D&D General How do you do horror when running D&D?

[Paul Farquhar]

@Rechan Probably the most basic change you will need to make is to change how PCs get XP. 5E is set up to grant XP for killing monsters. So that’s what players are going to try and do.

If you want them to do something else, you need to incentivize that. All the other advice here may be useless if when it’s all said and done, the PCs are still only going to progress by killing things.

Start with that.

Well, you want the PCs to stay weak, and if they only get xp for killing monsters, and they can't kill the monsters, then they will stay 1st level forever...

 

[Nebulous]

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Well, you want the PCs to stay weak, and if they only get xp for killing monsters, and they can't kill the monsters, then they will stay 1st level forever...

I would just do a slow leveling milestone system. Maybe introduce more skill feats to supplement lack of combat.

Solving mysteries and plot points would work toward leveling.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

But sooner or later I wanted to see mechanical PC growth.

This is very important I think. The main reason for the success of D&D is "level up". AKA player-smack. If PCs don't get better then a long running campaign is almost impossible to maintain.

 

[jayoungr]

D&D General - How do you do horror when running D&D?

Yeah combat in a horror game is fine, but you will need to toss out the CR system. Bump it up a couple of notches and run combat encounters with multiple different types of monster and make extensive use of conditions, especially things like paralyzed and restrained. I'd design the encounters to...

www.enworld.org

Of the scenarios you propose, I think the mystery lab has the most potential, personally. Impress on the players that they must get out without being caught by whoever put them there--maybe have an NPC get caught along with them, and have them discover the NPC's gruesome fate as a warning of what will happen to them if they're caught. Scary things patrolling the corridors, who will not kill the PCs outright if they spot them, but will do something potentially worse: incapacititate them and then send them back to be experimented on--immediately, if you want an encounter with the guards to be "game over" for the PC. This scenario also has lots of opportunities for exploration and hazards.

If you want to add a survival element, stringently enforce exhaustion rules if the PCs don't eat or sleep. In fact, the exhaustion rules are your friends in pretty much any horror scenario.

Does any of this help?

5E is set up to grant XP for killing monsters.

Not only for killing monsters; it's just that players tend to forget about the other things. But I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just tell the players straight out that you're going to use milestone progression, and they won't gain levels until and unless they finish certain story objectives. Like, if they can escape the lab, they'll hit level 2.

 

[Rechan]

@Rechan Probably the most basic change you will need to make is to change how PCs get XP. 5E is set up to grant XP for killing monsters. So that’s what players are going to try and do.

If you want them to do something else, you need to incentivize that. All the other advice here may be useless if when it’s all said and done, the PCs are still only going to progress by killing things.

Start with that.

That...that is a great idea actually.

See I’m sort of taking inspiration fro the 1e days, where the emphasis was on exploration. There xp was given for the treassure you found.

Characters were very fragile, but at the same time they could mow through 50 skeletons in 15 minutes. That fragility is what led to the 10’ pole days, that and the style of play where if you say you do something the wrong way, you died.

Now, I’m not sure what leveling up would be good for. Increasing skills and saves I guess. But XP is usually the carrot that motivates, so changing the reward is the first step.

To be clear I’m not imagining long campaigns. Maybe 3-5 sessions max? Long enough for a story. Because IME it’s hard to get people to commit to long campaigns period, and I think it would be hard to maintain a long running campaign with weak characters who can die easily.

Bevause when I say “no combat” I don’t mean “no violence”.Things will attack Them. Fighting back (and staying to fight) is what’s unwise.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Just tell the players straight out that you're going to use milestone progression, and they won't gain levels until and unless they finish certain story objectives. Like, if they can escape the lab, they'll hit level 2.

I think the problem, at least for a long running campaign, is that without combat characters aren't seen to be progressing. Hitting level 2 has very little meaning out of combat.

Some horror RPGs have little or no character progression, but I have never seen horror game run as an ongoing multi-year campaign.

Social yes. Social games can go on forever with little or no character progression. But I've never seen a long running little-or-no-combat campaign that wasn't social in any game system, never mind D&D.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Not only for killing monsters; it's just that players tend to forget about the other things. But I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just tell the players straight out that you're going to use milestone progression, and they won't gain levels until and unless they finish certain story objectives. Like, if they can escape the lab, they'll hit level 2.

I have no problem with milestone XP/leveling...I use it in my 5E campaign.

I think that in this case, it would make sense to have specific XP rewards or milestone points that will encourage the players to approach the game in the way that Rechan is hoping.

Your suggestion of “escape the lab to reach level 2” is along the lines of what I mean, for sure. But I don’t know if it would hurt to be even more specific. An XP award for escaping the lab without combat promotes the kind of play that’s desired, so that may help. Otherwise, they may take “escape the lab” to mean “kill all the bad guys in the lab”.

I’d likely ditch the XP system as presented and just use a simplified version. Something like you need 10 XP to reach next level, and then grant 1 XP when the players perform the kind of action wanted. Use Stealth to avoid Combat? Get 1XP.

But you’d need a clear list of what grants XP. Such a list may have things that apply to all characters, and then also things that only apply to certain classes.

This is the clearest way to say to the players “This game is about this” because it clearly establishes what actions are rewarded.

 

[jayoungr]

I've had one shots and sessions in ongoing campaigns that had no combat and they can be a lot of fun. But that's different than an ongoing campaign that never has combat.

I think whether an ongoing campaign can work without combat depends more on the players than anything else.

I think the problem, at least for a long running campaign, is that without combat characters aren't seen to be progressing.

See post 95 above, though--the OP isn't planning a long-running campaign.

I don’t know if it would hurt to be even more specific. An XP award for escaping the lab without combat promotes the kind of play that’s desired, so that may help. Otherwise, they may take “escape the lab” to mean “kill all the bad guys in the lab”.

Yeah, an XP penalty (or at least, lack of reward) for combat would definitely discourage combat. But I get the impression that the OP's plan is to impress on the players that combat is something they can't win anyway.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

See above, though--the OP isn't planning a long-running campaign.

Then I wouldn't award xp at all. If there is no combat xp is worthless.


Just say - it's milestone xp, you get it at the end, and award it when the game is over.

 

[Rechan]

horror game run as an ongoing multi-year campaign.

Multi-year? I can count on My hand the number of groups I’ve been in that lasted over a year. The only multi year campaigns I’ve been in were online games Many moons ago.

I don’t plan on being where I’m living more than a year. Hopefully.