OGL Horror is Mongoose Publishing's answer to the genre issue for a D20 Modern game. While OGL Horror sets itself up as a complete book, it comes across as a book geared for those already well aware of the D20 System...
Post originally by Bubbalin at 2004-01-26 12:28:59
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Well, I admit that I haven't taken a good look at it yet, but your criticism seems a bit harsh...
You only specifically mentioned two shortcomings that I saw, badly laid out advancement and skill/feat descriptions that were bland, yet I feel as though something rubbed you up the wrong way from reading your review...
Any chance you could clarify on anything else that bothered you?
Post originally by Excellent review at 2004-01-26 12:55:36
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In 2004, D20 products have distinguished themselves with well-organized content. It's dissapointing, but hopefully not a fatal flaw and hopefully OGL Horror (awkwardly named as it is) can bounce from this. I am surprised there was no reference to Call of Cthulhu D20, which is well-organized and excellent. Chaosium continues to support D20 and BRP versions of this fine game.
Post originally by Samurai at 2004-01-26 15:42:32
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One line in the review really jumped out at me... "Each Shock Point penalizes a character on further sanity saves, making a downward spiral for the character's mind unless they try to get out of the situation (by turning to drugs, alcohol, or sheer force of will)."
Does this game actually encourage characters to use alcohol and drugs feel better and cope with emotional and mental problems? I know it's just a game, but that just seems like a really bad idea...
Post originally by Mytholder at 2004-01-26 16:01:35
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Author weighing in:
Not really. Basically, when you encounter horrifying entities and other shocking things, you have to make a Horror save. Fail that Horror save and you probably get Shock Points. Shock Points are bad, because they penalise future Horror saves, giving you a downward spiral.
One of the ways to get rid of shock is blocking it out, and one of the ways to do that is drugs or alcohol. However, if you've any shock points left over at the end of a scenario, you've got to 'buy them off' in various ways. Using drugs or alcohol reduces the Shock Cost of the Addiction drawback, meaning that a character who has started using alcohol to deal with his problems is more likely to become an alcoholic.
It's a temporary relief that can lead to bigger problems down the road, basically.
Post originally by Robert at 2004-01-26 16:25:48
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Wow. How far our creativity has fallen...
Back in the day we had Chill, Stalking the Night Fantastic, Whispering Vault and Call of Cthulhu - all inspiring titles. Now we have "OGL Horror" the generic beer of gaming. What's next? "OGL: the Dice Rolling"
Is everyone supposed to know what OGL is? Or do they plan to sell this product only to people immersed in D20 politics?
What feeling is OGL supposed to invoke in the reader? I mean, if horror isn't about evoking feelings, then why play? And yes nimrods, the people standing in the gamestore DO judge a book by the cover.
Why in the world should a gamer who wants to be spooked buy something that has a less creative title than Howling Part 5?
Post originally by Robert at 2004-01-26 17:42:37
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It's worse than brand name soda. It's less descriptive than Shasta Root Beer. I might as well be Beer, Inc or that white label generics with blue stencil we saw in the 80s with titles like "Rice", "Meat By-Product" and now "Roleplaying Game".
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