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Help me freak out my players!
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<blockquote data-quote="Lord Pendragon" data-source="post: 3019554" data-attributes="member: 707"><p>I've found that creeping out the player with in-game descriptions is very difficult. It may be because I play with folks in the 30+ age bracket, or that most of them have been playing for quite some time, but merely describing scenes you might pick up from movies doesn't usually do it.</p><p></p><p>That said, I've had occasion to want to creep out my players, and found that the best way to do this is on a metagame level.</p><p></p><p>1. Background music. If you can, pick up the soundtrack to <em>Bram Stoker's Dracula</em>. The music alone creeped out one of my players after the first ten minutes or so.</p><p></p><p>2. Ask for random d20 rolls. When they give you the result, just nod to yourself. Maybe say "huh, well that can't be good" every so often.</p><p></p><p>3. Create your own monsters. Experienced players are comforted by their familiarity with their foes. They know what a beholder is, or a dragon, etc. Even if the challenge is tough, it isn't scary, because the players recognize what they're facing.</p><p></p><p>So you need to set them against something they can't predict. You don't necessarily have to create the monsters from scratch. Merely find a monster that has the mechanical guts you need, then scrap the description and create your own instead.</p><p></p><p>I've used Stirges as the basis for a group of porcelain dolls that came to life and attacked the party while they were exploring the attic of an old house. When they got close, they'd leap up onto the PCs and their jaws would distend to reveal hideously long fangs that they tried to sink into their prey.</p><p></p><p>I've used an Ettin as the basis for a group of miners whose bodies had been fused together by a tainted artifact into a grotesque multi-limbed, multi-headed monstrosity.</p><p></p><p>If the party doesn't know what they're facing, their nervousness will increase greatly.</p><p></p><p>Edit to add: Just re-read the OP and realized you're in a Play-By-Post game. That rules out suggestions 1 and 2. 3 should still be valid, though.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lord Pendragon, post: 3019554, member: 707"] I've found that creeping out the player with in-game descriptions is very difficult. It may be because I play with folks in the 30+ age bracket, or that most of them have been playing for quite some time, but merely describing scenes you might pick up from movies doesn't usually do it. That said, I've had occasion to want to creep out my players, and found that the best way to do this is on a metagame level. 1. Background music. If you can, pick up the soundtrack to [i]Bram Stoker's Dracula[/i]. The music alone creeped out one of my players after the first ten minutes or so. 2. Ask for random d20 rolls. When they give you the result, just nod to yourself. Maybe say "huh, well that can't be good" every so often. 3. Create your own monsters. Experienced players are comforted by their familiarity with their foes. They know what a beholder is, or a dragon, etc. Even if the challenge is tough, it isn't scary, because the players recognize what they're facing. So you need to set them against something they can't predict. You don't necessarily have to create the monsters from scratch. Merely find a monster that has the mechanical guts you need, then scrap the description and create your own instead. I've used Stirges as the basis for a group of porcelain dolls that came to life and attacked the party while they were exploring the attic of an old house. When they got close, they'd leap up onto the PCs and their jaws would distend to reveal hideously long fangs that they tried to sink into their prey. I've used an Ettin as the basis for a group of miners whose bodies had been fused together by a tainted artifact into a grotesque multi-limbed, multi-headed monstrosity. If the party doesn't know what they're facing, their nervousness will increase greatly. Edit to add: Just re-read the OP and realized you're in a Play-By-Post game. That rules out suggestions 1 and 2. 3 should still be valid, though. [/QUOTE]
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