Horror Hero???

[Thag13]

I saw a mention of Horror Hero in another thread.

Is this a "maybe in the future"?? kinda game or what?

Not being pushy, but Horror games are one of my favorites and I actully hope I could actully work on that project.

Thanks

Thag "has more insane COC characters than anyone" Walls

[Steve Long]

It's a "sometime in the future, probably" sort of thing. By "the future" I mean "no earlier than 2006, at the earliest."

[Samurai007]

It is also "Something from the past", as in I have the Horror Hero book for 4th ed Hero, published in 1994. A very cool book it is, too! If you don't want to wait till 2006, dig up an old copy... 99% of it is still accurate. BTW, there was also Western Hero, Cyberhero, Fantasy Hero (w/ 2 companion books), etc for 4th ed...

[Thag13]

Thanks Steve.

I figured it was a ways off, and depends on market forces.

Heck Horror Hero could well be supported in Digital Hero with out a re-release of the main book.

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Thag13
Heck Horror Hero could well be supported in Digital Hero with out a re-release of the main book.

As I have said in a couple of other Horror Hero threads, I think a horror section should just be written into each of the genre books. After all, horror is really just a sub-genre of the main genres. You have superhero horror (Tomb of Dracula), pulp horror (CoC), modern horror (Resident Evil), fantasy horror (Ravenloft), ect. Every genre has a horror sub-element.

To me it's better to tell me how to use horror in each genre book than it is to produce a book telling me how to use horror in every genre. That way I don't waste time reading about scifi horror when I only want to play superhero horro. What can I say. I'm a lazy reader.

[Steve Long]

As Mono points out, horror really isn't a genre so much as it is what's called a meta-genre, like comedy, tragedy, and romance. That's why our genre books have a section on applying meta-genres to the genre in question -- Champions has a short horror section, so do SH and NH, FH will too, and so on.

[Yamo]

As Mono points out, horror really isn't a genre so much as it is what's called a meta-genre, like comedy, tragedy, and romance. That's why our genre books have a section on applying meta-genres to the genre in question -- Champions has a short horror section, so do SH and NH, FH will too, and so on.

I think most dedicated horror movies prove that if it's not technically a genre, it's often treated like one with some success. What is the "genre" of something like Halloween or Dawn of the Dead then?

Besides, all this "genre/meta-genre" stuff is just semantic hairsplitting. We're gamers, not philosophers! Most of use see horror as a rich, varied, and distinct entity unto itself just as much as fantasy or science fiction. Why not just call it close enough for government work and print the book we ask for?

[Monolith]

Originally posted by Yamo
What is the "genre" of something like Halloween or Dawn of the Dead then?

Both of those are part of the Dark Champions (modern/realistic) genre. That is where "normal" people fight things in a relatively modern genre.

Why not just call it close enough for government work and print the book we ask for?

I think Steve covered this before. Eventually the book will be printed, but not before more popular and in-demand genres are published first. Fantasy this year, Dark Champions next year, maybe Pulp or Horror the year after that.

The 4th Edition Horror Hero is still quite usable though. You can easily use that (along with the creatures in the Bestiary) to play a 5th Edition Horror Hero campaign. Outside of the Spirit Rules, I do not think anything else has changed. Your own zombie adventure is proof of that.

[Yamo]

Both of those are part of the Dark Champions (modern/realistic) genre. That is where "normal" people fight things in a relatively modern genre.

Point taken, but I meant in a general sense, not in HERO System terms. As in, if you asked the average man on the street what "genre" Night of the Living Dead or the Halloween movies fell under, what would he say? "Horror", I'm betting.

Besides, I would argue that the sheer number of unique cliches, conventions, and assorted "bits" associated with horror fiction of all kinds are easily as varied in number and application as the laundry lists of such we see in other HERO genre books, correct? That also goes a long way toward blurring the "genre"/"meta-genre" line for many.

[Derek Hiemforth]

The lines between genres and themes can certainly get blurry. In general, I figure that if the defining trait is the environment a story set in, that's a genre. If the defining trait is the type of story being told, that's a theme (or "meta-genre").

So -- again only in general terms -- I would typically classify Fantasy, Supers, and Sci-Fi (for example) as genres, because they're mostly defined by the environment. Fantasy worlds have magic and are usually some kind of quasi-medieval analogue. Supers worlds contain superpowers and people run around in brightly colored skintights and masks, for which they are admired instead of locked up. Sci-Fi is set in a future world, with high technology and space travel.

On the other hand, I would typically classify Horror, Mystery, and Conspiracy (for example) as themes, because they're mostly defined by the type of story being told. Horror can appear in any environment. (For example, Alien is set in a Sci-Fi world, but is clearly a Horror story.)

The thing that muddles the picture is that most entertainment is set in the Contemporary environment, so we think of it as the "default" environment. We acknowledge Alien as Sci-Fi Horror, and The Mummy as Pulp Horror because they're outside that environment. It would be accurate to refer to the Halloween movies and Night of the Living Dead and so on as Contemporary Horror. But since the majority of Horror movies are Contemporary Horror, we mentally shorthand the "Contemporary" out, and start thinking of them as just "Horror." I think that's why, when you ask someone what kind of movie Night of the Living Dead is, they respond "Horror" because the Contemporary "genre" is assumed.

Now, having said all that, I would love to see the "themes" get their own kind of "genre books." The "true" Genre Books (Champions, Star Hero, Fantasy Hero, and so on) have sections about incorporating the various themes into them. But once we get to the Contemporary Genre Book (Dark Champions), those sections would have to be massive to do justice to the breadth of those themes in Contemporary settings, because they're usually in Contemporary settings.

Ideally, I'd like to see some kind of breakdown like this:

Genre Books: (Contain mostly material about environments, with some material about the various themes as they apply to that environment.) Examples:

• Champions
• Star Hero
• Fantasy Hero
• Contemporary Hero (Dark Champions)
• Pulp Hero
• Dark Future Hero (Cyberpunk, Post-Apocalypse, etc.)
• Western Hero
• Cartoon Hero

Theme Books: (Contain mostly material about types of stories, primarily aimed at the Contemporary setting, perhaps with some additional material on applying the theme to other genres.) Examples:

• Ninja Hero
• Horror Hero
• Mystery Hero
• Conspiracy Hero
• Comedy Hero
• Romantic Hero
• Tragic Hero
• Espionage Hero

I hope this rambling makes some kind of sense to someone other than me.

[Crimson-Hawk]

It makes perfect sense to me, Derek. While one kind represents types of games, the other kind represents themes that can played out in those games.

As an author, I'm calling dibs on Tragic HERO!!!!

"What do you mean I'm creating a HERO System character who's sole purpose is to get gacked in the most heart-wrenching way possible in just four games?!?! Kiss off!!!"

[Grymlynn]

Hey Steve, we already got one of the Theme books written! And, ya know, the theme books would be applicable to ANY game system... Make a bit more money with things that can be used for anything, as opposed to just Hero... And, once those other gamers see how effective Hero is at modelling any genre, maybe they'll pick a copy of FREd, and then, WORLD DOMINATION IS OURS!!! (Well, yours mostly, but you'd probably be a pretty benign dictator, so that's okay...)