The Bazaar #82: Resources Review (Rifts as Horror)

GENERAL

For most of us, we run an RPG game that is Player Character focused. They are indeed the stars of the show. As they tackle one series of challenges to the next, they gain experience and develop more powerful abilities. The types of adventures are largely influenced by the types of RPGs you play. Most lean toward action/adventure; be a group of adventurers performing a dungeon crawl, or superheroes fighting villains, saving innocent bystanders.

But what about Rifts? Does Rifts fit the mold for either of these two? A GM certainly could make that work, but I’d like to introduce another way of portraying the game; that of the Horror genre. Fear is one of the strongest emotions a GM can leverage in a TTRPG. The problem is that if you present in the wrong way, you risk creating a pastiche or cliched version of your intention; you present Ghost Busters instead of the Exorcist.

Warning: We need to recognize that a GM should never target a Player’s personal issues. Doing this while in a position of authority (as the GM), even among friends, is insupportable. If you find yourself questioning the logic or reasoning behind this, feel free to stop reading – I’ll wait until you’ve matured enough to explore the remainder of this post. Otherwise, ensure you clear this up in Session Zero (Game Master Field Guide #13 - Session Zero). Done properly, it won’t things nearly as much as you think it will.

HORROR THEMES

Death. Perhaps a slightly obvious element, the fear of death is a natural human emotion that can be used as a device against the PC or someone close to them. Leveraging the opportunity an adventure has on a PC’s/NPC’s survivability is a key element in creating that truly immersive experience. The ultimate stakes are the PC’s life, that of their comrades in the adventure, or key NPCs.

Supernatural. Whether this is spooky ghost and poltergeists, alien menaces, mutated or malevolent creatures and animals all the way up to the incomprehensible power and malevolence of cosmic threats, the supernatural is something that defies logic, science, or expectations. Spells, curses, the unseen powers of the occult and dark magic are all used as warnings for the price paid to meddle in the dark arts. Rifts certainly has no shortage for you to choose from.

Paranoia/Fragility of Human Sanity. The influence of the macabre on the psyche of the human mind. Sometimes the worst monsters are those that wear human faces. Whether the gory violence of the deranged, or the eerie calm and sinister manipulations of the evil master criminal, these examples demonstrate the capabilities of any individual forced to experience the wrong influences and tragic circumstances. How much would it take for you to crack under that same pressure? The same goes for exploring deep and dark environs. Building the suspense plagues the Players’ minds as they wonder what is going bump in the night. Is it out to get them?

Isolation. By removing any connection to safety nets or supplies, we’ve started cooking with a key ingredient of the horror cookbook. Alone and afraid, finding oneself in a desolate ruin, spacecraft in the middle of the void, or snowed-in a hotel. Even as a party fights to keep together and capable of continuing in the adventure, managing the unknown threat and management of limited resources, fear begins to simmer and bubble.

Religion & Sins. At its most epithetical and cynical form, religion presents system that forms a natural preference to order and obedience to a singular or group of gods. Worship has rules and expectations for good conduct, which are contradicted by any number of negative markers of “evil thoughts,” such as the Christian faith’s 7 Deadly Sins (over time this number has fluctuated). Horror tropes present these sins within a cultural worldview, remonstrating those that would contradict their faith’s pretexts. Don't play into the faith aspect of this, but do recognize that a lot of horror themes are in themselves something of a counter-culture point. You can devise a horrific adventure without challenging or denigrating someone's faith.

Fangs and Chitinous Shells. Be they vampires, ghosts, or interstellar aliens, they all represent physical embodiment of our fears. Often unstoppable and terrifying, they are the darker side of nature, drawing our instinctual primal fears of being hunted. We pay homage to the things that go bump in the night. Whether we like it or not! For some this is more visceral – for me anything with insects or spiders will get me. Every. Freaking. Time. My rational brain simply can’t turn off this atavistic reaction. Even when I know they are coming.

HORROR IN MEDIA (SOURCES OF INSPIRATION)

Movies. There have been some truly terrific, horror movies out there. These cinematic masterpieces brilliantly leverage devices and themes in ways that made them sterling examples of the genre. Audiences were left in shock, awe, in some cases truly and utterly aghast. Hundreds of examples fit a variety of sub-genres of horror. Some of my personal favourites are listed below:

• Psycho (1960 – Wiki Link). An Alfred Hitchcock classic and the baseline for psychological thrillers. You’ll never be comfortable alone in your house again. A truly remarkable work that holds up well.

