Themes of Paranormal American RPGs

Still from the adventure game Life is Strange

A quiet little community rests in the shade of the pines somewhere in the American Midwest. The wind softly rustles the branches. In the distance, you hear a soft growl. Is it just the sound of the woodland creatures on their nightly hunt? Or is it something else? Why do the townsfolk change the subject whenever you ask? What is that blue light that seems to peek through your curtains just as you drift off to sleep? And why do you keep get the odd sensation that your television is watching YOU instead of the other way around?

This is the kind of introduction you might use if you are going to run a game from the genre that a friend* and I have dubbed Paranormal Americana.  This delightfully weird genre borders on the edge of Lovecraftian horror and science fiction. 

The most notorious examples of the genre are the television program Twin Peaks and the works of Stephen King... and if you are familiar with either of those, you probably have a good idea of what I'm talking about now. 

Other examples in this category include:

• The X-Files (Another staple and trend-setter of the genre)
• Gravity Falls
• Wayward Pines
• Alan Wake  
• Life is Strange
• Deadly Premonition
• The Twilight Zone (Certain episodes, at least)
• Welcome to Night Vale

Night Vale is the setting I usually run these kinds games in, because of the healthy dose of morbid humor and off-beat satire.

But what is this genre really about, and what makes it worth our time? Well, there are a number of common threads that draw people to these stories. The theme of weirdness lurking behind the mundane is always a major theme. More specifically, the genre explores the idea of a sinister purpose lurking behind the facade of the American community. Whether it is a suburban neighborhood or a sleepy little mountain town, the idea that close-knit communities are cult-like conspiracies serving as fronts for something insidious and dangerous. The H.P. Lovecraft story The Shadow Over Innsmouth was sort of a proto-example of this kind of tale, in which an entire fishing village is undergoing strange mutations into something inhuman.

A lot of these stories also draw inspiration from American folklore and urban legends. This covers a wide range of weird but unique phenomenons. Yetis, UFOs, ghosts, anything  that has ever been speculated by conspiracy theorists or cryptozoologists would be a good fit here. A sense of paranoia should be cultivated in these kinds of settings, and classic internet "creepypastas" like Slender Man make for good creative fodder for designing monsters and encounters. 

There are many options for interesting stories and challenges that this kind of game world can offer. For example: in the novel American Gods, Neil Gaiman explored a world where the traditions and superstitions of old world cultures had brought their magic to the new world along with them. The gods of days past then compete with the gods of the new world, gods of media and technology. This is what the setting is all about. Creating a new mythology that is distinctly modern and distinctly American. It's the amalgamation of cultures and traditions with the fears and anxieties of the modern age.

Just remember that when you run these games, don't use combat-heavy systems. These games are more ideally suited for Call of Cthulhu or some version of FATE. They are more about exploration and mystery than battling through obstacles. I think this means that they take a lot of time to think about and prepare, so I don't recommend doing them as long term campaigns. They are better as episodic scenarios, like a really good one-shot session. When I ran a Night Vale game in FATE, I had the players each as a person with a unique occupation and supernatural power. I also gave them very few stress boxes, so that the monsters they encountered would do a lot of damage and be very threatening. For horror games in general, that's the way to go. Low hit points and the potential for lasting and debilitating injury. 

So now you have a fairly clear idea how to start exploring this genre, and maybe some inspiration for a game. It never hurts to introduce some variety to your gaming group,and if your group enjoys the weird and creepy, Paranormal Americana may be just the ticket. 

Happy Ventures!


* I first discussed this terminology with Ryan Teague, proprietor of the Scan Visor podcast, which turns a critical eye to various forms of nerdy media. You can check it out at http://scanvisor.podbean.com.