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I don't run a horror game, but I DO like to introduce fear at the gaming table every once in a while. Scaring players is notoriously difficult, though - plop a gribbly monster in front of them and they're going to roll initiative rather than flee in terror. So I'm always on the lookout for new ideas!
What's the scariest thing that ever happened to you at the gaming table? It could either be an in-game event or something creepy/cool that the GM did or even a real-world scare that happened on game night.
For instance: a few months ago I ran a game that took place during a storm. While we were playing, a real storm sprang up outside, and at least one instance in the game when I said "Lightning flashes ominously and thunder rolls across the sky" was punctuated with an actual thunderbolt outside.
I was playing an alchemist worshipper of Norgorber. While investigating some murders, we found the culprits were also worshippers of Blackfingers. The cult leader ordered my character to kill the rest of the party and join them, which wouldn't have been very nice, so my alchemist killed the cultist instead. Problem is, now Norgorber is mad at my alchemist and decided to express his displeasure with a cocktail of poisons. Oh, and then the REAL cult leader shows up and starts bombing us like no other. So I had my party ready to kill me, the cult ready to kill me, and the god of poison and murder ready to kill me. Fun times.
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We play at night after my son goes to sleep. I don't remember what all was going on in-game, but I had the players pretty creeped out by what was happening in the game-time night. Eventually one of the players requested a pause and proceeded to close all the window shades and make sure the doors were locked. Then when the game was over, I had to turn on all the exterior lights so that they could very clearly see the path to their cars was clear.
What did you DO to those poor people? :P
I really want to know!
A few years ago when I was playing with my old D&D group we were playing in an all night game during the Summer (~24h over 2 days). We were all at the downstairs table playing and we hear a loud noise upstairs. (Everyone who is downstairs is in the house.)
We all hear the noise and the room goes silent. As we look around one of the players has drawn a 9mm beretta pistol from his pants. (We didn't know that he was armed.) The DM says: "Whoever is up there I suggest you leave now, we have a big scary guy carrying a gun."
Later on we found out that a poorly placed keyboard had fallen off of the desk onto the floor to make the noise. The group of people I was playing with wasn't sure which was scarier the noise from nowhere, or the fact that one of the players was packing heat at the D&D table.
In retrospect it was the player at the table that scared us more.
I do a lot of horror. Not only entire horror campaigns, but I also inject a lot of horror into normal games.
It is an old cliche that what the audience cannot see often scares them more than what they can. Cliche it may sound, but it is definitely so. The notion that something bad may happen soon, and is hanging over their heads, is a good way to start.
For instance, instantaneous plane shifting. The Silent Hill games get a lot of their tension from the fact that at any time, the whole place could shift to a dark Otherworld, where everything is much more dangerous and much worse. (And things are already bad in the first place). Should your PCs enter an area where something similar is happening, and the shift takes them to say, the Plane of Shadow, and things are really bad there, believe me, they will be very on edge that the shift may occur again.
Likewise, knowing somebody or something unseen is lurking nearby is an easy way to ratchet up tension.
Another thing that works really well is when the normal becomes twisted and weird. A farmer is not scary. But a farmer who staggers around like a zombie with a blank porcelain mask permanently melded to his face is something you don't want to run into in a shadowy barn.
Well, I've had a few scary moments in my games. Plenty actually.
The first being when the entire party finds out what happens when a they all drop into unconsciousness in the presence of a Roper. Yeah, that DM was really good at finding out how to get in our heads as our limbs got severed one by one.
There was this other fun incident that I put in when I was DMing. Basically there was this kind old lady having one of the players test taste one of her pies while the rest of the party was out doing chores. The character was feeling sick, so he didn't go with them. So when he tastes the pie, I describe to him just how bland the pie tasted. And just as his character brings this up, the old lady chimes "Oh, silly me. I forgot the main ingredient!" Then I lean into the table and ask out of character "Whats your flat footed AC?" Now I dunno why the player didn't see it coming, but it sure terrified him, and for some reason the rest of the table as well. Wasn't even intended as a horror encounter, but seeing as how the party over reacted to it, I decided that instead of having this be a mundane stand alone encounter, I could easily lead this into a twisted fae encounter.
I guess its not in the monsters you use in your encounters, but the way you encounter them. I took the Vorka Encounter in We Be Goblins and really had fun with that. The players perceived that to be a horror encounter as well for some reason, and all I was doing was appealing to the psychology of their goblin characters.