• Alien (1979 – Wiki Link). The long-haul space crew investigate a transmission, find something, and all hell breaks loose. Released with the iconic tagline “In space, no one can hear you scream.” First saw it when I was 10; a significant contributing factor to my phobia of insects and spiders. Whereas Aliens (1986) was an action movie, its predecessor was a horror classic.

• Jaws (1975 – Wiki Link). An island tourist town becomes the feeding ground for a giant, great white shark. Local sheriff, frightened of water, joins an unlikely crew sent to destroy the beast. When this first released in theatres, my parents were on a movie date; according to their account, my mother ended up waiting in the lobby for most of it, my father watched the whole thing. True love.

• The Exorcist (1973 – Wiki Link). A young girl becomes possessed and must be saved by a priest with his own doubts. A religious horror that sets the bar. I actually read the book before seeing the film and thought all book adaptations would be this truthful to the source. That was the truly horrific outcome.

• Event Horizon (1997 – Wiki Link). A lost spaceship reappears after seven years. A team sent to explore and explain the disappearance encounters a malevolent presence. There are few movies that ratchet up the anxiety as well as this one; oh yeah, and gore..

• Silence of the Lambs (1991 – Wiki Link). A rookie FBI officer interrogates a psychotic prisoner to solve a current mass murder’s rampage. In what could easily be adapted from a real-life psychotic murderer’s case/profile, anyone lurking around the corner could be eyeing you up, selecting a good Chianti to pair with you. My wife didn’t last until the end of the initial interview in the jail.

• World War Z (2013 – Wiki Link). A zombie apocalypse occurs and society crumbles under the threat. A scientist must traverse the world and discover how the apocalypse occurred in order to find a cure/solution. It is the one Brad Pitt movie my wife refuses to watch; go figure!

Television. A surprising number of really good television shows can be drawn from for inspiration.

• The X-Files (1993, 11 seasons – Wiki Link). Likely a surprise to many, the first season in particular developed horror tropes into almost all the episodes. My wife and I are rewatching; she finds no end of complaints about the science fiction/ horror cross-over. Holds up really well 30-years later.

• The Walking Dead (2010, 11 seasons – Wiki Link). Based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman, it’s everything you expect from a zombie apocalypse. It demonstrates a wide-range of human emotions and tropes. A fantastic source of horror inspiration.

• Supernatural (2005, 15 seasons – Wiki Link). Two brothers lose their father and take up his trade of hunting monsters and getting entangled in battles between angels and demons. Delivers a lot of familiar tropes with campy humour. The first two seasons were really monster-of-the-week fare; it really started cooking as a show thereafter.

• Fringe (2008, 5 seasons – Wiki Link). An FBI agent teams up with a bizarre yet brilliant scientist and his son to solve some equally disturbing and horrific tragedies. It delves into a lot of pseudo-science from the 1950s to 1970s, with some corporate espionage and alien interference thrown in for good measure.

Books/Literature. Any time browsing the horror section of a local bookstore will definitively find the following, but the list of others is lengthy of qualified horror authors:

• Edgar Allen Poe (b. 19 Jan 1890 – d. 07 Oct 1849 – Wiki Link). A weird dude by his own era’s standards, he produced some of the most highly regarded classic horror of the time, and cited as inspiration for a mountain of media. I’ve not yet seen Fall of the House of Usher, but highly recommend The Following, both heavily inspired by Poe.

• H.P. Lovecraft (b. 20 Aug 1890 – d. 15 Mar 1937 – Wiki Link). Very much inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, most famous for The Call of Cthulu. His works blended dread, perilous curiosity of the unknown risking one’s sanity, and making the reader question their relative insignificance. Reading works from that timeframe is a bit trippy in its eloquence; Nyarlthotep as an example.

• Stephen King (b. 21 Sep 1947 – Wiki Link). Prolific author dubbed the “King of Horror,” he has written across several genres. His work is lauded for its ‘simplicity’ in drawing the reader into the story. Some iconic movies have been adapted from his books.

• Clive Barker (b. 05 Oct 1952 – Wiki Link). English horror author, likely best known for the novella and adaptation for Hellraiser and Candyman.

