Behind the Screen #13
Lucky Number
Inside This Issue
RPG HQ Meetup IV Details
The Psychology of Curses
RPG HQ Play Report III
Game Runners
RPG HQ Meetup IV Details
If you haven’t already made your RSVP for this weekend’s play session, there’s no time like the present! This week we will be hosted by the Wayzata Library. Check-in opens at 10:50AM, with gameplay beginning at 11:00AM. Play concludes at 3:00PM. This is the fourth session of our original adventure Nine Nights In the Woods, and there couldn’t be a better opportunity to jump in! RSVP here to secure your space at the table this Saturday!
The Psychology of Curses
The curse, in any narrative, is the ultimate symbol for that which we are unable to directly speak or name. It is the codified manifestation of the ultimate anxieties that cling to our minds. It gives narrative form to the existential horrors that otherwise defy description: that we will decay (Body Horror), that our fates are inescapable (Gothic Horror), or that existence itself is futile (Cosmic Horror). The curse is conduit we use to transform the unspeakable into a physical, namable force. It fosters the monsters we create to represent our most insidious, repressed psychological fears.
The Paradox
At the bottom of these fears—the mound of old coffee grounds we sweep out but never quite discard—is a profound, paralyzing paradox of agency. We are fundamentally afraid that our actions are simultaneously ineffective and meaningless, yet effective beyond comprehension (and control). The curse, therefore, is the limbo of human action. It traps the character in a state of active futility, which dictates that the only way to escape this terrifying limbo is through great risks and sacrifices.
Antagonism
In horror storytelling, the curse is a fluid entity. It’s manifestations make up a spectrum of antagonism. Each point on that spectrum alters the nature of the story’s central conflict, which informs which parts of our fear psychology are exploited by the story’s devices. In broad strokes we can think of this spectrum in three key points:
The Curse is the Cause or effect of previous actions. It’s why the monster rose once more from death to run amok. Antagonistically this curse anchors to sacred laws being broken in the past and we find the fear of inherited guilt, and the fear of being unable to escape front and center. The monster rises because of a predetermined fate—and the protagonist is cursed by what’s in their background, rather than their direct actions. In Gothic Horror specifically, we find that the protagonist’s suffering is not necessarily against a creature, but against their family’s history.
The Curse is a Tool. The curse is a tool wielded by the antagonist to do harm. It is the whip in the hand of the torturer, exposing our subconscious fear of others’ maliciousness, or our fear of annihilation by contamination. Any possession story fully displays this type of curse.
The Curse is the Antagonist. Here the curse is active, and predatory. It is the antagonist, and it relentlessly pursues the protagonist. Our fears of futility, and unsolvable problems lives here.
The Enduring Truth of the Curse
The curse, then, is one of horror’s most versatile symbolic engines. Whether acting as the inevitable consequence of a forbearer’s sin, a contagion unleashed by a demon, or the relentless, abstract pursuing enemy, the curse compels the audience and protagonist to confront the deepest anxieties within the human psyche. It strips dispels the illusion of personal control, forcing us to acknowledge that some suffering is inherited, some malice is contagious, and some truths are simply inescapable. The curse ensures that in every narrative, the central problem is rarely solved; it is tragically, profoundly endured. Whenever the curse is cured, it always comes at great personal cost, and to pay that cost always involves suffering. When considering how to utilize horror at your game table, applying pressure to these unspeakable fears must be done responsibly. Game runners must be open and direct about what content their players are going to encounter, and for the safety of everyone involved off-ramps need to be defined. Embrace the fear, but never sacrifice your humanity at the table; for the deepest horror lies not in curses or monsters, but in the uncomfortable truths they reveal.
RPG HQ Play Report III
Session three was something of an ordeal for all involved! Half the party got separated and became lost in the limitless gloom. While sojourning, the part picked up another stray adventurer, and with their help dispatched a pair of giant spiders that were capable of producing lightly glowing web strands.
Using the webbing to keep together in the gloom, and spread out a bit more the party came upon a company of hooded people chanting around a steaming hot spring. It was encircled with stones covered in arcane runes. Taking an act-first-question-second approach, the party made short work of the hooded assembly. It was revealed that the girl twin they sought had recently been moved from this location, and the party deliberated on whether to follow through the spring portal, or try to retrace their way back to the root arc they had entered through. Will our intrepid heroes fumble in the familiar darkness, or dare what might be waiting for them on the other side of the fluid gateway?
JOIN US SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25th FOR THE NEXT LIVE INSTALMENT OF 9 NIGHTS IN THE WOODS!
Did you miss our last meetup?
RSVP for one of our upcoming dates!
Saturday October 25th (Wayzata Library)
620 Rice St E, Wayzata, MN
Saturday November 8th (Wayzata Library)
620 Rice St E, Wayzata, MN
Saturday November 22nd (Plymouth Library)
15700 36th Ave N, Plymouth, MN
Game Runners Needed!
If you are willing to assist with running a session of any system for peers in the coming weeks, please email the editor at editorbehindthescreen@gmail.com with “Game On” in the subject line.