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ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 08:44 AM
I have recently started a Pathfinder campaign centered around mystery and suspense. Currently I'm trying to write a first adventure for the players, but I need some help. I have a little writer's block and need some ideas. What should the main quest be? What is the main enemy? How do I maintain the darker atmosphere if the players are not used to it?

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 08:46 AM
To clarify, I need a-

1.BBEG
2.Some Main Conflict Ideas
3.Advice for roleplaying and encouraging the players to roleplay a darker setting.

Elvenoutrider
2014-05-05, 11:16 AM
This question is a little open ended. Its going to be easier for us to help you if you give us a bit more to work with. Maybe you could start by telling us what kind of mystery you like. A serial killers story is going to be a lot different than a lovecraftian exploration adventure at the edge of the known world. What kinds of media and stories do you like? Maybe you should tell us about the people you will be running this for. Is there a starting level you are aiming for? DO you want the game to start in a city?

Give us your starting thoughts and maybe we can help you piece something together

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 11:40 AM
Sorry about that. I want more of a Lovecraftian setting and feel. If i can get the players creeped out with the enemies and atmosphere, Im happy

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 11:47 AM
At the moment, Im having the players awaken in an ancient overgrown temple at around midnight. Leaving the town, the players would follow a rough dirt path down to a walled off town near the sea. Entering the city, the party hears a scream and the body of a women falls from one of the upper floors of a large tavern

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 11:49 AM
As for level, they will be at 3rd

Red Fel
2014-05-05, 12:05 PM
So you want to creep your players out. That's something I know my way around. But first, a disclaimer: Always be upfront with your players about running a dark or intense campaign or session. If the players are not ready or able, you will fail, if only because they will find ways to alleviate their discomfort at the table, ruining the ambiance.

Now, advice. Step one is abandoning the known. Fear comes from two sources - the shocking and the unknown. Very little you can do will shock many players, so let's go for the latter.

In order to implement the unknown, you have to create uncertainty. This is best accomplished by doing ambiguous things - things which might be perfectly explicable, but when taken together become oppressively sinister. Those two figures running around the corner whispering? They could be two young lovebirds. The candle flickering in the wind? It could just be the wind. That awful howling sound? That could just be the wind, too. But start piling up one thing onto another, and the players build a case in their mind for something much worse.

And that's what you want. A good fear game is a mind game - it's not about what you do, but what your players think you're doing. When they believe you've got something planned, they will build up a sense of tension in their own minds. (Naturally, this had better pay off at the end, or they'll be cheesed.)

In addition to ambiguous situations, spring for random checks. Have players make them periodically, sometimes revealing nothing, sometimes revealing something seemingly innocuous. ("Roll Listen... Okay, you hear a cat mewling down the nearby alley.") They'll be convinced that they must be missing something, and that it must be major.

One of the greatest obstacles confronting a fear campaign is the players' feeling of being larger-than-life heroes. Making them feel powerless will create a sense of doubt, something that will inevitably fester into fear. Don't do this by taking away their powers; instead, do this by making their powers ineffectual. In the example above, even a character with exceptionally high skill ranks will fail to see or hear anything when there is nothing to hear or see. And that will make him think that there is something he's missing, something beyond his abilities. And that will terrify him.

Building this atmosphere is key, of course, but you can't keep building forever. You need some periodic pressure release, something that says No, it's not all in your head. For example, if you've been hinting that some sort of hideous monster stalks the streets, and you keep dropping red herrings that keep your players on edge, let them arrive on the scene just as the monster is escaping, to remind them that Yes, it's real after all.

I can't help you with a BBEG - I don't have enough detail as to who your players are, what you want, etc. - but I can help you with monsters. A bit of general advice, really. Players are used to the monsters they know. There is comfort there. They can look at a shambling corpse and think, "Oh, it's a zombie. We've killed those before. Easy."

Confront them with newness. Use monsters you haven't used, or add templates or other modifications. Make the monsters different. Never describe a monster by name; only use descriptions. You'd be surprised - a good, graphic description of the beast ripping its way into the Material escorted by the smell of fire and brimstone and the wailing of the damned can make seasoned players fear even a simple Imp. (I think someone in the forums described doing that precisely, as a matter of fact.)

Combat in a scary campaign should be a last resort. As I've mentioned, there is comfort in the familiar, and combat is familiar. Once you're in combat, everything can be neatly reduced to dice rolls and numbers; it ceases to be something visceral and becomes something mental. So the longer you can avoid combat, the better off you'll be.

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 12:28 PM
Red Fel, I really enjoyed that advice thank you. On the subject of who the characters are, i have no clue what they are bringing to the table, but I know they dont have a lot of experience with horror and suspense, do to the fact they were terrified when we played Call of Cthulhu

the OOD
2014-05-05, 12:29 PM
read (http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule) these (http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/8122/roleplaying-games/node-based-scenario-design-collectors-edition) for starters. the difference it makes in your campaigns will be phenomenal. I recommend reading the three-clue-rule first, then node-based-design, witch builds on the concept.
I'll try to post more advice/reading latter, but this should keep you busy for a while.
best of luck with your game!

ghendrickson
2014-05-05, 12:54 PM
Thank you, its great advice