of intersection between three such creatures? What if the main intersections between two outright clash with the intersections between another two?

Thus most world of games support having all of the players in one domain and then allowing glimpses and glances of these other creatures as seen through the vampires' lens. It's easier. It's simpler. And it requires less balance.

And yes, while this is a very specific example to the World of Darkness, it is true of all things. If you try to include themes of personal damnation, glories of power, comforts of home, adrenaline-packed action, PCs as spiders in their webs of political intrigue and the heroic struggle against the evil odds ... you're going to have a very confused game. Even several themes that are related can be problematic because you only have so much time to do them justice. I mean, yes, of course there will be dozens of themes popping up over the course of the adventure but there spring up naturally and spontaneously and aren't as much trouble as when the Storyteller tries desperately to hold several complementary yet distinct (or even a few clashing) themes in their heads.

So think about what you really want and go with that.

Exploring Race, Gender & Sexuality in Masks of Nyarlathotep - New York

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: This is in no way a criticism of the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign. Please do not take it as a criticism. The campaign is designed to engage as many pulp tropes from the era while at the same time avoiding any nasty assumptions about those stereotypes actually being true. At no point does the campaign blame inherent characteristics of any race for any of the Mythosy unpleasantness and there are plenty of examples of every race getting in on the Nyarlathotep action. There are also plenty of examples of nasty people of either race and gender included as well though the 1 named woman to every 9 named men is a bit unfortunate (while still making sense given the tropes and era involved).

I ADORE this campaign and do not wish nor desire for there to be any permanent changes to the campaign book. This is a more an examination of how some elements of the campaign could be changed to create a greater diversity and richness within the characters. I am in NO WAY saying that you *should* make these changes or that you are a bad person if you don't see any reason why these changes are necessary. They're not necessary. They're optional. Play it as you please.  

SPOILER WARNING: There are plenty within. I thought I would create a few more opportunities for important and powerful female NPCs in my version of the campaign. While I have to give kudos to the authors for Erica Carlyle, M'Weru, Nitocris (if summoned), Miriam Atwright, Agatha Broadmoor, Mei-Ling Choi, Nyiti, Bertha Shipley, Natalie Smythe-Forbes, Eloise Vane, Ewa Cowles, and Yaleesha from the core campaign and the companion writers for Fat Maybelle and Helen, I want to have more than 12 key characters out of 92.

Part of this can be dealt with through airtime. Even if only 12 named characters out of 92 are female, if those 12 characters are highly significant than that can most assuredly help mitigate the difference. Unfortunately since most of the cultist bad guys that consistently oppose you are men this is a bit trickier than one might initially suppose.

Still I am assisted by the fact that I am running this campaign nearly twenty years later during World War II and that I am creating a few NPC allies to assist my solo PC in his journeys and some of them will be women who will both fit within the era and yet counter the era's expectations of them. These allies will be introduced during the Half-Moon Cult and will include his apprentice hunter, Charlotte Adams; Sydney Silver's bisexual girlfriend Martha Collins who can help track her down; and Jane Fisher, the daughter of the Byron Fisher who provided Claude Porter with some advice after the monster sighting was leaked to the press.

 I have also gender swapped Sydney Silver from the Half Moon Cult (female reporter working under a male byline) and Jonah Kensington (now Julia) from Prospero Press is now a successful divorcee who had built the company up using her inheritance and who is now officially in charge since divorcing her husband.

 I will also be including some violent female cultists as the Cult of the Bloody Tongue seems a lot more open to female power than either of the other two cults. This will come up as a real issue when James Tyler takes out Mukunga as his chief wife will then step up to take control over the remnants who will meet at Fat Maybelle's.

Another problem James will face will be a female member of the Half Moon Cult (as he will have upset them first) who will prove to be a seemingly helpful femme fatale whom he will probably meet at Erica Carlyle's party. She won't be a mystical threat, really. More of a 'web of deceit and legal machinations' sort of person.

The New York Cult of the Bloody Tongue Masks of Nyarlathotep is an immense campaign that deals with the rather delightful aspects of a bloodthirsty, violent and utterly unsympathetic collection of cults that will do anything to achieve its evil aims. Suitably pulpy, yet with plenty of investigative and social avenues, this campaign deals with that essential human fear that there are some folk out there who will stop at nothing to achieve their awful aims and care nothing for those hurt along the way.

They are blinded by their drive for power, excited by sadistic cruelty, and yet can still blend within society. They are every fear of serial killers, doomsday cults, and vicious criminals that haunt our dreams at night. Now take that and mix in the primordial terror of ancient gods who want only to destroy us alongside a modern horror that our scientific exploits will doom us all (aka the Rocket).

Both cults also have a mixture of white and black cultists, though the white cultists tend to be richer and the black ones poorer. This is likely because the religion was brought over by black migrants who are actively discriminated against by the surrounding society but who target white cultists who have more wealth and influence. Odds are they are mostly middle class but have the kind of bureaucratic positions that can be painful to fight. I do, after all, want to keep them distinct from the wealthy Cult of the Black Pharoah.

Since wealth in any cult tends to be funneled into the cult leader's pockets, it would make sense for Mukunga to become quite wealthy as well. While there is a good chance that he will remain a shadowy figure in the background, knowing James' style he will probably be investigated so I'd be better off answering a few questions for myself. I have given him a residence on Sugar Hill and a couple of wives who are as dangerous as he is and who would take up the position as cult leader should he be killed. His lawful wife would take control first as she never attends the same cult meetings as Mukunga so that if one were killed (or arrested) the other would remain free. His second wife masquerades as his chief maidservant. The third pretends to be the nanny-turned-housekeeper. The children are all enrolled in a boarding school to give them the best possible education.

