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Following are a collection of important considerations that affect the mood and
tone of a Here There Be Monsters campaign.
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NOT EVERYTHING HAS A SUPERNATURAL ANGLE
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In a Modern Horror setting with "hidden" Supernatural elements, it can be tempting
to ascribe a Supernatural angle to significant personages and events. Mystical Conspiracies
and Shadow Plots can run rapant if this is allowed to get out of hand, and such
over-saturation can significantly detract from the long term enjoyment of the setting.
It is also difficult to undo once proliferated. If nothing is as it seems in the
setting, then ultimately the seeting seems as if it is nothing - as if you are just
retconning and making things up as you go to prolong the plot line and maintain
the status quo.
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Instead, try mixing in Supernatural elements when it "fits" or "works", using a
light hand. Try using Mundane threats and and aspects when you can. Rather than
detracting from the Supernatural aspects of the campaign, the presense and use of
Mundane elements will actually accentuate the feel of the Supernatural elements
by providing sharp contrast.
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HYPER-COMPETENT SURVIVORS LIVING ON THE EDGE
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The underlying premise of the Here There Be Monsters setting is that all or most
of the PCs are Hunters who investigate, seek out, and take down dangerous Supernatural
threats in return for lucrative bounties. Most Hunters have special skills and abilities,
at least some of which often revolve around the ability to do violence effectively.
A certain amount of swagger is fairly typical. Hunters are often tough, mean, and
dangerous, or at least present an exterior of being so. Perceived weakness invites
danger from unseen threats.
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STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
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With a collection of rugged individualists in the form of Hunters, it can be difficult
to provide a motivation for them to team up together in the interests of catering
to the RPG format. It is essential that the GM semi-constantly provide such motivation
by illustrating in game that there is Strength in Numbers. Whether it be to be able
to to take on bigger threats with fatter payoffs, gain better skill set coverage
to make hunts easier, to share resources and information with, to have someone willing
to go into a hot situation to extract an injured teammate, or just to watch each
others backs in a dangerous world, it is much safer to have one or more buddies.
This is a crucial concept for fostering the idea of a Hunter team.
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MIXED EPISODIC AND SERIAL CONTINUITY
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Hunters make their living doing covert missions on behalf of a government that wants
things to stay on the very low down. Depending on the focus of the campaign, the
planning and execution of Hunts might be very strategically and tactically oriented
for more dramatic relevance, or things can be much more loose and plotted like an
action adventure movie with things kind of just flowing from one scene to the next
in a reactive fashion, or in yet another style Hunts can be background elements
that are largely assumed to be routine with the focus of play being on all the stuff
in between, dealing with reprisals, and the rare Hunt that just goes wrong.
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The more typical action-adventure and strat/tact dramatic styles tend to be more
episodic; several weeks or months might pass in between significant events One game
session might be the execution of a Hunt, and the next the start of another Hunt
months later, with the time in between being "blue-booked" or off-screened
with quick wrap session or between sessions. This can lend a feeling of impersonalization
to the setting which can contribute to the general tone of the game.
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However, there is also plenty of room for more traditional detailed continuity if
a group's playstyle prefers such. The one downside to this though is that unless
a group just avoids doing Hunts for long stretches of time, there can be a tendency
for groups to end up doing Hunts back to back to back in a short period of in-game
time which can strain the limits of the genre.
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MID TO HIGH LETHALITY
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The Here There Be Monsters setting is a violent place. Killing attacks are the norm,
with some very dangerous hardware, magic, and evil monsters floating around. Failed
encounters will usually end in death in most circumstances. However, there are also
technological and magical options for health care if a GM allows them.
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Also, some Hunters might have Powers or special abilities that provide additional
protection from harm. Nevertheless, the fear of character loss is a powerful tool
to heighten dramatic tension to be applied by the GM in a fashion appropriate to
their group's dynamic and tolerance.
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TOTAL PARTY KILL
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Due to the high lethality of this setting, there is a risk of a Total Party Kill
(TPK). GM's should be very careful to balance encounters and err on the side of
caution. It's important to remember that the GM can always escalate a threat if
necessary, but it is difficult to defuse a situation that is getting out of hand
without employing an obvious Deus Ex Machina. It's expected that some characters
will die semi regularly, but unless the GM wants to end the game abruptly killing
off a majority of the group all at once is rarely a good idea.
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Since Here There Be Monsters adventures tend to be more episodic, with a mission
oriented focus, a Hunt gone bad is a particularly common source of TPK's. To some
extent this is part of the setting; Hunts are supposed to be very dangerous and
it's a cornerstone of the setting. However, this must be leavened with the reality
that players can be easily frustrated by defeat and might lose interest in the game.
Each GM will have to find a balance that works for their group.
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NOT EVERYTHING IS SOLVED BY VIOLENCE
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In such a brutal and dangerous environment it can be tempting to players to bunny
up and make slavering combat monsters with the social skills of a lawnmower. However,
this style of play is not conducive to long term enjoyment or versimilitude. It
is important for the GM to enforce the social elements of the setting. Social skills
matter. Being hooked up and networked matters. Skills, particularly occult ones,
matter. Knowledge is power and power always matters.
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The gritty hard-boiled monster slayer packing a small arsenal with every point sunk
in "KILLIN STUFF" can't make a snitch trust them enough to give them good
info, barter with suppliers to get good prices on their gear, rely on a pulled favor
to save their bacon when things go bad, info broker for fame and fortune, or bluff
their way past mind controlled minions to get into a lair without waking up the
big bad.
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OVERSTRAINING DISBELIEF
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While there are supernatural and psychic powers available, neither provide open
checks. Some degree of "cinematic realism" should still be observed to
maintain the scope of the setting. The supernatural elements of a Here There Be
Monsters campaign are intended to be more low key, without a lot of flash and bang.
The supernatural is supposed to be difficult to observe or document.
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NO DOUBLE STANDARD
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A generally good rule to observe in all cases, it is especially important that a
GM be careful to hold the opposition to the same general limitations on power level
that the heroes labor under, or else this setting can become really frustrating
really fast. It is occassionally allowable for a group of villains to gain access
or develop something out of the ordinary and have an edge briefly, but it should
be normal for such things to get assimilated or replicated or destroyed in the vast
majority of cases. Similarly, antagonists should be held to the same basic limitations
on supernatural abilities as PC's, though they obviously might be more powerful
individually.
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