Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="AtomicPope" data-source="post: 8482298" data-attributes="member: 64790">I'm reminded of a D&D campaign I ran where the PCs were road wardens.  They were asked to investigate some missing cattle in a ranch far away from the city.  I intended it to be a horror theme like Tremors, except the creatures were Ankhegs.  The PCs show up and there's a wagon stuck in the road, a sinkhole had formed.  The horses were ripped away.  The farmhouse is abandoned.  It's not until they are out in the open fields heading over to the barn that I describe the ground bulging up and moving.    The PCs were forewarned that Dire Moles have been causing problems undermining the foundations of structure.  The reveal was the most important thing, not to mention choosing thematic locations for encounters.Whenever the PCs are looking for something I like to do a classic horror fake out.  A normal reveal shows something that shocks the audience in some way.  The most iconic is Darth Vader's reveal in The Empire Strikes Back.  Horror movies commonly employ a fake reveal, something that sounds like a monster but it's just a branch blowing in the wind and scraping the side of the house.  Then when you are comfortable and ignoring that sound, the creature is scraping its claws.  In my original example of "Dire Moles" it's important to give clues that could be either the Mole or the Ankheg.  You want to mislead them a bit.  In your case you should have wolves or maybe mountain lions that are also in the area to mislead the PCs.  Add subtle clues to make the scenes slightly different so you can craft the story you're looking for without revealing the source until you ready to drop the surprise.What kind of game are you running?   What exactly are you going for?  Are the Krenshar a deadly pair of stalkers that kill and eat people but choose for fleece the herd?  Or are they laying claim to the territory and clearing the people out slowly?  Is it exploration and discovery more than combat?  That matters when you're planning an adventure and the encounters.</blockquote>

Verification