Horror in the Campaign <3.5>

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

Due to adverse player reaction to my Oriental Idea, I decided to simplify the campaign into a Ravenloft-Themed campaign, where Strahd is planning on stealing the power of the Elder Evils for himself to become a "god," using a trinity of items (two of my design), the Darkstar, which is the original heart of The Worm That Walks and the conduit for this dark power; the Sword of Kas, the very sword that cut Vecna's hand and eye out; and the Ring of Bone, a ring made from the remains of Mephistopheles (in this, Asmodeus, sick of Mepho's aims to usurp him, killed him on the Mortal Plane). The PCs, 1st level Gestalts, hear of the "troubles in Barovia" and head out to face it.

I plan on having them face "The Vile Court," a group of the most powerful Undead (including Doresian and Strahd) by 15th level.

I have a few questions:

1. Should the sword of kas do Vile damage on top of normal for this application?

2. How can the Taint system be "tweaked" to actually work effectively?

3. I have a homebrew race idea: the Zarash, the children of Hags and Mortals (usually Humans or Elves, though others aren't unheard of). How should I build them so they are on-par with other 0la races. They are usually Bards, Rogues, and Fortune Tellers

4. How should I make the environments more scary? I want the players to be genuinely scared.

5. Is the story too far-fetched?


Thanks and do help me.

PS: I plan on putting wildflower (?) from Jade Empire in as an NPC. How can I do that?

[druid91]

4. How should I make the environments more scary? I want the players to be genuinely scared.

Dm: You have arrived at a pleasant farming village, the sun is shining and you are standing near a road sign in the center of town. You see a few people going about there business.

Fighter: Well this isn't too bad so far, hey Dm I thought this was supposed to be a horror game?
------------------------------
Rogue: Yeah it really does need to be mor...
-------------------------------------------------
DM: The village road sign you are standing near comes to life the writing on it changes to "RAWRG, I'M A ROAD SIGN!!!" and then it attacks the Fighter *Rolls* *Rolls*
Okay the fighter gets tossed ten feet away into a tree you have 10 HP right? that puts you at 1 HP.
Also all those people? they are all evil wizards. That scary enough for you?

[hamlet]

Want to scare players? Drop in an empty town. Not ruined, not full of blood and chaos, just empty. Uneaten food on the tables, fires burned out on the hearth, wagons and farm equipment left abandoned throughout, deathly quiet.

Don't need a reason for it to be that way, just drop it there and watch the players squirm!

[Coplantor]

Want to scare players? Drop in an empty town. Not ruined, not full of blood and chaos, just empty. Uneaten food on the tables, fires burned out on the hearth, wagons and farm equipment left abandoned throughout, deathly quiet.

Don't need a reason for it to be that way, just drop it there and watch the players squirm!

This gives me a cool idea for a last men on earth adventure...

Also, throw them encounters they are not meant to win, sure, they can win them if they use their heads or have very good rolls. Make this encounters harder at night, so they'll try to travel during day time, at critical moments, make them have long trips that will surely make them travel during the night, they'll probably look for shelter, but even those shelters could be dangerous places. You dont really need to have a TPK, just make the feel that they are constatly in danger, even when there's none at all

[hamishspence]

Horror that's subtle and unsettling, rather than gore-heavy, might be a good way of doing it.

[druid91]

Want to scare players? Drop in an empty town. Not ruined, not full of blood and chaos, just empty. Uneaten food on the tables, fires burned out on the hearth, wagons and farm equipment left abandoned throughout, deathly quiet.

Don't need a reason for it to be that way, just drop it there and watch the players squirm!

That works to. not as fun as the deadly road sign though, but nothing says horror like Malevolent architecture. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MalevolentArchitecture)

[Coplantor]

Other subtle things, move things around. Have the inn be right to the left of the temle when they first arrive to a town then it's on the right side of it. Do the same thing with rooms, furniture, forests, etc.
If they dont notice, you can always suggest that there's something that feels odd about X place they've already visited.

