Horror is best done freeform. Uncetainty is very often the best thing you can do for horror, and mechanics almost always take away from that.
Horror is best done freeform. Uncetainty is very often the best thing you can do for horror, and mechanics almost always take away from that.
I'm guessing you've never played dread :P
That's a subjective call for the most part.... Everyone is freaked by different things.
The masters of horror though, are those that learn the arts of suspense and anticipation.
For horror background music, I would recommend a Hammond Novachord (scroll down for 2 separate groups of recordings), except that they are REALLY hard to find . . . .
Try to make sure that everybody coming to the horror themed mini-campaign is interested in playing a horror themed mini-campaign. If there's somebody who things horror is boring or too daunting that player might cause a lot of disruptions.
I agree that higher CR encounters can be good for a horror themed game. Ideally this should encourage the PCs to avoid conflicts when possible. Sneaking around and running away seem pretty appropriate for horror stories. I guess that hard to find villains/monsters can be helpful too whether that means high Stealth or just not being sure who the real bad guy is.
Invisible child elementals.
Who says the child scent hex is weak now?
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Horror is a state of Mind, Mood and Story telling more than encounters. (Although those do help).
Depending on the type of Horror your group finds, Well Horrific, should help.
It also depends on the setting and subverting expectations.
In a Dark Fantasy I was running the group was staying the night at a wayside tavern in an unknown land to them. I'll try writing a scene from my game.
-The night had caught up to you on the road, the tavern was a welcome sight on the road, the lights where lit and it had a few other horses out hinting rooms might be in supply.
Inside the Tavern was well kept, and smoky from the fire pit heating the main room where people sat at tables eating meat pies and weak spirits, likely why none within seemed to be overly talkative, even among themselves. The menu at such a place at this hour seemed was limited to the meat pies but had a variety of drinks. Sadly most where of the cheap variety and some barely palatable to a dwarf let alone those use too the better things in life. After the meal it's a getting a room, the charge came to a 2 silver coins charge. Expensive by most common folk practices in this new world but hardly pocket breaking for those with gold to spare.
-The next morning however, your groups rogue wakes you all in a panic, after revealing he had snuck into the kitchen to steal a bit of travelling food, and silenced the paladin a few times so he could keep talking, the Meat pies he revealed where made from a corpse and a few more where being delivered!
there was also a Halfling that was stealing souls and breaking them apart in a massive ritual room to create multiple soul gems for constructs from those that stayed the night.
Ultimately the group had to fight 7 creatures that represented the seven deadly sins and then the Dread Lord that ruled over his demiplane to get back home.
(Given that this thread is 4 years old, I doubt the OP will find further responses useful.)
Horror stories will often feature difficult subject matter. A session 0 is absolutely vital to (1) discuss the potential featured subjects so players can voice any concerns and (2) make sure the players will feel comfortable coming to you later in the game if they don't want to voice their concerns in public, or even just bow out and not discuss them with you, either.
Sexual violence, body horror and other things can understandably be sensitive subjects for some people. Know your audience as well as you can. And where you're unsure, step lightly.
That's why aiming for disquiet is a favorite of mine. "Just left of normal", as the Chronicles of Darkness book suggests. That way, each player can take it as far as they are comfortable doing within their own mind.
My crowning achievement in regards to horror was a successful jump scare from a brief narrative description alone. I didn't need to raise my voice or speak suddenly or quickly. I just set the scene, resolved some actions, and when I set the scene again, I got a little start out of everyone at the table.