I’m currently brainstorming a one-shot dungeon adventure for the one page dungeon contest and a genre-busting idea came to me. Meta-horror.
The scenario comes with a (fictional) warning that after the (fictional) playtest the (fictional) players all died in separate events unrelated to each other but mirroring events within the (fictional) game.
The idea is to convince the players that by playing in this one shot they are entering into a cursed scenario like in The Ring, but with a Final Destination conclusion.
The characters should be named in memory of the (fictional) playtesters. This is to get the players to bond with the playtesters. There needs to be a motivation for each of the characters. Possibly PvP with goals at odds with each other. There should be note about the failure of the character to achieve their goal relating to the playtester’s death. If the players are sufficiently manipulated they should now be very motivated to play hard in order to achieve their goal and thus save their own real life but condemn their fellow players.
Are there more ways to add to the manipulation without going so overboard that the subtlety or premise is lost? How could the curse plausibly enter the real world? Have the scenario involve some kind of ritual before they know enough to be concerned? Had this been successfully done elsewhere?