Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="MarkAHart" data-source="post: 2536191" data-attributes="member: 20415">The boxed set of CHILL (Pacesetter games) was mentioned previously -- it had some good ideas for invoking fear in players.&nbsp; One of the best suggestions involves playing with player/character perceptions.&nbsp; The example given describes how the characters hear something clawing and scratching at the door through the night.&nbsp; When dawn arrives and the characters can once again see, they see that the claw marks are on the *inside* of the door.&nbsp; When a situation isn't &quot;right,&quot; people get edgy and they lose their bearings.&nbsp; Also, there is a fine line between characters being helpless and players frustrated.&nbsp; Standard characters in most games (outside of CoC, for example) tend to be pretty tough, and they can handle most encounters.&nbsp; Strip a party of their magic items or M60 machine guns, and people stop being quite so confident...but go too far, and the players get frustrated.&nbsp; When a situation becomes hopeless for the characters, expect the players to stop being afraid and start doing insane, highly explosive things.&nbsp; Once the players believe they have no chance to win, the fear is gone and characters become suicidal.&nbsp; As long as the characters have some hope of success to hold onto, the potential for fear remains.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MarkAHart, post: 2536191, member: 20415"] The boxed set of CHILL (Pacesetter games) was mentioned previously -- it had some good ideas for invoking fear in players. One of the best suggestions involves playing with player/character perceptions. The example given describes how the characters hear something clawing and scratching at the door through the night. When dawn arrives and the characters can once again see, they see that the claw marks are on the *inside* of the door. When a situation isn't "right," people get edgy and they lose their bearings. Also, there is a fine line between characters being helpless and players frustrated. Standard characters in most games (outside of CoC, for example) tend to be pretty tough, and they can handle most encounters. Strip a party of their magic items or M60 machine guns, and people stop being quite so confident...but go too far, and the players get frustrated. When a situation becomes hopeless for the characters, expect the players to stop being afraid and start doing insane, highly explosive things. Once the players believe they have no chance to win, the fear is gone and characters become suicidal. As long as the characters have some hope of success to hold onto, the potential for fear remains. [/QUOTE]

Verification