Comments on: Make the Bugs Scary: Little Touches for Horror RPGs

By: GilaMonster

GilaMonster — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 13:43:18 +0000

Thanks. This will be of great help when I take over as DM again.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 03:38:49 +0000

Marrying your players…now there’s a topic for a guest post.

By: Walt C

Walt C — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 02:55:21 +0000

I can’t remember all the details; I ran that one six years ago. I haven’t had a group since that didn’t include at least one player that went through it (I married one of them!), so I’ve never had an opportunity to rerun it.

I’ll stew on it a bit and see if I can weave the bits and pieces I do remember back together.

To answer your last question, Martin, the PCs ended up traveling back in time later in the scenario. As they materialized behind a building, I mentioned to the aforementioned PC that he noticed some commotion out of the corner of his eye. He turned to get a better view just as the mayor cut the tape and the camera snapped

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 01:02:53 +0000

Man, that lost town is creepy, Walt! What happened with the town in the end — and why was the PC in the picture?

By: ScottM

ScottM — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:28:52 +0000

I like the town lost in time, Walt. That would be very creepy.

One of the most worrisome times we had was as low level D&D characters, investigating a cavern of molds and oozes. When the GM described the dripping on Alanora’s back… and when the other PCs came at her with torches… yugh!

I haven’t run many horror games, so while I’ve paid attention to tension and suspense, I don’t have a lot of experience running a normal people horror scenario. This advice sounds great.

By: Walt C

Walt C — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 14:24:16 +0000

One of the problems with Call of Cthulhu (and I’m a big fan) is its reliance on the Mythos. Lovecraft rarely used the same monster twice, yet CoC scenarios are full of fish-eyed locals, mind-switched people, humanoids from the deep, alien insects, and octopoidal gods.

I’ve found that the best way to creep out players (and, by extension, their PCs) is to describe a normal scene that is slightly “off.” Two examples spring to mind.

In one scenario, I had the PCs driving through the NJ pinelands looking for a village. While they were traveling down a dirt road, I had them make perception rolls. Those who succeeded noticed that the trees lining the road were full of ravens. The birds just perched silently, watching them. That really creeped the players out, and they anticipated an attack (ala “the Birds”) that never came. The birds just kept watching them, their heads turning as the car passed.

In another scenario, I had the players stumble across a town that wasn’t on any map in West Virginia. The town seemed quaint, as if it hadn’t changed in the last 60 years (this was a modern campaign). One of the PCs walked into the general store and noticed that all of the prices were dirt cheap. The items for sale, while kept clean, also looked very old. No one in town seemed up on current events. The PCs thought they’d traveled back in time until they noticed a 747 fly overhead. They went to the town hall for answers, and one of the PCs spotted a picture of the dedication of the town hall in 1939. He was horrified to see himself in the background of the picture.