Building Silent Hill: Welcome to Silent Hill

I remember the first time I visited Silent Hill. Many years ago, my dad brought me a PlayStation (one of the originals) and one game: Silent Hill. Because I didn't have a memory card, I played the first part of the game over and over. By the time I finally got a memory card, I could get to the school within a short amount of time.

I was hooked by that point, which is odd. I've never been a fan of horror. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a scaredy cat. I don't react well to a lot of horror stuff, especially startle and jump scares. Which is probably why I liked Silent Hill so much. Rather than going for cheap tricks, Silent Hill drew you in with a mystery and a very emotional story. It was a masterpiece. I played several times and bought a PS2 just to play Silent Hill 2. I liked Silent Hill 3, but never finished Silent Hill 4. It just didn't connect with me. Plus, I hate having enemies coming after you that you can't kill. No thank you. That said, I've beaten the first three games several times and have earned almost every ending in each one.

Over the years, the Silent Hill media has grown immensely. More games, comics, and even movies have been produced in the almost 20 years since the first game came out. And I've enjoyed some of it. Of course, the canon of all of this is a complete and total clusterfuck. More on that in a moment...

Since Silent Hill has been such an important thing for me, of course I've been thinking about trying to run a game of it. For several years. Before the first movie came out. As much as I wanted to run a game of Silent Hill, there were a few problems that cropped up. The first one was, what system to use? There's a lot of different gaming systems out there, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. After much debate, I selected All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Why AFMBE? The system can handle fear stuff, the supernatural, and is highly adaptable when it comes to making creatures. There are, of course, drawbacks. It's not an easy system to pick up right away, it can be overly complicated, and it is not very forgiving when it comes to damage. However, I do feel it is the best thing to use.

Now that I've picked the system, the issue of canon comes to the fore. As I mentioned before, there's a lot of Silent Hill stuff out there. In addition to the first four games, I also own the IDW comics and the movies. But, the canon is a mess. The first and third game connect directly, as do the second and fourth, but the two groups don't intersect (except for some jokes in the games). The comics make reference to some of the things from the games, most notably The Order and Pyramid Head. However, they start adding in other elements, such as the Cthulhu Mythos. Now, I have to pick and choose what I want to use. Since I liked the first three games so much, I decided to use them as my main sources of influence. I only use the movies for people who haven't played the games to get an understanding of the main ideas.

Using the games, there's a few gaps to work out. In the first and third games, there's The Order. However, what exactly is The Order? We don't know for sure, but we do have little hints. Going over the strategy guides (which I own), as well as going over walkthroughs and other sources, we've got some kind of idea of them. From what I've pieced together, The Order is a cult of some kind. While there's some elements of Christianity, there's clearly some Pagan undertones that appear in the third game. And there's some talk about how there was a Native American tribe in the area where Silent Hill now stands and that area was some sort of holy place, a place of spirits. Given the typical history of white folks coming across Natives, it probably didn't end well for them. Which can also explain the Pagan undertones in The Order. Given how Christianity had a tendency to steamroll previously existing faiths, many peoples would simply cover their native practices with a “Jesus” covering. And this is where I'm at with The Order.

My personal belief is that The Order is from somewhere in Europe originally. This small sect managed to keep their original beliefs, but they shifted and changed over time. Eventually, the sect made the leap across the Atlantic. There, they tried to settle in an area where they could practice their beliefs a little more openly. They found the area what would become Silent Hill...

And that's a brief history of The Order. But, what about their beliefs and practices? Thankfully, the third game gives us the most amount of information. We know that they have one “God” who is female (or perhaps became female) served by a host of lesser gods and angels. Here, we don't have much else to go on. Clearly, there's something about Paradise, Resurrection, and believers and unbelievers. Exactly what all these things are, we don't really know. This is both good and bad. While much of The Order's faith is up in the air, it gives me stuff to explore. I started by building on the themes we've seen in their stuff, the dark faith and weird mix of other bits. Having all this come together also gave me a thread to follow for all the monsters.

Which brings me to another point, what about the town? Not only do I need a physical map of the town, but there's the matter of the town itself. In Silent Hill 2, we're introduced to the concept that the town itself is possessed or somehow alive. And it calls people to it. While the main character was called there by something else, the other characters we met seemed to have randomly turned up there. Given how we've got some weird metaphysical stuff going on with The Order, it stands to reason that the town itself has absorbs some bad ju-ju. Could it be that the town itself has become “alive” in some fashion? Quite possible, but not something I focused on.

