This is intended to look for alternatives, not disrespect MotW.

Monster of the Week is a great game by Evil Hat Productions. It uses the Powered by the Apocalypse engine. I praised this game highly when I reviewed it. I still think it’s a cool game even now. I would definitely use it at conventions and for one-shots.

That having been said, I’m looking for a replacement. My main hangup is that PbtA tends to be almost a little too abstract at times. I want a slightly crunchier game when it comes to combat and skills. PbtA is well suited to Blades in the Dark where there’s a lot of planning and investigation a lot of times. Yes, horror games have that, too. I feel like we spend too much time interpreting the various moves and a lot of time there’s not as much suspense in the system when it comes to the dice mechanics.

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

Here’s a list of my Top Five Contenders so far in no particular order:

Call of Cthulhu:
Positives: Solidly tested skill system. Seven editions in and going strong. Very crunchy combat. Well established canon. I have lots of experience with it.

Not-So-Positives: High character mortality in combat situations. Insanity rules force early character retirement. Magic research and psychic abilities inevitably lead to trouble and sanity loss. Not built specifically for modern era play. Entire game is designed around short-lived characters. Character creation is a bit time consuming. High cost of switching from 6E to 7E not that I really need to.

I could also just use Basic RolePlaying from Chaosium and leave out most of the Cthulhu horror rules. Minimal amount of tweaking, but lots of specifics to fill in for my setting. Overall still a good option.

Cypher System:
Positives: Solid system. Well tested. Somewhat crunchier. Magic and Psionics not instantly detrimental to users. Higher hero factor than some games. Monte Cook already has two Cypher based horror games if I’m not mistaken. It would be easy to opt into one of them.

Not-So-Positives:
Still a bit abstract in terms of gameplay. Not sure how to work Cyphers into the game effectively. Combat is still kinda meh. Horror and Insanity rules have to be modded in. High hero factor, less lethal on characters. Books are a bit pricey for this game.

Cryptworld:
Positives: Similar to Pacesetter’s Chill First Edition. (Affiliate Link to Cryptworld if you want to check it out.) I actually dug out my old Chill 1E the other day. I entirely regret not getting a print copy of Chill Things now. It’s a pretty basic percentile system. I’ve been in contact with someone who knows Daniel Proctor who said a Third Party License might be possible, giving my campaign some publish ability. Otherwise the system is very easy to work with and there is a vast array of monsters. The Des Moines Remote Viewing Society would fit right in with save.

Less Positives: The game is a bit older and somewhat obscure compared to other systems I’ve observed. Combat is a bit clunky if I remember correctly, but there are ways of fixing that. The game itself might need to be updated from its 1980s roots if it is a clone of Chill. Additionally, I don’t own a copy of Cryptworld or the monster book yet. (They have moved to the top of my list, though.)

A lot of signs point to yes with this game. Anything I don’t have specifics for I can probably sandwich in some mechanics from Chaosium’s Basic RolePlaying Universal Game Engine at least for my own purposes.

Various d20 Systems:

This is a catch-all from Dungeons & Dragons 5E rules, Everyday Heroes, Shadowdark, Old School Essentials with Modern Necessities thrown in, to pulling out old school d20 Modern with its various accessories.
Positives: I have so much freakin material if I wanted to do this. I have countless books that either convert directly to d20 or use it as their system. Yes, those same references often work for other horror games, but they shoehorn directly into one another so easily. It’s a d20 game that we all know and love so well. It can be reskinned from anything into anything.

Not-as-Positives: It’s almost like taking the easy way out. I’ve grown to adore so many other games. Sure, I can adapt anything to d20 easier than eating pancakes, but do I really want to? It’s been done a lot. I’d rather work with something a bit more creative.

FATE
Positives: Easy to learn. Easy to adapt to specific system. Total control over the mechanics. I’m super familiar with it. Easy to teach.

Not-as-Positives: Lots of time to adapt the setting to the rules. Building a character sheet for the players. System Mechanics that don’t translate to horror as well. (Fear, Insanity) Less lethal combat.

Things I left out:

That’s the list for now. I left out World of Darkness because the minute you pull out a WoD book, everything becomes their world. I’m just not feeling that one. I’m looking into Chill 3rd Ed, but I don’t know a lot about it just yet. I’ve heard positive things, but I want to see more of it. I’ve also considered N.O.W. from EN Publishing. It’s a bit more obscure, though.

There are so many horror and generic systems out there that could work for my purposes. Cortex and Savage Worlds are cool, but I find the dice systems to be a bit clunky. If I’m looking to publish anything, those are two tough licensing deals to try to obtain. The same can be said for Renegade Games Essence 20.

I’m really trying to find just the right game with no pre-established IP embedded into it which is why generic systems appeal to me so much. Beyond the Supernatural and other Palladium games are a lot of fun, but they’re always bound to the Palladium system and their world. Plus the skill systems and combat are a bit messy once you really get into the weeds with them.

West End D6 or Gallant Knight’s D6 2E are still kind of in the running, but those systems will require a lot of adaptations to make them horror ready. The D6 framework works best for space opera or high action games. As much as I love D6, I love it less for this project.

I love Spectrum Games Slasher Flick, but as the name implies the game is great for one-shots and short campaigns because the characters are intended to drop dead at some point. The game emulates the 1980s and 90s horror movies as the name implies. I’m not trying to have the proverbial monster of the week or haunted house be the bloody end of the entire cast every session. It’s kind of my same dilemma with Call of Cthulhu in that everything points at the characters going crazy or dropping dead.

No final decisions have been made yet.

I could cobble together an original system and build up my setting as the campaign world for it. For what it’s worth adapting D6, FATE, or FUDGE, I could invest just as much time. I’ve been plunking around building up a game here and there since the Great Dungeons & Dragons Open Game License Debacle of 2023 went down. Wizards of the Coast will not be getting another dime out of me for their products until the company changes dramatically. I do have a game system I could theoretically publish.

Regardless, I’m open to suggestions for a new horror game to insert The Des Moines Remote Viewing Society into. It needs to be good for investigation, roleplay, exploration, paranormal weirdness, horror (obviously,) and a little combat. Monster of the Week will suffice in the meantime. I do love the player facing mechanics that leave me free to run the bad guys while I plot and scheme.

Thank you for being here with me today. I appreciate you. Keep it real, but please strive for positivity, too. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy in your life.