Fright Night One Shot

[ways and means]

I saw the new remake of Fright Night recently and it got me too thinking about running a one shot of a similar concept in having a bunch of normal kids find they are currently next door to a vampire and have to fight for survival. The issue I am having with the idea was stating a vampire that a bunch of (4) school kids (5 refresh 15 skill points) could actually defeat any ideas?

[Sanctaphrax]

What's the skill cap?

Are we talking normal school kids here, or ones that for some reason have Guns as their highest skill?

Regardless, a normal RCV or WCV should be doable. A BCV would require the catch, but that's not so hard.

[Silverblaze]

I think you'd be surprised how many high school kids might have a decent guns, fists, or weapons, rating.  i don't think a +3 would happen often, but +1 to +2 can't actually be that rare depending on upbringing and geographic location/culture.

Pretty much any single vampire (normal template) should be able to be slain by a group of 3-5 players even with not so great combat skills. 

Especially if someone has a hunting rifle, shotgun, or chainsaw.  Neither of which would be 100% unreasonable to have somewhere in someone's house/garage. 

The bigger issue is convincing someone to play the non combat oriented people in the neighborhood; if they know the game is a one shot, with the point of besting a vampire.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

I think you'd be surprised how many high school kids might have a decent guns, fists, or weapons, rating.  i don't think a +3 would happen often, but +1 to +2 can't actually be that rare depending on upbringing and geographic location/culture.

Guns you might be a little low on where I live.  I'm almost certain you could find a minor with Guns +4 at the local highschool for most of the towns in my state. Fists sounds about right but with a higher bias towards +1/+2 than +0/+3.  Weapons you'd be lucky to find one in ten thousand with better than a +2 though.  There just isn't that much opportunity to get formal training or experience with them compared to Fists or Guns.

[Richard_Chilton]

If you're thinking of "not average kids" you might want to check out http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,25470.msg1081135.html.

I got around to finishing them (writing guest star roles that linked all five characters) but ran out of steam and spare time before I came up with an adventure seed that tied them all together... That and they were "too complete" compared to the Case Files PCs.  All of their aspects and skills were picked, leaving little to personalise.

But "a monster moves into the neighbourhood and the grownups don't believe there's anything wrong" might be just the thing to bring them to life.

And that can be a powerful theme in any game focusing on young PCs - the adults not believing them.  Adults "doing what's right for them".  The lack of control haunts many teens and can be compelled in so many ways.  There was even a couple of times when Buffy couldn't go out slaying because she was grounded - which was someone compelling the teenage part of her "Teenage Vampire Slayer" Aspect.

Richard

[Sanctaphrax]

On reflection, I guess aspects are a bigger worry than skill rankings.

I probably had Average to Fair Fists when I was in high school (semi-serious martial artist here) but I'd probably be compelled to freeze up in a real fight.

[Belial666]

school kids (5 refresh 15 skill points)

That isn't normal schoolkids. You can drive a car at normal to low speeds with a mediocre Driving rank. You can own a small apartment and be able to buy some extra stuff beyond everyday expenses with a Resources of average. You can be just about average in your job with the relevant skills at "Average" (hence the name). In addition, the example professional gangsters and soldiers and policemen have a Refresh of 2 or less - several adult mortals have a Refresh of 0 and a single stunt in Our World.

I'm almost certain you could find a minor with Guns +4 at the local highschool

Professional soldiers and gangsters have Guns +3. Collin Murphy had Guns +3 and "shoot Dresden's earlobes off when dual-wielding handguns" Lara Raith has the same. Karrin Murphy, with all those professional shooting awards, has Guns +4 in Storm Front. No way any kid is going to have that level of skill, unless they are a world-class prodigy in guns the same way Mozart (sp?) was in music.

Pretty much any single vampire (normal template) should be able to be slain by a group of 3-5 players even with not so great combat skills.

An average-stats vampire, sure. Newly converted Black Court guys usually have +3 athletics and fists. But a vampire with the same base template that has submerged skills? Good luck. A blampire with +5 fists or weapons and athletics is going to rip the 3-5 players with not so great combat skills to shreds; the players attacking at Good (+3) will be hard-pressed to land a hit on the vampire defending with effectively Fantastic (+6) athletics thanks to inhuman speed. Even if they hit a couple of times, the vamp's supernatural toughness gives it armor 2 and 8 stress boxes vs guns and weapons while the Catch may ignore the toughness but doesn't have a weapon rating (unless you use molotov bombs or flamethrowers). And once the vampire kills one of them, it gets to heal all its stress and mild conseuences thanks to blood-drinker.

[ways and means]

I kind of am debating whether when having one threat for the entire game I should stat the threat at all, or whether the threat should be exactly as strong as it needs to be in a particular scene (determined by the players actions). As for how a bunch of kids with no combat training are going to beat a vampire kind off blampire (accept pretty instead of rotting like the count when fed) I was going to reward creativity and discourage direct combat, so awarding fate points for laying traps, fighting during the daytime and clever uses of catches.

[Belial666]

But why would a bunch of kids be smarter about what is basically a hunting game than a supernatural predator?

Besides, all a blampire has to do if confronted in daylight is take a good look at its attackers then gaseous-form its @$$ through the floor and sewers. And come nightfall, it comes out and eats them.

[The Mighty Buzzard]

On reflection, I guess aspects are a bigger worry than skill rankings.

I probably had Average to Fair Fists when I was in high school (semi-serious martial artist here) but I'd probably be compelled to freeze up in a real fight.

Social skills too.  Teens as a general rule tend to have higher than reasonable Conviction but be low in some combination Discipline, Presence, Intimidation, Rapport, Deceit, and especially Empathy unless they're emo kids.

[sinker]

I kind of am debating whether when having one threat for the entire game I should stat the threat at all, or whether the threat should be exactly as strong as it needs to be in a particular scene (determined by the players actions).

I'd tend to agree with that. We have a rule at my table. If you stat it, it will be killed. If you want the entire plot centered around a sort of back and forth exchange (rather than one side or the other winning in direct conflict) then it's probably best to treat this vampire as a plot device force, rather than an enemy. Besides that's one of the reasons I love Asian horror. They have that whole, unseeable, unbeatable force thing going on and it's so much scarier.

That isn't normal schoolkids.

No, no it isn't. It's normal PC schoolkids. Consider the fact that that is one point of refresh lower than the characters in Night Fears, who are supposed to be somewhere in their teens (no age specified, I'd guess 16-17 but it could be anywhere between 13-mid 20s).

Also remember that refresh has no bearing on power. Refresh equates to free will and story significance. You can have an incredibly powerful being that has absolutely no refresh whatsoever (like most of the fey). You can have a being with little power or experience with a substantial amount of refresh. If a schoolkid has the power to alter their story (especially if the story is about schoolkid-sized change) then he should have refresh.