jgsugden
Legend
Good roleplaying and great storytelling. Terrifying is the axt of causing extreme fear. Fear is an emotional response.
The art of storytelling is the art of creating emotional responses with your words.
If terror is the goal, then look at the storytelling techniques of your favorite scary stories. Think about the movies and books that most terrified you and figure out what made them terrifying. Then use those same techniques to communicate a scene to your players.
The dramatic pause... the unexplained sound effect... asking for a roll and not explaining why you're asking for it... drawn out descriptions that add layers of frightening onto a description that starts out 'normal'... twisting everyday things into nightmares (like Steven King does with clowns, etc...) All great tools to think about using and practice implementing.
The art of storytelling is the art of creating emotional responses with your words.
If terror is the goal, then look at the storytelling techniques of your favorite scary stories. Think about the movies and books that most terrified you and figure out what made them terrifying. Then use those same techniques to communicate a scene to your players.
The dramatic pause... the unexplained sound effect... asking for a roll and not explaining why you're asking for it... drawn out descriptions that add layers of frightening onto a description that starts out 'normal'... twisting everyday things into nightmares (like Steven King does with clowns, etc...) All great tools to think about using and practice implementing.