I was running a campaign in the Land of the Linnorm Kings and the party had to overcome a series of haunts in order to find a magic key. They said it was truly creepy and parts of it freaked then out. The details are in the spoiler below.
Many of the items were geared towards the specific PCs, a few of them were below strength.
The rugged, rocky hills slope down into a gentle valley leading you to the edge of the dense, shadowy Grungir Forest. The land here is wild, displaying no sign of man. Thorny, tangling underbrush seems determined to bar your entry. Within the cool shadows of the wood, the call of numerous birds can be heard, along with the screech and growl of larger creatures.
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A Survival check (DC 15) reveals a small game trail behind a blackberry thicket. A Dexterity check (DC 10) prevents entanglement and scratches.
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A narrow, overgrown game trail winds its way deeper into the forest. It appears to be the easiest way to travel through the wood as the density of the undergrowth and the uneven terrain makes travel slow and dangerous.
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THE HAUNTED WOOD
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As you make your way deeper into the darkening wood, the trees begin to take on a twisted shape, moss hangs thickly from the branches above and the sounds of animals ceases. And oppressive sense of sadness and despair permeates the air.
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Random Encounters
1. 2d4 bloody troll skeletons
2. 2d4 ghouls
3. 1d6+2 zombies
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A. Xeletria's Grove
B. The Dark Bramble
C. The Twisted Oak
D. The Haunted Cave
E. The Cursed Spring
F. River
A. Xelestria's Grove
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The narrow path opens into a large clearing dominated by a mighty, ancient fir tree. The vegetation here is even more twisted and dark than what you have seen. The skeletons of numerous animals and humanoids can be seen poking out of the gray-green grass. This is without a doubt the source of the corruption. Suddenly the air darkens and wavers in front of you as the temperature drops, your breath forms small white clouds in the air. You are transfixed as a beautiful otherworldly woman appears, frozen in place to the great fir tree's trunk. Hulking ice trolls flank her as parts of her body appear to be slowly turning to ice. An elegantly beautiful yet undoubtedly evil pale woman taunts her as cruel-faced gnomish creatures with spiked beards of ice chant“skin like ice, bones like glass, crack and snap and fractious smash!” They suddenly lift heavy mallets and gleaming chisels and begin to separate the fey woman's frozen limbs from her body. Her horrified pain-ridden screams shatter you ears and nearly your sanity. The scene fades to be replace by ghostly image of the beautiful fey woman, she turns to you, smiles, and lets out a bone-chilling moan.
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When the party discovers the grove holding the remains of Xelestria, they are assaulted with the horrifying image of her brutal murder at the hands of a Winter Witch and her cold fey minions. Xelestria's ghost then appears and moans. If the PCs attempt to talk to her, she will listen. A Diplomacy check (DC 15) will result in Xelestria offering them the chance to put her spirit to rest. They must gather the scattered and hidden remains of her body, bring them back to the grove, and give her a proper burial. Upon doing so, Xelestria's ghost will attack in order to determine the party's worthiness to bear the Broken Crown. If she defeats them, she heals them then tells them they cannot have the crown and she cannot rest until they best her in combat.
The location of each of Xeletria's limbs has become a haunt.
THE HAUNTS
B. The Dark Bramble [CR 5]
XP 1,600
CN Haunt (100 sq/ft area)
Caster level 4th
Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear the sound of movement beneath the soil and the hardening of the vegetation)
HP 18; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour;
Effect When this haunt is triggered, a low, heartbreaking moan fills the air and the vegetation in the area hardens and grows wicked spikes as per the Spike Growth spell (Reflex DC 14).
Destruction Beneath the thicket lies the still frosty left arm of Xelestria the Nymph Queen. Removing it destroys the haunt.
Boon: The brambles brighten and bloom, producing fragrant, plump goodberries (3d6).
C. The Twisted Oak [CR 6]
XP 2,400
CN Haunt (all creatures in a 15 ft radius burst)
Caster level 6th
Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear the insane mumblings of a hundreds of voices )
HP 12 ; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour;
Effect When this haunt is triggered, the trees in the area begin to cry and wail insanely. This has the effect of a Confusion (Will DC 16) spell on all in the area.
Destruction Within the roots of the great oak lies the still frosty left leg of Xelestria the Nymph Queen. Removing it destroys the haunt.