[jiriku]

I have a few questions:

1. Should the sword of kas do Vile damage on top of normal for this application?
2. How can the Taint system be "tweaked" to actually work effectively?
3. I have a homebrew race idea: the Zarash, the children of Hags and Mortals (usually Humans or Elves, though others aren't unheard of). How should I build them so they are on-par with other 0la races. They are usually Bards, Rogues, and Fortune Tellers
4. How should I make the environments more scary? I want the players to be genuinely scared.
5. Is the story too far-fetched?
6. I plan on putting wildflower (?) from Jade Empire in as an NPC. How can I do that?

Suggested Answers:
1. If you expect Strahd with the sword to be a recurring encounter, sure. Struggling with a wound that won't heal is a proper horror genre component. If he only shows up with the sword in the final battle, don't bother. The vile mechanics won't have a significant enough impact on play to justify the extra complexity.

2. That is an extraordinarily difficult question. I'd suggest that the answer does not lie in mechanics. The mechanical impacts of Taint should be such that A) you're tempted to use it, and B) you regret using it. But the real power of taint as a storytelling device is in how it colors the reaction of NPCs (when they see the PC and cry out "Oh my god what is that THING?") and how it disturbs and unsettles the player as he realizes that his character is becoming something less than human. It is really only effective if your players are intense role-players and are open to giving up some narrative control over their PCs. It's not going to be very effective with hack'n'slash gamers.

3. I don't homebrew PC races, so I can't help you here.

4. The basic method is to begin with something comforting and familiar and help the players trust it. Then gradually introduce jarring or unsettling elements until that trust is broken and they learn to fear it. Subtlety is key -- horrific deeds should be hinted at and alluded to, never displayed baldly for all to see. As I posted once in another thread, if the players stumble upon a murder scene, a gallon of blood on the floor is not frightening, but a freshly made bed with the coverlet turned back to reveal pristine white sheets and a single crystalline goblet on a nearby nightstand, filled to the brim with a deep reddish liquid, and a few spatters of red on the sheets provokes a little hesitation, especially when investigation reveals that the liquid in the goblet is mere wine while the spots on the sheet are fresh blood, and it's downright disturbing when a further investigation turns up a few more small spots of red high up on the wall and the ceiling. Player thought might go:

Oh, this is the bedroom. The bed's made.
Why is there a wine goblet in the bedroom?
Oh, red fluid, I bet it's blood.
Wait, it's not blood. But the spots on the bed are?
How did blood get up there? Especially such small amounts?
What the hell happened here?

5. Yes, it's too far-fetched. It's also, to be blunt, a terribly old chestnut. An evil villain who's collecting ancient artifacts to try to gain ultimate power is a terribly over-used fantasy trope, and even if it was original it's got too much of an epic hero campaign feel to it to scare anyone. I'll toss out a couple of different ideas with a decent horror theme. This should get you thinking in the right direction.

Strahd has fallen in love with the daughter of one of the PCs. He kidnaps her, and the players go to rescue her. She's still alive when they find her, but she's pregnant and nearly ready to give birth. The child isn't a vampire, but it's not human either.
Once every hundred years, the Powers of Ravenloft return Strahd to life as a mortal for a single night, to torment him with regret for all he's lost. The players are descendents of those whom Strahd wronged long ago, and he lures them and to his castle under false pretenses and then traps them there. Mad with the passion of life, regret for his follies, and hatred of the world around him, Strahd appears to them from time to time, guilt-ridden and confessing his dark deeds, alternately sobbing and begging forgiveness or raging and unleashing horrors upon them. If they escape his carnival of horrors, Strahd may hunt them vengefully, or players might take pity on him and seek to destroy him to end his misery. Either way, the Powers of Ravenloft will ensure that it doesn't end well.
The PCs are approached by a vampire woman who introduces herself as the daughter of Strahd. She has learned of a ritual which may exist that ends the curse of vampirism, and is hoping to find and enact this ritual to become human. Signs and portents have told her that the PCs are instrumental if she's to have any hope of success. She's essentially a noncombatant, struggling to hold off her bloodlust and fighting her evil nature. Further, Strahd is enraged that his daughter is seeking to reject her vampiric existence and panicked that she might succeed, so he and his minions are pursuing her. The players must escort and protect her through a variety of challenges, both physical (find ritual components, travel to exotic locations, and evade Strahd and his minions), moral (deal with the ramifications when she sometimes gives in to bloodlust and slaughters the innocent to feed), and spiritual (dramatic roleplaying opportunities as they attempt to help this lost soul find redemption). Ultimately, the Powers of Ravenloft do not want to see an evil soul escape doom, so this campaign most likely has a dark ending.

