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<blockquote data-quote="Riley37" data-source="post: 6615726" data-attributes="member: 6786839">As said before: props, music, history, multisensory.One of the basic cues that humans use to recognize a serious threat: whether others around them show fear. So if the PCs have an NPC guide, and that NPC guide starts shivering and stammering whenever the PCs even look towards the North, then the PCs get the idea that there's something scary in the North. If the PCs are on a trail, and the guide rounds the corner then screams, turns, and runs back along the path, then the PCs have a clear hint that something big and bad is just around that corner. (See the intro of &quot;Raiders of the Lost Ark&quot; for an example.)The thing just around the corner should not be a monster, ready to be fought. It could be the monster's most recent victim, freshly killed (blood still dripping). It could be the entrance to the monster's lair. It should be something that the PCs can explore, to learn more about the threat, while they get more and more tense, worrying that the Big Bad might show up right away, or maybe it will attack when they're resting.The great thing about dopplegangers, warlocks with Mask of Many Faces, possession monsters, etc: WHAT IF IT'S ALREADY ONE OF US.In short: the time to build terror is BEFORE the combat starts. Once init gets rolled, players tend to fall into well-established mental habits, and think tactically. Which is more or less appropriate - combat is rarely the right time to panic. But if a monster has a Fear-type power, and uses it in combat, after a horror story set-up, then it will be less of &quot;just another status effect&quot;. There will be more of a match between the mechanics of the combat, and actual feelings experienced by players.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Riley37, post: 6615726, member: 6786839"] As said before: props, music, history, multisensory. One of the basic cues that humans use to recognize a serious threat: whether others around them show fear. So if the PCs have an NPC guide, and that NPC guide starts shivering and stammering whenever the PCs even look towards the North, then the PCs get the idea that there's something scary in the North. If the PCs are on a trail, and the guide rounds the corner then screams, turns, and runs back along the path, then the PCs have a clear hint that something big and bad is just around that corner. (See the intro of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for an example.) The thing just around the corner should not be a monster, ready to be fought. It could be the monster's most recent victim, freshly killed (blood still dripping). It could be the entrance to the monster's lair. It should be something that the PCs can explore, to learn more about the threat, while they get more and more tense, worrying that the Big Bad might show up right away, or maybe it will attack when they're resting. The great thing about dopplegangers, warlocks with Mask of Many Faces, possession monsters, etc: WHAT IF IT'S ALREADY ONE OF US. In short: the time to build terror is BEFORE the combat starts. Once init gets rolled, players tend to fall into well-established mental habits, and think tactically. Which is more or less appropriate - combat is rarely the right time to panic. But if a monster has a Fear-type power, and uses it in combat, after a horror story set-up, then it will be less of "just another status effect". There will be more of a match between the mechanics of the combat, and actual feelings experienced by players. [/QUOTE]

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