 This means that no matter what James does, the Cult of the Bloody Tongue will probably resurface in New York later on. Religions are pretty hard to stamp out, after all. If he does somehow manage to put enough effort into it without running out of time before the Big Ritual, so to speak, then the lack of religious influence on the kids may mean that they drift off into ordinary lives. He'll never really know.

Initially this was just going to be about race and gender but after reading The Post-Modern Masks of Nyarlathotep treatment in a Trail of Cthulhu Actual Play, I've decided to throw in some sexuality issues as well as you may have noticed with Sydney Silver's romance with her bisexual live-in lover. I'm taking Aviatrix's suggestions of having Jack Brady and Roger Carlyle be homosexual lovers. This isn't just to 'inject some LGBT-ness' into the storyline. I actually think it makes a lot more sense within the plotline if you inject some romance.

Why would Roger Carlyle suddenly become so interested in a jailbird that he'd even condescend to interview him in jail about the murder, let alone lawyer him up? Why was their loyalty so tight that Jack Brady travelled halfway around the world to save him and turned into a vigilante?

Sure, there are friendships that are that tight and sudden but this is fiction and fiction requires work to make coincidence logical. Romance is a far better shorthand.

As this is Masks, the NPC romances won't be a big part of the campaign anymore than a straight one would be but they do exist and may be referenced within the campaign itself if James is quick enough to pick up the clues.

Happy for discussion in the comments section below on your personal experiences with this campaign alongside any tweaks you may have made to the campaign, in whatever direction you may have done it.

Fantasy Lands 'R Us

I've read the Tough Guide to Fantasyland and I've got to say that it would make a neat premise for a fantasy game. I don't know about running an entire campaign where the entire point is to point out and play with a bundle of fantasy tropes but several adventures or a short campaign could be a lot of fun. I mean, I might invoke a lot of those tropes in a Changeling game or Cyberpunk VR vs Real World game or even Fantasy World vs Fantasy Land where the contrast between the real world and the fantasy world can keep these tropes fresh and exciting, but I probably wouldn't do it as a straight up fantasy.

Mostly because without that contrast the line between satire and simply joining the satirised is quite a thin one.

Still just thinking about it can really provide a new perspective on your own fantasy campaigns and give you an idea of where you stand on the Unique ----> Shared Trope scale as well as the Realism ----> Stereotype scale. What would you need to change in your fantasy campaign to make it Trope Central? Not just Tropes Included but Tropes Placed Center Stage. How would that change the gameplay?

For Flashpoint it's kind of simple. I'd re-make all the pirates to be quite jovial. I'd probably make them sing. It'd be all "Ayes" and a delight for rum and a mishandling of women who aren't captains of their own vessels. The pirates would all be either happy or "mutinous". Most treasure would be in chests. It would also be all gemstones and gold. No stealing bolts of silk or barrels of cider. Oh no, merchants would inexplicably be carrying lots and lots of gold.

Whenever I think of the Chelish I think of Nazi tropes, but that would be no good here as I want fantasy tropes. So I'd need to make them all cape-wearing evil nobles with incompetent guardsmen and foreign accents who are intent on global domination and spreading the cause of evil. Moustache-twirling villains the very lot of them. The peasants would be all subjugated, largely silent and would be all gentle spirits rather than willing participants because that's how peasants roll. Unless they're soldiers. Then they're faceless mooks dedicated to stupidity and evil and willing to run off cliffs if their commander told them to. They would stick to rank and file attacks even against casters. There'd be no need to avoid killing large swathes of them and no moral ambiguity.

The evil nobles might cause the death of hundreds of thousands of people but that would all be off-stage. Largely they wouldn't be doing anything worse than most fantasy aristocrats in the game but they like to talk about supporting evil as a concept and they love devils so they therefore *must* be evil.

Barkeepers and merchants would all be inexplicably high level retired wizards to ensure that the players didn't get any ideas.

Everything the PCs did would be justified. Their treacheries are all okay but anyone who turns against them, for whatever reason, will be vilified to almost comical levels.

Hmm, I'm not getting into the stereotypes as much as I should. I'm sure there's ways to be more ridiculously trope-y. What do you folks think? How would you Tropeify your own game? Or mine?

Elements of Magic Systems That Do Feel Mystical

There are some games that do have a certain level of mysticism which can be both evoked and encouraged in certain ways to keep it from ever becoming mundane. After all, the trouble of anything highly magical is that it could turn magic - something that can feel special - into something as routine and mundane as turning on a light bulb. Since I talked about weaknesses last week, I thought it was about that time that I point out some strengths in existing systems.

Mage: the Awakening

Mage does magic well in that you have powers based on core elements of magic rather than individual spells which allows a person to be quite innovative in how they use their magic. A person with the Forces Arcanum can do anything using Forces up to a certain amount of versatility dependent on how many ranks in Forces you actually have. Individual spells, called rots, are magic uses that are more specialised and which you have practised enough to get down to a fine art form. Rotes can therefore be given as rewards for exploring locations, studying grimoires and helping out fellow mages without interrupting the levelling process. You could make them free, in order to really motivate the players, or allow experience point purchases of things that you would otherwise guard access to. One of the great things about Mage magic, too, is that the downside for magic involves the magic going haywire - which can inspire stories in and of itself.

Vampire: the Reckoning, Werewolf: the Forsaken and Geist

These genres all have a form of magical ceremony on top of their innate powers. Since their innate powers (some of which need to be purchased separately like Disciplines) are both specific and powerful they give a real sense of being mythic. A Gangrel who unsheathes their claws and a Daeva who captures attention with Awe are both really emphasising the themes and mood of their respective clans which can give a scene involving them an added potency. The actual ceremonies they each have (Cruac, Rites, Ceremonies) are also richly drawn and generally require some sort of ceremonial action to utilise that reinforces the type of magic invoked. Cruac requires the sacrifice of one's own blood. Ceremonies which require the use of a scrying mirror that has once reflected the target of which involves giving a cigarette (or flask of liquor) to someone in order to get them to really open up about the deceased provides power to certain archetypal tropes which really gives a sense of a more urban and modern form of magic.

Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons

The main thing I like about these systems is the use of verbal, somatic and material components. I once created a sorcerer where I listed out all of her spells and came up with a fitting Latin phrase as a verbal component for each spell. Pathfinder goes one better by listing out the material components for each and every spell which helps those trying to describe their spell casting. The main problem here is that most players aren't going to make that kind of effort nor will most Dungeon Masters, which is a shame, since it's a brilliant way to evoke casting in these systems.

Call of Cthulhu

The spells in this game all come with a heavy cost. As the mundane laws of our world are what helps keep us sane and awareness that such laws are false, fragile and easily broken can damage our puny little minds, so can bending those laws ourselves injure our sanity. In some cases the spells even have a cost in POW. Some of the spells describe ceremonial activities or relics that are required and that just adds to the sense of occultism. Due to the spells' power and cost, they are unlikely to be used by players with any degree of regularity and so each spell use feels important and memorable.

What about you guys? Dealt with magic systems that seemed to capture that occulty feeling more than others? If so, what made them feel so good?

How It Feels To Be A Vampire

Human or Vampire - one just seems (and is) more deadly.
(Tucia)

Let's say that you are Embraced and to begin with the virus makes you feel more alive on a physical level.  I mean, you no longer deal with life's little irritations of dead legs, aching muscles, soreness from sleeping at a bad angle, or tense muscles from sitting at a desk.  All of those little pains ... gone.  Even the bigger pains just don't seem so important without blood loss and the threat of death from bleeding out or infection.  That's the first thing you notice and it doesn't seem so bad.

It's only later on when you're dealing with other people that you really start picking out the downsides.  When you meet your sire, your Beast doesn't rebel against the first contact but it does try to compel you to attack / compete or get the hell out of dodge.  Only the Beast isn't a physical entity.  It's not your heart hammering against your ribs although some kindred find it easier to define it and delineate its boundaries as though it were something so coherent.  Oh no, its an irritation beneath the skin.  An agitation within the mind.  An instinct or drive for fight or flight that is similar to the low-level anxiety of being in a bad conversation and either wanting to leave or wanting to idly smack them in the nose to make them stop talking.

Imagine that?  Imagine being so irritable that almost every kindred you meet gets the same kind of response that you, as a human being, might get from being stuck in a lift with an annoying person for way too long.  I'm surprised they're not more eager to hang out with Mekhet who've hidden their Beast as that would quiet the sensation of the Beast - at least quiet it in terms of one's reactions to the Mekhet.

It kind of explains the Danse Macarbe somewhat, even if you take immortality and a circle of predators out of the equation.  Grudge matches are necessary simply to kill off some of that tension by redirecting it towards ones enemies.

Then you've got humans where even if you're not hungry you're idly eyeing them off like a satiated person eyes off their favourite pudding that they're not meant to eat.  Sure you can have a conversation around that pudding but every so often a thought will intrude.  Can I fit it?  Do I have room?  Should I ask for a slice?  The moment you're no longer full, the thoughts become a little more intrusive as the Beast is a predator that leaves little margin for error.  At a certain point, the thoughts become so intrusive that they are unbearable.  They tear at the kindred's mind like a human being gasping for oxygen or whose throat burns for water.  What would you do for relief?

The trouble is that if a kindred lets control for an instance, the instincts take over and the kindred is like a Geiger Alien - all drives but without the cunning.  Eat, kill, flee.  That's all they understand.  Suddenly that friend is no longer a person but a decanter full of the good stuff.  That irritation is now an enemy that must be destroyed.  That roaring fireplace is now something that cannot be faced.  When you come to yourself, you're not where you were before and you only have vague impressions of what you've done - which may be more a part of a person's coping mechanisms (dissociation) than any element of the Beast.

So we've spoken about people and the difficulties of having a good conversation with someone.  There are plus sides, still.  You might have magical powers that allow you to read minds and convince other people to like you.  You might just be able to win in an arm wrestle or any foot chase against a mere mortal.  So not only are the people you deal with irritating, but you get to feel a bit smug because on some levels you're better than them.  The Beast exarcebates this (especially if you're higher Blood Potency) but even without that, you need to be convinced that the upsides are better than the downsides.  Especially as your Humanity drops and humans start instinctively shying away from you.

Otherwise, if you truly let the crippling self-doubts in to make you wonder why you're still existing, well, you probably won't exist for long.  So those that roll with the superiority to make themselves feel better are naturally going to be the ones that survive which means that Nature Favors the Power Hungry and the Smug.  At least until the power hunger or smugness leads to acts of stupidity.

Oh, and let's not forget the difficulties of sun proofing a home.  Imagine knowing the world was toxic for approximately 12 hours out of every 24 unless you put yourself in an almost air tight container.  It's not easy to ensure that no sunlight enters.  I mean, we're not talking direct sunlight.  We're talking any sunlight.  If your eyes can adjust to vaguely make out silhouettes then that's still enough sunlight to likely cause an aggravated damage over the course of the night.  True, you still don't have to make it quite air-tight but that's a poor consolation.

Now when you're walking down the street and someone lights up, you get the urge to take a couple steps away.  Those homeless guys standing around a flaming bin are actually somewhat protected against you unless you're really keen on approaching and can swallow the fear.  Just be grateful its not the time of yesteryear where you not only were up only at night but your own light sources were starlight or ... firelight.  It must've been a pain trying to do your studies by gaslight or firelight.

Anywho, if you want more articles on vampires you can take a look at my vampire campaign over here.

Vampire Superheroes or Noir Vampire?