6. Stat up two demons. Stat up a little girl. Switch between them at appopriate moments. Talk in a creepy voice when one of the demons is speaking through Wildflower.

[MCerberus]

The best way to create horror is to start removing friends or friendlies from the scene. You can't count on a town to get ammo/food and sell your gear. The person providing them support in the way of information or social backing gets removed. The PCs are alone with limited supplies, possibly being hunted.

That's when the tone starts really getting dark. Abandoned ruins where villages should be. Dark nights with worgs circling the camp. Illusions start showing up, making the players question what's real at points.

[Mordokai]

It has been suggested in the past that the effects of the taint shoudl and could be merely cosmetic in nature. Personally, I'm very fond of that option as I find the effects of the taint far too severe (even mild ones) to be able to enjoy them. This way, you give players something to be afraid of (mishapen limbs, double jointed arms and/or legs, eyes burning red or black, scabrous skin... the whole lot), but don't gimp them mechanically. And it has been suggested, this will work best with roleplaying groups. Hack 'n slash players will get little to no enjoyment out of this.

As for horror... personally, I find attrition scenarios pretty horrifying. Limit their resources. Have them attacked in regular intervals. Make it winnable, but make them work for it. Ravenloft lends itself well to that.

[Kylarra]

Why has no one mentioned the room of death? Lurker above, trapper and stunjelly.

[Coplantor]

Why has no one mentioned the room of death? Lurker above, trapper and stunjelly.

Or, you know, town of mimics

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

Suggested Answers:
1. If you expect Strahd with the sword to be a recurring encounter, sure. Struggling with a wound that won't heal is a proper horror genre component. If he only shows up with the sword in the final battle, don't bother. The vile mechanics won't have a significant enough impact on play to justify the extra complexity.

2. That is an extraordinarily difficult question. I'd suggest that the answer does not lie in mechanics. The mechanical impacts of Taint should be such that A) you're tempted to use it, and B) you regret using it. But the real power of taint as a storytelling device is in how it colors the reaction of NPCs (when they see the PC and cry out "Oh my god what is that THING?") and how it disturbs and unsettles the player as he realizes that his character is becoming something less than human. It is really only effective if your players are intense role-players and are open to giving up some narrative control over their PCs. It's not going to be very effective with hack'n'slash gamers.

3. I don't homebrew PC races, so I can't help you here.

4. The basic method is to begin with something comforting and familiar and help the players trust it. Then gradually introduce jarring or unsettling elements until that trust is broken and they learn to fear it. Subtlety is key -- horrific deeds should be hinted at and alluded to, never displayed baldly for all to see. As I posted once in another thread, if the players stumble upon a murder scene, a gallon of blood on the floor is not frightening, but a freshly made bed with the coverlet turned back to reveal pristine white sheets and a single crystalline goblet on a nearby nightstand, filled to the brim with a deep reddish liquid, and a few spatters of red on the sheets provokes a little hesitation, especially when investigation reveals that the liquid in the goblet is mere wine while the spots on the sheet are fresh blood, and it's downright disturbing when a further investigation turns up a few more small spots of red high up on the wall and the ceiling. Player thought might go:

Oh, this is the bedroom. The bed's made.
Why is there a wine goblet in the bedroom?
Oh, red fluid, I bet it's blood.
Wait, it's not blood. But the spots on the bed are?
How did blood get up there? Especially such small amounts?
What the hell happened here?

5. Yes, it's too far-fetched. It's also, to be blunt, a terribly old chestnut. An evil villain who's collecting ancient artifacts to try to gain ultimate power is a terribly over-used fantasy trope, and even if it was original it's got too much of an epic hero campaign feel to it to scare anyone. I'll toss out a couple of different ideas with a decent horror theme. This should get you thinking in the right direction.

