Establishing Horror

So anyone that has been paying any amount of attention is probably aware that Vathak is a horror setting. Unfortunately, that doesn't really tell anyone a whole lot of anything. Horror is like most other genres, in that it encompasses dozens of other stories and styles under that single unifying umbrella. And while Vathak is a great place for most of these types of horror, a quick comparison can be made to Pathfinder RPG's Golarion. Although (almost?) every fantasy RPG trope can be found in Golarion, each individual nation generally focuses on one particular style. (The shadowy Ustalav being Golarion's version of horror-land.)

"Horror" adventure set piece exhibit A

In Vathak, the various nations and regions each have a particular brand of horror they're best suited to. Landon has a great discussion on these different elements of horror and the forms they might take over on the official Fat Goblin Games blog.

Instead of retreading that same ground, I wanted to talk a bit about the different levels of horror. Whether you'd exploring the traditions of gothic horror or creeping everyone out with body horror, one cannot simply just straight to the hit points and baddie-smashing. There's nothing horrific about that. It's just another day in murderhoboton, where greatswords solve all problems.

The first element of horror, in my own humble opinion, is establishing a sense of unease. And achieving this also requires some sense of what "normal" is. Technically speaking these are problem two different elements, but they go hand in hand.

For instance, my lycanthropic paladin has returned to his hometown after two decades of separation. The town has changed since then, and certainly not for the better. There's not a whole lot of need to establish normalcy, since he's already shared a bit of backstory about the town. On the road I detail a few more memories--people and places he would have remembered and might still be around.

It is the subversion of the mundane that makes unease so powerful.

What horrors might happen here that would not in Exhibit A?

But once the PCs arrive, something is immediately wrong. A not-so-subtle ominous cloud hangs over the town and murders of crows perch upon dreary homes. Open, unguarded gates lead into the empty streets of the city, where flickering lamplight reveals a trio of heavily armed svirfneblin dragging a laden cart. With a crack of thunder, the birds descend upon the locals and the PCs must rush to intervene (successfully, at that). The cart is occupied by a pair of bodies, the newest of which my paladin recognizes as the local herbalist and healer.

Something is very wrong with this town, and now the PCs are in the thick of it.