Using Mearls Basic to Run a Horror Game

[Anathemata]

Hey everybody. So I've long been a big fan of Lovecraft and Howard, and learned from them about writers like Algernon Blackwood, MR James, and, especially, Arthur Machen. While reading some Machen I hit upon the idea to run a DnD game using a version of his "world"--fairies and dark spirits dwelling in the modern world. I would use a greatly reduced monster list, keep the world human-centric, and likely focus the adventure around mystery-solving and investigation, kind of like Call of Cthulhu. Re-dress the Cleric as a Priest/Exorcist, Wizard becomes a Crowley-esque figure, etc. Monsters would include Pixies, Sprites and Dryads, again approached in a creepy way, and likely keep Dark Elves running around in a kind of London Undercity. But the focus of the game would be investigation, not combat.

My question is, has anyone ever run a DnD campaign (or adventure) like this? We talk a lot in OD&D about using the rules to run any kind of game you want, but has anyone felt like they've had success running these kinds of adventures, i.e. low-magic, low-monster horror and suspense?

BTW, if someone wants to say, "Just play Call of Cthulhu!"-- I'm really just curious about the kinds of experiences people have had bringing this style into DnD. I like the new Basic Edition, and thought it looked pretty easy to adapt to a horror campaign. So I'm not interested in switching games for this, just looking for some suggestions. And maybe on a meta-level wondering how true the claim is, that you can use the game for anything, and seeing how people have managed in their own way.

Thanks in advance!

[Vile Traveller]

Plenty of play and refereeing with Cthulhu or fairy tale stuff in a traditional fantsy game, but never the other way around. Sounds like it could be fun, though.

[kesher]

Seems to me like it'd work just fine. chicagowiz, if I'm remembering correctly, did some sort of modern-magic campaign using the ODD framework; it's on the board here somewhere. Different in many ways than Mearls Basic, of course, but similar in essence...

[chicagowiz]

Hey kesher, thanks for that.

The game was here: odd74.proboards.com/board/64/chicagowiz-modern-od-game

It worked pretty well. I mixed magic and guns and we had some fun.

[Finarvyn]

You might also track down a copy of d20 CoC. It's 3E compatible, of course, but if you strip away most of the bells and whistles there is some good Cthulhu stuff therein.

[deathanddrek]

This is the first time I've seen the phrase "Mearls Basic". Nice job! ^_^b