Now that I've picked out the “what” of Silent Hill (for the most part), it was time to figure out the “who” of this game. Stay tuned...

Gaslands: The PIT Crew - Race Lists

Welcome to a new series, this time all about Gaslands!

For this edition of the PIT Crew, I'm going to post up some “racing” lists for each of the sponsors, including Scarlett Annie and the Highway Patrol.

The goal of these lists isn't to win demolition derbies (although some of them could), but to win any sort of race with gates and the like. In short, they're built for speed, not killing.

Mishkin -

Vehicle:

Performance Car - 15

Weapons:

Arc Lightning Projector: Front – 6

Magnetic Jammer: Rear – 2

Vehicle:

Pickup Truck – 15

Weapons:

Thumper – 4

Machinegun: Front – 2

Molotovs – 1

Perks:

Mobile Maechanic – 5

Crew Notes:

This list follows the pattern you'll see in the rest of the lists. With this team, you put you PC up front and try to go fast. Get it up to Gear 4 or more as quickly as possibly, so you can save up your ammo for the ALP. Once you hit the first gate, if anyone is in front of you, hit them with it. If you're in the lead, use the Magnetic Jammer to lock out anyone with heavy weapons chasing after you.

The Pickup stays behind, moving slowly. Don't risk the Skid Dice, just get up using the Medium Straight as much as possible. This should leave you in the middle of a pack of cars. Which is exactly where you want to be. Once you hit the first gate, you unleash the Thumper, wreaking havoc and chaos. Your goal is to make the enemy slow down. And you keep blasting anyone coming up on your PC. With Mobile Mechanic, you have a chance to win, if all of the other fast vehicles have been wrecked or eliminated.

Your real weakness is that once people know what you're running with, you're going to have a big target on your back. Mishkin's weapons are devastating. If you have to, sideswipe and T-bone with your Pickup and use Slip Away on the PC to move as fast as possible.

Miyazaki – 50

Vehicle:

Performance Car – 15

Weapons:

Minigun: Front – 6

Oil Slick – 2

Smoke – 1

Upgrades:

Armor Plating – 4

Perks:

Evasive – 5

Powerslide – 5

Restraint – 2

Expertise – 3

Big Tyres – 2

Slippery – 3

Moment of Glory – 2

Crew Notes:

This is putting all you eggs in one basket. But, it's the hell of a basket. This PC can handle just about any situation it comes against. With the armor plating, you can survive a little longer. To win, you want to hit that sweet spot of Gear 4 as fast as you can, then kick it into Gears 5 and 6 once you're ahead of the pack. Use the Smoke and Oil Slicks to prevent people from blasting or ramming you from behind. If anyone gets ahead of you, blasting them with the minigun will soften them up a bit.

Your real problem comes from Hazard Tokens. Rolling Skid Dice is always a gamble, but it's the only way to knock them down. So, roll them sparingly. If you have to slow down, you're in luck with Restraint.

Idris – 50

Vehicle:

Performance Car – 15

Weapons:

Heavy Machinegun: Front – 4

Mines – 1

Upgrades:

Nitro x2 – 6

Perks:

Hot Start – 1

Time Extended – 3

Vehicle:

Drag Racer – 5

Weapons:

Ram: Front – 4

Perks:

Hot Start – 1

Vehicle:

Drag Racer – 5

Weapons:

Ram: Front – 4

Perks:

Hot Start – 1

Crew Notes:

This is a bit of a fun list. If you can't tell, your Drag Racers aren't there to win, they're there to blow things up by crashing into them. Since they'll explode when they run out of Hull Points, you want to keep them close to enemy vehicles. So, put them up front and make sure they're always near someone. If you want to be a real piece of work, make sure to take a Slide and block off the path so people have to ram you. Using Hot Gear and the rams, if you hit someone that isn't a Heavyweight vehicle, you're probably going to do some damage with a Smash Attack. On the off chance that the Drag Racers survive longer than a turn or two, they could possibly win the race. Unlikely, but possible. The best part, is that while everyone is worried about your Drag Racers, your PC can quickly take the lead. Just make sure to avoid any fights and keep gunning for the finish line. Hit the Nitro only when you really need to get ahead or when you're getting close to the finish line. Shoot when you have to and drop the mines only when you have someone so close they can't avoid.

Once again, Hazard Tokens are not your friend. But, if you time it right, you can use the Time Extended to keep them low when it matters.

