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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 4869242" data-attributes="member: 467">I disagree, ultimately because you *can't* scare the player unless they let you.  After all, it is just a game. What mechanical elements like SoD and level drain *might* do -- and often *do* do in my experience, but certainly not always -- is get a player to run his character as if the character is scared. Even if the response is just "Son of a ^&%$#!" from the player and he glares at you with the obvious connotation that he was using the implied "You", the character is still fleeing from a horrific enemy as you might expect them to do in a non-game narrative.That isn't to say that atmosphere and tension and the like are unimportant. Setting a "scary" mood helps immensely.  All those things you mention are great -- snatching folks (why does it just have to be NPCs?) and creepy events and ineffectual tactics all get players on their toes, heightening the "Oh damn!" moment when it hits.  Bit, in my experience, once the initiative die is cast, if there is no mechanical power behind the atmosphere, most players go into "game mode" and that "fear" is displaced by standard combat behavior. Unusually difficult or harsh effects -- SOD, level drain, huge damage, etc... -- mitigates this, IMO.</blockquote>