Strahd has fallen in love with the daughter of one of the PCs. He kidnaps her, and the players go to rescue her. She's still alive when they find her, but she's pregnant and nearly ready to give birth. The child isn't a vampire, but it's not human either.
Once every hundred years, the Powers of Ravenloft return Strahd to life as a mortal for a single night, to torment him with regret for all he's lost. The players are descendents of those whom Strahd wronged long ago, and he lures them and to his castle under false pretenses and then traps them there. Mad with the passion of life, regret for his follies, and hatred of the world around him, Strahd appears to them from time to time, guilt-ridden and confessing his dark deeds, alternately sobbing and begging forgiveness or raging and unleashing horrors upon them. If they escape his carnival of horrors, Strahd may hunt them vengefully, or players might take pity on him and seek to destroy him to end his misery. Either way, the Powers of Ravenloft will ensure that it doesn't end well.
The PCs are approached by a vampire woman who introduces herself as the daughter of Strahd. She has learned of a ritual which may exist that ends the curse of vampirism, and is hoping to find and enact this ritual to become human. Signs and portents have told her that the PCs are instrumental if she's to have any hope of success. She's essentially a noncombatant, struggling to hold off her bloodlust and fighting her evil nature. Further, Strahd is enraged that his daughter is seeking to reject her vampiric existence and panicked that she might succeed, so he and his minions are pursuing her. The players must escort and protect her through a variety of challenges, both physical (find ritual components, travel to exotic locations, and evade Strahd and his minions), moral (deal with the ramifications when she sometimes gives in to bloodlust and slaughters the innocent to feed), and spiritual (dramatic roleplaying opportunities as they attempt to help this lost soul find redemption). Ultimately, the Powers of Ravenloft do not want to see an evil soul escape doom, so this campaign most likely has a dark ending.

6. Stat up two demons. Stat up a little girl. Switch between them at appopriate moments. Talk in a creepy voice when one of the demons is speaking through Wildflower.

1. It'll be the only artifact he has currently. The idea is that his plan to gain all 3 to ressurect his dead son, a Dhampir killed by the Knights of the Raven

2. I see...

3. Okay. Any1 else?

4. I like that way of doing horror. Also considering copying the Weeping Angels from the Dr. Who episode Blink. Any ideas?

5. Might tie in those into the core of the story...

6. Oh. Thought it'd be more complex than that...

[SilverStar]

A house, in the woodlands outside of a small village. The grounds are neatly tended, with flowering herbs perfuming the air with a sweet and spicy scent.

A window is open, and an elderly woman's voice can be heard clearly; she is singing a song, somewhat like a lullaby. Overlaying the scent of plant life is something spicy, tantalizing- home cooking, it seems?

She hears the adventurers approach, and dusts her floured hands on a red-and-white checked apron as she opens the door, a wide grin on her face.

"Greetings, adventurers. I expected company today, and you'll not be disappointed. How about some tea and cakes while you rest? You look as if you've had a rough journey."

The inside of the house is much as the outside- scrupulously kept, with a shine to the wooden plank floors that shows an attention to detail not found among most peasantry.

As you sit at her small round table, a vague feeling of "something's wrong" strikes you, but the surroundings tell you that you're only being paranoid.

She moves around her kitchen, grabbing a small carved ivory teapot and other items required for a fine brew. After setting the items on the table, she clasps her hands behind her back and smiles once more.

"Will you stay for lunch?"

The tea smells vaguely of decay and death for only a split second, but the grandmotherly type is watching every move you make, as if watching over her firstborn.

"Don't let it get cold... tea is horrid when cold, wouldn't you agree?"

-----------------------
And so forth. It's something of a mind-screw, but those can be fun to work with....

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

A house, in the woodlands outside of a small village. The grounds are neatly tended, with flowering herbs perfuming the air with a sweet and spicy scent.

A window is open, and an elderly woman's voice can be heard clearly; she is singing a song, somewhat like a lullaby. Overlaying the scent of plant life is something spicy, tantalizing- home cooking, it seems?

