[Raiden]

 Hey guys, just wanted some input on this. If anyone here is going to be playing my horror game please stop reading and leave now. thank you :3.


So, I was thinking about have a psychotic delusional vampire genius as a recurring "villain" for the PCs, would be a mystic adept and be much stronger (at least karma wise) than a single PC due to well, living long enough as a vampire to go insane (and still think your quite sane).

Also thought about him having MPD, with one being the insane Doctor/scientist and the other being a more civil, polite, and charming man. I plan to have him "catch" the PCs at one point not sure how to do this without railroading or seem as if I am going on a DM power trip, any tips on that as well would be nice.

Anyway after catching them the insane doctor would perform experiments and the like, some actually ending up slightly beneficial, some detrimental to PC health but most just puttering out in the end with no real effect. After a time the PCs would somehow manage to escape (not sure how to do this either) and yadadada so on and so forth.

Now this was a on the spot, lightbulb that I started to run with, any thoughts? Ideas? (it's a horroresque game so, terrify me)

Oh, also the guy is hell bent on causing a new pandemic of the ghoul strain and then using a spell he (and his mentor spirit made specifically for ghouls) to control all or most life left on earth. :3 (of course we all know the best he could do was take over say, the UCAS or some around that hehe.)

I think I would have the PCs start working for him a run or two getting him things he needs without knowing it. sorry I am rambling as I think. anyways thoughts, ideas, the works :3 thanks guys.

I had thought about having an episode during a meet with him trying to maintain control as said -personality- while another tries to take over. I may just use some GM power here and say he somewhat lives in harmony with his other selves and during all things all are "present" but not "active" and he can communicate, either mental or speaking with them and they him. This still leaves open plenty of oops moments since they might not get along at all times and the right provocation could cause one to attempt to assume "command" as it were, at an inopportune time.

though I am not sure as of yet. I want him to be extremely memorable and I have a decent amount of time to work on him. Still I don't feel like I have hit the mark so to speak.

EDIT: think insane like Hannibal insane.

[r4nd0m]

My piece of advice?  Get rid of the MPD angle.  Someone can be completely civil, polite and charming and still be an insane doctor/scientist.  And they will be that much more terrifying because of it.  A good example of this is the one you mention: Hannibal Lecter.  The minute you bring in MPD your smart memorable villain turns into a caricature.

[Marlowe]

If your players seem like they'd be cool with it, you can always have one or more wake up in the prison/ facility your antagonist controls. Sudden surprises area big part of the horror genre.

You might also have them use the antagonist as a prime contact for gear or as a street doc. This could give your villain enough reason to be able to track and abduct your players.  It may also help to give them a reason to think twice about dealing with him but make his services/use too tempting to pass up.

Although people sometimes say differently any written adventure starts with a "railroad" setup.  Just don't be surprised or fight it if they escape more easily than you originally thought.

[Jafaro6]

Although people sometimes say differently any written adventure starts with a "railroad" setup.

Like Marlowe said, I think I'd just go with the railroad setup and skip the first couple of missions. Session 1 begins, "You wake up in a barred, stone cell, all of your gear is gone and your body is sore and wracked with pain. There are new scars on your body that you can't identify and your memory of recent events is fuzzy. You're not even sure how you got here in the first place." Then continue on. The players can break out, learn a little bit more about who the villain is.

Maybe the vampire's fortress is a maze keeping the players locked inside. They could spend a session or two just trying to escape, get their gear back and figure out exactly what happened to them. From there they could go about unraveling the Doctor's plot and doing whatever they can to stop him.

[GiraffeShaman]

Maybe the vampire's fortress is a maze keeping the players locked inside. They could spend a session or two just trying to escape, get their gear back and figure out exactly what happened to them. From there they could go about unraveling the Doctor's plot and doing whatever they can to stop him.

Aha, you're in Castelvania. What a horrible night to have a curse.