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<blockquote data-quote="XCorvis" data-source="post: 2579869" data-attributes="member: 1265">To make the players worried, you have to make them fear for their characters. They're not going to be &quot;scared&quot; but they will be worried and nervous. My hat is off to any DM that has actually scared his players - you have to put a lot of work into atmosphere, mood and just the right events - plus, you need players who really get into it. The right combo doesn't happen that often.I'll expand a little on what BiggusGeekus said.What I've found, as a DM and as a player, is that the thing that makes players the most nervous is when they can't look it up. They have no idea what it is, what rule book it's in, or what it's actually doing. When the earth rises up out of the ground to surround a player, they don't know if it's an earth elemental, bigby's grasping hand, a shambling mound made of dirt, or what. And if they don't know how to deal with it, they get nervous.Also, you can use theme music. If you use it before the fight, you can increase the dramatic tension. They know a baddie is coming and they start to get worked up (don't let them metagame it and start prepping before their characters know). Then, once in a great while, use the theme music when you're not actually using the appropriate character. They'll get all worked up (yay, Pavlov!) but then you can twist it on them - nothing happens, or perhaps they run into an ally (or is he?)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="XCorvis, post: 2579869, member: 1265"] To make the players worried, you have to make them fear for their characters. They're not going to be "scared" but they will be worried and nervous. My hat is off to any DM that has actually scared his players - you have to put a lot of work into atmosphere, mood and just the right events - plus, you need players who really get into it. The right combo doesn't happen that often. I'll expand a little on what BiggusGeekus said. What I've found, as a DM and as a player, is that the thing that makes players the most nervous is when they [i]can't look it up[/i]. They have no idea what it is, what rule book it's in, or what it's actually doing. When the earth rises up out of the ground to surround a player, they don't know if it's an earth elemental, bigby's grasping hand, a shambling mound made of dirt, or what. And if they don't know how to deal with it, they get nervous. Also, you can use theme music. If you use it before the fight, you can increase the dramatic tension. They know a baddie is coming and they start to get worked up (don't let them metagame it and start prepping before their characters know). Then, once in a great while, use the theme music when you're not actually using the appropriate character. They'll get all worked up (yay, Pavlov!) but then you can twist it on them - nothing happens, or perhaps they run into an ally (or is he?) [/QUOTE]

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