Sci-Fi horror games

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Atelerix

Atelerix

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Hi all,

I've been asked to run a game locally, under the very loose guidance "we like sci-fi and we like horror". I've run such games in the past - a VERY long time ago- using CoC and Traveller, but I'm aware that there are games out there now specifically for the genre.

The players are very much on the "spook us" side of the fence, rather than "my gun does less damage than his", and my own preference is to play up the cold, the darkness of space, the distance from help, the vulnerability of the crew and the unknowability of what they face. I've been listening to The White Vault postcast (modern expedition isolated by weather on Svalbard, discover the Real reason the Company put the base at that particular location, and are picked off one by one by Something) and it seems like a good starting point.

I've downloaded The Void and Mothership, neither of which really seem to scratch my itch. Ashen Stars sounds interesting?

I'd appreciate your stories of successful games/campaigns, and hints and tips for turning the screw.
 
Eclipse Phase? I found it really unsettling... and we didn't even get to the intentionally 'horror' elements.
Dark Heresy... with horrors of the warp as well as the horrors of Imperial bureaucracy (get all Kafka about it).
IIRC the Mirrors books for NWoD had a scifi option explored... though not in depth.

Call of Cthulhu is inherently horror-scifi, though it's not usually played in the far future or outer space... but there is the Cthulhu Rising setting, which is in future/space.

Horror works best in smaller doses... so a setting that is itself playable and interesting, where you can sometimes inject elements of horror, is going to have longer legs. So injecting occasional horrorific situations into Traveller doesn't seem like a bad idea at all.
 
I don't think the answer is a new game but rather lies in evoking the proper mood as referee. No set of rules can do that for you. I'd look into how you describe visuals, sounds, smells, textures, etc. for the participants, and how NPCs behave. Best tip would be keep your cards close to your vest, let the PCs speculate based on clues and hints, oftentimes what they imagine is worse than what you've planned, let the horror seep in a little at a time with things being off, feeling wrong, but unseen until necessary.
 
Shadows Over Sol is billed specifically as a Science Fiction Horror Roleplaying Game. I've found it seems to live up to that description, although the horror is more up to the GM to effectively utilize those parts of the setting that evoke horror.

It's set entirely within the solar system, no FTL. It's a grittier science fiction setting. A lot of the horror is man-made. Genetics experiments, black science operations, the isolation of space, etc. You could very easily run an Expanse-influenced game in this setting.

The game effectively uses a normal deck of playing cards instead of dice. We were skeptical, but it actually works very well in play. It's not just a number generator but makes good use of the face cards and card suits as well for additional effects and bonuses.

There's a pretty fair amount of material available now, and there's a free quick start you can check out.
 
I did a pre-order of the new ALIEN role playing game, and with pre-order you get a starter version PDF which looks really good so far. Dice mechanic looks similar to Tales from the Loop (as well as other games I haven't played from the same company).

If you are into the ALIEN universe you might take a look. (There is also a thread here discussing that game; that could be a place to start to see what others think about it.) Certainly geared towards horror campaigns in space.
 
Ashen Stars contains elements of horror and is a great game for creating investigative tension but does have a slightly operatic, pulpy heart beating underneath its vac suit. CoC easily ports to the future as long as what you're after are established tropes; players tend to have expectations once they know they're playing CoC. I've used it and had a really good time although I went very, very Mythos light with the antagonist and kept everything humanocentric.

One game that could do it for you is Hostile and as you've played Traveller should be an easy grok. Dumarest's advice is totally on the money with regard to setting the tone and Hostile should support that systemically. I'll add that I've only read and not played Hostile at this point but its reference points are Alien and Outland.
 
I'll check out Dead Planet - sometimes it's the adventures that make a game come alive.

Leaning towards the notions behind Ashen Stars (sort of), Traveller TNE and Stars Without Number - there's been a Fall of some sort, and the PCs are re-exploring what's out there. Surviving worlds, flourishing worlds, dead worlds, humanity as rats in the walls of some ruined empire - and the cause of the Fall may still be around... So plenty of scope for horrific things to discover, and a central mystery. Machine civilisations, bioweapons, a bleak Lovecraftian universe.

Good point about a humanocentric universe, Ragr Ragr. Like TNE, it's good to start the PCs off on the back foot - wrecked ships and broken tech will make what they have look puny.
 
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Cthulhutech.
Never thought I would remember this game... Someone mentioned in a blog post, I believe at least 5-10 years ago.
Never played, I don't even know what is it about. I only know it exists and if you so choose to dabble in the dark arts of this tome the consequences are yours alone :hehe:

9754
 
Eclipse Phase is a d100 system like CoC*, and it is intentionally horror-oriented. I'd say you should give it a try, especially since it can be tried for cheap:smile:.

*The details vary, but "roll d100 under skill, watch out for special successes" covers a lot of it, and there are stability checks:wink:.
 
Turns out I have a copy of Eclipse Phase - I'll take a look!
 
I ran Shadows Over Sol two years ago. The team was going to a distant solar energy station near Venus which was "semi" deserted to retrieve a salvage ship. The ship was abandoned there and damaged by solar flares and it was all theirs once they repaired it. The scary part was 1. a creepy caretaker family (yes, with a dark secret) was all that was left on the station and 2. a team of cutthroat claim jumpers in bound during 3. a new wave of solar storms. There's just so much out there in space that can kill you!
 
