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Shinizak
2009-04-28, 12:29 PM
So here I am, thinking about running a dark mystery/horror campaign, the main books being used to acomplish this is the Sorcery & Steam book, the core books, MM2, MM3, and CA. Do you guys have any good ideas on what makes a player truly scared, and confused. Something that will keep the players guessing and wondering? (P.S. it's a modern day world with magic in the background)

kjones
2009-04-28, 12:43 PM
Why, exactly, are you using D&D for a modern-day setting? I would suggest you look at Call of Cthulhu (not exactly modern day, but that's easily fixed) or Delta Green (which is modern-day), as I think they better fit what you're trying to do.

I'm not familiar with Sorcery & Steam, but adapting D&D to modern settings is generally more trouble than it's worth.

Shinizak
2009-04-28, 12:49 PM
Why, exactly, are you using D&D for a modern-day setting? I would suggest you look at Call of Cthulhu (not exactly modern day, but that's easily fixed) or Delta Green (which is modern-day), as I think they better fit what you're trying to do.

I'm not familiar with Sorcery & Steam, but adapting D&D to modern settings is generally more trouble than it's worth.

Mostly because that's what we can afford, I've actually had a great deal of success adapting it to modern times without d20 Modern or Call of Cthulhu. I'm rally just looking for help with the atmosphere and game mechanics...

kjones
2009-04-28, 12:59 PM
Apologies, didn't mean to jump down your throat with "You're doing it wrong!". I just think that some settings are better suited to other systems.

Regarding D&D, a little more information would be helpful - specifically, what party level are you planning? I find horror themed stuff to be much more effective at low levels; otherwise, people start punching out Cthulhu.

Also, are you using psionics? Mind flayers are a great addition to any horror campaign. You didn't mention XPH or CP in your books allowed, but the SRD has most of the information you'll need, and I've always thought that psionics work well in a modern setting.

The Rose Dragon
2009-04-28, 01:09 PM
Witchcraft. (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=692&it=1&filters=0_0_2140_0&free=1)

It's easily affordable (it's free), it has a great system for modern magic and is easily adaptable to anything else.

If you want rules on zombies, angels and demons and stuff, you can buy other Unisystem books, but Witchcraft is the only free one.

Tyrmatt
2009-04-28, 01:27 PM
I'm a huge fan of audio cues and background music to build atmosphere. Look up soundtracks from horror films and suspenseful thrillers and give certain recurring foes a signature soundtrack, particularly to be played the first time with graphic description of what is being done to the PC's.
To give an example


You awake with your arms and legs shackled to the wall, leaving you quite helpless. Immediately the mind-flayer hurries towards you to begin it's examination, it's tentacles slick with slime as they play across your face, oozing sludge into your mouth and eyes. The tentacles probe every orifice on your face, as tacticle as fingers, slipping and sliding between your nose and mouth. The hot feeling of it's breath fills your nose and suddenly you feel a small tentacle shoot up and begin to coil around your brain. You struggle, desperately trying to make the creature back off but as the grip tightens, you feel your muscles grow weak... Suddenly, a klaxon-like sound blares through the room and the tentacle is sharply withdrawn. The creature rises up through the air to answer the alarm.

Ideally here the music begins softly, building to a sudden crescendo when the tentacle enters the brain and then as the players are leaning in to hear the horrifying description, blast the klaxon sound at them without warning. It'll make them jump and be shocked backwards away from the table.
Now whenever the mindflayer appears, play the intro piece before the crescendo to put the PC's on edge, expecting another horrifying jump in the music. Then later on, shock them by starting at the crescendo and follow up with the mindflayer making a sudden attack.

Make sure to also use things like pounding drum beats when the players are running for their lives, rapid use of the strings section to indicate urgency etc.

If the players are heavily into the roleplay aspect then make sure to attack all values they hold dear as well. Have people sell them out for a meagre reward, rape the dog once for each character (but only once) and have them being unable to trust anyone, potentially even each other. Pass off pieces of paper with instructions to lone players with things like "Look at this note for twenty seconds and then nod at me" so the rest of the table are suspicious.

I can't think of anything else at the moment but if they come to mind, I'll let you know.

ondonaflash
2009-04-28, 09:19 PM
Have the PCs witness things that are inconceivably horrible. Lie down at night and try to think of situations that you personally find frightening. For example I have the PCs enter a room in which no light will shine, they can't find the exits and their are whispering things in the room, they are being touched, they start taking damage, but they don't know what is hurting them.

ondonaflash
2009-04-28, 09:26 PM
!!!!
Or! Or! Or! Or!

Start the campaign with everything being a little too peaceful, a little too idyllic, a little too good to be true, shatter it all with some hellish nightmare occurrence and then about midway through have everything go back to being idyllic. Right in the middle of everything, have the characters step out of the corrupted hospital full of demons which have devoured the town and have the town that was burnt to the ground be... back to normal.

But really the basis of horror is eroding the characters support. Taking away the things that make them feel safe. They start relying on weapons and suddenly their enemies don't take damage anymore. They have mighty magicks and suddenly their spellbook is replaced with hellish scribblings of a truly deranged individual, or images of each character being brutally tortured. Its all about making the characters feel unsafe, like they have no exits, and nothing to fall back on, like they are teetering on the edge of death, or insanity.

Start making different characters "spot" things that aren't real, strange illusions and things that indicate that their hold on reality may not be as strong as they though it was.