Capturing the Mood/Help Me Scare the PC's

[Whimsical]

One horror element is to violate a player's personal sense of what reality is supposed to be. This is why murderous little girls are disturbing. Children, according to common sense, are not dangerous and any adult can stop any child. In fact, children are somewhat helpless, are constantly seeking your attention and acceptance, and are dependent on your protection and guidance to make it through the world. Now, take a child and have them slowly reveal themselves to be a dreaded supernatural horror and the mind cannot handle it and will work hard to reject this incongruity by coming up with alternate explanations or just simply refusing to face it. This goes for other things. Community, family, home, pets, personal items, social roles, your body, mind, or soul, and even reality itself. What if you uncovered evidence that you will slaughter everyone you love in the future? What if you come across clues that you are stuck in a dream and everything that has happened is not real? What if mom and dad had you so that your body could be the new body of the evil force that they serve? What if you knew that everyone in town was being replaced by dopplegangers, but you couldn't prove it? What if you couldn't be sure that you are insane or not because you are uncovering clues for two opposite but distincly plausible possibilities for what's going on?

 

[DarrenGMiller]

If you kill an enemy wizard, have him pledge an oath of eternal vengence upon the rulemongering player's character. Next time you have zombies, mention a resemblence to someone he had seen before. If the wizard had distinctive (mundane) robes, for instance, mention that the tattered rags it wears are the same colour. If the wizard had any spells left, give 'em to the zombie. Even if (or especially since) it isn't in the RAW, it should enhance the mood.

Heh. This player's character is sworn to kill all wizards, as they are "easily corrupted by demons and other fiends."

DM

 

[DarrenGMiller]

One horror element is to violate a player's personal sense of what reality is supposed to be. This is why murderous little girls are disturbing. Children, according to common sense, are not dangerous and any adult can stop any child. In fact, children are somewhat helpless, are constantly seeking your attention and acceptance, and are dependent on your protection and guidance to make it through the world. Now, take a child and have them slowly reveal themselves to be a dreaded supernatural horror and the mind cannot handle it and will work hard to reject this incongruity by coming up with alternate explanations or just simply refusing to face it.

This is what he does to his groups when he DM's (he has used it with both of his groups).

DM

 

[Hodgie]

Change the way you describe things.


Don't tell them they see an ogre in the room, tell them it is a 'hulking brute with a massive club.' Even a simple description change can sometimes be enough to convince them that the simple ogre is really a dangerous giant. Likewise, I often use monsters right out of the MM and then just give them a completely altered appearance. Take that same ogre and describe it as a rock construct smashing with stone fists and no one _should_ be able to guess what it is.

 

[DarrenGMiller]

EDIT: what are the players races and classes?

All PC's are level 3.

He is playing a Human Ranger.

There are also the following:

Elven Cleric of Corellan Larethian
Dwarven Fighter

Entering this week (returning player):

Paladin of Heironeous

Entering next week (new player):

Human Rogue aiming for Master Thrower

Out temporarily (at least until the semester ends):

Elven Druid
Half-Orc Fighter
Halfling Rogue


DM

 

[DarrenGMiller]

Change the way you describe things.


Don't tell them they see an ogre in the room, tell them it is a 'hulking brute with a massive club.' Even a simple description change can sometimes be enough to convince them that the simple ogre is really a dangerous giant. Likewise, I often use monsters right out of the MM and then just give them a completely altered appearance. Take that same ogre and describe it as a rock construct smashing with stone fists and no one _should_ be able to guess what it is.

I do this... it drives him crazy until he can figure out what it is and asks pointed questions the entire combat until he thinks he knows it.

DM

 

[Nightcloak]

I do this... it drives him crazy until he can figure out what it is and asks pointed questions the entire combat until he thinks he knows it.

DM

Then I would drop a few monsters on him from other books. There is a lot on he market. What he doesn't know cannot be figured out.

Not a way to deal with the problem permanently. But it will get all the players attention.

The permanent solution would be more along the lines of an old fasion heart-to-heart talk.

 

[Corsair]

Build your own monsters. It's a whole lot easier than it sounds, too.

I like to figure out what kind of monster I want to make, find something superficially similar and a couple CR lower, then add on abilities.

Lets say I want to build a CR 5 big hulking rock monster of doom. (Kinda like the one Hodgie mentioned) We want this to challenge your level 3 party. So look at something they should be able to beat, and tack on appropriate abilities and buffs, possibly templates.

An Ogre should be beatable and not a major challenge, but its a large humanoidish shaped creature, so it'll do. Lets up its dex to 10, turn that +3 hide armor into natural, and maybe tack on an extra 2 more natural, just for kicks.

While we're at it, its made of freaking stone. Outsider [Earth] right there. Lets also give it DR 5/Adamantine. Not a lot mind you, but enough that you'll be able to describe how the characters sword seems to barely scratch it, when normally it would have bit into flesh. Oh and lets give it one more hit die and a +4 to its con, for a net +16 HP, +1 attack.

Looking good so far, but it doesn't seem quite right... turn its club into a slam attack... oh heck give it two slam attacks, but at 1d8+7 (instead of the book ogre which gets 2d8+7 on one attack). We also need something to make it unique and scary. Maybe make it immune to fire, cold, and electricty.

End result is you have a CR 4 or 5 monster (you can make that up after the party fights it. Adjust that number based on how difficult the fight went) all by fiddling with the numbers and slapping a couple abilities on. You can also just use templates for the mechanical adjustment.


Templates are your friend, Example 1:

Take that same ogre. Slap a half dragon[Black] template on it. Drop the breath weapon, but instead give it 1d6 acid damage to all of its natural attacks. Give it a new description. Possibly that of a hulking 9 foot tall lizard man. Oh, and just for fun, give it trogolodyte stench, but with a DC 2 higher than a normal trog.

See if your rules lawyer can figure that one out!



Some people metagame without trying. Personally I have a good memory, and I've DMed enough that I know a lot of these things pretty well. I love it when my DM busts out something I've never seen before, because its more enjoyable for me.

 

[Corsair]

I do this... it drives him crazy until he can figure out what it is and asks pointed questions the entire combat until he thinks he knows it.

DM

One more thing: Don't feel obligated to answer any questions at all, especially mechanical ones. Only answer in terms of what the character would understand.

 

[RandomPrecision]

Give him something really tough. Have it deal subdual damage. Players tend to get scared when they think their characters are going to be inevitably captured and tortured.