HELP WANTED - my game tonight

[Desdichado]

I've received such good information in the past, that I'm inclined to start one of these every two weeks before a session now!

For once, I'm not as concerned about what to do as I am about how to do it, though. Here's the sitch...

I'm playing a d20 fantasy game that's a bit far removed from D&D itself -- it's more like d20 Cthulhu with some swashbuckling thrown in. The world itself is a bit Dark Sun, and a bit Edgar Rice Burroughs vision of Mars (Barsoom) seen through a Lovecraftian lens. The PCs had been involved in a number of plots and intrigues in a fairly large city called Razina, but the last few sessions, have been on a journey out of town to investigate an ancient ruin of some kind that was discovered in a rambling fever-dream of one character after he had read a Necronomicon-like book. They've so far gone to the smaller town of Treçenze, and spent a session there, and now have found a guide that will take them to the hills above Bartomeu's Bluff, a small mining town near the ruins they seek. Bartomeu's Bluff itself is a town with a problem; it's very much like Lovecraft's Innsmouth; backwater rednecks that belong to a depraved cult that will gradually turn them all into aberrations of some kind.

The game isn't heroic fantasy; it's dark fantasy bordering on horror, and I don't intend for them to "solve" the problem of Bartomeu's Bluff; if they can get out of town in one piece, they'll be doing good.

Here's the problem, though. The last few sessions, the tension level has ratcheted down somwhat. This trip out to the desert almost seems like a vacation for them. They've had combats, but the combats have dragged and felt more like chess games than the high-octane, high tension affairs we had earlier. The best combat we had was right before Christmas; it was a fast-paced affair in a steambath, with folks leaping off balconies, breaking valves on the pipes so that hot steam sprayed in the face of opponents, hurling hot rocks at each other, bursting through rice-paper walls to surprised opponents, etc., but it went so well partly because I had planned for it carefully with plenty of opportunity to bring out that kind of frenetic, swashbuckly action.

So, I'm not sure what to do about tonight to bring back the tension. But here's a few ideas:

• First off, I'm thinking about instituting a rule that sorta correlates how long you sit there thinking about what to do with in-game consequences -- i.e., if you wait too long, the opponents get a free attack of opportunity on you, or you even lose your place in the initiative order. Two of my three players have actually said they think this would be great, so I'll almost certainly do this.
• Need to have some really overwhelming, nasty encounters. Folks that can really give'em a good kicking, and force Sanity checks to boot.
• I'm also thinking about having a Corey Reid style Hot Pursuit, although my concern is there that nobody knows those rules except me, and even then, not comfortably. Although if I reread the rules and then simply interpret what the players want to do within the rules, I can probably pull it off.

Any suggestions? I'm afraid my campaign, which I know my players enjoy for the setting and the pure weirdness of it all, is stalling somewhat on the dramatic tension and edge of your seat suspense areas, and I want to get it back on track.

 

[Catavarie]

I've received such good information in the past, that I'm inclined to start one of these every two weeks before a session now!

For once, I'm not as concerned about what to do as I am about how to do it, though. Here's the sitch...

I'm playing a d20 fantasy game that's a bit far removed from D&D itself -- it's more like d20 Cthulhu with some swashbuckling thrown in. The world itself is a bit Dark Sun, and a bit Edgar Rice Burroughs vision of Mars (Barsoom) seen through a Lovecraftian lens. The PCs had been involved in a number of plots and intrigues in a fairly large city called Razina, but the last few sessions, have been on a journey out of town to investigate an ancient ruin of some kind that was discovered in a rambling fever-dream of one character after he had read a Necronomicon-like book. They've so far gone to the smaller town of Treçenze, and spent a session there, and now have found a guide that will take them to the hills above Bartomeu's Bluff, a small mining town near the ruins they seek. Bartomeu's Bluff itself is a town with a problem; it's very much like Lovecraft's Innsmouth; backwater rednecks that belong to a depraved cult that will gradually turn them all into aberrations of some kind.

