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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gothmog" data-source="post: 2123762" data-attributes="member: 317">I've wrestled with how to scare/absorb the players in the game for years now, and the best and most effective tactic is this: don't let the players see stats or numbers.  You, as the DM, keep track of HP, AC, saves, skills, BAB, etc.  The more the players know about the game world and the probabilities, the more they can manipulate that world to their desired ends.  This makes it very hard to really scare players, because only the unknown is frightening.  I've used this tactic in fantasy games, sci-fi, horror, etc- and its been a great boon to my group.  Not only do they start playing their characters better, but they identify with their characters more and treat the world and NPCs are more than just something to manipulate and quantify.  The other big thing to do is never describe anything in absolutes.  Don't say "There are no traps on the chest", say "you check the chest, probing your fingers along all the seams and lock mechanism, and don't find any traps."  A subtle difference, but an important one from horror.  Also, decribe things through the PCs sensory modalities- what they see, smell, hear, feel, and taste.  Try to include at least 2 or 3 of these sense in each description you give out.  Try to imagine what it might actually be like to be there, and make it personal to the PC and his point of view.  For example when describing a gargoyle say "A beast of nightmare emerges from the shadows, its joints creaking like stones grinding together and smelling of turned earth.  Viscous saliva drips from its fanged maw, and its batlike wings beat several times as it propels itself towards you, knocking the torch from its sconce on the wall, causing the room to be dimly illuminated in a nightmarish display of dancing shadows."  Finally, don't allow direct combat to be an option to deal with all threats.  Things like nightmares, diseases, curses are good, and have monsters make hit-and-run attacks, feeling the PCs out, draining resources, and freaking them out.  And when you do manage to scare or freak out your players doing this, it can be very rewarding, both for the DM and the players.  Note: these tactics will drive rules lawyers/metagamers nuts, which is part of the appeal.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />   One of my players used to be the worst metagamer/rules lawyer/min-maxer, but I managed to break him of it doing this for a year or so.</blockquote>

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