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View Full Version : New to DMing, and trying a horrorish game...any tips?



Wafflecart
2009-07-11, 10:56 PM
Just like the title, I'm starting my own campaign thingy, and its going to be a conjoined d20mod and DnD thing, DnD in a dreamscape thingy. Sorry to whomever's idea I stole, but it was awesome, and I really hope you don't mind...I won't be able to give away much on plot and such in this forum because I know the players will be reading it...so if you have general tips for scaring players, throw them at me...if you need more info PM me and I'll do what I can.

Wafflecart
2009-07-11, 10:57 PM
DnD 3.5 btw.

Tohron
2009-07-11, 11:00 PM
Heres a link to a huge list of horror ideas on the WotC forums: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=166882

Sstoopidtallkid
2009-07-11, 11:32 PM
...don't do it in 3.5? D&D is high fantasy. It doesn't translate to horror well. Escape from danger is tough except for casters, for whom it is laughably simple. Endless waves of enemies meet endless waves of damage from the PCs, while single enemies get action-ganked. The "if it has stats, we can kill it" mentality is built in, and everything has stats(yes, even that). Almost any other system would work better.

Not saying it can't be done, but D&D horror is not the sort of thing I'd recommend for a new GM.

Wafflecart
2009-07-11, 11:33 PM
i was thinking of a sort of "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" vibe, but if horror isnt doable, whatever, i dont know, seemed fun to mess with them, plus its dreamscape, i can justify whatever im sure...traps will be funny.

Yukitsu
2009-07-11, 11:43 PM
Remove cleric as a class, as well as other healing abilities, keep levels moderately low, and use a lot of wave attacks for some parts, and always keep them on a timer.

Never use real tough singular opponents when you don't have to. A single lucky crit from a tough guy can kill one of your adventurers in a single hit, which is frustrating, and has less tension than getting chipped down, unheroically down to 2 health, and having to survive yet another zombie horde.

Zeta Kai
2009-07-12, 12:30 AM
Well, according to this review (http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12796.phtml), you shouldn't bother finding a copy of Heroes of Horror, which is WotC's attempt to inject horror themes into their game.

I'd look for an old copy of Call of Chthulu or Vampire: the Masquerade. Skim the books, pick up the themes, & use the ideas presented there in your games liberally.

The most important thing in a horror game is the mood. The game must be serious, the stakes must be high, & the PC's must be vulnerable & in potential danger almost constantly.

FoE
2009-07-12, 12:40 AM
In general, horror is more difficult in fantasy because PCs regularly encounter the sort of monsters we see in RL horror movies and beat the living crap out of them.

But it's not impossible. Leon Kennedy put down nearly every monster he came across in RE4, and I found a lot of things in that game pretty damn scary. I was practically invincible in Fable 2, and Wraithmarsh still creeped me out. It's really about building the right atmosphere.

Consider these tips:

1) Isolation is a big element of horror. Take the Evil Dead series, Alien, The Thing, Friday the 13th, Night of the Living Dead, Section 13, 1408, practically every survival horror game ever made, etc.

Maybe you're out in the middle of nowhere with no way to contact the outside world for help. Maybe the antagonist is able to strike at you in a way that prevents you from seeking outside help, like in your dreams. Or maybe there is no outside world, and you're all that's left in a world full of monsters.

Point is, there's no help coming. You're on your own.

2) Consider this lesson: Nothing is Scarier. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NothingIsScarier) Sometimes, all you need to terrify your players is the tension that arises from the belief something is going to jump out at them any second. Experienced D&D players especially are paranoid in this way and you can use it to your advantage. In a way, it's a relief when the monster pops up.

Another example: one time in a regular dungeon, me and a buddy in a two-player game killed some orcs in a room and then came back to that room later. All we found was pools of blood and streaks indicating the corpses had been dragged away. I just about pissed myself.

It can be over-played, however. At some point, you have to give the players that something or eventually the whole thing becomes a joke.

3) Turn something mundane and safe for the adventurers into something terrifying. For example, in Bioshock, you're used to being able to walk up to corpses and looting them for quick cash and supplies. But late in the game, when you start encountering enemies that are playing dead and leap up to attack you when you approach ... well, it can be a bit unnerving the first time around, let me tell you.

Early on, don't turn everything into a trap. It'll benefit you later when you start turning everything into a trap. :smalltongue:

4) Avoid laying it on too thick, as you may run into Nightmare Retardant. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NightmareRetardant) Dead bodies are scary and gross. Dead children are unsettling. A zombie giant made of aborted fetuses is just silly and disgusting and will have your players ask something like "How did someone even find that many aborted fetuses?"