The game isn't heroic fantasy; it's dark fantasy bordering on horror, and I don't intend for them to "solve" the problem of Bartomeu's Bluff; if they can get out of town in one piece, they'll be doing good.

Here's the problem, though. The last few sessions, the tension level has ratcheted down somwhat. This trip out to the desert almost seems like a vacation for them. They've had combats, but the combats have dragged and felt more like chess games than the high-octane, high tension affairs we had earlier. The best combat we had was right before Christmas; it was a fast-paced affair in a steambath, with folks leaping off balconies, breaking valves on the pipes so that hot steam sprayed in the face of opponents, hurling hot rocks at each other, bursting through rice-paper walls to surprised opponents, etc., but it went so well partly because I had planned for it carefully with plenty of opportunity to bring out that kind of frenetic, swashbuckly action.

So, I'm not sure what to do about tonight to bring back the tension. But here's a few ideas:

• First off, I'm thinking about instituting a rule that sorta correlates how long you sit there thinking about what to do with in-game consequences -- i.e., if you wait too long, the opponents get a free attack of opportunity on you, or you even lose your place in the initiative order. Two of my three players have actually said they think this would be great, so I'll almost certainly do this.
• Need to have some really overwhelming, nasty encounters. Folks that can really give'em a good kicking, and force Sanity checks to boot.
• I'm also thinking about having a Corey Reid style Hot Pursuit, although my concern is there that nobody knows those rules except me, and even then, not comfortably. Although if I reread the rules and then simply interpret what the players want to do within the rules, I can probably pull it off.

Any suggestions? I'm afraid my campaign, which I know my players enjoy for the setting and the pure weirdness of it all, is stalling somewhat on the dramatic tension and edge of your seat suspense areas, and I want to get it back on track.

We first off I suggest getting small "HourGlass" one that runs for about 30 seconds (These can usually be found at a game store for about a buck), if the players haven't decided on a course of action by that time the Opponents get an attack, and everytime it comes to a players turn just turn the glass over, when the sand runs out the opponents get an attack

Secondly for Big & Uglies, Use your imagination, Come up with a Criminal Gang that the players made mad at some point wheither they know it or not...Kinda like in The Usual Suspects, they all upset Kizer Sozei but none of them knew it till they were told, Just make a group of Cookie cutter badies, and have them mention their Boss, you can flesh out the boss for your next session and it gives them another subplot within the plot sorta speak.

Hot pursuit sounds like a great idea, but don't force it on your players, if they decide to run before the Opponents decide to let them go then a chase is a great bit for adding in tension and drama, but if you players happen to be stubborn, as players often are, then have the opoonents leave them all standing there at 1 hp each, that's always good for teaching a bit of humiliation.

 

[Belen]

Have the pure evil of the place begin to whisper to the PCs on their journey. Every so often, ask one of the players to make a Will save. If they fail, then have the PC get the chills, start to sweat, and that he suddenly is reduced to half speed bacause he simplely does not want to go forward.

After a few moments, the whispers end and he can move normal, but he remains chilled. Then do it to another player somewhat later.

Then, if they have to camp, keep them up at night with noises that things are moving nearby. The guide may even try and run away. If he succeeds that is a further hit to morale. By the time they get there, they will fear the place.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

It strikes me that you aren't concerned about techniques. It seems to me that you want to know how to create a particular mood, or feeling.

That boils down to two things: The environment and the dramatic techniques which you personally use.

For the environment - generating tension, if I were running the game at my house, I'd make the room a bit darker than usual, maybe play something sinister in the background (personally I go with either the music from Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula, or South of Heaven by Slayer, but that's because I'm old). Not too loud. Put some candles out. Generally go over-the-top Gothic with it.

For your dramatic techniques, ask yourself: Are you the sort of person who can use phrases like "A frisson of fear that feels like spiders crawling up your spine" when you GM? Or will your players just laugh? If you can get away with it, do it - speak in purple prose that's laden with dark skies and brooding with incipient mortality. It's much better to show them how scary it is rather than just telling them it's scary.

