Post by AJ on Jul 30, 2014 23:49:37 GMT -5
I am by no means an expert on running games with a horror element, but here are a couple of things I do, as a DM to freak out my players..
1. I talk slowly and clearly, looking directly into the players eyes the whole time, I don't move, I don't blink or fidget, I give every impression that this is one of those times when the DM is saying something very important to the continued survival of the player's character.. I don't crack jokes, or make any facial expressions that show emotion.. the player is left with a blank slate as to what I am thinking, and that starts the feeling of unease and danger..
2. I describe what the character is seeing, smelling and hearing.. I don't tell the player what their character is feeling emotionally.. that's up to them to decide.. I am concentrating on making the PLAYER feel something..
To give an example, Lets imagine the characters are about to encounter a Wraith.
I start out by simply saying the character feels a presence.. it is an awareness that something is not right, a check will reveal that it is cooler in the area, the breath mists the air, it has become quieter, the character's body is reacting by becoming clammy tense.
If there is a mist, or smoke from the character's torch or some gas or a body of water, any sort of reflective surface, the character will see a ghostly figure, the features hard to determine, there is a vague body, it moves but there are no legs, its like a robe that is disturbing the mist, or a shape in the ripples of the water, or a shadow in the background of the reflection.. the character then can see it is a figure, with a head and arms, just as it is about to pass out of the mist...
And as you say this, you are looking away from the player.. you then say "But you see, just as it goes out of sight, the head does THIS" and you jerk your head and glare at them, jerking your body toward them a little, have an expression on your face like something crazed and hungry just noticed them suddenly.. then just as quickly, you are back to normal, like it didn't happen...
3. When a player tries a knowledge check, give the result in the form of a flashback to their character's past, depending on the result.. a bad fail is that they have no idea what it is, a close fail is that they might identify it as a ghost of some kind, it is not an illusion, a pass is that they have read about it, in an old library or some such, describe it in the author's words.. a good success is a previous encounter, where a wraith came out of the mist, plunged its hand inside a companion and drained his life, in the form of a vital glow that illuminated and defined its shape briefly, before the glow siphoned away into a hole in the Wraith, and it gave off a shriek as it lost the thing it most desired, and the rage and hunger were made so much worse.. then the character escaped, ran for his life with the wraith's screaming echoing in his mind.
Your players should be fully engaged and more than a little spooked at this stage... roll initiative!