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What Makes A Horror Campaign Scary?
- Thread starter ShrooMofDooM
- Start date
Snapdragyn
Explorer
I hate when threads bleed into RL.
I just did laundry, & have been reading this thread & the linked RPGnet thread while waiting for the wash to finish, & then for everything to dry. In 12 years of living in this neighborhood & using this laundromat, I've never had clothes stolen when left running in washers or driers there while I went back to my room & did other things.
When I got my clothes from the drier 5 minutes ago, every shirt was gone (thankfully it was a small load, so only 4 total from what I can recall). Couple of decent casual shirts, couple of old shirts only good for around-the-house wear. Everything else was there, including nice almost-new jeans -- but every shirt was gone. I'd dried sheets in with the permapress, so that meant whoever took the shirts had to really pick through to find them, but they left everything else.
I was a little nervous coming back to my room wondering if the one shirt I pulled to dry on a hanger (non-drier-friendly fabric) would still be there when I got back.
I just did laundry, & have been reading this thread & the linked RPGnet thread while waiting for the wash to finish, & then for everything to dry. In 12 years of living in this neighborhood & using this laundromat, I've never had clothes stolen when left running in washers or driers there while I went back to my room & did other things.
When I got my clothes from the drier 5 minutes ago, every shirt was gone (thankfully it was a small load, so only 4 total from what I can recall). Couple of decent casual shirts, couple of old shirts only good for around-the-house wear. Everything else was there, including nice almost-new jeans -- but every shirt was gone. I'd dried sheets in with the permapress, so that meant whoever took the shirts had to really pick through to find them, but they left everything else.
I was a little nervous coming back to my room wondering if the one shirt I pulled to dry on a hanger (non-drier-friendly fabric) would still be there when I got back.
Wolv0rine
First Post
All good stuff here. I remember in the IRC playtest for Year of teh Zombie one of the things that really messed with us was that Ralts never fully let us know what was going on at any point. Combat description was fractured and hard to follow to the point where taking friendly fire wasn't hard to do, because we weren't completely sure where the rest of the group was, where the zombies or rednecks or whatever were, what was going on. It was chaotic in the way actual combat is chaotic. It was freaky.
We never knew what was going to happen, and when it did happen, it happened FAST. One minute nothing was happening, the next minute two people were down and everyone's firing in every direction and hoping like hell they hit something, somewhere. Every place we looked at was scary because of what might happen if we stopped there. Even when nothing happened, you were tense until you were gone and it was too late for it to still happen (there, at least).
Even when the zombies themselves stopped being ghoulishly jarring, the game never stopped being tense, because Ralts never let up on the atmosphere.
We never knew what was going to happen, and when it did happen, it happened FAST. One minute nothing was happening, the next minute two people were down and everyone's firing in every direction and hoping like hell they hit something, somewhere. Every place we looked at was scary because of what might happen if we stopped there. Even when nothing happened, you were tense until you were gone and it was too late for it to still happen (there, at least).
Even when the zombies themselves stopped being ghoulishly jarring, the game never stopped being tense, because Ralts never let up on the atmosphere.
Ringmereth
First Post
While I don't have much experince with horror, I can tell you that, as a frequent player of spellcasters, one of the best ways to scare players is to seperate them from the group. The dark, mysterious, and horrible is much more bearable when you can stick a dwarf in heavy armor between it and yourself, but when it's just you, a staff or crossbow, and the beast from the abyss alone, things suddenly get a lot more tense.
Also, if used well, swarms of bad guys can be much scarier than one or three big nasty horrors. With only a few adversaries to hide from or combat, the players have a much easier time hiding and fighting, since there's a smaller chance that one will jump at your back while you're occupied with one in front. If there's lots of them (and the players don't know how many), they have to constantly watch their backs, and if even one finds them, they have to kill it or it might bring dozens more upon them.
Finally, small is often scarier than large. A hundred-foot long wyrm might be intimidating, but it's not scary; it's a big target. A small monster is much more deadly-it can hide and jump out at you from places you don't expect, as well as being much harder to hit. Besides, ancient dragons, no matter how many extraneous tentacles and skeletal appendages they have, can't latch onto your back and feed on your organs or dominate your mind subtley.
Also, if used well, swarms of bad guys can be much scarier than one or three big nasty horrors. With only a few adversaries to hide from or combat, the players have a much easier time hiding and fighting, since there's a smaller chance that one will jump at your back while you're occupied with one in front. If there's lots of them (and the players don't know how many), they have to constantly watch their backs, and if even one finds them, they have to kill it or it might bring dozens more upon them.
Finally, small is often scarier than large. A hundred-foot long wyrm might be intimidating, but it's not scary; it's a big target. A small monster is much more deadly-it can hide and jump out at you from places you don't expect, as well as being much harder to hit. Besides, ancient dragons, no matter how many extraneous tentacles and skeletal appendages they have, can't latch onto your back and feed on your organs or dominate your mind subtley.