Slime – 50

Vehicle:

Performance Car – 15

Weapons:

Laser: Turret – 15

Vehicle:

Buggy – 5

Weapons:

Ram: Front – 4

Molotovs – 1

Vehicle:

Buggy – 5

Weapons:

Ram: Front – 4

Molotovs – 1

This list is based around the usual “leader and followers” pattern. You get your PC in front as quick as you can and use the Buggies to keep people off of you. The Buggies can use their Rams to get Hazard Tokens on other vehicles and then toss Molotovs to take them down. The Laser is there to hurt anyone that gets in your way. Or too close. Or just to cause some mayhem. Since Buggies can also haul ass, you can use them to win, too. In fact, a fun way to play is make it so people have to try to stop all three of your vehicles while they race forwards.

While fun, this list can lose do to bad rolls, more ranged combat lists, and poor terrain. So, play it smart. But, don't forget that your Buggies don't take damage from Flips...

Warden – 50

Vehicle:

Performance Car – 15

Weapons:

Heavy Machinegun: Front – 4

Mines – 1

Upgrades:

Nitro – 6

Vehicle:

Car - 8*

Weapons:

Rockets: Front – 4

Upgrades:

Prison Car – 0

Vehicle:

Car - 8*

Weapons:

Rockets: Front – 4

Upgrades:

Prison Car – 0

Crew Notes:

Once again, you get that PC up front and race like hell. You use the Prison Cars to blast anything that gets too close to it. Hit the Nitro when you need it. If you're lucky and play it smart, you can win with your Prison Cars, too. Just don't count on it...

Rutherford – 50

Vehicle: Pickup Truck – 15

Weapons:

Heavy Machinegun: Turret – 12

Grenades – 1

Upgrades:

Tank Tracks – 4

Vehicle:

Jeep – 12

Weapons:

Rockets: Front – 4

Machinegun: Front – 2

Crew Notes:

Like just about every Rutherford list out there, this list is heavy on firepower. But, that doesn't mean that it's too slow. The Jeep is your fast mover, but can easily wreck anything in front of it once it hits the first Gate. The Pickup, while slow, can hit anything it can see. Using the Grenades, you can slow other vehicles down with Hazard Tokens. The best idea is probably keep these two together until you hit the first Gate. If anyone is also going slow, tear them apart. If everyone is far ahead, move that Jeep and blast them from behind, while your Pickup repositions to blast anyone heading for the finish line.

Your real disadvantage is speed. You're not nearly as fast as the other lists here, but you're more heavily armed. Blow up as much as you can as fast as you can.

Scarlett Annie (TX#2) – 50

Vehicle:

Motorhome – 25

Weapons:

Rockets: Front – 4

Heavy Machinegun: Front – 4

Grenades x2 – 6

Upgrades:

Nitro – 6

Extra Crew x3 – 6

Perks:

Delicate Touch – 3

Crew Notes:

This is another list of putting all your eggs in one basket, but you can steal other people's eggs. Using the Mobile Garage rule from the Motorhome, you can steal other Wrecks that will start stacking up. With the Grenades, you can make people make Flip Checks, which will wreck smaller cars. Since you have the crew to spare, you can probably get 2-3 other vehicles up and running. And winning.

The downside is that you're going to have go slow. Don't roll Skid Dice, use free Stick Shifts to go up in Gear until you hit Gear 3 or 4. You want to stay behind everyone, so you can snap up those wrecks.

Highway Patrol (TX#3) – 50

Perk: Louder Siren – 2

Vehicle:

Car – 12

Weapons:

Lazer: Front – 5

Mines – 1

Vehicle:

Car – 12

Weapons:

Machinegun: Front – 2

Mines – 1

Vehicle:

Car – 12

Weapons:

Machinegun: Front – 2

Mines – 1

Crew Notes:

This list is all about one thing: Board control. Using the Louder Siren, you can slow everyone down. Use free Stick Shifts to get up to the sweet spot of Gears 3 and 4. When you hit the first gate, start blasting away with the Machineguns, try to wear everyone down. Drop the Mines keep slower vehicles off your back. When you're driving, you're in charge. You have to remember that. When you pick the first Bogey, go for the fastest vehicle or the one that won Pole Position. Hammer away at it.

Your real disadvantage is keeping everything together. If you take too many risks, you can get screwed over really easily. A Slide or a Spin at the wrong time, much less a Wipe Out, can hurt you. So, play it cool and play it smart.

And that's all I have for this PIT Crew. What do you think of these lists? Do they look good or are they terrible? Let me know.