While it's still a few months off from October, I have the sudden urge to run something horror related for my players. I've built a relatively simple homebrew game, and figured out a basic plot, but does Veeky Forums have any advice for running a horror game? Has anyone done it and actually succeeded in scaring your players?
Horror Games
Liam Cooper
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Juan Rogers
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Cooper Hernandez
Players are scared of levels. Shout out "A GIANT SQUID LUNGES FROM THE CLOSET." And let the hype man in the group make a big deal about it, which in turn makes the players in a better mood.
Isaac Ramirez
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Jaxon Cox
Try to create an atmosphere while you're playing that will put your players on edge. If your game is set in a deep, dark forest, invite your players to a game session innawoods. Keep it dark. Keep it moody. Use a music player or an ambient noise program to set up a soundscape for the game.
Aiden Anderson
Remember that a large part of horror is about suspense - not knowing what's hunting you is way scarier than knowing what kind of monster it is. Also, if they care for their characters, they will fear for them more.
Someone have that screenshot when someone makes an example out of Dead Space, with using trust in horror games?
Gabriel Rivera
Players don't get scared, they get immersed.
Henry Nelson
You have to build something before you can break it. The characters have to matter before they can be destroyed. The story has to draw the players in before it can affect them. And the threat has to be built up before it is explained and maybe overcome.
Jace Lopez
A while back I came up with a step-by-step based on my own experience.
>step 1; give the PCs a clear and relatively simple goal, you can only be scared when you have something to lose, the PCs need a goal they want to achieve so that there's tension when it's threatened.
>step 2; introduce threats, start to imply that something is working against the character, increase the overtness of these slowly, for however long it takes for them to catch on.
>step 3; introduce a clock, now that the players know there is a threat, make them aware of the time limit they're now acting under to complete their goal.
>step 4; the final confrontation, once you feel the tension has reached appropriate levels the threat directly confronts the PCs, exactly how this encounter will work depends on what system you're running
>step 5; conclusion, either the PCs complete their goal or they're failed, if you're intending on continuing the campaign further then make sure there's some loose end, if they lost then someone survived to tell their tale, if they won then the underlying threat remains and must be faced again
there is also what I consider my golden rule: the PCs should be able to win. If the players have no hope then they won't care about the outcome, if they don't care about the outcome then they won't feel the tension. Cultivate hope just as much as fear.
Jack Wilson
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