That's all I can think for the moment.

Sstoopidtallkid
2009-07-12, 12:55 AM
If you are set on 3.X, I recommend picking up the Ravenloft setting. Not sure how well you can adapt it, but it is pretty much the only horror setting for D&D(Cthulhu d20 does not exist).

Kris Strife
2009-07-12, 01:49 AM
A zombie giant made of aborted fetuses is just silly and disgusting and will have your players ask something like "How did someone even find that many aborted fetuses?"

Gated/Planeshifted in a bunch of Atropal Scions, killed and shrank them?

Xenogears
2009-07-12, 01:59 AM
i was thinking of a sort of "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" vibe, but if horror isnt doable, whatever, i dont know, seemed fun to mess with them, plus its dreamscape, i can justify whatever im sure...traps will be funny.

I LOVE that movie!

......I totally don't watch childrens movies all the time.....

Anyways. So Little Nemoescue? Ummm let me think Nightmareland basically had everything is against you mentality. Yes even the ground. So I unno. Describe to the players how every time they get close to a plant, or a root, or anything like that it gets caught on them. Maybe have them fall once or twice. Make them unsure of it it's just catching them or if its a monster. Have rocks that look suspiciously like monsters. Some are. Most aren't. Do they waste the fireball on what could be a rock or risk letting it get close. As soon as they think they have you figured out throw something new at them. Horror is all about NOT knowing. The less your players know the better. The more they think about what they don't know the better.

Also NOTHING is scarier than those damned hands from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In the forest temple? Those things almost made me piss myself every time. Even after I had beaten the game half a dozen times. Throw those in just for lulz....

Kris Strife
2009-07-12, 02:06 AM
Anyways. So Little Nemoescue? Ummm let me think Nightmareland basically had everything is against you mentality. Yes even the ground. So I unno. Describe to the players how every time they get close to a plant, or a root, or anything like that it gets caught on them. Maybe have them fall once or twice. Make them unsure of it it's just catching them or if its a monster. Have rocks that look suspiciously like monsters. Some are. Most aren't. Do they waste the fireball on what could be a rock or risk letting it get close. As soon as they think they have you figured out throw something new at them. Horror is all about NOT knowing. The less your players know the better. The more they think about what they don't know the better.

So... Gygaxian dungeons?

Xenogears
2009-07-12, 02:07 AM
So... Gygaxian dungeons?

Theres a reason its Tomb of Horrors and not Tomb of Bunnies.

Though the bunny one is actually worse come to think of it....

Kris Strife
2009-07-12, 02:10 AM
Theres a reason its Tomb of Horrors and not Tomb of Bunnies.

Though the bunny one is actually worse come to think of it....

Ah, Gygaxian D&D: The only place where even your pants try to kill you.

Xenogears
2009-07-12, 02:15 AM
Ah, Gygaxian D&D: The only place where even your pants try to kill you.

But thats the beuty of it. Now they don't know if their pants are a good thing or not. Even better throw a ton of pants in with their treasures. After about 5-6 sessions of normal pants throw that monster (names escape me). Then after a handful more sessions then you have them find out that that first pair of pants they found had a demon in it and they just failed their will save for its possession. What the Rogue got possessed by a demon, stole all our stuff, and killed us? Who would've thought of that....

Skorj
2009-07-12, 02:41 AM
Face of Evil had some great advice, I'd say. I'd capitalize on that by taking the party to a place that leaves them both isolated and scared of every shadow. Maybe there's an existing plane description somewhere that's not one if the classic Hells/Abyss motif places - those have no surprises. An island with a magic field that both prevents escape and makes the party unsure whether they've crossed planes works as well. Not knowing what to expect is key. Not knowing when, where or what is safe. Not knowing the stats of the next monster.

Also, if you're willing to homebrew (or at least stir around a bit) a plane, you can surpress teleport and overland flight, and give the fighters some sort of magic item to help them run. Having the party end up split when they run is great for horror (so e.g., short-distance flying by just the mages is fine), but plan ahead of time how you'll get them back together (a split party makes for a dull game, past the first encounter).

The key thing that made Lovecraft's Cthulhu stuff far scarier (IMO) than everyone who wrote later in that universe was that you didn't know what the boundaries were. You knew it was possible for the hero to be driven insane or physically transform into an eldrich horror, but not how or why. DnD adventurers get cocky and unafraid because they know well how to estimate the danger level of challenges. That's the thing to take away.

