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[The_Purple_Ninja]

[META] Slender Man - in table top games

[NoMoreGaems]

If the intent of the game is to have the players not win, then there's no point in statting him up, is there.

You can have an interactive, playable game with surmountable challenges or you can have a terrifying cosmic horror game, you really can't have both. And, for that matter, Slenderman makes a lot more sense in Call of Cthulhu, Unknown Armies, Little Fears, or even d20 Modern.

[The_Purple_Ninja]

Well I suppose there isn't much of a point.

And allow me to elaborate further, the point of the cosmic horror aspect is that the party isn't going to know its happening until the half way mark of the campaign. Up until that point the story is more of a political war story in an old western setting borrowing from Nordic folklore. That story is to be resolved.

I do realize that Call of Cthulhu and other rule systems would fit better. But, I have reasons for not using them. Namely, the point of the cosmic horror aspect is that the players are unaware that its happening, using Call of Cthulhu would tip them off. And, I'm a broke college student and don't have a lot of extra cash right now.

[NoMoreGaems]

That's a good point, I suppose. Still, I feel Slenderman loses a lot of effectiveness if he's not the only really supernatural element in a setting.

My own DM had a similar thing going where his city building game turned into a hackneyed comsic horror game halfway through, and it just ended with the players resenting him, I feel.

[Tengwarsenna]

I like it. I think you should just have a paper with it's "stats" written on it and refer to them when they try to do something. But all it has written on it is "Slenderman falls, everyone dies."

Or, looking around I found this.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7707638&postcount=11

It seems really well made to me. Hope this find helps you!

[The_Purple_Ninja]

[Cougar Draven]

Not sure I like that particular setup.

In my most recent (on hiatus) campaign, we encountered Slenderman. The GM just said "fuck it" and didn't bother statting him up, because we had no chance in hell of even hitting him. And while not a PG, I do know how to make a formidable character.

If the main goal is for Slendy to win, why bother letting your people have a chance at beating him?

[ZorakRamone]

You could very easily treat him like the Dark Lord encounters in the old Ravenloft campaigns. Almost none of them were centered around defeating the bigbad or escaping Ravenloft (since both were effectively impossible), so winning = survival.

A Light in the Belfry

[Neoplayer2]

I don't do tabletop RPGs, so I really have zero experience nor is my opinion any good, I bet. But I do have a suggestion that I think would be pretty cool.

Give him an unlimited amount of HP. Don't tell the players.
Let them try to attack him, let them do as much 'damage' as they wish, but no matter how many hits he takes or how much HP they hit for, he won't die.

Gives the players a false sense of hope, maybe. "Hey, that's a lot of damage we're doing. Keep going!". Kind of like characters in a Slenderstory might behave and think. And like in a Slenderstory, Slender Man comes out on top. Undefeatable.

[The_Purple_Ninja]

I will have to take a look at Ravenloft, I think one of my players has a bunch of it. So I will I have to ask on the sly.

The infinite HP thing I considered as a last resort I've seen another GM do it before and it just pissed off the party

[Dust King]

I had him pop up in a Inquisitor campaign (Warhammer 40k spin-off, 54mm scale)

First off having someone in formal attire show up in the middle of a fire fight on a space station (already having some creepy cultist types on it) put the players on edge, especially since the room was filled with with hanging cloth obscuring all sight over 3m. His presence made any character who saw him take a nerve test or run, when a character finally managed to empty a clip into him he just turned and walked off (through a wall), after setting some of the cloth on fire turning the place into an inferno.

After that he just appeared in the background, mainly because the players wouldn't go anywhere near him when he turned up. (the rake then turned up in the last scenario huddled in a corner before tearing a characters face off)

Basically if you want to scare your players just remember one thing about SM, he has to break the rules. And probably a good move to put him on a separate side (not the main villain, not with the heros just put him in and let him kill people slowly and without a major pattern, it's always good when they realise the villains are powerless against him too)

Anyway, just make him less a monster, more a nightmare

[NoMoreGaems]

Yeah, infinite HP is an immediate sign of bad DMing. And Dust: It's actually remarkable it worked out that well, considering the fantastic nature of 40k.

[Dust King]

I would say that if you follow the SM "cannon" it might be best to not make him unbeatable but make it so you don't beat him by beating him to death.

Maybe make it so he's sort of haunting the players, have him start to effect "normal" scenarios, make characters uneasy, scare players when they're separated from the group (even outside of combat encounters) kill important NPCs, create hysteria in towns, cause places they're staying in to catch fire. Basically give him a strong presence without putting him in direct combat. Things keep getting worse so the party has to find a way to fight him, then you have them fight him once they have found a weakness or weapon or another MacGuffin.

I just think having him pop up as another monster (no matter the power) doesn't fit his style, you need creepiness, paranoia and desperation for it to be fun

[Cougar Draven]

[grieck]

1d4 Invesitgators per round. /trollface