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Everything We Know About The Ravenloft Book
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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 8212782" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>I think one issue people run into with horror is trying to force it (similar to comedy). Obviously if you have more time to invest and prep for a one-shot, and you get the buy in, a one shot can work great for horror (I do this all the time). At the same time, I think it is easy to confuse atmosphere and use of horror oriented language (i.e. upping your adjectives and descriptions) for horror. Horror is an emotion, and it is a real challenge to pull off in a game whether it is a one shot or a years long string of adventures. I do think, like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get. After running Ravenloft for years and years, I felt like I got quite good at spotting the opportunities to scare the players, I got better at focusing on picking the right words (rather than lengthy descriptions because I felt like I had to paint the scene and involve all the sense or something), and I figured out more what works and what doesn't. Still I think you have to give people a break. If it is 100% horror, 100% dark and brooding all the time, it is all going to feel the same and the players will become dull to the horror. Also, it is still a game, with dice, and randomness, and occasional cheetos at the table. It is possible to take yourself too seriously when you are GMing horror. If the players want to crack jokes and have a more laid back session, I find it helps to go along with that. You can end up with a tyranny of horror situation where people stop having fun because you are being too rigid about bringing the horror atmosphere to the table. What I usually strive for are moments of fear that build to horror. You can have a lot of different things in between that. Some of the scariest movies I've seen were filled with humor, and the humor contrasted sharply, I think making for a scarier experience in the end. </p><p></p><p>When I run Ravenloft long term, one thing I lean into is the camp. Some session are going to feel dark and scary, and genuinely give people chills. Some sessions are more like Pretorius dining in a tomb or showing off his homunculi in Bride of Frankenstein. A long term horror campaign is a little bit more like a jam session, you have to find your way over a very long campaign, and if you hit the horror too hard all the time, people will just be numb to it or exhausted. In the end, I am happy as long as we played in a gothic horror setting, whether it ends in laughter or terror</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 8212782, member: 85555"] I think one issue people run into with horror is trying to force it (similar to comedy). Obviously if you have more time to invest and prep for a one-shot, and you get the buy in, a one shot can work great for horror (I do this all the time). At the same time, I think it is easy to confuse atmosphere and use of horror oriented language (i.e. upping your adjectives and descriptions) for horror. Horror is an emotion, and it is a real challenge to pull off in a game whether it is a one shot or a years long string of adventures. I do think, like anything else, the more you do it, the better you get. After running Ravenloft for years and years, I felt like I got quite good at spotting the opportunities to scare the players, I got better at focusing on picking the right words (rather than lengthy descriptions because I felt like I had to paint the scene and involve all the sense or something), and I figured out more what works and what doesn't. Still I think you have to give people a break. If it is 100% horror, 100% dark and brooding all the time, it is all going to feel the same and the players will become dull to the horror. Also, it is still a game, with dice, and randomness, and occasional cheetos at the table. It is possible to take yourself too seriously when you are GMing horror. If the players want to crack jokes and have a more laid back session, I find it helps to go along with that. You can end up with a tyranny of horror situation where people stop having fun because you are being too rigid about bringing the horror atmosphere to the table. What I usually strive for are moments of fear that build to horror. You can have a lot of different things in between that. Some of the scariest movies I've seen were filled with humor, and the humor contrasted sharply, I think making for a scarier experience in the end. When I run Ravenloft long term, one thing I lean into is the camp. Some session are going to feel dark and scary, and genuinely give people chills. Some sessions are more like Pretorius dining in a tomb or showing off his homunculi in Bride of Frankenstein. A long term horror campaign is a little bit more like a jam session, you have to find your way over a very long campaign, and if you hit the horror too hard all the time, people will just be numb to it or exhausted. In the end, I am happy as long as we played in a gothic horror setting, whether it ends in laughter or terror [/QUOTE]
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