The World of Darkness is an interesting world to run a game in.  It's a darker, creepier, and grittier version of our world where the shadows are longer, the days are bleaker, the gaps between the haves and the have-nots larger.  It is also a place where reasonably large numbers of people go missing every day of the week and no one really notices outside of their immediate friends, families and co-workers.  A place where monsters can lurk and hide because corruption ensures that tapes disappear and certain crimes are ignored.  Just how grim-dark it is depends on the Storyteller, ranging from Sin City's plethora of bad guys and hopelessness to Supernatural's "God couldn't care less but it's all fine unless you brush up against the supernatural" variety.

I tend to run my games more like Supernatural (complete with ever increasing epic plots) as I prefer the contrast between hope and horror rather than pure futility.  If everyone you ever meet holds a dark secret and a cruel heart, then there are no victims to pity and no one matters.  While there is a certain nihilistic horror inherent in that bleak perspective, it's not the type of horror I like to play around with.

My favourite forms of horror involves tragedy and for tragedy to work you need to care about the people that are suffering.  They need to matter.  They are complex beings, capable of cruelty and kindness, with histories and self-justifications and confusions that lead them to do what they do.  There are some who are irredeemable, sure, but it's up to the players to figure that out.  Most people are just doing what makes sense to them.  Often they are even trying to do the 'right' thing though sometimes their definitions of what is 'right' has been skewed by upbringing or experiences.

Some don't care so long as it feels good.  Some are sociopathic.  Some are just plain monsters.

So where do the supernatural creatures sit in all this?  Or at least the near-human supernaturals that form societies (werewolves, vampires, mages, geists, changelings) rather than the monsters of the week (spirits, hobgoblins, idigam, etc.)?

Just like with human beings, they can be good but it's harder.  Not only does great power breed greater temptation, but they have additional urges to wrestle with, additional traumas to cope with, additional paradoxes to reconcile.  This leads many of them in a downward spiral but only a few of them truly succumb to the worst depths.

After all, there is a difference between a Mafioso who extorts money for a living and kills people who get in the way of their lush lifestyle and a slasher who sets fire to homeless men in alleyways to get a thrill.

The Mafioso justifies what they do as necessary.  They take on values that help them do that.  Once they're on that path, it's dangerous (even deadly) for them to step off that path so they have to reconcile themselves with the things they do.  Some become power mad monsters who will cripple or kill anyone who gets in their way.  Others maintain a deft hand and try to navigate dangerous paths with minimal casualties.  Others balance their cruelties with community efforts.  Of course, all three sorts of Mafiosos may even be in the same group.  (This may or may not be reality.  I don't know.  I'm not a Mafioso.  It is the reality of them in my gameworld, however.)

So what about the topic of this post?  Vampire Superheroes of Noir Vampire?

Well, while I do enjoy the dark tales of a vampire's slow descent into cruel apathy as everything that once made them human is whittled away, I do enjoy also playing in other sorts of stories.  Ones where the characters aren't just motivated by survival, politics, and an overall willingness to betray the unnecessary for the next step forward.  Game of Thrones is fun and all, but sometimes you want to keep the fantasy and do something different with it without going all the way to Embodied Good versus Embodied Evil.

And this is where I play around with the Noir Vampire.  To distinguish this character from the more monstrous ones, I even created the Coil of the Core to justify it's existence, though you could always go easy on the sociopathy canon and simply allow some degree of true emotion to your kindred.  Most people play them like that anyway.

The Noir Vampire may do many of the same actions that a superhero might but everything else is different.  They may save a child from a burning building, but they have to batter down doors with supernatural strength while wrestling against a Beast that might tear them from that house and leave the child to die.  Or worse, if they already have the child in hand than the Beast might fling them into the fire or tear them apart in its haste toward the exit.  Will this happen?  No.  It's not a game of futility.  The demands on the dice will be stacked so that they will probably make enough successes but there is always the risk that they won't.

Even if they make it out, even if they save the child, they now return to a world that does not, and cannot, care about them.  They must find enough blood to heal aggravated damage from wounds heroically taken ... but they must get that blood from either the unwilling or the seedy.  The former has its own dangers.  The latter suggests either Masquerade breaches or perplexed blood dolls.

If they are heroic, they must do it from the shadows because City Hall will not thank them (vampires there will see to that) and the media must not run articles about them (so hard to get a good picture).  If they have humans assist them, someone to admit their deeds to, then they must blood bond them and watch that friendship erode or take their risks with the court and breach the Masquerade.

The Noir Vampire, however, might well brood in their drink but a good one isn't too introspective (get enough dark brooding heroes in the world).  A good one falls into his cups at the pub (washed down with blood that must be replaced), then picks himself up and does it again. 

A Noir game is a game of vice and virtue.  While today's Noir movies show downward spirals of futility and madness and terrible worlds like Sin City, most of the Noir movies of the past weren't nearly as bleak.  They were simply darker, grimmer, and more difficult worlds where corruption was an issue that faced everyone and you couldn't rely on authority figures to save you.  It was more depressing, more cheap, and people more easily tempted, but it wasn't a world of monsters but a monster's playground.

Gluttony is a good vice for a Noir vampire.  Or Lust.  Wrath can lead to problems as vengeance is taken too far but problems are the source of conflict and conflict is good for plot.  Sloth requires a lot of external force to motivate and wouldn't work so well.

A good example of a show that evokes this Noir mood is the Arrow television series (Noir superhero in that one, really).  Or you could watch some of the older Noir films that hadn't fallen too far into extreme nihilism - not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not what I'm talking about here.  The Fall Out universe is a good example in a videogame as most people are just trying to do what they thing is 'right' but sometimes that leads to good people getting hurt.  Or even the Tex Murphy series where most people are just trying to get by but some are trying to do big, bad things.

That's about all I've got room for in this article, but if you have any questions than please mention them in the comments box below and I'll see about writing a whole new article about that.  You'll be able to find an index of articles related to my Noir-tinted vampire chronicle over here.

So what do you think of vampire superheroes and Noir vampires?

