D&D General Why fear is good for PCs

[Piperken]

Obergruppenführer John Smith: " ...See, now you're some place, where good people actually look out for one another. I'll see you tomorrow."
Juliana Crain: "Okay. Thanks." (pauses) "Wait. What about the key?"
Obergruppenführer John Smith: "Oh, there isn't one." (smiles) "No one locks their doors around here."
-- Man in the High Castle, "Travelers" (Season 2, Episode 3)

Having a good handle on the PCs (as supposed to the players), really understanding what motivates them, and applying pressure at those points during dramatic moments, constructively inspires emotional response.

 

[Brotton Goodfellow]

I love the Cup of Doom. Genius.

I know there’s games that use dice pools for DM’s but for me the idea came from trying to implement a Doom Mechanic as per Conan 2D20. I love the idea of characters pushing their luck until it runs out.

I recently bought Nord Games box set of critical hit cards, and it came with good/bad fortune cards. They are great and as of last session I’ve used them when either the players or I drain our cups of dice.

 

[CreamCloud0]

My best tip for Real Fear is run an Old School Style Hard Fun Unfair Unbalanced Game.

Just Random Meaningless Character Death at any time fills many players with fear. They worry the whole game that the DM might say something like "well, that is 11 damage, your character is dead".

Just Random Meaninglessness Character Death at any time can also fill many players with apathy, if their character can die for no real reason at the drop of a hat why should they care about them in the first place?