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View Full Version : Keeping the Suspense Up: MSN GROUP DON'T READ



Babale
2009-08-02, 12:50 AM
So, I'm currently running a campaign where the PCs just landed on an island that has some sort of strange, monstrous creatures on it. (Not gonna give away what they are in case one of them reads this.) So I'm trying to keep the suspense up by not letting them see the monsters: They'll find tracks, they'll find dead bodies of the creatures ripped apart beyond recognition, etc. The first encounter they had with a monster, it blinded both PCs before they could tell what it was. But this isn't enough; how can I crank the suspense up MORE? I want them shaking in their boots... (Which is hard to do, as it's a PbP game, so I can't really have the right atmosphere...)

Any suggestions?

PS: The creatures live in a thick, dark jungle.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-08-02, 01:15 AM
Shapeshifting ability. Invisibility ability.

Babale
2009-08-02, 01:18 AM
MSN GROUP DON'T READ
Nah, these are normal non-magical animals. I suppose that they have high ranks in hide, but not invisibility ot polymorph.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-08-02, 01:20 AM
So how'd it blind them?

Babale
2009-08-02, 01:21 AM
Poisonous/acidic ranged attack.

EDIT: Only 1 type has this though. There are many types.

maniakmastah
2009-08-02, 01:26 AM
Are they reptilian or lizard-based, because chameleons can change their body colors to fit the environment around them, or make features on their body that allow them to blend in with their environment perfectly, like monsters that have bark colored and textured skin to hide among the trees, or they can be ambush predators by hiding within crevasses or the ground, waiting to strike or watch the PCs. Same thing with insect based creatures, they can have their bodies designed to reflect the environment and hide unseen, IMO that is.

As for jacking up the suspense, make them that they have little to fear from the PCs, they know their territory and watch them constantly, knowing they have to rest sooner or later. The sense of dread of being stuck on a strange island, unfamiliar with the surroundings, and being trailed and watched by creatures who have no fear of humanoids and know they are the apex predators. The sense that the PCs know they aren't the big dogs anymore can be quite unnerving.

Babale
2009-08-02, 01:29 AM
Alright, so good hide skill. Basically, you're saying never let them see what's hitting them?

maniakmastah
2009-08-02, 01:31 AM
Alright, so good hide skill. Basically, you're saying never let them see what's hitting them?

Kinda, also make it so that their senses can be confused, like the monsters can strike at them unseen where noise will echo from all around and in different directions, the sense that they can see their targets, and now can't hear where they are, make for shock and a growing sense of fear.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-08-02, 01:56 AM
So you want him to literally keep his players in the dark.

Milskidasith
2009-08-02, 02:08 AM
Y'know, there might be a point where "suspenseful" becomes "annoying railroading." When the enemy has such good move silently skills it can attack you and make a bunch of noise and you can't tell where it is from echoing and it's got such a good hide modifier you can't see it as it beats you up, your players might just think it's a railroad*. And it seems like it would be.

*This is based on the assumption you are going to have it do that, but not kill them instantly, in order to get them interested and set up the plot. Sending out a monster with a +infinity move silent and hide check to screw with your players and be a plot hook is railroading, while sending a stealthy enemy to your players who they actually have a chance of killing would not be.

VirOath
2009-08-02, 02:09 AM
Spoiler for courtesy.

Even animals get feats and Ex abilities. Make them... different sub-species. Have some that can burrow, others that can swim, more that can climb, a type that has a high movement speed, and even some that can fly. Give them things like HiPS, Fly-By Attack, Improved Grab, Improved Bullrush, Spring Attack and such (If you have Tome of Battle, toss in a few Once Per Encounter Martial Adept powers from the Martial study feat, mostly Tiger Claw strikes for flavor). Have dead prey, or traces of it, found in new areas. Like up in trees, a covered hole in the ground, recently turned dirt, panicked tracks by the water.

As they move deeper, have other, benign animals noticeable from the distance. Something that wouldn't run at the first sign, something that evolved to try to defend itself instead of running. Something like a Deer with a strong neck and a very menacing set of sharp horns over a guardplate instead of antlers. Now, this beast notices the party, turning to defend itself from the strangers, and -something- makes it disappear in a flurry of movement.

