Jun 29, 2022 12:04 am
The House hates you.
And you're definitely not supposed to be here.
The old house on the hill. Every town has one right? So why is it that you don't remember this one here? The house calls to you, it hates you. You need to explore, you should stay away. You know in your heart though, that if you go into the house, you may not get home.
The System(s), the Start, the Hook
I've been wanting to run Monty Cook's "The Darkest House" for a minute. It's a setting that is mean and creepy, and a system light setting. That said, it encourages bringing in characters from other settings and when I previously did that it didn't "work" in the same way. So, I'd like to try again.
Characters will be created in The Darkest House's "House System" It's extremely rules light, as the House cares more about mood than substance. See more below in "The Characters."
The follow up:
The house system encourages leaving the house at particular times (character driven, and DM's disgression), at which point my plan is to jump into a different system. My thoughts are to theme it based on what is going on, but my primary experience is in d20 systems (primarily DnD and Pathfinder) and PbtA systems (Especially Monster of the Week, Dungeon World and Masks). That's not to say that something interesting wouldn't pique my interest as we play. I want it to feel like a logical extension of the story being told.
It should be noted that the House itself is large, even if you don't find everything. And that's not counting any adventures outside of it. I'm intending to be here for awhile. Please be prepared to post regularly (I'm flexible, but I have intentionally requested once a day.)
The Players
Step the first, I'm looking for 4-6 players, first come first serve. The only caveat is that I am relying on you to decide if this game is for you. If it's not, please be kind to yourself.
Step the second, as a horror setting, I would prefer that you haven't read the House setting in depth, and even more happiness if you aren't sure what you're getting into.
In contrast to that second point, lets talk content warnings, this is a horror setting and it's one that wants you the player to also feel some of the discomfort your character does, so here are the following content warnings:
Blood
Body horror
Character death
Fire
Guns
Kidnapping
Illness
Insects
Language/cursing
Murder
Mind alteration
Violence
While it is possible for me to work around these, if one or more of these is a hard no, I'm sorry to say this may not be the game for you.
Since this section is getting long....
Consent and Safety
I'm going to leave a large amount of this to Monty's own document Consent in Gaming. In particular, I would like to know the answers to the questionnaire at the bottom. Horror is consensual discomfort.
Since we're playing by post, rather than real time, some notes regarding X card.
- If you need whatever scene is happening to stop, please say, no questions asked.
- Unless the uncomfortable player says otherwise, this will initiate a break.
- We can discuss OOC if we need to retcon, or just move past the noted issue.
The Characters
So, what are the character sheets like and what do I as a DM want from you before we start?
1. Please review The Player's Guide.
2. You are not trained professionals. Not cops, not army, not firefighters.
3. You know each other. Whether you're high school alums, private eyes (yes, an exception to the above), amatuer ghost hunters. That'll be up to the group.
4. Make connections. Make them messy. The house will be very interested.
The sheets, as mentioned in the player's guide are very simple. That said, the more info you generate, the more interesting things will be. I'm going to ask you to have some format of this in the game sheets where I can see it, but if you'd like a fancy one, Monty has kindly provided.Disclaimers
To be clear, while the House may be hateful and shitty, we as players and facilitator should not be. I am explicitly LGBT+ friendly (I should, be, I identify with those). Racism also is reserved for crappy NPCs and is not something I want to see from my players. Come, have fun, love each other.
And you're definitely not supposed to be here.
The old house on the hill. Every town has one right? So why is it that you don't remember this one here? The house calls to you, it hates you. You need to explore, you should stay away. You know in your heart though, that if you go into the house, you may not get home.
The System(s), the Start, the Hook
I've been wanting to run Monty Cook's "The Darkest House" for a minute. It's a setting that is mean and creepy, and a system light setting. That said, it encourages bringing in characters from other settings and when I previously did that it didn't "work" in the same way. So, I'd like to try again.