She hears the adventurers approach, and dusts her floured hands on a red-and-white checked apron as she opens the door, a wide grin on her face.

"Greetings, adventurers. I expected company today, and you'll not be disappointed. How about some tea and cakes while you rest? You look as if you've had a rough journey."

The inside of the house is much as the outside- scrupulously kept, with a shine to the wooden plank floors that shows an attention to detail not found among most peasantry.

As you sit at her small round table, a vague feeling of "something's wrong" strikes you, but the surroundings tell you that you're only being paranoid.

She moves around her kitchen, grabbing a small carved ivory teapot and other items required for a fine brew. After setting the items on the table, she clasps her hands behind her back and smiles once more.

"Will you stay for lunch?"

The tea smells vaguely of decay and death for only a split second, but the grandmotherly type is watching every move you make, as if watching over her firstborn.

"Don't let it get cold... tea is horrid when cold, wouldn't you agree?"

-----------------------
And so forth. It's something of a mind-screw, but those can be fun to work with....

That actually sent a chill down my spine....

Mostly because I had to fight an Annis Hag Druid/Master of Many Forms in a horror one shot called "Off to Grandma's House"

[SilverStar]

That excerpt was from one of my own campaigns.

The grandmother was a doppelganger, of course, who'd brutally murdered the REAL old lady. The only thing that saved the party's collective asses was the necromancer went snooping, and found the body.

[Coplantor]

That excerpt was from one of my own campaigns.

The grandmother was a doppelganger, of course, who'd brutally murdered the REAL old lady. The only thing that saved the party's collective asses was the necromancer went snooping, and found the body.

And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your stupid necromancer!

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

so, basically turning Barovia into an almost ghost town is ideal?

and I did build my Hag-Kin race, made it an Aberration (due to the Taint of Evil in their blood) and I'll post it later today

[SilverStar]

And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids and your stupid necromancer!

That made me giggle.

Necromancer got his, though- he touched an orb of entrapment when he looted the guy, which bodily shoved him into a dimensional pocket.

Kicker? He'd banned abjuration. (stupid necromancer)

So, it took some doing to get him out.

[Mephibosheth]

Another thing I've found effective in the past has been to mess with the normal gaming environment your players are used to. While it really only works in conjunction with horrific in-game elements (jiriku's suggestions are particularly good), making the player's atmosphere a bit creepier can aid in the suspension of disbelief and help the players feel some of the fear their characters feel. Things like a quiet but subtly creepy soundtrack, lower levels of light than you're used to, using a softer voice for your DM narrations, significant use of secret notes (even some that don't actually say anything significant but throw your players off their stride) and other simple environmental changes can make your horror story seem that much scarier.

That said, here's what I think about your questions:

1. I agree that vile damage can be a great addition if the PC's are subject to it earlier in the game but will be irrelevant if they only encounter it in the final battle.

2. I haven't really used the taint system extensively, but I agree that most of the changes should be cosmetic. Even mild taint effects can be pretty difficult to deal with and can make gameplay more complicated, something that hinders the development of a horrific atmosphere. Every time you open a book to check a ruling, you break the suspension of disbelief just a bit. Furthermore, reducing the effects of overwhelming evil to a game mechanic encourages players to game the system and either turn it to their benefit or find ways around it. Best to keep the changes mostly cosmetic. Also, talk to your players about it before you start the game to make sure they're ok with the possibility of their characters changing in ways they don't necessarily control.

3. Basing it on the green hag, I would give the race a strength bonus and a dex penalty, a bonus to disguise (and maybe bluff) checks, darkvision, a few once-per-day cantrip or 1st level SLAs from the green hag list (along the lines of gnome SLAs), and the mimicry ability (which, for PC purposes, I would outline more specifically than the MM does, especially in terms of its actual effect and its range). Should be about right, though I don't really think the strength bonus fits with the rest of the hag abilities.

4. Others have this pretty well covered. Subtlety is the key, not over-the-top gore. For me, situations beyond my control and insanity or lost of mental control are scarier than any type of violence. It may be beneficial to talk to your players and find out what they think is creepy.

