do you think tabletop games are good for horror? As good as vidiya?

>>54771227
I dont think you can make a *scary* tabletop game without some really extensive prep work but then again, I'm a noob so I wouldnt be surprised if there is a way.

>>54771227
Yes, they can be, but in a different way and they require a lot of prep work. It also has to be a system dedicated to horror (Call of Cthulhu for example). I've run a few games where I genuinely scared and unsettled my players, but it's usually pretty difficult.

It works. Ran a lot of horror, usually with WoD mortals but anything not too complicated is fine. You absolutely need people who want to be scared, though. Also, I recommend groups of 2-4 people, and clear up limits beforehand.

>Be ominous
Not everything needs an explanation. Do not worry about the 'rules' of the supernatural. Let them know the source eventually, but not its means. Do not show the 'monster' for more than a tiny bit at once, or it will become a 'character' that the players will attempt to manipulate.
>Let them feel powerless
>Let them feel unsafe
>Do not show mercy
Hurt them. Cripple them. Physically or mentally. Do not make it impossible for them to act, though.

Had my players play themselves in a horror campaign, it didn't end well. Essentially ended in a heated debate between several players over who would win a fight to the death.

>>54771227
I don't really think games in general are good for horror. Almost by definition, games are about making choices, with the expectation that good choices lead to positive outcomes, and bad choices lead to negative outcomes.

Horror, in most of its forms, doesn't mesh with that kind of format well. You don't want to leave options open that can avoid the horror part through sufficiently good choices, and that means edging in on the choices the players can make, which starts whittling into the "game" part of the horror game.

Passive media, books and film and the like, do horror much better than games do.

>>54772132
depends how well you do it. Sufficiently immersive and the narrowness of choices isn't noticed.

Personally I've got more scared playing horror games than watching any horror movie.

>>54771227
It's mentioned in a lot of horror threads, but one of the biggest factors in whether or not a game will be scary is if the players themselves are invested in the horror and WANT to be scared.

They are great at exploring the themes of horror. And inasmuch as players in a roleplaying game are active participants in the creative process, the argument that roleplaying games aren't "scary" doesn't hold much water, since it's not like the litmus test for other horror works is how much they scare their creators, right?