Music. There are a series of great themes and applications that have defined and shaped sub-genres of heavy metal; most are easily portable to a TTRPG adventure design. If the specific genre of music is not your cup of tea, that’s fine. If the genre of music os not your thing, just reading some of the lyrics can provide a real brainstorm in terms of a protagonist, monster, or even a setting you might want to exploit. There are plethora of inspirations to be drawn from these genres; one such example is provided in The Bazaar #63: Resource Review (Unleash the Archers).A few other examples that scratch the surface:

• Death/Deathcore/Doom Metal. The thrashy dissonance with grunting and heavy fry vocals.

  Examples: Death, Black Dalhia Murder, and Whitechapel

• Symphonic/Gothic/Power Metal. The more melodic and typically female-vocal driven sub-genre, dozens of albums are directly influenced or inspired by fantasy themes/tropes. Like the title says, often layers in strings or orchestral arrangements to harmonize vocals and the heavy base/drums.

  Examples: Nightwish, Epica, Lacuna Coil, and Unleash the Archers

• Alternative/Industrial Metal. The gloomier and message-driven entries hit on themes and provide a vibe that really matches the presentation of Rifts as a gritty post-apocalyptic landscape.

  Examples: Rammstein, Nine Inch Nails, Korn, Slipknot, and Sisters of Mercy

Art. I did a post devoted to artistic influences on adventure design. Some great inspiration can be found at The Bazaar #70: Resource Review (Masterpieces of Fantasy Art).

RPGs. A Google search will bring up a plethora of other RPG systems that handle the horror genre in one way or another. Oft times there are mechanics and rules specifically designed to represent a character’s sanity in the face of monstrous/supernatural threats. Some of the obvious ones include Call of Cthulu (with its insanity counter), Dread (with the innovative Jenga Tower mechanic), Alien RPG, the list goes on.

Video Games. There are a host of video games that qualify for the genre. Resident Evil, the Alien franchise, the Doom franchise, older games like the Bio-Shock series, all leverage horror themes. The designers have gotten even more creative in using the microphone of a gamer’s headset as a mechanism that possibly attracts monsters, or is a game mechanic that outright kills you if you scream; jump scares guaranteed. The difference in these to TTRPGs is that they leverage both the visual and aural queues that heighten the tension during gameplay. All good stuff. They also develop adventure maps that could be easily ported into a TTRPG dynamic.

CONCLUSION

Horror as a theme could be seen as an authoritarian metaphor for maintaining control. The themes typically demonstrates the fear of the unknown, typically personified as all forms of evil and incomprehensible, and the price the protagonists pay for meddling with those dark arts. Maintain the peace and listen to the authority and you will avoid all the nastiness and sock/awe we associate with the horrific. Enjoyment in the horror genre has long been interpreted as an anti-authoritarian stance, authors sometimes subjected to persecution and critique outside the scope of their work. So then, am I promoting and anti-authoritarian position? Well, how contrarian of me.

The purpose of this post is to promote the use of horror tropes and themes within the context of Rifts and adventure design. There are a host of very pertinent and bountiful sources a GM can utilize to create some immersive and enjoyable role-playing experiences. In a way, you are using the tropes of the genre to create dynamics the PCs are then tasked with addressing or solving. So what? Are the PCs now perpetuating a system of control? Well, yes, and no.

As heroes, we expect the PCs to do their finest in the face of the horrific, to save the innocent and, if necessary, sacrifice themselves to ensure the horrors are unable to continue plaguing the world. This begins to blend a bit of the heroes worldview in Rifts Earth with perhaps that of the Coalition States, who perpetuate the view that all non-humans and the magic-users they ally with are the evil that must be confronted. This could be an interesting space to explore with your Players, if they are willing to go there; fair warning, some will not and that’s perfectly fair. But the horror genre provides a plethora of sources for a GM to draw upon, beings that are equally willing to chomp through and destroy the Player Characters or Coalition States NPCs alike. I find that Rifts is a superlative vehicle to present and structure horror stories to mold into adventure design. This gives some truly unusual and threatening antagonists/monsters the Players must overcome.

In the follow-up post to this one, I’ll present a number of practical solutions to help with adventure design with a horror theme, as well as how the GM should present information.

Until then – the horror persists, but so do I.

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