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View Full Version : Help with Horror. our background story included.



Shinizak
2009-10-20, 01:22 AM
This is going to be Mage the Ascension game that I'm running and would like help on general tips on horror. CALL OF CTHULHU PLAYERS WELCOME.

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Many years ago a group of mages who sought universal domination began to exterminate all other forms of magic. As this was happening a certain cult began to seek safety in other planes, they believed to have found a plane of such bliss that they promised all who joined eternal safety from the oppression. However what they had found was not Nirvana, but an evil entity. Unbeknown to them, as they scryed upon it their minds instantly collapsed due to the sheer incompatibility of the creature and our own fleshy bodies. The creature infected one member and impregnated her as a means to enter our world, but as soon as the man assigned to deliver the child saw the grotesque monster that the woman had given birth to, he shoved it back into the womb. That little act killed her, but not the beast.

It laid dormant for centuries in her womb until the mummified remains of the woman it was placed within a museum for public display. A Foolish mage with little wits recognized the creature as a powerful abomination and sought to awaken and control it it.

And so begins the chronicle
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What I plan is for the creature to slowly move the entire museum (and those inside) into a pocket dimension, but do so wrong. As it tries it will begin to warp and twist the place (due to a lack of understanding of what most human things are FOR) Non mages will be incorporated, and slowly the creature will begin to exert more and more power until it resembles a Cthulhu-ish monster.

How can I show this in a way that will scare my players, what are your thoughts and ideas? How can I scare them ****les?

Also, this takes place in modern day.

Thanks for the help.

FlyingWhale
2009-10-20, 02:04 AM
Well here are a few pointers I can give readily...:

Don't over describe things. The best horror is that they don't know everything about it.

Don't let your players get too in on what you are planning or have come up with, no peaking on Christmas Eve...

Give them samples, bring back past enemies or allies as enemies... Give little changes or sometimes complete overhauls. Leave them wanting more or fearing more.

Don't be afraid to make up lots of effects. Yeah sure, you're stunned. Woo... "The insane professor barks out slews of commands into his robes as his skin curls up around his face, his hair begins to thin and fall out as his face creases with agony. What you see before you is no longer human, it has lost all humanity long ago. You feel your gut wrenching inside you, threatening to come up at any moment. Then it does. You try to flee to a safer distance but cannot bring your legs to move as the husk of a man shambles slowly after you, reaching out for your throat"

I've said it once, I'll say it a hundred times...Atmosphere. Nox Arcana works GREAT with Cthulhu themes... Also good is Midnight Syndicate, the Devil May Cry Soundtracks... Resident Evil OST(all), Danzig has some good instrumentals and even his lighter vocals are great for that suspenseful horror as your PCs fight eldritch horrors.

The little things. The trees sway violently in the breeze and you hear the birds sing a rather low tune but stop as you pass under. The light above you flickers on and off until finally settling on a half-lit glare. You take a swig from the milk carton to realize it expired 4 days ago, you have the taste of rot in your mouth and can't seem to shake it. Worms are all over your backyard and someone's septic tank burst down the road... Little things.

Feed your players... nothing hurts a horror game more than distractions... try to limit pauses and breaks... have everyone turn their phones on silent or off if possible, dim the lights, use any lights available but outdoor candle/torch/fire light works magic... If you have some ingenuity, hack some christmas light selectors and dimmer switches for impressive flicker/pulse action... When in doubt, black it out. It can never be too dark.


Now, game mechanics... Make some charts... FLOWCHARTS.... make lots... If PC1 decides to go left but you wanted him to go right... have a cop car circle around the area to the left, maybe spotlighting... Don't be blatant, but for Gygax's sake, don't let them run amok when you cannot control the situation to an extent. The door is locked, they manage to burst it down? great, nothing interesting in here.. just some half-eaten chinese take-out and someone is in the bathroom showering and singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun... Onward.

FLASH CARDS!!! Feel free... nay... DO IT. Write down a ****load of mini conversations on flash cards... someone is whispering in an adjoining room? Write it down, hand it to a PC... providing they make the DC that is... Make a few cards for each one... WTH flash cards cost 1$ for 100? The only thing stopping you from being properly prepared is you. You and zombies. encourage PCs to write notes down during gaming sessions... Party scribe is the most important PC role, to heck with anyone who says otherwise...

I will be back with more, but right now I need to take the Browns to the Superbowl...

Shinizak
2009-10-20, 09:31 AM
Nice, I'll try those.

