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GMs: How do you create a feeling of horror (in an heroic fantasy game)?
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<blockquote data-quote="Jhaelen" data-source="post: 6163564" data-attributes="member: 46713"><p>Yup. I think the key is to create a feeling of helplessness in the players. A conflict that cannot be solved by them, no matter how powerful they are can do that. In D&D that usually means something that cannot be defeated in combat - at least initially. Encountering an invincible foe that seems to be unstoppable, requiring research or unorthodox methods to defeat.</p><p></p><p>One of players in my 3e campaign once mentioned how the only thing that ever really scared him in the campaign was an encounter against a Teratomorph (a gargantuan ooze that causes reality to fluctuate and breaches between planes to form) close to the finale of the campaign. As usually, I had beefed up the description quite a bit (my inspiration being Yog-Sothoth) and foreshadowed its appearance by a trail of dead or partially transformed/disntegrated storm giants...</p><p></p><p>I also quite fondly remember the Half-Life video game which featured a couple of unbeatable, huge monsters, e.g. kraken-like thing in a rocket test lab that constantly banged against the sheet metal walls, making me terribly nervous.</p><p></p><p>Another approach is to threaten something that is dear to the pcs while they're unable to protect it. As has been mentioned, sometimes it can be quite effective to demonstrate an enemy's powers on an npc ally or companion.</p><p></p><p>Putting the players under pressure can also help, e.g. giving them little time to think, forcing them to decide on their actions while counting down seconds or describing the progression of certain events, i.e. putting them under stress.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jhaelen, post: 6163564, member: 46713"] Yup. I think the key is to create a feeling of helplessness in the players. A conflict that cannot be solved by them, no matter how powerful they are can do that. In D&D that usually means something that cannot be defeated in combat - at least initially. Encountering an invincible foe that seems to be unstoppable, requiring research or unorthodox methods to defeat. One of players in my 3e campaign once mentioned how the only thing that ever really scared him in the campaign was an encounter against a Teratomorph (a gargantuan ooze that causes reality to fluctuate and breaches between planes to form) close to the finale of the campaign. As usually, I had beefed up the description quite a bit (my inspiration being Yog-Sothoth) and foreshadowed its appearance by a trail of dead or partially transformed/disntegrated storm giants... I also quite fondly remember the Half-Life video game which featured a couple of unbeatable, huge monsters, e.g. kraken-like thing in a rocket test lab that constantly banged against the sheet metal walls, making me terribly nervous. Another approach is to threaten something that is dear to the pcs while they're unable to protect it. As has been mentioned, sometimes it can be quite effective to demonstrate an enemy's powers on an npc ally or companion. Putting the players under pressure can also help, e.g. giving them little time to think, forcing them to decide on their actions while counting down seconds or describing the progression of certain events, i.e. putting them under stress. [/QUOTE]
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GMs: How do you create a feeling of horror (in an heroic fantasy game)?
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