BTW, if you're inexperienced in homebrewing monsters, just take 2-3 monsters from any of the books (monster theme or description doesn't matter) of the right challenge level, and play mix-and match with thier stats. If one turns out to be overly deadly, just play it as really inept, or use it later when you're confident it won't be too much. Then make up a description for each of your blendered beasts, or just subtly alter the description of common monsters that fit the location - change the color, or just describe it as deformed, or bloaed, or particularly hideous, or beautiful, or of course squamous and rugose. :smallwink: Just make sure the players know it's not a normal whatever, get them to realize that nothing will be as they expect (at which point, half the monsters can be unaltered, except in description, with no loss in unpredictablility).

Oh, yeah. Add some gimmick that gives a free rez or three. You'll likely screw up at some point and need it (as a new DM running a horror theme, it's nearly certain), and the players will be far more likely to be scared if they see this adventure really is a killer, and now they're out of rezzes. :smalleek:

EDIT: Don't forget that the key to a good horror movie is that the actor seem scared. Make sure you have NPCs of some sort that can be quite convincingly frightened by the bigger bads.

Typewriter
2009-07-12, 03:05 PM
One of the things I did in this last campaign is I would set up a 'trap', and see who fell for it.

The party was going to an allied fort, but the morning they were due to arrive it was unnaturally cold, and a foreboding filled the air. When they got to the keep, everyone was dead, and as they searched the area they heard the sound of banging coming from the prison. They went down there and saw a prisoner(wearing clothes of the army they were allied with) in a cell tapping on the wall. He didn't reply to any calls or anything.

One of the party members went into investigate, and as he did, the cell door slammed shut, and the 'prisoner' turned around. He had the face of the PC who entered the cell, but horribly decayed, and he leapt at the PC doing 2d6 CON damage on a successfull touch attack(choking the PC). The players frantically tried to get in, but there rolls were 'too low', and the PC being grappled couldn't free himself. As the player died, he felt a strange cold feeling, along with a strange sense of peace.

And then he awoke. It was the day they were due to arrive at the fort. The day was not unnaturally cold, and only the PC who entered the cell was the one who had the dream. Going into it I didn't know who was the dreamer, but their actions allowed me to retroactively determine it.

When they arrived at the fort everything was fine, but a couple days later...


This is just one of many 'dreams' the characters had. Sometimes spells the cast(speak with dead) would turn out strange, sometimes something horrible would happen, but everytime it would be a dream. The players all got to participate, but only one person would actually experience it. And sometimes having the dream come true(never quite exact) really got into their heads.

EDIT: At one point, one of the players thought what was going on was a dream sequence so he didn't bother to protect himself, and died. It was not a dream sequence :)

Wafflecart
2009-07-14, 11:58 PM
Thanks guys! This is all really helpful, keep it coming!

Necrus Philius
2009-07-15, 01:56 AM
The freddy Krueger thing would be very neat (ie attack in your dreams) it'll be especially difficult on casters depending on how you do it.

Way I'd work it is when they go to sleep to replenish their spells, they go into the dream world with the spells they had prepared earlier that day.

This will force them to go for a more balanced setup since their spells also have to be useful for what they were doing that day, also if you watch the krueger movies you'll notice that teleportation would not be an effective method to stop it or escape. A krueger type opponent would naturally be weaker against non casters since he always attacks them personally in some form of his choosing, but which is attackable, against a wizard say if he casts a spell he can wait it out or circumvent it depending.

A jason type opponent (essentially unkillable) would be a very difficult opponent for non casters, but laughably simple for casters (teleport him, bind him, turn undead maybe?, polymorph him, the list goes on.) In a non magic campaign, having your party figure out ways around him would be neat.

The evil dead way. This would be the most fun but hardest to pull off right. You isolate them and then throw undead and spells at them, if they try to leave the area have the BBEG attack them early before they're ready for it but they back off when they get back in (gotta nake him very powerful until they weaken him somehow). Also forcing a DC fort/will check to see if their hand turns on them? Priceless. Make a warrior use a 1 hander, a ranger a crossbow, make the wizard unable to use hand signs, naturally you need to give them a kick ass hand afterwards. Any summons they do turn on them.

Don't forget, they can only coup de grace an opponent if they can come up with an awesome enough one liner.