Vartan
First Post
The best tips have already been covered, but I have a couple from the 2E Ravenloft boxed set that can help set the mood if your players are willing to be scared and are open to the metagame tinkering involved:
1. At the beginning of the session, collect all of the character sheets and don't allow the players to access them. This forces them to become more involved with their characters on a role-playing level, and enhances the sense of fear and the unknown. Remember that fear really comes from the lack of control: as always, they can attempt any action they want, but you should simply interpret their rolls for them instead of letting them know their exact scores in certain skills. Most players will remember all of their stats, but they'll still be on edge without that character sheet to lean on.
This is probably the most severe RPG scare tactic, and everybody should be on board from the get-go, or else they'll be so pissed at you that they can't get into character and allow themselves to be scared. I personally think that a very good short horror campaign can be run in this way, with players only allowed to access their character sheets for level ups (of course, you might include a random note about the strange growth on their back or the voice in their head when you hand it over
)
2. Make dice rolls mysterious: don't declare difficulties, and describe successes and failures in vague terms. Don't tell them to make a save vs. fear or wisdom check: just ask them to roll D20 and report the results. Be sure to prompt the players for random dice rolls at unusual times, just to keep them on their toes. This goes to the lack of control: while I'm normally opposed to control-freak DM-ing, this has an important place in a horror game.
3. Make use of secret notes between the DM and the players: once you've passed a note to one player, you can work off of the other players' fear that he's under evil influence. One example:
Secret Note to Player 1: you think you see a wicked, distorted face moaning in Player 2's face when he speaks
Secret Note to Player 2: Player 1 is looking at you strangely, as if his gaze goes through to your soul
Not the best examples, textually speaking, but you can see how easy it is to sow fear amongst the troops.
A typical D&D group thrives on the strength of their alter-egos (their ability to perceive, understand and confront any external obstacle) and on the implicit trust that every PC is pretty much on the same side. If you can disrupt these normal patterns then you'll find it easy to cultivate an atmosphere of fear.
Also, I have to echo previous posts and say that proper lighting, music and even voices can be the deal-breaker in a horror game. This style isn't good for every gamer, and it's nearly impossible to run a long-term horror campaign in D&D, but if it's done right a short detour into horror gaming can really breath life into your game. Good luck, and have fun!
1. At the beginning of the session, collect all of the character sheets and don't allow the players to access them. This forces them to become more involved with their characters on a role-playing level, and enhances the sense of fear and the unknown. Remember that fear really comes from the lack of control: as always, they can attempt any action they want, but you should simply interpret their rolls for them instead of letting them know their exact scores in certain skills. Most players will remember all of their stats, but they'll still be on edge without that character sheet to lean on.
This is probably the most severe RPG scare tactic, and everybody should be on board from the get-go, or else they'll be so pissed at you that they can't get into character and allow themselves to be scared. I personally think that a very good short horror campaign can be run in this way, with players only allowed to access their character sheets for level ups (of course, you might include a random note about the strange growth on their back or the voice in their head when you hand it over
)2. Make dice rolls mysterious: don't declare difficulties, and describe successes and failures in vague terms. Don't tell them to make a save vs. fear or wisdom check: just ask them to roll D20 and report the results. Be sure to prompt the players for random dice rolls at unusual times, just to keep them on their toes. This goes to the lack of control: while I'm normally opposed to control-freak DM-ing, this has an important place in a horror game.
3. Make use of secret notes between the DM and the players: once you've passed a note to one player, you can work off of the other players' fear that he's under evil influence. One example:
Secret Note to Player 1: you think you see a wicked, distorted face moaning in Player 2's face when he speaks
Secret Note to Player 2: Player 1 is looking at you strangely, as if his gaze goes through to your soul
Not the best examples, textually speaking, but you can see how easy it is to sow fear amongst the troops.
A typical D&D group thrives on the strength of their alter-egos (their ability to perceive, understand and confront any external obstacle) and on the implicit trust that every PC is pretty much on the same side. If you can disrupt these normal patterns then you'll find it easy to cultivate an atmosphere of fear.
Also, I have to echo previous posts and say that proper lighting, music and even voices can be the deal-breaker in a horror game. This style isn't good for every gamer, and it's nearly impossible to run a long-term horror campaign in D&D, but if it's done right a short detour into horror gaming can really breath life into your game. Good luck, and have fun!
Gothmog
First Post
Lots of great advice here, so I won't reiterate most of it. I'm a HUGE fan of running horror games, whether modern, fantasy, sci-fi, or historical. The #1 thing you can do to instill horror in the players and make them actually be uneasy and afraid is......
