Silus
2016-12-12, 04:40 AM
So only recently I've opted to start writing down an outline for a Pathfinder campaign that I'm looking at running but I'm concerned as to how much would be too much to hammer out and how much I should leave....fluid.
I suppose my main concern is that, at worst, it won't be so much a campaign but a story with the players just being dragged along, but at the same time I don't want to be floundering at the table trying to sort out what happens next.
Currently I've been writing down rather lengthy descriptions in a notebook, mostly things in the vein of "You're here, this is what you see, here's some dialogue the NPCs are saying at you, and your next quest objective is over in that direction". I've got an example of the first bit of the campaign notes if it would be helpful.
But yeah, is that kind of thing too much or does it seem like just enough?
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Second bit, the campaign above is going to have some heavy horror elements and I'd like some advice on techniques to use. I've already got the music down (using a combination of the Fallen London and Sunless Sea OSTs and the Fragment CD by Musica Cthulhiana) and I've already got the mood lighting bit down, but there's some other things that I've read about that I'd like some vets to weigh in on:
1) "Stolen rolls". Have the players write down their Perception bonuses for the DM and have the DM roll Perception for them at random times. Or just roll and ask the player their Perception score. Bonus points for an ambiguous non-answer if questioned.
2) Mystery roll. Have a player make a d20 roll and make a show of noting the result. If asked, tell the player to not worry about it. Best used on distracted players.
3) Sidebars. Pulling a player aside and either A) Telling them something legit creepy/unsettling that their character has noticed or become aware of (You find a half-dozen half-eaten rats in your bag, wedged into your sleeping roll), B) Something rather mundane that does not SEEM to be bad/scary/spoopy but makes the player wonder why you pulled them away for something that probably doesn't matter (mind games on the player), or C) pull them aside and just ask them how their day was, ask how you're doing with the game, etc. basically nothing about the game and making the players at the table (not having the 1-on-1) wonder just what you're talking about.
4) Notes. Similar to sidebars though takes some prep. Kind of like interrupts. Like players A, C, and D are talking about where to go, and you pass player B a note saying that they see something freaky move through the intersection down the hall, just outside of of the torchlight.
5) Memory manipulation. Not something I read but an idea I had been kicking around. Party goes into a ruin and after an unusually short amount of time make it to the "end". They turn back, figuring they've cleared it all, only to hit an intersection or room they don't remember passing through. And their supplies seem...less than there should be. And they'll hit stretches of ruin that they remember but it's all out of sorts but in a weird sort of linear path. Like "You've definitely been through here but it's weird that you don't remember like 3/4 of it".
6) Countdown timer and unneeded initiative. Players enter a room and you inform them to roll initiative. But, as far as they can tell, there's nothing there. But, if there's initiative, there's got to be SOMETHING to fight right? Going along with this, start a tally or set a countdown timer with vague implications. Basically make it so the players get worried/scared that SOMETHING is coming (For those that listen to Wolf 359, I cite The Empty Man).
7) Splitting the party. While difficult on the DM, splitting the party might have some benefit for a horror themed game.
8) No safe place to rest. You're getting hunted by Jason Voorhees, the wizard ain't got time for his 8 hours of rest to get spells back. Better make them count. Run the party ragged and stretch resources to enhance tension.
9) OOC, substantial XP bonuses for....getting into the game. Like getting invested and actually treating the game with the...respect (?) that a horror game deserves. Electronics away, side conversations to a minimum, you're not sitting at a table, you're trying to escape faceless horrors that are stalking you through an old dwarven prison. Act like it.
I suppose my main concern is that, at worst, it won't be so much a campaign but a story with the players just being dragged along, but at the same time I don't want to be floundering at the table trying to sort out what happens next.
Currently I've been writing down rather lengthy descriptions in a notebook, mostly things in the vein of "You're here, this is what you see, here's some dialogue the NPCs are saying at you, and your next quest objective is over in that direction". I've got an example of the first bit of the campaign notes if it would be helpful.
But yeah, is that kind of thing too much or does it seem like just enough?
---
Second bit, the campaign above is going to have some heavy horror elements and I'd like some advice on techniques to use. I've already got the music down (using a combination of the Fallen London and Sunless Sea OSTs and the Fragment CD by Musica Cthulhiana) and I've already got the mood lighting bit down, but there's some other things that I've read about that I'd like some vets to weigh in on:
1) "Stolen rolls". Have the players write down their Perception bonuses for the DM and have the DM roll Perception for them at random times. Or just roll and ask the player their Perception score. Bonus points for an ambiguous non-answer if questioned.
2) Mystery roll. Have a player make a d20 roll and make a show of noting the result. If asked, tell the player to not worry about it. Best used on distracted players.
3) Sidebars. Pulling a player aside and either A) Telling them something legit creepy/unsettling that their character has noticed or become aware of (You find a half-dozen half-eaten rats in your bag, wedged into your sleeping roll), B) Something rather mundane that does not SEEM to be bad/scary/spoopy but makes the player wonder why you pulled them away for something that probably doesn't matter (mind games on the player), or C) pull them aside and just ask them how their day was, ask how you're doing with the game, etc. basically nothing about the game and making the players at the table (not having the 1-on-1) wonder just what you're talking about.
4) Notes. Similar to sidebars though takes some prep. Kind of like interrupts. Like players A, C, and D are talking about where to go, and you pass player B a note saying that they see something freaky move through the intersection down the hall, just outside of of the torchlight.
5) Memory manipulation. Not something I read but an idea I had been kicking around. Party goes into a ruin and after an unusually short amount of time make it to the "end". They turn back, figuring they've cleared it all, only to hit an intersection or room they don't remember passing through. And their supplies seem...less than there should be. And they'll hit stretches of ruin that they remember but it's all out of sorts but in a weird sort of linear path. Like "You've definitely been through here but it's weird that you don't remember like 3/4 of it".
6) Countdown timer and unneeded initiative. Players enter a room and you inform them to roll initiative. But, as far as they can tell, there's nothing there. But, if there's initiative, there's got to be SOMETHING to fight right? Going along with this, start a tally or set a countdown timer with vague implications. Basically make it so the players get worried/scared that SOMETHING is coming (For those that listen to Wolf 359, I cite The Empty Man).
7) Splitting the party. While difficult on the DM, splitting the party might have some benefit for a horror themed game.
8) No safe place to rest. You're getting hunted by Jason Voorhees, the wizard ain't got time for his 8 hours of rest to get spells back. Better make them count. Run the party ragged and stretch resources to enhance tension.
9) OOC, substantial XP bonuses for....getting into the game. Like getting invested and actually treating the game with the...respect (?) that a horror game deserves. Electronics away, side conversations to a minimum, you're not sitting at a table, you're trying to escape faceless horrors that are stalking you through an old dwarven prison. Act like it.