Boon: Once destroyed, the oak straightens and brightens. As it untwists its gnarled roots, an ancient chest is revealed. It is locked (DC 25). Contents: Composite longbow +1 (+3 STR bonus), cloak of elvenkind, and boots of elvenkind.
D. The Haunted Cave [CR 6]
XP 2,400
CN Haunt (30ft cone shaped burst)
Caster level 6th
Notice Perception DC 20 (To hear the faint wailing of a tortured soul and the wet thwack of a chisel severing limbs)
HP 12; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour;
Effect: When this haunt is triggered, the cave walls begin to bleed and a soul-wrenching wail splits the air with the effect of a fear spell (Will DC 16).
Destruction Within the rear of this shallow cave lies the still frosty right arm of Xelestria the Nymph Queen. Removing it destroys the haunt.
Boon: Once cleared, the cave proves to be a safe place to rest. It is hidden protected from evil.
E. The Cursed Spring [CR 5]
XP 1,600
CN Haunt (30ft vertical line of lightning)
Caster level 5th
Notice Perception DC 20 (To hear the faint sound of a feminine voice crying and pleading )
HP 10 ; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour;
Effect Upon triggering this haunt, the sky darkens and rumbles with thunder. Once per round a bolt of lightning strikes a random target inflicting 3d6 points of damage as per the call lighting (Reflex DC 14 half) spell (10 bolts total).
Destruction Within the center of this putrid pool lies the still frosty right leg of Xelestria the Nymph Queen. Removing it destroys the haunt.
Boon: Once destroyed, the water in the pool clears to reveal a layer of shining coins and gems. The water will also heals 1d8 points of damage if consumed (only once per PC).
Coins: 20pp, 120gp, 250sp, 4 moonstones (50gp), 10 lapis lazuli (10 gp), 2 silver pearls, 4 amethyst (100 gp). The pearls are pearls of power (2nd level and 3rd level).
We had discovered that the cursed house we were in was made that way because a crazy woman had learned necromancy to try to bring her dead son back to life.
We had spoken with the son earlier. He was a tortured brain in a jar hooked up to a clockwork speaking/hearing device. He told us that his mother was in the basement making him a new body.
We went down to the basement and (after fighting a bunch of failed necromantic constructs) ran into the ghost of the boy's grandmother who told us that crazy mom had been dying of a disease and decided to turn herself into a Lich so she whould have the time to bring back her son. Crazy mom sacrificed Grandma as part of the ritual. During the ritual Grandma had prayed to Vecna to keep the crazy mom from completing it and offered Him the secrets crazy mom had stolen in return for revenge.
Vecna listened, keeping crazy mom stuck midway through the lich ritual and turning the house into a sort of temple to terrible secrets.
So we untombed Crazy Mom to destroy her. The nasty part of fighting her was that everytime she died she reformed, like a lich does, only faster. She wasn't too tough, but she had a scream that sapped willpower and sanity, and she just kept getting back up after she died.
Finally we figured out how to kill her and finish the job by decoding her ritual mid-fight (and risking the wrath of Vecna for learning what we shouldn't.)
Turns out we were actually finishing the ritual for her, which made Vecna real mad. Right as we're killing her (what she wanted us to do) Vecna's avatar shows up. Crazy mom's death-scream is unleashed right as we're about to face off against Vecna's avatar for messing with his little set up.
The *entire party* rolls a natural 1 on their save.
We all just sat there for a while staring at the dice, completely quiet. I've never been creeped out like that in my life.
I've run multiple horror campaigns, as Ravenloft is my favorite setting. :) They key to good horror is to not overdo it; sparse it out, make it meaningful. Also, atmosphere can add much more than simple gore and blood. Some of the most horrifying moments in game had little blood in sight at all... However...
Trying to narrow it down to the single scariest moment for me is pretty tough. The short answer would be the time the players encountered a particularly nasty undead; The Tar Man. The party was maybe, 3rd level? He had DR 5/slashing(ignoring the scene in the movie where his head gets taken off by a baseball bat), and had a nasty ability if he successfully grappled a player; his jaws chomp down on their heads and he eats their brain! So who did he successfully grapple first? The cleric, of course...
The players managed to defeat it with no character deaths, but hoo boy, you should've seen their faces when they realized what they were fighting. I had a dvd player in the room paused on the scene where the creature first appears in the movie to show them.