5. I agree with jiriku that more limited plots lend themselves better to horror. However, I think you can do the more epic plotline in a horror context if you personalize it enough. Involving the PCs or their friends and loved ones can make it a lot scarier.

Hope that helps.

Mephibosheth

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

So, with creepy music, low lights (turn all lights off and borrow my grandma's electric candle, which "burns"), an autonomous organ (they had those in that time period, right?), and a subtle horror, with some twisted taints and phantasm enemies will scare the bejesus out of them. Not too much to make them stop showing up, but just enough to cause nightmares...

[Coplantor]

If you are going for Ravenloft, parts of that world have reached the a cultural development stage similar to the first stages of the industrial revolution with early steam powered machines. So organs are A-OK

[Mauther]

1. Should the sword of kas do Vile damage on top of normal for this application?
Probably

2. How can the Taint system be "tweaked" to actually work effectively?What do you see as the main problem with the taint system? I don’t personally use Taint at all, I tend to free form similar effects.

3. I have a homebrew race idea: the Zarash, the children of Hags and Mortals (usually Humans or Elves, though others aren't unheard of). How should I build them so they are on-par with other 0la races. They are usually Bards, Rogues, and Fortune Tellers
Depends on which Hag your using as the base, assuming a standard hag I’d probably use the half giant template as a basis (drop the DEX bonus , the fire resist, and Psionics and add one or two spell like abilities). With all of the hags special abilities and high STR, I don’t know that a ½ hag would be 0-LA.

4. How should I make the environments more scary? I want the players to be genuinely scared.
I’d avoid mechanical attempts to introduce horror (stats/templates/spells). Sounds like your going for a more gothic horror, which is all about the style. Go ahead and get the Ravenloft setting book for 3.0/3.5 its good source. I’d also try and get my hands on some of the older Ravenloft source books. There’s a tremendous amount of fluff and mood setting.

5. Is the story too far-fetched?
The story’s not too far fetched, but a purist might argue that this isn’t really Strahd’s particular idiom. He’s all about recovering his lost love. I could see using pre-redemption Soth doing something like this. If your using Ravenloft, don’t forget the massively heavy influence of the Dark Powers.

6. PS: I plan on putting wildflower (?) from Jade Empire in as an NPC. How can I do that?
I'd make two spirits with the inhabit or possession ability, make it a contested will save to choose which is in power.

As an example of moving from scary to gothic, take Hamlet's good idea of the empty village given above. There's no threat, no die rolling, no immenent sense of doom, nothing to confront and overcome. That helps set the mood. To make it an actual encounter, I'd probably tweak it by having the town return to occupation at sunset. Basically, all of the residents reappear as darkness falls and continue on with their lives as if nothing is wrong. As day breaks they vanish again. To the residents, they live in a land of perpetual night and they refuse to believe that they are vanishing at all. From this premise you can generate many stories. Maybe there is a massive monster that roams the abandoned town by daylight, and the villagers are unaware of the danger they are escaping. Turn it around and a noble compassionate villager by night, is cursed to kill by day. So the villager has made a deal with a dark power to keep the residents in perpetual night to "protect" them.

Stylisticly, the important and challenging thing is to control the number of combat encounters in a horror story. Horror is all about suspense. Combat breaks the suspense and creates resolution. If you allow the normal amount of combat and use formulaic standard dungeon crawl techniques, the horror story will feel like a standard adventure, no matter how many vampires and ghouls you put in the story.

[Amphetryon]

Have all the NPCs be slightly more nervous and jumpy than normal, reacting disproportionately - but not comically so - to noises or movements by the PCs. When the folks the PCs interact with are on edge, it can influence the players' behavior as well.

[LurkerInPlayground]

A house, in the woodlands outside of a small village. The grounds are neatly tended, with flowering herbs perfuming the air with a sweet and spicy scent.

A window is open, and an elderly woman's voice can be heard clearly; she is singing a song, somewhat like a lullaby. Overlaying the scent of plant life is something spicy, tantalizing- home cooking, it seems?

