Welcome to the Horror Show (Resources, OOC)

Hi all! I just wanted to post a few resources here if you're not familiar with the Liminal Horror system. Thankfully the entire rule set is available online!

Liminal Horror Core Rules:
https://goblinarchives.github.io/LiminalHorror/Core%20Game/

Character Creation Guide: https://goblinarchives.github.io/LiminalHorror/Liminal%20Horror%20System/Character%20Creation/


Character Sheet (from Polyhedral Nonsense):
(If you want it)
https://polyhedralnonsense.com/2022/09/23/liminal-horror-a-fillable-custom-character-sheet-for-the-horror-rpg/

I will give the heads up that I know this game pretty well in theory but haven't actually run it. I know that the characters are much more vulnerable than you might be used to in a system like D&D. The rules-lite nature also means there's a lot less structure on what to do or how to use items, but that's usually to be filled in with roleplay.

You have a hammer? Want to fix a creaky door by nailing a hinge back in? Break down a hole through the wall? Throw it at someone's head? All completely viable options.
I guess a good way to describe your ability to do things is "within reason (while your character is losing it)".


Also here's the sparknotes edition of rules if you don't want to go hunting for it all the time!
https://goblinarchives.github.io/LiminalHorror/Liminal%20Horror%20System/Rules%20Summary/#rules-summary

I forgot how great this system is! Thank you for running this.

can I ask about skill checks convention? do you prefer players to:

(1) describe what they want to do and wait for GM to tell them what relevant checks to roll,

or:

(2) are you happy for players to describe and roll directly what they think is appropriate?

(there is no right or wrong way to do it, I have seen it working well with both methods!)

It is a minor tangent, but as I understand it, we won't really do skill checks in this family of Into the Odd games.
I think fictional positioning is key in this family of games, and we are supposed to roll mostly when there's an explicitly defined consequence to avoid.
I found this article by the author of Electric Bastionland very interesting to read.

But that's the theory as I understand it, I may be wrong or @saccharine_rabbit may want to do something different.
Thanks for asking this question @Dr_B!

I'm more keen on the second option! I think it is a bit situationally dependent though. Like if you open a door and there's already something lurking behind it that jumps out at you, I'll probably just flat out say to make a DEX save but I think otherwise it's fine to just roll directly.

But @Loddfafnir is right, skill checks aren't very common in this game. They're explicitly just for risky situations (or if what your character is trying to do isn't likely to succeed. Like if you have a low STR score you can definitely try to move a super heavy bookshelf, but you won't likely have the best outcome and should roll in that case)

thanks both, good to know!

@saccharine_rabbit
What kind of horror do you want to run with this oneshot?
Will it be dreadful/creepy/heavy, with a pervasive sense of hopelessness and few tangible enemies?
Or something more action packed, like an R rated end of season of Stranger Things?
Or something else entirely?

Good question, I was wondering the same about the tone and are we comfortable with bad language ... lines and veils stuff? I have no triggers that I've discovered yet. Blood and gore? The more the better. 😀

I'd have torture, sexual violence and sexual encounters as veils, but I doubt this will be relevant to this oneshot.

Tonally it's more on the completely absurdist side and most of the horror stems comes from the gore and the slight Lovecraftian twist to it. Have you ever read or seen John Dies at the End? This is right at home in a universe like that.
For those of you who haven't seen it, the tone is 'Douglas Adams tried to combine Hellraiser, Ghostbusters, and the Hangover.'

Also bad language is probably par for the course
But torture and anything sexual won't really turn up

I am literally going to be rolling your encounters off of a table called "Roll WTF is That"

Perfect!

Sounds excellent

Love it!

I am here for it. :D

I want to say that I really like the vibe so far!

So both NPCs and PCs just take damage in combat, right? No rolls to hit or to avoid it? Just want to be sure I understand correctly. :)

Combat in into the odds and derivatives (like this game) are extremely lethal so yeah. Guaranteed hits, saves only if it makes sense fiction wise. You often take long term damage to your stats if your HP goes to 0. HP (for hit protection) are not too hard to recover, leading to a certain ebb and flow.
It's an OSR system so combat is discouraged and we should "cheat" by doing everything we can in the fiction to survive and gain advantages or even guaranteed successes.

At least, that's the way I perceive it but @saccharine_rabbit may see things differently.

That aligns with my Into the Odd experience.

Yep. No rolls to hit and no misses. Though PCs and NPCs work for the same rules like losing stats or taking critical damage, so ending combat without outright killing things is an option (though... in this setting, leaving things walking around isn't always a great idea, because recovering HP is basically like taking a quick breather.)

In games like this combat can be difficult and has lingering effects. I tend to stick with it for the 'regular people against supernatural odds' atmosphere, especially in the horror setting.

As my character is staying behind to guard the door, I don't know how I can contribute meaningfully to the game thread...
Should I post anyway, as I haven't written anything in 10 days?