Chilling Tales from the Depths: 5 RPG Games to Craft a Haunted Narrative Experience This Halloween

Step closer, dear reader, into the shadows drawn dark and close, and let me tell you a tale... One of woe and wickedness, weirdness, and role-playing games! In the age old tradition of Halloween, why not indulge in telling terrifying tales round the old game table? And what better way to scare your friends than have them involved in the action?! Below are five horror themed RPG’s sure to send chills down the spine of even the most hardened players - read on, if you dare…

Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying: A Wicked Secret and Mysteries

If you’re on the hunt for a slow building horror based on the introspection of humanities impact on each other, Vaesen is a great game. Riddled with moral choices and moral questions with very few right answers, Vaesen’s true toll is taken in revealing the monstrosity in humanity; even with supernatural forces at play.

Vaesen contains four different adventures steeped in atmospheric investigation, which can be played in a single sitting, but can also be stretched to a few sessions per adventure, giving the atmosphere time to build, and letting the horror set in. If you’re looking for fresh folklore and tradition to explore, an interesting setting, and a world with brutal harsh realities, then your hunt is over - try Vaesen this Halloween for a haunting adventure you won’t soon forget!

Fate Horror Toolkit

Writing horror and keeping players engaged involves walking the delicate knife’s edge of suspense, and building atmosphere into consequences. This creates the kind of dread that sits heavy in the pit of your stomach, and makes an adventure sit with players long after its completion. To be truly terrified is an art form - and the Fate Horror Toolkit not only explores how to implement horror effectively within the Fate Core System, but how to build it from the ground up within your game.

Being able to give your players agency while still being at the mercy of the evil spirits haunting the house is just one of the many skills you’ll learn from this Toolkit, alongside how to create mortifying adversaries, and how to keep momentum within an adventure, even when it is leading to the players' inevitable doom. After all, the best horror is the ineffable kind that plays out in a player’s mind, without you having to roll a dice against them!

Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)

Based on the classic horror of H.P. Lovecraft’s work, Call of Cthulhu invites players to grimey 1920’s cities and haunting fishing towns alike, exploring cosmic horrors that sit intangible on the edge of madness. This rich game has you taking on the role of investigators from all walks of life, and has in-depth systems to catalogue all the skills and checks you might need to truly interrogate every facet of the horrors laid before you.

This edition has revised rules which create quick and brutal combat, streamlined character creation, and two beginning scenarios perfect for getting new players acclimated to the style of adventure and horror that await them in the deep. With punchy action, gruelling investigations, plenty of intrigue, and excerpts of H.P Lovecraft’s work, as well as several authors who have contributed to build the mythos further,Call of Cthulhu binds together an atmospheric and haunting narrative. Perfect for new and old player’s alike, Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition is a great entry point to the series, and the perfect adventure to pull out on All Hallows Eve.

Vampire: the Masquerade

Vampires are synonymous with the spooky season - and no other roleplaying game quite entertains the delicate balance of refined debauchery quite like Vampire: the Masquerade . Your players occupy the role of vampires entertaining the great ‘masquerade’ - the hidden agreement between all your fanged kin that humanity cannot know you exist. Rife with social politics, deception, manipulation and intrigue, Vampire the Masquerade presents a world that is hierarchical, cruel, with a dark sense of humour.

Just because you stopped kickin’ doesn’t mean you stop livin’ - and your death and rebirth as a vampire is just as concerned with the machinations of feeding and existing in the expansive, secret world that you must now find your place in. Perfect for gamers who love to to 'sink their teeth' into narrative-driven roleplay, Vampire: the Masquerade pairs perfectly with a good glass of red wine (or grape juice, for the effect) and a long Halloween game night.

What’s so Rotten About Zombies Defending an Ancient Temple?

If you’re looking for something a little more lighthearted and camp for your Halloween party, What’s so Rotten About Zombies Defending an Ancient Temple may be the perfect game for you. With a simple system based on 6-sided die, and only taking 2 hours to play, this game sets your players as zombies defending their ancient, decrepit temple. And who amongst your players hasn’t wanted to delve into the half-rotted psyche of one of roleplaying games most populous enemies?

This game is great for a short break between campaigns, to help populate a dungeon for your main game, or to help build a little empathy for the enemy! A little gorey, a little grim, and most probably goofy, what says "Halloween" more than groaning with your friends for a few more brains to munch on?