Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Looking for Ideas to Creep Out My Players
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Zelda Themelin" data-source="post: 5831275" data-attributes="member: 167"><p>Very neat ideas. However, some players might not so much react to this kinda events, or react very negativly (horrible place, let's beat it, I look for my treasures elsewhere). With horror/creepy elements you have to stick to that golden middle-road that keeps it interesting, somewhat shocking, but doesn't sicken people playing the game.</p><p></p><p>Some people I've played with would be offended by "horror" in their heroic fantasy games. To keep that feeling away, don't do plots that victimize the players, some creepy trap (haunt) might be ok, or too far in some of them. Less story, more damage is good way to go for these people what comes to haunts. Some players don't like when they loose control of their character. They still might like to play some demonic double as it's not really their character, who got separed from party and is still checking things on that last area.</p><p></p><p>Things I use often to set up creepy scenario:</p><p></p><p>- unsual noices</p><p>- strange lights</p><p>- weirdly acting animals</p><p>- no animals on area, and very silent</p><p>- creepy kids (or monster resembling one)</p><p>- creepy house pets (or monster resembling one)</p><p>- unusual variation (dungeon is all dusty, and then this one room is like new)</p><p>- animated objects (sometimes harmless, sometimes not)</p><p>- darkness</p><p>- unknown portal</p><p>- weird pools, and other water related built things</p><p>- mirrors (fun-house versions and cursed one to add to effect)</p><p>- alien looking objects/technology</p><p>- beautiful looking person inside ice/crystal (very fairytalish, but rather creepy)</p><p>- temples for unknown gods</p><p>- psychic monsters (for non-psychic group)</p><p>- random notes ("stay on path, don't step off the path, whatever happens, don't")</p><p>- room filled with dead people (not undead, especially if death seems sudden but rather serene makes players nervous)</p><p>- Carnival-related things (Scarred lands and ravenloft actually have creepy carnivals, but I you don't need the whole thing, and some people are really afraid of clowns, I blame it to reading Stephen King's "It" too young)</p><p>- masks</p><p>- collection of similarities (room full off different bird-cages, beds, etc, if you want to make it seem mystical make some of them float around)</p><p>- Thing that seem to move inside-the-walls</p><p>- reflection surfaces (not mirrors), that don't reflect what actually is there</p><p>- (un)living darkness-type monsters</p><p>- statues, altars, gravestones (especially when set on location they don't seem to fit, and make them partially broken, feel free to add gravestones texts like "no-one remembers us", "we still scream" and the like)</p><p>- sacrifice room setup (where some evil thing was worshipped)</p><p>- biology room (you know one where you have eyes and brains in jars, add with some shelf broken down, marks on floor and blood, like fight would have ensued and victim then dragged through the room tracks stopping at wall)</p><p></p><p>Thing like that, added with little examples they can be used.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zelda Themelin, post: 5831275, member: 167"] Very neat ideas. However, some players might not so much react to this kinda events, or react very negativly (horrible place, let's beat it, I look for my treasures elsewhere). With horror/creepy elements you have to stick to that golden middle-road that keeps it interesting, somewhat shocking, but doesn't sicken people playing the game. Some people I've played with would be offended by "horror" in their heroic fantasy games. To keep that feeling away, don't do plots that victimize the players, some creepy trap (haunt) might be ok, or too far in some of them. Less story, more damage is good way to go for these people what comes to haunts. Some players don't like when they loose control of their character. They still might like to play some demonic double as it's not really their character, who got separed from party and is still checking things on that last area. Things I use often to set up creepy scenario: - unsual noices - strange lights - weirdly acting animals - no animals on area, and very silent - creepy kids (or monster resembling one) - creepy house pets (or monster resembling one) - unusual variation (dungeon is all dusty, and then this one room is like new) - animated objects (sometimes harmless, sometimes not) - darkness - unknown portal - weird pools, and other water related built things - mirrors (fun-house versions and cursed one to add to effect) - alien looking objects/technology - beautiful looking person inside ice/crystal (very fairytalish, but rather creepy) - temples for unknown gods - psychic monsters (for non-psychic group) - random notes ("stay on path, don't step off the path, whatever happens, don't") - room filled with dead people (not undead, especially if death seems sudden but rather serene makes players nervous) - Carnival-related things (Scarred lands and ravenloft actually have creepy carnivals, but I you don't need the whole thing, and some people are really afraid of clowns, I blame it to reading Stephen King's "It" too young) - masks - collection of similarities (room full off different bird-cages, beds, etc, if you want to make it seem mystical make some of them float around) - Thing that seem to move inside-the-walls - reflection surfaces (not mirrors), that don't reflect what actually is there - (un)living darkness-type monsters - statues, altars, gravestones (especially when set on location they don't seem to fit, and make them partially broken, feel free to add gravestones texts like "no-one remembers us", "we still scream" and the like) - sacrifice room setup (where some evil thing was worshipped) - biology room (you know one where you have eyes and brains in jars, add with some shelf broken down, marks on floor and blood, like fight would have ensued and victim then dragged through the room tracks stopping at wall) Thing like that, added with little examples they can be used. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Looking for Ideas to Creep Out My Players
Top