Delta Green RPG

I've been reading the Delta Green campaign book and I've got to say that other than a fair few typos in the hard cover edition that I've got, it's a pretty solid book.  Nice lay out, absolutely beautiful and evocative pictures, and some really interesting text that tells a story even as it delivers the detail.  That latter point is very important, I find.  I've read books where the text is just text and, whether fluff (world building, etc.) or crunch (mechanics), it's incredibly dull and doesn't have to be.  It's important that a game book tells dozens of little stories there as it is, in the end, a story reference.

I don't mean that each section starts with 'Once upon a time' but that there's a sense of pacing to the revelations, perhaps an anecdotal feel to some of the facts like a friend were telling them to you, and certainly a sense of bias that runs throughout it to give you a sense of the mood and atmosphere of the game.  The government may be deluded in Delta Green but it is out-matched, out-paced, and involved in conspiracies, or so the bias in Delta Green goes.

So what is Delta Green about?  Well it's Call of Cthulhu updated for an X-Files vibe and set in the modern era.  I haven't read it all but already I feel that it's a great resource for that type of setting just because the text itself is so interesting it's easy to get inspired.  It also has a really good timeline for FBI and CIA actions (especially CIA actions) and government conspiracies, real or fake, so even if you weren't running Call of Cthulhu you could read it and get ideas.  This is especially the case since there is a focus on Majestic-12, Karotechia, and the alien race, all of which could be transplanted from a literal Call of Cthulhu world quite well.

Would I play it myself?  Well I love conspiracies and investigations, so absolutely.  I'd be a little sad if it occurred now that I've read the source book but that's just what happens sometimes.  Since I run so many games and take advantage of a lot of source material, it is quite hard to get me to play something I haven't read something about.  Not impossible, but difficult.

Would I run it?  Possibly.  It would depend on the player base I had at the time.  I'd probably have to put it in World of Darkness rules simply because some of my players aren't keen on learning new systems although BRP is an easy one to learn.  I've never run that kind of modern science fiction before but I'm sure that after watching a couple seasons of X-Files I'd be all set to jump in the deep end and get something cranking.

All in all, a good book.  No wonder its still in vogue.

Notes from Amnesia: Monsters that Aren't

I swear that some of the sections in Amnesia have no monsters whatsoever. I can't be sure of this. I didn't stick around. I didn't test the issue. But I'm pretty sure. In one of the earlier bits, my fiance DID test the issue by casually strolling around on a second play through. This just added to the drama and tension because while I got to see the hints - the splashes, the shadowy figures - I didn't get the 'reveal'. Remember that each encounter with a monster increases familiarity and familiarity really is the bane of horror.

One whole technique is to make the familiar feel unfamiliar to put people on edge, after all.

This is something we can certainly use in our horror games. Tease the players. Make them think that the monster *might* be there. That, in fact, they *might* be being stalked. That if they step into the light, they *might* be spotted. If they happen to pass through the light and not get attacked, breed a sense of relief that they happened to make it.

Perhaps make some rolls on the sly, ask them to make a Luck Roll or a Stealth Roll. Perhaps ask them to make a Perception check. If they succeed, give them more hints - a werewolf's spoor, bloody claw marks, an odd sound that turns out to be a bunch of wires swaying in the wind - but if they fail, simply nod and say nothing.

This allows you to build up the anticipation without making any revelations. This makes the players start to wander because, even if the characters don't believe they're being stalked, if you start asking for certain rolls than the players will. It's all about using the meta considerations to your own advantage, after all.

Its a horror game.

It doesn't have to be fair.

Notes from Amnesia: Safety Breeds Fear

One of the interesting parts of Amnesia is how often you are actually safe. You never know it. Oh no, because that would defeat the purpose. It's just that there's a lot of time spent wondering if you are safe and when it will all start again. There's no guaranteed clues of what might make it all begin. Even the fleshy transformations won't necessarily indicate anything worse than a few rock falls. Yet a door opening and creaking can mean everything, nothing, or a sign of a trap.

Some horror games, especially roleplaying games, don't realise the importance of safety or the way it can just really build up anxiety and tension. That's why there should be no random monster charts in a horror game, at least not beyond the inspiration phase, as each monster should be carefully introduced with a trail of little clues and warnings to really milk all of its worth.

It is also one of the reasons why horror normally concerns itself with a single monster, or very few monsters, or one monster type, so that fear of one doesn't clash so much with fear of the others. Also, the more monsters you have, the more places you need to push them, the smaller the 'safety' net and the less time to build up anxiety.

So there you have it. Less monster time builds up more apprehension - especially if you drop lots of little hints, clues, and signs that maaaaaybe the monster will be here now. Maybe. Never let them be sure.

Notes from Amnesia: Coping with Unbearable Tension

One of the things about Amnesia is that its damn scary. So scary in fact that you sit in a state of tension for about as long as you play - especially if you play it alone and at night like I do. The trouble with it is that I can only play it for short doses, about an hour, which is fine for a videogame as it makes it feel much longer than it likely is. The trouble occurs when you're involved in a roleplaying game and the tension starts getting unbearable.

If it were a videogame, you'd switch it off for now, head into the light, and come back later (perhaps tomorrow). If you're sitting around a table, you have to either take it on the chin or break that tension somehow. Perhaps you go to the toilet and take a few extra minutes in the light. Perhaps you head into the kitchen for a Milo. Perhaps you start making random television references and start making ridiculous jokes - out-of-character, of course, because in-character nervous banter often just raises the tension as much as it breaks it.

Which one are you?

Heck, sometimes its the Storyteller who will break tension - which can be quite problematic as they've got a far greater tool kit for damaging immersion. A random joke masquerading as in-game description. A silly NPC popping up for comedic effect. They can certainly find a way to pop that tension balloon.

So what to do?