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I'll give a recommendation for Palladium's Splicers. a strong bio-horror game where pcs are guyvver esque warriors up against a planet controlled by a mad A.I.. I know it sounds more like "my gun does less damage than his" type horror but I was in a very fun campaign where we were the lone civilized outpost against the machine horde and each session we just got more and more scared of our own allies then against the machines hunting us as we learned more about them, It was a blast of good creepy fun.
 
Cold & Dark is another one to have a look at. Has a great oppressive atmosphere.

And the Void is a good too (a dice pool system and PWYW on Drivethru).

Another few votes for: Cthulhu Rising, Mothership, Shadows Over Sol, Hostile.
 
Séadna Séadna seems to be getting his money's worth out of Stay Frosty, so that might be worth looking at. He's only seven years old, though, so how much of it is his natural Irish gift for blarney and storytelling and how much is the rules, I can't be sure.
 
Tom B said:
Shadows Over Sol is billed specifically as a Science Fiction Horror Roleplaying Game. I've found it seems to live up to that description, although the horror is more up to the GM to effectively utilize those parts of the setting that evoke horror.
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Tangential, but: is anyone else a bit annoyed by DTRPG pages that don't tell you what system the game uses? Or even what dice you need? Imagine buying a car and the dealer won't tell you if it takes diesel or regular.
 
Atelerix said:
I've been asked to run a game locally, under the very loose guidance "we like sci-fi and we like horror". I've run such games in the past - a VERY long time ago- using CoC and Traveller, but I'm aware that there are games out there now specifically for the genre.
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If you've run Traveller, then Hostile might be worth checking out. It's a near-future setting for Traveller or Cepheus.

"And out here the Unknown is real – it is horrific: there are rumors of the disturbing side-effects of hyperspace, of ancient horrors entombed on icy moons, and of monsters – killer aliens, perfectly evolved to survive the hostile wastes of space – at any cost."
 
spittingimage said:
Tangential, but: is anyone else a bit annoyed by DTRPG pages that don't tell you what system the game uses? Or even what dice you need? Imagine buying a car and the dealer won't tell you if it takes diesel or regular.
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Yes, and their "preview" pages tend to be the cover, a blank endpage, and a table of contents page. Very useful for evaluating a possible purchase!
 
Dumarest said:
Yes, and their "preview" pages tend to be the cover, a blank endpage, and a table of contents page. Very useful for evaluating a possible purchase!
Click to expand...

That's why I usually do a few pages in on anything I've put out.
 
FeralToaster said:
I'll give a recommendation for Palladium's Splicers. a strong bio-horror game where pcs are guyvver esque warriors up against a planet controlled by a mad A.I.
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Oh! I've never heard of Splicers but those elements call to me. I think Cthulhutech also had callouts to the Guyver, but for whatever reason I never bought it/read it... and mad A.I.s always conjure up dangerous visions.
 
There is a lot of horror to be found in Palladium's Splicers.

Be warned; it uses the Megaversal M.D.C. rules. If you don't like these, be prepared to do conversion work.

The player characters are part of a Human resistance against the world-dominating A.I. The resistance is divided into houses separated by geography, philosophy and rivalry for resources. Almost all houses make extensive use Splicer technology (incredibly advanced bio-tech) since the A.I. can turn anything mechanical against them.

The game has a lot of potential for horror. Splicer bio-tech is gross and lends itself to all sorts of body horror. The houses are packed with intrigue, betrayal and conspiracy. A nobility of warriors rules, but depend upon people that have become utterly monstrous to survive. The secret police are addicted to a life-granting fluid that makes them nearly as bad. Criminals and the mentally ill are turned into grotesque foot soldiers.

While not without it's flaws, Splicers is an ambitious game with lots of potential. It is a single book, with official material from The Rifter compiled in a PoD source book.
 
spittingimage said:
Tangential, but: is anyone else a bit annoyed by DTRPG pages that don't tell you what system the game uses? Or even what dice you need? Imagine buying a car and the dealer won't tell you if it takes diesel or regular.
Click to expand...

In this particular case (Shadows Over Sol), there's at least a free quick start that gives more info. (It uses a standard deck of playing cards, but makes good use of them without being gimmicky.)
 
Tom B said:
In this particular case (Shadows Over Sol), there's at least a free quick start that gives more info. (It uses a standard deck of playing cards, but makes good use of them without being gimmicky.)
Click to expand...
I had a guy draw the joker when he was outside the ship trying to manually open the airlock. :smile:
 
Had a look at The Void and Cthulhu Rising - the latter seems to have more ship details and monstrosities, although getting the core Void rules for free is nothing to be sneezed at.

Eclipse Phase also has real potential - what is it to live in a universe as a baseline human where every other living sentient sheds bodies like clothes, and is covered in appendages. The TITANs are gods in the background - incomprehensible, everywhere, scheming and powerful.

Ordered Hostile from Zozer/Lulu and the 2300AD CD from Far Future. I already have Mongoose Traveller and 2300AD. I suspect I'll do a bit of a mashup. Still like the idea of humanity as rats in the walls of their own previous greatness...
 
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