JeenLeen
2009-10-20, 10:01 AM
Since it's Mage, I would recommend having the creature slowly alter what the Consensus is and thus what is and is not paradoxical, at least in areas where it has strongly influenced reality.

Besides being a reasonable mechanic, it will freak out the players when their abilities start to cause or not cause Paradox. Maybe summoning spirits becomes coincidental, but techno-weapons that are usually coincidental become paradoxical; or even some sensory effects as the creature warps perception. A Dreamspeaker's spirit allies were corrupted unbeknownst to him, and show up with unintended circumstances?

Whether or not the players know something is up at the museum is another thing. Perhaps they think it is just a Nephandus infestation, or a Maurader? They defeat a corrupted Mage and think the problem is solved, but things aren't undone.
An eventual alliance with some Technocracy folk or Hunters would also be interesting. Very tense relationships with NPCs amidst everything else going on.

And do you expect the players to win, or it is a 'see how long you stay sane' like I've heard CTHULHU is (haven't played it myself)? If a middle ground, perhaps how quickly the players figure it out determines how strong the creature is?

Shinizak
2009-10-20, 10:07 AM
Since it's Mage, I would recommend having the creature slowly alter what the Consensus is and thus what is and is not paradoxical, at least in areas where it has strongly influenced reality.

Besides being a reasonable mechanic, it will freak out the players when their abilities start to cause or not cause Paradox. Maybe summoning spirits becomes coincidental, but techno-weapons that are usually coincidental become paradoxical; or even some sensory effects as the creature warps perception. A Dreamspeaker's spirit allies were corrupted unbeknownst to him, and show up with unintended circumstances?

Whether or not the players know something is up at the museum is another thing. Perhaps they think it is just a Nephandus infestation, or a Maurader? They defeat a corrupted Mage and think the problem is solved, but things aren't undone.
An eventual alliance with some Technocracy folk or Hunters would also be interesting. Very tense relationships with NPCs amidst everything else going on.

And do you expect the players to win, or it is a 'see how long you stay sane' like I've heard CTHULHU is (haven't played it myself)? If a middle ground, perhaps how quickly the players figure it out determines how strong the creature is?

The idea is that they should survive. But be forever maimed by it.

JeenLeen
2009-10-20, 12:58 PM
You could also feed them misinformation or contrary information by letting them know how different groups of supernaturals interpret it. I know there's one precedent for the Technocracy thinking an Antedeluvian was actually Cain.


The idea is that they should survive. But be forever maimed by it.

For the ever-maimed, perhaps it saturates the area with a Resonance that cannot be done away with. If they are around it too long, they go into Quiet (Jhor Quiet?). Early on, after someone realizes (or falls to) this, the party has to be careful in how long they stay in areas the creature influences.
During the final confrontation, they are able to beat it, but they know it will take long enough that they will likely be twisted in the process.

FlyingWhale
2009-10-20, 01:52 PM
Perhaps the monster tries, or wants to use a PC as a vessel for itself or some other abomination? A lot of cults coming out of the woodwork would be cool... Something I guess unexpected, have some prophetic visions in a few of the PCs as a dream, a blow to head and now they hear an occasional whisper from the thing... I like the idea of temporal distortion, someone fires off a techno-zapper/blaster and a wave comes out of the device and suddenly the streets are barren and people shuffle through the streets, rotting away like lepers+and the town has been desolated with large traces of its evil still lurking and leaving everything that was once nice and shiny all crumbled, slime covered waste.. then *snap* they come back to reality on the ground with some nasty scrapes and such... but the visions are still there.

I am totally unaware of Mage but I will look up a bit, sorry for the lack of input, slept really late, feel pretty lousy. Good ideas JeenLeen:smallsmile:

Shinizak
2009-10-20, 08:58 PM
Wow, Thanks. I'll discuss these with my Co-GM (we'll be switching off when we begin to run out of scary) and try to incorporate these in.

Shinizak
2009-10-22, 10:55 AM
So last night my friends and I had the first session. The suggestions worked wonders. If you have any further advice or tips I encourage you to post them whole heartily.

JeenLeen
2009-10-22, 12:37 PM
So last night my friends and I had the first session. The suggestions worked wonders. If you have any further advice or tips I encourage you to post them whole heartily.

How much information do the PCs now have about their situation? In essence, how did the plot-flow in the first session go?

Shinizak
2009-10-22, 12:57 PM
How much information do the PCs now have about their situation? In essence, how did the plot-flow in the first session go?

They went to a museum for it's grand re opening, they went to a weird play, and as soon as they tried to leave, weird **** went down. Also, the museum won't let them leave (they tried, HARD).