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Halloween Creepyness....
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<blockquote data-quote="Redcrow" data-source="post: 5356123" data-attributes="member: 94827"><p>Invoking a sense of fear can be difficult in games that are typically super-heroic in scope. If the PCs regularly do battle with various strange and unusual creatures its hard to instill a sense of awe by placing some new creature in their path no matter how fear inducing it <em>should</em> be. Typically the PCs will just look at it as something new to be beaten into submission.</p><p> </p><p>That isn't to say that it can't be done, just that IMO it isn't necessarily easy to do. First I would suggest taking the PCs out of their comfort zone and invoking a sense of isolation (the haunted island is a good step) and then limit their resources and ability to operate as they normally do.</p><p> </p><p>The feeling of isolation should include the knowledge that should they get into trouble, nobody will be coming to their rescue and there is no familiar place to run back to for safety. For the duration of the adventure they are essentially cutoff from the rest of the world outside the island. </p><p> </p><p>Limiting their resources means there should never be a situation with an easy fix. If they respond to every injury by simply casting Cure Light Wounds or chugging a Healing potion, then there isn't going to be much sense of danger or urgency. Perhaps magic works differently and/or in unexpected ways on the island or maybe it simply doesn't work at all. You can also limit their access to weapons... afterall, you don't see too many scary movies where the protagonist(s) are heavily outfitted for battle. This should hopefully make the PCs less willing to charge into battle with everything you throw in their path.</p><p> </p><p>Remember, there are two basic types of horror. There is <em>Horror From Within</em> and <em>Horror From Without. </em>The former one is often overlooked, but can in fact be the more frightening of the two. <em>Horror From Within</em> deals mostly with a person losing control of their mind, body, or both. It includes things like slowly going insane and corruption of the flesh. Essentially it is the loss of "self"; when you are no longer in control of your own mind or body. Possible causes can be things like possession, insanity, disease, or mutation.</p><p> </p><p>The other type of horror, <em>Horror From Without </em>is any external source that invokes fear. Most often a creature or creatures of some sort. The best way IMO to create a sense of fear over a creature is to first build tension by alluding to it before showing it. In other words, the PCs hear a scream and race to investigate only to find what remains of the creatures latest victim. Remember the scene in Predator where they find the remains of the first team hanging upside down and skinned? Much better tension builder than simply plopping the creature into their lap right from the start. Instead it lingers around them. They know something is there, but not who or what it is. Each time one of them tries to confront it, they end up dead. Not until the end do you really get a good look at the creature.</p><p> </p><p>Remember, fear of the unknown is usually worse than fear of the known.</p><p> </p><p>Anyway, this is all just IMO. YMMV.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Redcrow, post: 5356123, member: 94827"] Invoking a sense of fear can be difficult in games that are typically super-heroic in scope. If the PCs regularly do battle with various strange and unusual creatures its hard to instill a sense of awe by placing some new creature in their path no matter how fear inducing it [I]should[/I] be. Typically the PCs will just look at it as something new to be beaten into submission. That isn't to say that it can't be done, just that IMO it isn't necessarily easy to do. First I would suggest taking the PCs out of their comfort zone and invoking a sense of isolation (the haunted island is a good step) and then limit their resources and ability to operate as they normally do. The feeling of isolation should include the knowledge that should they get into trouble, nobody will be coming to their rescue and there is no familiar place to run back to for safety. For the duration of the adventure they are essentially cutoff from the rest of the world outside the island. Limiting their resources means there should never be a situation with an easy fix. If they respond to every injury by simply casting Cure Light Wounds or chugging a Healing potion, then there isn't going to be much sense of danger or urgency. Perhaps magic works differently and/or in unexpected ways on the island or maybe it simply doesn't work at all. You can also limit their access to weapons... afterall, you don't see too many scary movies where the protagonist(s) are heavily outfitted for battle. This should hopefully make the PCs less willing to charge into battle with everything you throw in their path. Remember, there are two basic types of horror. There is [I]Horror From Within[/I] and [I]Horror From Without. [/I]The former one is often overlooked, but can in fact be the more frightening of the two. [I]Horror From Within[/I] deals mostly with a person losing control of their mind, body, or both. It includes things like slowly going insane and corruption of the flesh. Essentially it is the loss of "self"; when you are no longer in control of your own mind or body. Possible causes can be things like possession, insanity, disease, or mutation. The other type of horror, [I]Horror From Without [/I]is any external source that invokes fear. Most often a creature or creatures of some sort. The best way IMO to create a sense of fear over a creature is to first build tension by alluding to it before showing it. In other words, the PCs hear a scream and race to investigate only to find what remains of the creatures latest victim. Remember the scene in Predator where they find the remains of the first team hanging upside down and skinned? Much better tension builder than simply plopping the creature into their lap right from the start. Instead it lingers around them. They know something is there, but not who or what it is. Each time one of them tries to confront it, they end up dead. Not until the end do you really get a good look at the creature. Remember, fear of the unknown is usually worse than fear of the known. Anyway, this is all just IMO. YMMV. [/QUOTE]
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