u/thedeadwillwalk

I've played 6e exactly twice at Gen Con and would like to introduce the game to my normally D&D group. They've expressed interest, so I've acquired books and read up. I still have a lot more reading and prep to do to run a game, but I guess the idea of Karma sort of confuses me.

While I want to stick with the latest system, since my gang's from Chicago, I want to give them a homefield game. So I read the Anarchy book, Chicago Chaos, simply for its lore and ignored the rules.

But one thing that stood out was that the Johnsons that are described in the sample runs section of CC have dialogue such as, "I can give you three Karma each to complete this job," or some such.

It's been my understanding that Karma is like skill points or the equivalent of XP in D&D. You don't have quest givers in D&D saying, "I'll give you 500 XP for killing the dragon." Why is it that the Shadowrun NPCs are discussing it like it's physical currency? Is this a quirk of the Anarchy rules, or do I totally misunderstand Karma?

Novaehelix, look away! Minor spoilers for Vecna: Eve of Ruin:

Picture this. Your party has just retrieved the 4th piece of the Rod of Seven Parts, necessary to stop Vecna, from Death House in Barovia. You're all set to leave this place and return to Sigil when Strahd shows up, casts Time Stop and Sequester to relieve you of said Rod piece, then tells you he'll make a deal for its return. Three new Domains of Dread have popped up and are encroaching on his borders. For the mere price of destroying one of these Darklords, he'll return your Rod piece. For two, he'll reveal the location of the Hand and Eye of Vecna, and for all three, well... you can bargain with Strahd then.

Of the three Darklords I've gone with, one already has a canon minor domain, and the other two were built from D&D and mythological lore:

• The Banshee Queen, Tristessa, of Keening (mountain setting)
• The Bagman, the Butcher of Dusk Hollow (urban)
• The Wendigo, horror of the Blackwood (forest)

I already have a list of appropriate monsters for each domain. What I'm looking for is what kind of horror tropes I should add to each. Maybe other monsters, but mostly grisly sights, dead bodies, kills, horrific experiences. I already checked with my players for lines and veils, and they're not squeamish. What should I add to each domain? Alternatively, recommend horror movies for me to watch that match each vibe. Thanks!