....take away the character sheets and don't let them see their stats.
Fear of the unknown is what horror depends upon, and if you exactly know your own capabilities, the unknown seems less scary. While great atmospheric description will take you about 60% of the way to frightening your players, removing the thing that reminds them its just a game, and that it depends on calculations and numbers is vital to scaring them. I've run most of my campaigns without the players having access to their AC, saves, HP, or basic attack characteristics, or knowing exact magic item stats and capabilities- and every campaign I've run at least several adventures that unnerve the players in real life.
....take away the character sheets and don't let them see their stats.
Fear of the unknown is what horror depends upon, and if you exactly know your own capabilities, the unknown seems less scary. While great atmospheric description will take you about 60% of the way to frightening your players, removing the thing that reminds them its just a game, and that it depends on calculations and numbers is vital to scaring them. I've run most of my campaigns without the players having access to their AC, saves, HP, or basic attack characteristics, or knowing exact magic item stats and capabilities- and every campaign I've run at least several adventures that unnerve the players in real life.
tetsujin28
First Post
The A #1 thing to create a feeling of horror is powerlessness. This is a problem in most rpgs, as characters get more and more powerful with experience, and the whole "cosmic horror" thing of the Cthulhu mythos is really played out (which is too bad, 'cause it's some of the best horror for sword-and-sorcery).
tetsujin28
First Post
IMHO, that would just create annoyance. It'd be fine for a 1-shot or mini-series where all the characters have amnesia, but after that I think the reward would be outpaced by the annoyance.Gothmog said:
Ralts Bloodthorne
First Post
Here is how you take away PC sheets.
We'll use a character from another post as an example...
OK, a fairly high powered PC, right? You'd be comfortable with this in the campaign, and the PLAYER is already smirking.
You take it, grab a blank PC sheet, and put in the following:
Hand them that. It has all the data, let's them know what they are best at, where their stregths and weaknesses are, but takes away a focus on the numbers.
In addition: Roll ALL skill checks yourself, and saves yourself, and annotate what's going on. If you want to go the extra mile, roll THIER damage and attack rolls yourself.
I've done this, but only in "deep immersion" Ravenloft games, where I wanted my players paying attention to the plot, and not to numbers.
But you BETTER be ready for in depth descriptions.
Oh, and nothing is worse than discovering that the inn they have been staying out while hunting the werewolf has been serving them human flesh for dinner, and the werewolveS they have been hunting are the barmaids they have been sharing thier beds with.
And it's snowing.
We'll use a character from another post as an example...
BloodAx said:
OK, a fairly high powered PC, right? You'd be comfortable with this in the campaign, and the PLAYER is already smirking.
You take it, grab a blank PC sheet, and put in the following:
You said:
Hand them that. It has all the data, let's them know what they are best at, where their stregths and weaknesses are, but takes away a focus on the numbers.
In addition: Roll ALL skill checks yourself, and saves yourself, and annotate what's going on. If you want to go the extra mile, roll THIER damage and attack rolls yourself.
I've done this, but only in "deep immersion" Ravenloft games, where I wanted my players paying attention to the plot, and not to numbers.
But you BETTER be ready for in depth descriptions.
Oh, and nothing is worse than discovering that the inn they have been staying out while hunting the werewolf has been serving them human flesh for dinner, and the werewolveS they have been hunting are the barmaids they have been sharing thier beds with.
And it's snowing.
shadow
First Post
First of all, you need the right group. The players won't get scared if they're not really into the game, or if they think of it as just a "beer & pretzels" type game.
Second, focus on the freaky, twisted, and surreal. Avoid just having players fight horror-genre monsters. The freakier the situation, the better. For example Ravenloft features a realm known as The Nightmare Lands, where the line between reality and dream blur. In the phantasmagoric realm, terrain can change at the blink of an eye (though never when being watched), and encounters are always bizarre and surreal.
Likewise, monsters and opponents should be twisted and freaky. Think about why many people are afraid of clowns. The huge grins, exaggerated features can just as easily represent something twisted and malicious rather than comical. Take something ordinary and twist it so that it becomes surreal and nightmarish...that giant rabbit from Donnie Darko gave me nightmares!
Second, focus on the freaky, twisted, and surreal. Avoid just having players fight horror-genre monsters. The freakier the situation, the better. For example Ravenloft features a realm known as The Nightmare Lands, where the line between reality and dream blur. In the phantasmagoric realm, terrain can change at the blink of an eye (though never when being watched), and encounters are always bizarre and surreal.
Likewise, monsters and opponents should be twisted and freaky. Think about why many people are afraid of clowns. The huge grins, exaggerated features can just as easily represent something twisted and malicious rather than comical. Take something ordinary and twist it so that it becomes surreal and nightmarish...that giant rabbit from Donnie Darko gave me nightmares!
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