Scribbling horrors

One of my big hobbies as a child-free millennial is playing and running roleplaying games. No, not that kind of roleplaying games, nor the similarly-labelled video games (or RPGs).

I'm referring to the kind of games where you gather around a table with some friends, tell stories together, roll some dice, and slay monsters. Or in my case, slay your inner demons.

You might have heard of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)? Nowadays, there’s a whole world of other games, stories, and systems to play. They cater to different kinds of players and come in variety of genres, from fantasy and science fiction, to comedy and… to horror.

Myself, I’d rather spend a whole day cleaning cat litter or sorting endless piles of unmatched socks (the true horror!) than play D&D, because D&D sometimes feels like playing with an Excel sheet.

As an amateur writer, I’m interested in the story and the characters – the “role” part of roleplaying.

If you're looking for a more serious take on roleplaying games and how they can help build better teams at work, I've got you covered:

Why you should make your team play a role-playing game

This might shock you, but I’m a nerd and I love role-playing games. And recently I made a 100 people from my company play one.

KibernickNick Rankovic

KULT: Divinity Lost

One of the games that I’m obsessed with is KULT: Divinity Lost, a contemporary horror roleplaying game. It centres around flawed characters, and their journey in a world that looks much like our own, but where reality is not what it seems. Think Clive Barker’s Hellraiser meets The Matrix, with a sprinkle of David Lynch (depending on who's running it).

KULT can get very dark, grim and transgressive. Which is why players and the game master needs to make good use of the communication tools the game provides. The chief one being the Horror Contract – in short, it consists of asking the players for a list of forbidden (or veiled) topics, as well as a list of scary things that they think would be fun to include in the story.

When done properly, the players and the GM align expectations, drive the narrative together and avoid hurtful situations that can happen in a world of dark imagination. In return, they hopefully get rewarded with deeply moving stories and characters that resonate with them well past their gaming session.

While the game is meant to be played in a highly improvised way, where you "play to find out", there are scenarios for it, and a lot of them are free on the official website.

A scenario is a pre-written story, where players take on given character roles and then interact with the story and the settings. There is usually a plot device pushing the players to make progress. Some scenarios often feature twists to the usual game mechanics, to better emphasise their themes or an aspect of the setting.

For example, one of my favourite scenarios to run is Oakwood Heights (free download). It's set in contemporary Detroit, described as a desolate place with small pockets of hope. The players take on roles in an investigative team looking into a grisly crime that happened in the past, but was never properly resolved. Each character comes with their own hidden, sinister motive that complicates the investigation. Tensions build between the player characters, and then all hell breaks loose in the final act, literally. It's meant to be run as a one-shot – a scenario meant to be completed in one sitting, which is a great way to introduce a group of new players to KULT.

'Til Death Do Us Part

In addition to the many published scenarios, every December, KULT's tightly-knit community is treated to a new free scenario. It's called Kultmas! Kultmas scenarios are all updated and expanded scenarios from the old editions of the game. And last Kultmas, I was honoured to help breathe new life into one scenario called 'Til Death Do Us Part.

The good folks at KULT's publisher, Helmgast, had been busy working on their latest Kickstarter. So, they reached out to some of us active in KULT's online community to help them out, and in the end, I got the opportunity to work on the Kultmas scenario. I was smiling from ear to ear!

The original Swedish version of this scenario, written in 1991 by Gunilla Jonsson and Michael Petersén, felt like a dark and twisted reading of A Christmas Carol. It is a tale of four siblings haunted by a crime from the past. After a family tragedy, the story gets quite weird, as the line between life and death breaks down.

It was a unique experience to grow new limbs to a story that was already developed three decades(!) ago. I did my best to bring the story to the new system of KULT's 4th edition, which makes quite a departure from the 90s version (much like computer games, RPG systems also get updated over time). The rules are now simpler, but the play is more collaborative!

In the updated scenario, the story is moved from Sweden to the United States. I have developed backstories for each of the siblings, tying them back to the main plot and planting the seeds for playing out a deeper family drama. I've also included several prompts for the GM to have on hand, to help the players step into their character's shoes. I've added a new possible ending to the game, but there is still little the players can do to avoid their characters' inevitable doom.

However, the right group of players will for sure enjoy the ride and create their own gut-wrenching stories, in more ways than one.

You can check out and play the scenario itself here.

You can also have a listen to the following episode of the beloved Red Moon Roleplaying actual play podcast. Their episodes have a nice audio drama quality that is soothing to the ears. I admit, listening to them play a scenario I wrote was... intimidating at first 😄

Free resources

If this post has piqued your curiosity about KULT, you can check out the following links:

• KULT Quickstart rules: https://bit.ly/kultqsr
• All the Kultmas scenarios: https://bit.ly/kultmas
• Invite to the "Elysium" Discord community: https://discord.gg/2Dc8v78R4N
• And again, the scenario itself 🤓, 'Til Death Do Us Part

Hope you enjoy this dark world and that you are maybe curious to try out a new hobby! What other systems besides D&D have you tried?