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View Full Version : Make this horror Role play Worse!



ShadowFireLance
2013-07-31, 03:53 AM
So, In a couple of weeks, I'm going to GM a...well, can't really call it an adventure, but lets do it for simplicity. An Adventure, with the entire setting based around this: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/12130366/ Amazing work of art, the system itself is going to be a basic one, where it takes roughly 10 Minutes (Sans fluff) to make a character. I've got everything in mind, (playing in my basement, unfinished, has a good amount of spiders...Anyways, pretty dark, over a table, all with candles, Might be able to find masks and such for it, but if not, oh well. Going to have music playing via Ipod, so no light.) But I want to literally scare the players out of their minds.

Any suggestions for the plot/encounters to be even more horrific?

Deathkeeper
2013-07-31, 08:09 AM
Get a dog. Or even better, a cat who likes people (cats are quiet). Tell them they are not allowed to pet said animal. Watch as they ruin their pants every time it nudges them or hops into their lap.
Not to be used if they might hurt it in their freak out.

SethoMarkus
2013-07-31, 08:14 AM
If you really want to scare the players, I wouldn't bother putting too much effort into the actual game. I'd work on the ambiance and descriptions; make the game parallel what the players are going through, and make it so that there is a little blurring between in-character conversation and out-of-character conversation. It won't be as immersive a game, but then verisimilitude isn't the goal here. I don't believe this is exactly the scare that you meant, but setting all this up and making the players expect a "creepy" campaign and then having a friend jump out and startle the players would probably be the best way to scare the players without too much trouble.

If you want to create a sense of dread and really pull the characters into the story; want to make them feel through their characters' perspectives, I would focus on drawing the players in to as immersive a game as you can handle. Make everything realistic- or rather, not realistic but relate-able. Verisimilitude is the key to success here.

I didn't read the entire post in the link, but it seems more to be a space-horror. I think the ambiance for this type of horror needs to be dealt with slightly differently than traditional horror. Now, this is just my opinion, so feel free to completely disregard it, but I would change a few things. I would run the session in a very quiet area; quiet enough to hear a pin drop. I want to emulate the silence, the stillness, and the isolation of space; if there is a soundtrack involved, I would make it mostly static and white noise, with the occasional screeching or "cosmic" noise bursting through at random intervals- much like the youtube links in the linked post. I would try to run the encounter in a completely sterile environment, such as an unfurnished, empty room. Cobwebs are fine, but I'd want the space to be as plain and spartan as possible. Lighting would be all-or-nothing; I'd either have bright, white lights (think medical examiner's room or operating room), or no light at all save for small, digital displays from watches, the iPod, or some other "electronic glow" (feel free to switch between the two of these to emphasize the differences the characters face in-game). If you can get them, gas masks or respirators would be a cool addition. Especially if they have "goggle" eyes.

For plot and encounter suggestions, I'd say avoid encounters at all costs until very late in the game (session). Instead, focus on close encounters and near encounters- the characters hear something around the next bend, but when they get there they don't see anything. First, make everything seem normal or as to be expected- if they are investigating a disappearance like in the link, start off with no signs of extraterrestrials, progress to simple signs, then concrete signs, then end with them actually seeing the thing; if they know there are extraterrestrials (they are investigating a sighting, etc), then start with simple signs, move to concrete signs or dead bodies, then progress to something even bigger. Make sure that the players never fully understand what is going on- if they discover aliens, then make bigger, badder aliens that the first aliens were trying to escape. If you do introduce encounters, make sure that any victories the players have are hollow and small; they escape/beat back/kill the attacking alien, but they lose one or more NPCs in the process, they hear more aliens coming down the corridor, they escaped but are running out of places to hide, etc. Prometheus is a decent example of this, and H.P. Lovecraft's The Mountains of Madness is a prime example of constantly being one step behind.



Largely, I think you're in the right direction already. Following the post you linked, I don't think there is much to add. A basement would be a great place for the second part of the session, when the characters are underground, but make sure that the players start in a clean environment when the characters are in their safe, sterile spaceship. Don't let the players have any contact with the outside world once the suspense and horror kick in- maybe have the players put their phones into airplane mode or turn them off completely. If there are snacks for the players to munch on, don't let anyone leave to get more if you run out. I wouldn't go so far as to disallow a player from using the restroom, but it should be at least discouraged.

Well, that's my 2cp on the matter, but it seems like most of it was just repeating what was in the original idea... so, best of luck to you, and be sure to come back to the Playground to let us know how it turned out!

Deathkeeper
2013-07-31, 08:28 AM
One thing I would suggest, actually:
While details can be made up on the spot, the plot shouldn't. My only real gripe with the original story was that there was no payoff. Nothing at all was explained (even a vague hint of sense or a single name would do) and the monster was clearly just there to end the session. If you feel an actual monster is necessary, sure, but put it there for a reason and foreshadow its existence beyond a single line by an NPC that could have been anything.
But also don't forget about people's mindsets. Although in hindsight I thought it was a pretty big letdown that the female NPC had so much stuff going on with her that ended up being just random things with no explanation, it worked extremely well at the time of the session. If you really want to scare players, you don't have to make everything hold up under a nitpicker's eye, but IMO it should at least hold up at a cursory glance.

CarpeGuitarrem
2013-07-31, 08:30 AM
If there's delusions involved, you could say something jarring and then carry on as if you'd never said it. Delivered properly, that can be rightly creepy. Naturally, if they ask you about it, you have no idea what they're talking about.