And start escalating it. More of this, closer. Something coming out of the ground and tripping them before disappearing back under the dirt. Something that swoops down from hidden in the trees to snatch something and fly up, likely only to drop it a few D6 worth of feet up after it fights back. Have something fast in the tall grass that is just out of sight, many shadows merely feet from them, but unable to be seen. Somethings that are hidden in the large splashes of water they make when they strike from the lakes (Save this one for the first time they go to take a drink from a clean source).

Make this even scarier by having them strike right in the middle of another combat, hitting the PC side lightly, but taking out the weakened opposition. Weaker prey. Even successful spot checks give basic images of -what- they saw, like "fangs, claws and fur, and big."

Have them try to divide the party, using hit and run tactics, and howling as they go further into their hunt. Then, for seemingly no reason, have them back off, little damage being done.

I could give much more, but the SCS campaign archives have the Horror campaign, which is just what you are looking for!

Edit:
Now, for the first combat, use lower numbers. This is because they would have most of them eating already, not needing to hunt for more. But a few weaker ones, the ones last on the totem pole would try to earn their own take outside of the pack. Even in all of the above, if they beat the check, they beat the check. But spot checks don't give you a 100% clear picture, they let you see and notice it from that angle, letting you see it, while failed ones don't: just being a second too late. And don't give them too high MS mods, just good hide ones. It's so much better for them to be able to hear them, know they are close, but not be able to get a clear view as they dart from Excellent Cover to Excellent Cover.

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-02, 02:31 AM
Completely unhinged survivors are always good for suspense.

"Around and through... around and inside... in the trees, the rocks, the caves. Oh gods, don't go in the caves... and the water... she just wanted a drink of water... who are you?"

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-08-02, 02:35 AM
If you bother to write out your internal monologue right before dying, you deserved it.

Milskidasith
2009-08-02, 02:39 AM
Oh god the "we know there are predators but we're going to write in a journal to our deaths instead of picking up a weapon" thing always ruined my suspension of disbelief. I can take a journal; it's good exposition and all, but seriously, don't try the "he was normal, but then went crazy and paranoid but cared more about giving future PCs a scary ending than saving his own life."

If you really have to give it an ending, make the entire book splattered in blood and end on the final complete entry; it makes a lot more sense and when the entires suddenly stop and it's covered in blood, the implication is obvious.

Ninja'd. Or would it be Trap Card'd in Pharaoh's case?

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-02, 02:40 AM
Well, he was crazy. I tried my best, for 2 a.m.

Milskidasith
2009-08-02, 02:41 AM
Crazy people do not equal suicidally stupid people. Especially when he specifically knows that what he is hearing is about to kill him.

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-02, 02:45 AM
No, but someone who'd given into despair might. I dunno... maybe he was dictating?

Just out of curiosity, how *do* you write suspense into a text based online medium? You're always going to be reading it in the comfort of your own home or office, in front of a familiar computer in a brightly lit room surrounded by familiar things. No matter how good the writer is, the reader will be sitting there absolutely secure that nothing bad is about to happen - it's just pixels on the screen, and the pixels aren't even doing anything. You're not going to trigger a primal fear/dread response while the user is engaged in an intellectual pursuit, playing freakin' DnD.

Pharaoh's Fist
2009-08-02, 02:47 AM
I've come across some creepy stories before... words have a way of doing that if you can weave them properly.

Milskidasith
2009-08-02, 02:47 AM
Doing what you did can actually work if you don't completely break suspension of disbelief just to have the guy get a closing "let's all read about how I wrote in my diary while dying!" entry.

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-02, 02:50 AM
Nah, I've changed my mind. The journal thing was a bad idea.

WarBrute
2009-08-02, 02:59 AM
Giant black smoke monster?

Perhaps have animal noise stop suddenly, or the extreme lack of noise in the middle of the jungle would be very creepy to. Jungles are suppose to be loud with birds chirping, monkeys howling, leaves rustling etc. Might be hard to work in with out being obvious though.

Babale
2009-08-02, 12:19 PM
Actually, the silence thing is a very good idea. But I'm not sure about the journal; the island has never had survivors on it.