Well, firstly acknowledge that this is making you tense. Hell, you can reduce tension for yourself without damaging other people's tension by simply stating it aloud: "Gawd, this is intense" or "This is scaring the $#@! out of me." It'll make everyone else MORE tense but you might find some relief in camaraderie or simply by taking the distance and the time to ponder your own feelings.

If that doesn't work, try making those comments and bits of banter in-character. Yes, its not a perfect solution because it generates tension to feel your character's desperation but it should make it more palatable. People make jokes to comfort themselves and to take comfort in other people's receptivity to those jokes. It'll still help you get through this.

If you really need a break RIGHT NOW than quietly excuse yourself to grab a coffee and drink it in the light for a few minutes or take a toilet break where you actually check your Tweets or something. That way you can take a break from the tension without popping it completely.

And be aware that you are one of the lucky few who have been able to experience such tension in a game. Its a great way to get that adrenaline going without ever actually being at risk of injury.

Shadows Campaign: Spreading Corruption

For this session, I managed to get another of my old Troupire players to reprise his original role of the Taifa Gangrel, Hassan, from the Circle of the Crone. It sure made it a lot easier for me to run since there were minimal NPCs in this bit so I got to focus on the atmosphere of the place and the various clues they came across. I wanted to establish a sense of mystery and danger right from the out-set. Nowhere is truly safe for them. Outside in the dark, there are spontaneous abberations of shadow that may come from them. Inside in the light, there is human observation and vampire needs that can create a volatile mix. Unless they're at home in their own havens, but with the current praxis seizure, that may not be safe either.

In this episode Hassan and James Tyler meet to discuss the praxis seizure near an abandoned hotel in the Adelaide Hills. Hearing two gunshots, they head to the source and find a camp-site where something large has tunneled up beneath three campers and devoured them, leaving a head and two hands in one of the freshly churned sections of dirt. Following the tracks of the shooter, they pass one of the camper's homes and upon investigation find something hiding in the dog house. They hear the dog growling but even their Auspex can't pierce the shadows inside. The dog starts barking and the teenaged occupant of the house calls out for the dog to shut up but when it doesn't she promises to come downstairs. Hassan and James are forced to confront the dog and kill it before it has a chance to kill the girl.

I figured I'd do things a little differently since this is a horror session I've done. I'm going to give a detailed run down of this session, providing you with monster statistics, music titles used, and detailing the considerations I had when creating this session, I'm going to break it up into four other articles and release them over the next four days. They will be:

Act I: Eagle-on-the-Hill
Act II: Dead Campers
Act III: Bad Dog
Monster Statistics: Shadow Hound

Links will be put into place as I've put them up. By the way, I took a lot of inspiration for this adventure while writing the Alan Wake Game Translation. I hope you enjoy the analysis.

Intercutting Technique

With a particular solo campaign I tried my hand at intercutting between a player's three different characters. They were all vampires and they were in different situations during a praxis seizure. I treated the session like a television episode and when an important moment came up or a scene ended I'd switch to another one. If you'd like to read more on how it actually went down, take a look at this Shadows Campaign post.

It worked really well for me as every time I ran out of steam, or that character didn't have much to do, I could cut away to the next character. It also kept the player from getting bored or frustrated when one character hit a dead end and had to twiddle their thumbs for a short while. It also reinforced the sense that something big was happening as the player got to experience what was happening to each of the characters within the same time frame.

From a player perspective, the technique didn't work as well because my fiance had to re-calibrate his Point of View, his knowledge, and his motives with each swap. He enjoyed it for the first session but expressed an interest in returning to the usual style with further sessions which works for me. Of course, different players may vary with their interest in this depending on if they can switch between mind-sets easily or even if they're just a big fan of the technique.

I wouldn't suggest doing this with an entire party of players as they'll each take a different length of time in switching mind-sets and some may be entirely unsuccessful at it and get confused. A party also always takes more time to come to any decision or finish their actions than a single player anyway so you won't get as many inter-cuts even if you choose to do it.

Still, it all boils down to your skill and your players' attitude, so give it a go if you think it will work but give them plenty of fair warning and see if you can get them on board first. If it doesn't work, oh well. If it does, then you have yet another technique in your arsenal.

So, have any of you tried to inter-cut? Did it work?

My Gripe With nWoD

I started playing old World of Darkness so, of course, I turn my nose up at a few things that the new World of Darkness does and I generally do so because it's different to what I liked about the original game. I actually liked merits and flaws because it gave the players a chance to have a say in the sort of game they wanted to play (Haunted, Hunted, and Infamous). I also liked the added realism that the severe wound, healing times, and movement penalties gave.

Over time I've come down off my white horse and accepted that a lot of the changes do make a sort of sense.

But my other gripes are more because while they made the game more player-friendly they pulled away from the Horror Genre. Take a look at Justin Achilli's article on how the rules used (and skills given) are the designer's way of encouraging the use of certain skills and abilities. It's like Chekhov's gun, if you put it in the game, expect it to be used.

In the same way, if you make combat less lethal and more player-friendly, they'll turn to it more often.

In oWoD, you had merits and flaws but very few of them involved combat. There was a Strong Right Hook which gave you a slight damage bonus, but that was mostly it. Different gamelines doubtless had a few more but there weren't oodles of them. Now there are more Fighting Styles in the various core books than Social OR Mental Merits. While I approve of the complexity this can give combat in the game, I disapprove of what such a focus on these styles indicates to players.

Also, long healing times can irritate players so I understand why they massively reduced them. It's not very player-friendly. Of course, most supernaturals have a way to heal themselves so you can continue your more brutal vampire-vs-vampire or werewolf-vs-spirit games but also, in a real horror game, players should be trying to avoid their characters taking damage. Health points just don't cut it. Especially when there's nothing backing it up.

It's hard to say "that really hurt" when the characters are otherwise unaffected by losing, say, four hit points.