Characters will be created in The Darkest House's "House System" It's extremely rules light, as the House cares more about mood than substance. See more below in "The Characters."
The follow up:
The house system encourages leaving the house at particular times (character driven, and DM's disgression), at which point my plan is to jump into a different system. My thoughts are to theme it based on what is going on, but my primary experience is in d20 systems (primarily DnD and Pathfinder) and PbtA systems (Especially Monster of the Week, Dungeon World and Masks). That's not to say that something interesting wouldn't pique my interest as we play. I want it to feel like a logical extension of the story being told.
It should be noted that the House itself is large, even if you don't find everything. And that's not counting any adventures outside of it. I'm intending to be here for awhile. Please be prepared to post regularly (I'm flexible, but I have intentionally requested once a day.)
The Players
Step the first, I'm looking for 4-6 players, first come first serve. The only caveat is that I am relying on you to decide if this game is for you. If it's not, please be kind to yourself.
Step the second, as a horror setting, I would prefer that you haven't read the House setting in depth, and even more happiness if you aren't sure what you're getting into.
In contrast to that second point, lets talk content warnings, this is a horror setting and it's one that wants you the player to also feel some of the discomfort your character does, so here are the following content warnings:
Blood
Body horror
Character death
Fire
Guns
Kidnapping
Illness
Insects
Language/cursing
Murder
Mind alteration
Violence
While it is possible for me to work around these, if one or more of these is a hard no, I'm sorry to say this may not be the game for you.
Since this section is getting long....
Consent and Safety
I'm going to leave a large amount of this to Monty's own document Consent in Gaming. In particular, I would like to know the answers to the questionnaire at the bottom. Horror is consensual discomfort.
Since we're playing by post, rather than real time, some notes regarding X card.
- If you need whatever scene is happening to stop, please say, no questions asked.
- Unless the uncomfortable player says otherwise, this will initiate a break.
- We can discuss OOC if we need to retcon, or just move past the noted issue.
The Characters
So, what are the character sheets like and what do I as a DM want from you before we start?
1. Please review The Player's Guide.
2. You are not trained professionals. Not cops, not army, not firefighters.
3. You know each other. Whether you're high school alums, private eyes (yes, an exception to the above), amatuer ghost hunters. That'll be up to the group.
4. Make connections. Make them messy. The house will be very interested.
The sheets, as mentioned in the player's guide are very simple. That said, the more info you generate, the more interesting things will be. I'm going to ask you to have some format of this in the game sheets where I can see it, but if you'd like a fancy one, Monty has kindly provided.
[ +- ] Notes on the sheet sections
Name
Up to you. Hold on to it tightly.
Doom
Starts at 0. It won't stay there.
Overall Rating
We'll be starting at 1. You haven't done anything for more, but you'll get there. Or the other thing will happen.
Modified Ratings
We'll go over these as DM and player, but please have at least one good and bad modifier in mind.
Special Abilities
Don't worry about this yet. ;3
Boons/Banes
See the section in the Player's Guide! This will be relevant during play.
Equipment
Go for it. The house is going to be mean to you. Might as well record your advantages while you have them.
Up to you. Hold on to it tightly.
Doom
Starts at 0. It won't stay there.
Overall Rating
We'll be starting at 1. You haven't done anything for more, but you'll get there. Or the other thing will happen.
Modified Ratings
We'll go over these as DM and player, but please have at least one good and bad modifier in mind.
Special Abilities
Don't worry about this yet. ;3
Boons/Banes
See the section in the Player's Guide! This will be relevant during play.
Equipment
Go for it. The house is going to be mean to you. Might as well record your advantages while you have them.
To be clear, while the House may be hateful and shitty, we as players and facilitator should not be. I am explicitly LGBT+ friendly (I should, be, I identify with those). Racism also is reserved for crappy NPCs and is not something I want to see from my players. Come, have fun, love each other.
Last edited August 21, 2022 12:52 am
