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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="Doug McCrae" data-source="post: 6162686" data-attributes="member: 21169"><p>1. Weak PCs. In 3e, it's a lot easier to do horror if the PCs are 1st level rather than 20th.</p><p>2. PCs are ordinary people. It's better for the PCs to be ordinary people going about their lives and avoiding trouble, than adventurers who seek it out. Adventurers don't scare easily, otherwise they'd never enter dungeons.</p><p>3. Restrict information -</p><p>a) The horror monster or monsters must be hand crafted, not found in the Monster Manual.</p><p>b) Restrict or deny the use of information gathering magic, particularly the paladin's detect evil.</p><p>c) Restrict or deny the use of knowledge skills to learn about the horror monster.</p><p>4. Rising threat. First there is inexplicable spookiness, then an animal or NPC dies, then the PCs die one by one, until there's only the Final Girl left.</p><p>5. Don't permit traditional D&D monster bashing. Every roomful of orcs successfully vanquished helps protagonize the PCs, which is the opposite of what you want.</p><p></p><p>You may not wish to use many of these techniques, particularly #2, as they go against the notion of heroic fantasy. This shows why it's harder to do horror within the heroic fantasy genre.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Doug McCrae, post: 6162686, member: 21169"] 1. Weak PCs. In 3e, it's a lot easier to do horror if the PCs are 1st level rather than 20th. 2. PCs are ordinary people. It's better for the PCs to be ordinary people going about their lives and avoiding trouble, than adventurers who seek it out. Adventurers don't scare easily, otherwise they'd never enter dungeons. 3. Restrict information - a) The horror monster or monsters must be hand crafted, not found in the Monster Manual. b) Restrict or deny the use of information gathering magic, particularly the paladin's detect evil. c) Restrict or deny the use of knowledge skills to learn about the horror monster. 4. Rising threat. First there is inexplicable spookiness, then an animal or NPC dies, then the PCs die one by one, until there's only the Final Girl left. 5. Don't permit traditional D&D monster bashing. Every roomful of orcs successfully vanquished helps protagonize the PCs, which is the opposite of what you want. You may not wish to use many of these techniques, particularly #2, as they go against the notion of heroic fantasy. This shows why it's harder to do horror within the heroic fantasy genre. [/QUOTE]
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GMs: How do you create a feeling of horror (in an heroic fantasy game)?
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