I've seen a player about to charge his character in to combat on a -2 penalty with two health points left in oWoD. When I told him that his character would be crawling at three yards per turn, he changed his mind and decided that the injury actually was too grevious.

Also, more lethal games mean characters have to be clever about avoiding damage and taking out their targets at range. Why do you think most successful Call of Cthulhu characters are the ones with Dodge who know how to use Explosives?

Of course, the downside is that Horror games are more constricted and less accessible to players. Most players want a chance to feel Awesome. They're attracted to games that allow them to feel that. Most 'horror' players generally want to take part in dark fantasy games, nasty thrillers, or action with a backbone of hi-octane nightmare fuel. They don't want to spend their whole time running from bad guys, looking for clues, and getting themselves killed all the time.

nWoD catered more to that style than oWoD and kept threatening to give my players bad habits. But even so, I stopped bitching about nWoD's changes with Armory Reloaded and it's wonderful Combat Hacks. Now it's quite easy to make the game as Wire-Fu or brutally horrific as I'd like to be. In truth, I like it somewhere between oWoD's One Shot Can Incapacitate and nWoD's You Can Take Three Shots With Little Effect But The Fourth Will Kill You!

On the other hand, nWoD's three tracks of damage is pretty awesome. Fill up on Bashing and you start filling up on Lethal. Fill up on Lethal and you start taking aggravated damage if anyone hits you or simply fails to heal you. Nothing raises the tension like having your character pass out from damage while there's still time to keep them alive!

So yeah, I guess that after three years of playing nWoD, I can put the banner down and accept that with a few tweaks (many provided nWoD itself), I can have my cake and eat it too with an updated rules set that does iron out a lot of kinks.

Rant over!

The Changing Swear World

And now for something totally different...

Have you noticed how kids 'swear' so much more these days? The F Bomb is less of a bomb and more of a noun / verb / adjective / adverb and all things in between. Words for defecation, urination, and sex are bandied about like there's no tomorrow. And let's not even think about often blasphemies occur and folk taking the Lord's name in vain. It really makes you wonder where the world's headed.

Except....

They're not really swears anymore.

Think about it. Those words just aren't taboo and that's why they get bandied around. A strong word for poo? Whatever! Blasphemy? I'm not religious! Sodomy? Meh!

Yet you just try walking into a restaurant and calling someone an N Bomb (racist swear) and you'll hear the sort of silence that followed the swears of old. The C Bomb (sexist swear) is also a crowd startler. In fact, while other racist and sexist terms don't quite have the same bite when said with a wry I'm-kidding grin in your home, you wouldn't use them in public, and even when you use them at home you make sure not to add strengthening words like 'filthy' to it.

So yeah, people don't really swear much more than they used too. It's just that what counts as swears for the generations before don't for us and vice versa and that culture clash has really made it look like we do. We just don't take those particular words seriously and that's disempowered their verbal punch (unless used around or towards cultural groups, such as our elders, who still care about them).

Interesting, huh?

Balancing Act 3: Pacing

Pacing is a vital consideration in all genres, but especially so in the horror genre. This article will focus on the slower build ‘chilling horror’ genre as opposed to the more frantically paced ‘action horror’ and ‘splatterpunk horror’ genres as they are a little more easily paced. Boredom, frustration and confidence are all the enemies of the chilling horror genre but to avoid one often leads you to inducing another. Unfortunately, unlike the artist in any other medium, the ST has no control over the most important members of the cast who may attempt to decapitate the threat that should be fled, cower from the enemy that should be faced, or even flee at the first scent of wickedness and try their hand at sunflower farming in the Midwest instead.

So what do you do?

You rely on pacing and you use every trick at your disposal to try to sculpt the session around their actions so that they’re lured into danger with their curiosity, reminded of their vulnerability to make them run, hounded when they grow complacent, nudged when they grow confused, and caged when they try to leave the threat zone for that peaceful sunflower farm they wish for heart and soul.

On the plus side, unlike the artist in any other medium, the ST can observe the audience and judge whether they are scared and want more, whether they’re overloaded and need a rest, when they’re squirming in their seats in horror, when they’re distractible and bored, or when they’re leaning forward excitedly.

Bearing in mind the Three Act Structure helps, though be aware that in roleplaying, the structure is more evoked by the character’s actions than used as a constraint for them.

I’ll discuss using a Three Act Structure in roleplay in a later article, but in short, it can be summed up as Hook, (Threshold of No Return that throws the character into the plot), Body of Escalating Conflicts / Obstacles, (Threshold of No Return that throws the character before the Threat), Final Confrontation / Escape. You can’t pre-set when each instance will happen but you can ponder different possibilities and squee with delight when your characters inadvertently hit those triggers.

The basic rules of pacing a Three Act Structure – and anything can be given this vague structure – is that with each new obstacle the risks increase and with increasing risks you get increasing tension. Allow a few respites here and there. Then heighten the tension to a fever pitch at the Ending.

Do remember, though, that while a game is most satisfying when the most dramatic and tense moments are at the very end, players are far more forgiving than audiences and will understand if it’s not as you can’t control their character’s actions. In fact, they would prefer to stumble across an extremely tense moment three steps from the start on their own rather than be railroaded into a theoretically tense and epic moment at the very end. Let them stumble along and experience things organically. Just do your best to develop the tension toward the end and leave your best and most dramatic scenes until the end.

Every so often the tension must be released (with a temporary win, an IC joke that clears the air, a safe place to hide) but it must only be a partial release that allows you to build the tension further. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you don’t allow these respites, the tension will become unsustainable and will peter out. You can’t expect that incredibly high levels of tension can be maintained throughout even a single session. It can’t. However, a respite of indeterminable length in a place that may or may not truly be safe can also add an anticipation factor that can keep the tension high.