She hears the adventurers approach, and dusts her floured hands on a red-and-white checked apron as she opens the door, a wide grin on her face.

"Greetings, adventurers. I expected company today, and you'll not be disappointed. How about some tea and cakes while you rest? You look as if you've had a rough journey."

The inside of the house is much as the outside- scrupulously kept, with a shine to the wooden plank floors that shows an attention to detail not found among most peasantry.

As you sit at her small round table, a vague feeling of "something's wrong" strikes you, but the surroundings tell you that you're only being paranoid.

She moves around her kitchen, grabbing a small carved ivory teapot and other items required for a fine brew. After setting the items on the table, she clasps her hands behind her back and smiles once more.

"Will you stay for lunch?"

The tea smells vaguely of decay and death for only a split second, but the grandmotherly type is watching every move you make, as if watching over her firstborn.

"Don't let it get cold... tea is horrid when cold, wouldn't you agree?"

-----------------------
And so forth. It's something of a mind-screw, but those can be fun to work with....
Eh.

A bit overt for my tastes. I prefer the old trope of making things seem a little too perfect rather than coaching the players directly by telling them of paranoia or jerking them with the "death and decay" line.

If you have to tell them what they're feeling, then it kind of defeats the point.

The tea tasted rotten. As though something up-and-died in it. Grandma is apologetic and explains that it's an acquired taste or tries to excuse it as well-water going bad of late. You can even play up the comedy of the moment. The PC's are stuck with a local exotic tea of dubious quality, but they can't refuse or tell her what they think without insulting the nice lady.

Or not even that. Maybe Grandma is a serial killer but isn't particularly morbid or evil given the obvious tells like rot or darkness or any of those other shorthand symbols. Mentally disturbed, but she really is a pleasant grandmother, if a bit too perfect a representation of the archetype.

It's just that she and her neighbors are disturbingly complacent about certain things. Cognitive dissonance and all that. For example, the village has plague signs all over the place, but nobody seems to be affected or all that worried. Or certain people go missing but when asked, the villagers evade the question and speak of facts in a vague poetic-license (e.g. "It was her time."). Or they get defensive and try to justify their blasé attitude.

(If you've read Watership Down, one of the rabbit communities that the protagonists arrive at has this trope in play. It's paradise. Good food like carrots, apples and cabbages are ripe for the picking down in the yard of the cabin. All the rabbits are big, strong and sleek-haired. Except something is a bit off.)

[Coplantor]

Have all the NPCs be slightly more nervous and jumpy than normal, reacting disproportionately - but not comically so - to noises or movements by the PCs. When the folks the PCs interact with are on edge, it can influence the players' behavior as well.

And they will have mixed reactions towards NPC's that act all goody good good from the begining, yes, yes... This is nice indeed. As a horror DM, paranoia will be your best friend... You'll love the expression in their faces when they realize they distrusted/enraged/attack/killed a potential friendly NPC.

But dont make an NPC too suspiciously good, otherwise tey'll think you threw an actually good NPC for them to kill him. The trick is to never leting them know who to trust, so it's a 100% their fault if they trusted the wrong guy and rejected the good guy.

You gotta take care of the alignment dectection abilities though...

[LurkerInPlayground]

Have all the NPCs be slightly more nervous and jumpy than normal, reacting disproportionately - but not comically so - to noises or movements by the PCs. When the folks the PCs interact with are on edge, it can influence the players' behavior as well.
It's that classic backwater village trope. (Or a dying town of the American Midwest, if you prefer.)

The villagers/townies are cagey and suspicious of outsiders. They don't trust the people who aren't "from around here." Outsiders usually aren't welcome and are encouraged to move on at the first opportunity.

Of course, it always ends up with them hiding some horrific secret; whether it's because they don't want outsider help with their problems or because they actually enable the nameless evil.

Come to think of it, I'd probably just do this by default in a horror setting, with the exception that a good majority of the villages don't actually have any secrets beyond: "Bob is having an affair." The world is just a hostile place and most people don't like outside influences threatening their little enclave.

