Since its almost Halloween I thought I would talk about something I don’t always have a chance to talk about, which is tabletop gaming. I’m gonna list a few things that I have some amount of experience with. That means I won’t be talking about anything Chaosium has made because I’ve not played what they’ve made.
First thing I want to mention is the book Gurps Horror. While its technically part of the Gurps system it shows how to add horror to any system. It could even work for a writer to show the different kinds of horror. I found out about this book because of a video Wil Wheaton did on the Geek and Sundry YouTube channel, which might not even be available anymore. This is a multipurpose book that you should have if you’re interested in adding any amount of horror to you gaming sessions.
Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft is a fun D&D book that came out last year. It’s a proper Ravenloft book that gives information about the setting. It gives a short overview of different kinds of horror while also giving monsters that can fit into those kinds of horror. It also gives some subclasses and other character options. It’s a fun horror book for 5e D&D.
Kids on Bikes is a fun game that has a surprisingly simple system that offers unique storytelling options. It offers collaborative storytelling in a way that other games don’t. One of the main influences on the game is Stranger Things and that gives a good grasp of what can be done.
Monster of the Week is one more game that has a horror tinge to it. I’ve not played it yet but I do have the book for it. It offers a game that channels shows like Supernatural, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and The X-Files.
These are just some of the games, mostly Tabletop RPGs, that you could run for a quick Halloween game session. There are a great many boardgames that could be mentioned. If you have any other games that could be added to the list you can leave a comment.