Non-Urban Shadows:
So, I’ve been talking with a group of potential players and we were discussing the huge amount of horror (especially American horror) that takes place out in the woods: cabins, small towns in the mountains, off the beaten track.
I’m thinking of running an Urban Shadows in such a community, something with deep, freaky roots and families that go way back, perhaps during a time of turmoil where the town is falling into chaos and disarray. So, what moves, playbooks, etc. need to change to make this so?
Hit The Streets: This may just need a remain, perhaps ‘Consult The Local Gossip’ or something.
Factions: These feel at first like they may be less of an effect in a small town, but the more I think about it the more I’m thinking it would fit exceptionally well. The difference would just be that the Night faction isn’t a massive army of vampires, it’s a small brood that has lived on the outskirts for a while.
I’m thinking this could be a fun way to try to turn some of the creepiness of Urban Shadows up. Anyone else tried to add ‘Sub’ to Urban Shadows or even Rural Shadows?
Yes but mostly as a gag: https://plus.google.com/+PaulBeakley/posts/JGS94jd7Z6j
That is fantastic and I would absolutely play that in a Fiasco/Coen Brothers style game. I’m mostly referring to just swapping out the setting!
I think that would be fun. Create lots of tangled webs between the faction NPCs and the players and other members of their factions – small towns, lots of history.
Edit: Mind map with colors for different factions.
Having grown up in a town like this (and being the black sheep of the Olde Southern Gentry family) I think this has potent power. The Factions could be great and powerful.
An example from my mountain home town for Factions, we had the Ye Olde Southern Gentry who could trace their roots back to Bankers, Lawyers, and those who didn’t fall during the Depression (Power); Moonshiner Folk who quickly rose to prominence during Prohibition and never let go of what power they had (Night); Political Insurgents who levied what power they could and fearmongering into local routes of torment and angst for those who didn’t agree with them (Mortality); and the people who just defied all local customs and mores to bring change and neo-culture to the town (Wild). This is a very small example of the local politics and world, and I no longer live there but you never quite forget your home.
Urban Shadows isn’t specifically about cities. That’s how it’s presented but it’s about communities. Rural communities can be just as tangled, twisted, and gnarly as urban ones.