[Coplantor]

May I suggest Shadow Over Innsomouth as a recomended reading?
Or playing the first part of Call of Cthulhu: The Dark Corners of the Earth.
That's pretty much the kind of village you want, specially if you want the "hiding a secret" thing

[LurkerInPlayground]

Well, another closely related trope is the Redneck Rampage. The inbred simpletons are dangerous. Maybe they're even literally subhuman.

Basically, Deliverance in either its movie or book incarnation.

[Winter_Wolf]

Okay, I really just skimmed everything else. For good horror, find out what scares your players, and use it. To hell with what supposedly scares their characters; scare a player and the character will follow. This generally involves being kind of a jerkass in that you play on your (probably) friends' fears and phobias, but then again, it IS horror you're after.

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

Okay. So be subtle in the horror.

and about the Zarash, they are more like mutant children of Hags and whatever that, due to the evil surrounding them at birth, become these "sub-human" monsters who actually are ultra-intelligent and stronger than normal.

And I have the Players essentially assume that Strahd revived his dead girlfriend, and she concieved a child, which after the birth, she died. The child was a Dhampir Werewolf (bitten at a young age), who the Knights of the Raven killed, so Strahd wiped them out. He now wants to find a way to bring his son, Vladamir von Zarovitch, back from the grave. However, his son was a member of the Knights, and was actually killed by Strah's leutenant, a vampiress known as the Scarlet Lady (from one of the MM's), who fed Strahd misinformation so she could make him love her. Oh! What a tangled web we weave...

So, any other suggestions?

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

Well, I'm trying to master the subtlety of horror, and thus far, the story is shaky at best

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

If you have your races up, I'm willing to lend a hand.

[~LuckyBoneDice~]

If you have your races up, I'm willing to lend a hand.

any 0LA races (minus lesser), Lesser Drow (for my former DM, who's a drow fanboy) and Zarcath (Hag-Kin Aberrations with blood that deals Vile Damage)

and all classes (with my descresion as guideline)

and gestalt rules

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

any 0LA races (minus lesser), Lesser Drow (for my former DM, who's a drow fanboy) and Zarcath (Hag-Kin Aberrations with blood that deals Vile Damage)

and all classes (with my descresion as guideline)

and gestalt rules

Ah. See, I thought you wanted help balancing your race...in which case I'd need to see the mechanics.

[J.Gellert]

My usual tips on Horror:

1. Players are afraid of the unknown. Throw them a monster from an obscure book, or a homebrewed one. If they don't know its exact powers, they will not take it lightly.

2. Tension. Don't just throw the monster at them, make sure they first hear about it (terrifying descriptions) and see its handiwork (one ruined village, at least).

3. If you can't scare them, disgust them. Give the monster 100 tentacles. Hairy tentacles. And small moth-like creatures are creeping on them even as they move in to attack.

Also, you can try tying emotions to your cues, like so. A distant wolf howl is heard, every time right before something really bad appears. Why does the wolf howl? Who cares! If after the first three times it's a sign of battle, the players are guaranteed to get paranoid every time you mention the howling.

Finally, in a really mean horror campaign, there are only three kind of NPCs. Villains, friendlies who the villains kill to showcase their horror and villainy, and finally villains disguised as friendlies. Make sure that nothing is as it looks and the players will start jumping at the sight of their own shadows. You can even turn those into actual undead shadows at some point, but, you know, there's so much more to do.

Have fun! And watch out for grues.

[Radar]

(...)
Have fun! And watch out for grues.
That reminds me: keeping track of light sources and/or basic resources might add survivalist horror to the mix: a bunch of adventurers struggling to keep their campfire during a rainy night - it's light is the only thing, that keeps shadowy predators at bay. It does add some book-keeping, which can detract players from the story, so it's a tough call.

It would also require removing some simple utility spells, like Create Food/Water and Light.

On the subtlety thing: i find it the most horrific, when the worst atrocities are commited by calm, composed and otherwise unremarkable characters - a middleaged shopkeeper selling with a smile products made from people he murdered recently. No rage, demons or anything like that - just a cold, detached, logical human (or other sentient being).