If you can't do that, fiddle with the reward structure. Explain up-front that you're offering an xp bonus to the character who best portrays the mood or feeling you're evoking.

Ask for decisions fast. Explain that the characters have to declare their actions immediately, then call for statements of intent with no previous discussion. (Ask for them in INT order, such that the lowest-INT character has to call his/her actions first; the higher-INT characters simulate their greater intelligence with a bit more thinking time).

Foreshadow heavily, and emphasize non-visual cues like the sepulchral silence and the peculiar smell.

 

[carpedavid]

That's a toughie. In general, I've found that switching things up keeps the game feeling fresh. It can't be all high-octane combat all the time, nor can it be all survival horror all the time. I tend to switch between mystery, fun combat, strategic combat, character development, and puzzle solving as I move my campaign along. So far, it's worked out pretty well.

It sounds, though, like you've got a great opportunity for some "survival horror" moments with the Bartomeu's Bluff scenario. Start off with a general creepyness vibe - they feel like they're being spied upon wherever they go. Then have them stumble upon something depraved that they can deal with on a small scale. Finally, turn the volume up: send the whole town after them. Not just a posse - every single last person: man, woman, and child. I'm envisioning the group having to run for their lives (you could use the chase rules here, if need be), as a horde of abberation wannabes run and slither after them to the edge of town.

And if that doesn't produce the neccessary tension, throw a shoggoth at 'em.

 

[Desdichado]

We first off I suggest getting small "HourGlass" one that runs for about 30 seconds (These can usually be found at a game store for about a buck), if the players haven't decided on a course of action by that time the Opponents get an attack, and everytime it comes to a players turn just turn the glass over, when the sand runs out the opponents get an attack

Hey, great idea! I know I've got those for several boardgames, I can raid one for the hourglass without any problem.

By the time they get there, they will fear the place.

I think that's crucial; I do need to really ratchet up the creepiness factor as they get closer to Bartomeu's Bluff. The game has edged ever so slightly towards conventional wilderness travel, which is not really what I'm looking for.

It strikes me that you aren't concerned about techniques. It seems to me that you want to know how to create a particular mood, or feeling.

Well, both. I do play in a fairly dim room, with the main light off and only the dimmer lamps used for lighting, and I do have my "Spooky RPG" soundtrack of mp3s ripped to CD (mostly from spooky movies like Sleepy Hollow or Signs and stuff) in the background, if I remember to keep it on. But you're right; I need to be more conscious of evoking atmosphere. But I am also looking for techniques. I want my combats to revert back to desperate, frenetic action, with the players confused and scared rather than coldly calculating and overly tactical. Luckily, my players have expressed a desire for that as well, so I need to find ways to make that happen.

And if that doesn't produce the neccessary tension, throw a shoggoth at 'em.

Heheh. Shoggoth's don't get near enough use, IMO. I'm really feeling that vibe again after picking up Lords of Madness over the weekend. Lots of great stuff I can use in there.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Do you induce fear/terror into your players with rolls? Use a timer that makes noise, tick tock, no action when it stops...attack happens.

I have used altered swarms to great effect, swarm with skinking cloud attached to it. Also, hounds or packs that have to be reduced in number, throw on a template and worry your players.

 

[alsih2o]

Here is on I have considered trying, inspired by days as a (horrible) baseball player:

Get an object and have it handed to the "on deck" person in initiative. It my speed up response times by the 'next' player.

A plastic sword, a big d20, whatever. I THINK that getting this object and handling it might brings some players more into what their character is about to do. If they are more prepared combat goes more smoothly and seems more dramatic.


and use interesting fight locales, sounds like the bath hit that perfectly.

 

[Desdichado]

Yes, the bath-house worked so well partly because it was such an interesting fight locale. I need to think of some kind of interesting, maybe open-air locale for tonight, when they end up coming face to face with the full horror of the corruption in Bartomeu's Bluff. But I'm coming up blank there, too.

 

[francisca]

Hey, great idea! I know I've got those for several boardgames, I can raid one for the hourglass without any problem.

They are very effective. My group calls mine "The Salt Shaker of Doom", for example.