Horror! It can be spooky, it can be unsettling, it can be silly, it can be gross, it can be many things. The challenge for a horror creator is establishing a strong tone from the start and keeping it going throughout the course of the story. Thankfully, when it comes to horror tabletop games, there are already many great creators who have shared their gameplay systems for you to use.
Below are a few of the most notable, most enjoyable horror roleplaying games. Whether you like to face absolute dread, laugh in the face of danger, or even be the monster, you should find something here that calls to the darkest parts of your soul.
Delta Green
Some will tell you that you can’t do horror in the modern day because cell phones and the internet ruin mystery. Delta Green proves them wrong. The game’s premise is an alternate universe where the discovery of eldritch forces lead to the formation of a government agency. Agents specialize in keeping eldritch horrors away from the world at large but risk their sanity in the process. Players naturally play as these agents, at least for as long as they remain intact. Delta Green lends itself well to modern horror genres such as cryptids or SCP.
Monster of the Week
You come to the Monster of the Week RPG when you’d rather play around with the horror genre rather than be rendered powerless by fear. Think Buffy, Supernatural, or Men in Black. Your character comes from one of the typical types found in these shows such as the well-equipped government agent, teen with a destiny, or normal guy who just gets pulled into the world of the weird. The dice system makes learning to play easy, and the game emphasizes making big roleplay choices over combat.
Vampire: The Masquerade
Here’s a classic game for those who want to be the thing that goes bump in the night. Vampire: The Masquerade casts you as a member of a secretive clan of blood suckers. You’ll navigate the modern world by nightfall, taking care not to reveal your true nature to the average human. Maintaining this Masquerade is essential to the survival of all vampires. However, the various clans are also engaged in a power play to advance their own interests. This is a great system for those who love deep roleplay and intrigue-based storylines.
Candela Obscura
Brought to you by Critical Role’s Darrington Press publishing, Candela Obscura comes with a focus on roleplay that you’d expect from Matthew Mercer’s crew. Players belong to a Circle formed to combat the supernatural. Unlike say, Call of Cthulhu, player characters are aware of the supernatural forces they contend with and have the skills to defeat them. There are still clues to put together to find the culprit, but there’s greater emphasis here on character actions and how they affect the story.
Call Of Cthulhu
A trademark of the horror genre is ordinary humans going up against a force vastly more powerful than them. And none is more powerful than the elder god Cthulhu and his various spawn. The Call of Cthulhu RPG places players in the role of ordinary people who are thrust into mysteries concerning awakening Lovecraftian creatures and cursed artifacts. The stories typically take place in the 1920s so there’s also noir and pulp adventure vibes. The system is unafraid to tackle character death or descent into magic, making it a good choice for those who want to experience the full scope of horror.
Alien: The Roleplaying Game
If you’re looking for a sci-fi, futuristic take on monster horror, the Alien RPG delivers. This system smartly adapts the core elements of the Alien movies into a thrilling gameplay experience. It also goes deeper than you’d expect. Sure there are Xenomorphs with wicked stats that can easily tear through your player characters. But there’s also a clever social system that gives players opposing, ever-changing objectives that mirror the character conflicts in the movies. It all adds up to a tense effort to escape the collapsing scenery while both the GM and other players try to seal your fate.
Brindlewood Bay
This is the closest you’ll get to a cozy horror RPG, if such a thing can exist. Imagine Murder She Wrote meets H.P. Lovecraft. Yes, that’s right, players become little old ladies that solve mysteries related to occult activity. Brindlewood Bay balances a mystery-of-the-week pace with the steady trickle of dread found in eldritch horror. It’s a Powered by the Apocalypse system, meaning it’s very easy to learn and that campaigns can wrap up in a few sessions.
Cypher System
This last one is more for the Game Masters. I tried to offer a varied selection of horror genres here, but it could be that none of these systems really fit with the horror setting you’re imagining. Enter Cypher System. This framework of rules is flexible enough to work with several types of campaign ideas. People have used it for fantasy, cyberpunk, post-apocalypse, and of course horror. It’s also very easy to pick up, but doesn’t sacrifice the potential to dig deep. If you’re a GM looking for some good bones to serve as the foundation of your story, check out Cypher.
