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Old 10-24-2010, 08:11 PM   #1
xaktarsonis
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Default Light in Scifi Horror

I am running a scifi Horror - Tech level 9/10 mix. The players have been slowly realizing that something is wrong on their ship and since the first adventure the lights have been malfunctioning. The next adventure is going to be almost a complete black out on the ship as the organic mutagen (evolved zombies) begins to infest the ship and crew. I am trying to figure out how to run the party through that well given that there is little to no light.
So far the best idea i have had is to give each of the chars mini's a cone that represents their flashlight if they have one. Anything outside of this cone, the players cannot see unless they pick up nightvision goggles or darkvision cybernetics. These are uncommon and given that they can short out or be damaged only one player has them. Any other ideas on how to deal with light in a horror game like this?
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Old 10-24-2010, 08:49 PM   #2
Apache
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Yeah.

Make sure you play the game session in a darkened room.

:)
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Old 10-24-2010, 11:09 PM   #3
DreadPirateLynx
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

I could see using flashlights becoming problematic. In a combat situation a character isn't going to leave his light pointing at a single point for a whole second (unless he's taking an aim maneuver, or is really dumb), so placing cones on the table isn't going to accurately model what's going on.

I'd probably have players make a vision based Per roll to see threats, with flashlights giving a situational bonus to the normal -10 for total darkness. Maybe +2 or so per flashlight. I'd only change this if a player told me he was pointing his flashlight somewhere specific.

Or you could just use multi-directional light sources like glow sticks.
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Old 10-24-2010, 11:12 PM   #4
Ulzgoroth
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Quote:
Originally Posted by DreadPirateLynx View Post
I could see using flashlights becoming problematic. In a combat situation a character isn't going to leave his light pointing at a single point for a whole second (unless he's taking an aim maneuver, or is really dumb), so placing cones on the table isn't going to accurately model what's going on.

I'd probably have players make a vision based Per roll to see threats, with flashlights giving a situational bonus to the normal -10 for total darkness. Maybe +2 or so per flashlight. I'd only change this if a player told me he was pointing his flashlight somewhere specific.

Or you could just use multi-directional light sources like glow sticks.
Trying to spot things by sweeping your flashlight around should be worth a huge vision penalty. Keeping it steady gives you a small region in which you've got a pretty low vision penalty.

If you're trying not to get snuck up on and have very few lights the former might be preferable, but if you actually want to fight, you probably don't want to flail like that.
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Old 10-24-2010, 11:16 PM   #5
DreadPirateLynx
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth View Post
Trying to spot things by sweeping your flashlight around should be worth a huge vision penalty. Keeping it steady gives you a small region in which you've got a pretty low vision penalty.

If you're trying not to get snuck up on and have very few lights the former might be preferable, but if you actually want to fight, you probably don't want to flail like that.
That's why I said I'd change it if the player said he was pointing his light somewhere specific. Anything out in the open where he's pointing his light is pretty much automatically seen. Anything outside that cone probably won't be seen period. If a group is sweeping an area with one flashlight they're rolling at -10+2=-8. That's a pretty big penalty.
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Old 10-24-2010, 11:48 PM   #6
Sarge
 
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Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Realistically at TL 9/10 a flashlight roughly the size of a RL D-battery, that can be held or mounted on a weapon, should light up almost a 180 degrees. The light would be as bright as daylight out to a distance of 5 - 10 meters, with significant drop off after that. Darn inverse square law! If that doesn't work, the tool kits in the engineering spaces should have goggles and/or scopes of some sort that will be capable of sight throughout the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Gotta spot those heat leaks and micro-fractures somehow.

Of course if your campaign isn't gritty realistic then there's no reason for flashlights to be that good.

That being said, I'd recommend that only most of the lights be completely out. A few should still remain partly on - flickering. Ever seen an office fluorescent light that's just barely on? Really dim and flickering? Like that.

Dim flickering lights cast flickering shadows that give the human eye the impression of constant movement all around that even TL 9/10 flashlights shouldn't be able to cure. Sure, they can completely light the area they're looking at, but their peripheral vision will keep thinking its seeing movement. I'm not sure how you'd demonstrate it to your players, but IRL its terrifying. Especially if you know that something really is out there waiting for you, or worse, coming to get you.

EDIT: I almost forgot. Gunshots indoors are LOUD. Deafeningly loud. Especially onboard ship where the walls are all hardened metal. Without hearing protection everyone will be completely deaf after just a few shots. Even gauss weapons should be loud if the projectile is supersonic. Also, muzzle flash will strobe-light the room and burn the image into the shooter's brain.

Once the shooting starts, try describing the situation like this: "BOOM! Your weapon goes off. The muzzle flash lights up the room. For a split second you can see a couple of them running toward you from the left, just outside of your flashlight beam. But now you can't see them anymore. What do you do?"

If that doesn't put your players on edge, I don't know what will.
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Last edited by Sarge; 10-25-2010 at 12:02 AM.
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Old 10-25-2010, 01:25 AM   #7
The Benj
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Platform Zero, Sydney, Australia
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Oh yeah. Things that you can sort of see some of the time are way scarier than things you just can't see. If the lights flicker, you can achieve this very nicely.
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Old 10-25-2010, 06:29 AM   #8
xaktarsonis
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Default Re: Light in Scifi Horror

Thanks for all the help. Lots of good ideas here. I will probably use the cones, but allow per checks to them. i am trying to scare the players so the environment will be dimmed, with some other effects going on. the lights on occasionally is good, granting bonuses to the perception checks but i think occasionally there are going to be sanity checks as well
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