People are interested in the unexpected. When the unexpected could deprive them of something they want – ideally their character’s own survival – then their interest turns to anticipation and fear of loss. Therefore, unexpected plot twists and deviations from “standard” plot timings are important. You don’t want the players to be able to predict how long a respite will last or when the next scare will happen. Yes, the Three Act Structure does play against this, but knowing that the best comes at the end shouldn’t stop you from twisting the rules. A safe place could become unsafe in an instant. An area that appears to be unsafe, such as if it were littered with bodies, might actually indicate that the enemy has already been and gone.

This is especially true in campaigns. For players to really be affected by the unexpected, you need to create a sense of normalcy. One way to do this is to examine plot progressions in previous games you have run so that you can figure out your own patterns and then use that against them. Do respites generally last for twenty minutes? Cut it shorter or have it last longer. Do you always have the bad guys’ first attacks only be to test the characters’ mettle? Then have them aim to kill next time.

Do have at least one ‘ending’ in mind. Preferably, think up multiple ‘endings’. Never decide on The Ending. It won’t happen. In fact, it probably shouldn’t happen as it won’t accurately reflect the plot thus far nor the character’s mentalities by the end. Writers who write by a synopsis will often change the endings if their novels end up deviating significantly from that synopsis so why should you be any different?

So why come up with an ‘ending’ at all? Well, that’s just so you know that there is at least one solution. It clues you in to how difficult the adventure is and whether the characters have a chance at solving it and will clue you in to when you might be approaching the ending. It’s far too easy to create a plot that can’t be solved without a ridiculous amount of ingenuity and luck. If you still want to encourage an ingenious solution, well, include a greater reward for the Good+ ending but always consider a mere Good ending based off logical reactions.

Happy horror gaming!

*spoiler alert* An analysis of Project Zero

This is a Playstation 2 videogame but some of its skill in presentation can be borrowed for a horror roleplaying game. Project Zero (Fatal Frame for you Americans) is set in modern times in a lost village hidden deep within a Japanese forest. It utilises the setting to its fullest effect with traditional Japanese architecture meshed with some 1920s technology such as an old film projector that can be used to play old films of the Forbidden Ritual and other creepy scenes in all of sepia's flickering glory.

The faded partitions, warped cupboards, dolls and human-like bulges hidden underneath rugs all give the place a decidedly creepy look. Here and there something will twist, rattle, or fall at opportune moments. Cloth waves gently in hallways, hang from the ceiling and obscure what is in front of you.

The setting is only deepened by the hints of the few ghostly NPC's living days. A little girl with a bell died in one house, hidden in a cupboard and starving to death. Even now, the bell tinkles in certain rooms and when you finally track her down to her cupboard and slide open the door ... well, you do the math. In another cupboard, you hear sobbing and when you look inside you see nothing. Raise the camera and you see black Japanese characters write themselves on the wall and a girl's voice plead for help. Through such scenes the connection between the victims and the houses they died within is made distinct, each component heightening the anxiety of the next until finding a new room is about as nerve-wracking as finding a new ghost.

The complete lack of corpses and sparse use of gore (really just a few bloodstains or broken ghostly bodies) are really unsettling because there is evidence of tremendous violence but it is almost as though the victims were bodily drawn into some abyss or perhaps the corpses were cleaned away by ... something. It's never explained.

The character's active participation in the handling and construction of dangerous items also enhances anticipation. This is shown when Mio - the protagonist - must find and assemble a doll in order to open the door to an underground bridge. Now in this town, every so often a pair of identical twins will be forced to undergo a ritual where one must strangely the other before tossing the dead twin into the void. Now one surviving twin, a very young girl, was very upset and so her father carved her a life-like replica to console her. The little girl treated her doll like a friend and there's evidence that it began speaking back, urging her to kill. This doll was taken apart by her family and must be reassembled by Mio - knowing full well what may happen when she does.

Oh, and by the way, the doll certainly has a creepy scene with the girl and the doll on opposite sides of a hallway and Mio in between. One says "Kill her" and the other says "Don't kill".


Another good device in the game is Mayu. She deepens Mio's character as she has a limp and can't run due to the time Mio she fell down a slope while trying to keep up. Mayu follows you around, gentle and passive, but over time you see the influence of the place slowly corrupt her. Slowly, she becomes possessed by the poorly sacrificed victim who had spilled forth the abyss, a ghost called Sae, but this happens slowly and inexorably. There are several interesting scenes which reveal signs of Sae's growing control as well as her shared clinginess, such as when she asks: "Are you leaving me again, sister?" Mio obviously can't abandon her but nor can she trust her and it's this duality of needs that also makes it very interesting. You can imagine how this might be brought to bear in a horror game where a player is forced to reconcile clashing needs such as safety vs. loyalty.

Sae is the shown to be the ultimate threat. Unharmed by the exorcismal camera (she's invisible when you peer through it at her) and she is able to kill with a touch, so you have to flee her. There is no fighting her until the very end and even then only under the right circumstances. This certainly gives her a fear factor that would have been missing if she'd been like the others. Her painful history also makes her a far more interesting character. She attempted to flee with her twin, Yae, but she slipped down a slope and was recaptured. They couldn't find Yae who left without her (much to her own horror) and so Sae was hung and then thrown into the pit. When she was thrown from the pit, the village was plunged into endless night and Sae took her vengeance on the inhabitants.

To make matters worse, the sacrifices of the twins - as horrible as they are shown to be - are necessary for the village as the dreaded nameless pit (referred to as * in writing) will unleash something horrific if the sacrifices don't occur. Heck, the failed sacrifice of Sae caused enough badness to occur. This is shown through the two endings. The 'bad' ending where you sacrifice your sister and free the village or the 'good' ending where you banish Sae, save your sister, and flee the village to its fate - until some other set of twins are called within it.

It also helps that Mio was a normal girl with the usual vulnerabilities but for the exorcismal camera. She is also driven by the very human urges to find her sister and escape.