In my 18 years of gaming I have been fortunate enough to play with some cracking GM's. As a firm fan of Cthulhu and similar games I have played in a number of sessions which frankly have been very good and terrifying. I have also sat through some real dross. The one thing I have learnt is that good horror is very hard to do. Action games are simple, all you have to do is provide enough gooks to face off against, but to achieve a genuine emotional response in the character you have to get the same emotional response in the players. And that is not easy to do.
There are a number of different types of horror prevalent in media today and to be fair I should consider all of these in this work. So here goes....
Splatter
Popularised by such films as Friday 13th part 4; where to be scary they simply throw round a lot of blood. For the most part these are so OTT as to be laughable. Obviously it is very easy to run such a game. All you need is a number of expendable NPC's to provide the blood; may be the odd serial killer or two to do the cutting, and a bunch of PC's with wellies to wade through the carnage.
Such games are simple in sla where all the above are readily available. [except may be the wellies - I suggest 1c a pair- available in assorted colours from Fat Jacks Wellies Shack- 32 Dunlop street, Sector 5, Uptown]. There that's splatter done :)
Detecting success: Are the PC's and NPC's wading around in pools of blood with a body count that would put Rambo:First blood II to shame?
Being fair a moment. A toned down action version of 'splatter' can make a good one off Red or White. A nice 'sealed room' death situation to investigate where the players are just as legitimate target as the NPCs. As exemplified by Jo bob guide to drive in movies- "No one is safe". Just have spare NPCs available to hand to players who have their characters "deleted" early on.
If you can have a stooge PC doing the killing - all the better. To hide the suspicious actions of the killer early in the game, encourage "Note wars", or taking players out of the room whenever the characters are off on their own.Psychological
A good example of this is the film "The Nanny." No blood, No Gore, only one death and that happens years before the film starts. Instead what you get is the emotional view point of a child placed in the care of a woman he believes is a murderer.
What we are looking at here is getting an emotional response from your players. Setting the game in such away that they identify with the characters and feel the fear, disgust or what ever that their characters are experience.
Be honest your normal gaming room is unlikely to be a scary place (unless you have access to some very strange gaming rooms). Even with the light turned down and a few sound effects to set the mood, some how you have to invoke a feeling in the players, and the only method available is the way you describe the situations the characters are in.
- Using something that you know one of your players has a marked response to.
I have a player that has arachnophobia - thus I can easily get a reaction from her by mentioning "Glistening black, long chitinous legs" However there are 3 major problems with this approach:
- It's only going to effect one player. Ok their panic can be infectious but if the others in the room do not have the same phobia it is going to go flat with others in the game
- The player in question is not going to thank you for it. Although occasionally during play as a GM you are bound to accidentally touch on some 'problem' a player has, using it repeatedly can be unpleasant and embarrassing for the player in question. And such things stop the games being fun.
- Frankly. Its too easy.
- GM induced paranoia
The old - "Make a detect roll.....Ah that's ok forget it" Trick.
Or more subtly is to take a player/ small group out of the room to describe to them something only they will know. Just make it clear how much of the info they have can be passed on. Having a player walk in and say "Hey guys I'm possessed." can be a bit of a plot spoiler.Trouble it this gets old really quick, and is easily over used. Eventually your players won't care. It has its place but should only be used sparingly.
- Mimicking the fear
Think back to the last time you were scared. Last time you had to walk down an alley where people had been mugged or something similar. Some time where the 'threat' was invisible and possibly not even there, but the thought got the adrenaline racing.
This is the emotion you are trying to recreate in your players.
To achieve this you have to work backwards. Think of the effects such fear has on your senses and awareness. By describing the characters experiences in this way the players will experience the world as their characters do in that heightened state.So What effects does fear have and how can you use them?
Fear heightens your senses.
You become more aware of your surroundings - thus the characters are more aware. To mimic this describe everything and in detail. "Describe" rather than "state" is the important thing here, especially with the mundane around them: Its not a safe door, it's a "Large metallic door, 4 inch thick with a foot wide metal wheel which turns to lock 6 inch thick steel bolts into the sold metal frame." Remember its not just sight; Sound especially is important. Rather than having the players hear "foot steps" you state "A distant repetitive thud, with slight chink noises." Also do not neglect smells. However again try to avoid stating the obvious. Rather than "You smell swamp" Think of the smells that might make up a "swamp" - Rotting vegetation, decaying fish, methane?There are a couple advantages to this approach.
For one it gets you players thinking, when their brains start working to puzzle out these simple clues as to what is going on around them, they are more likely to start to speculating on how such events fit together. They are more likely to start getting paranoid as they leap to the wrong- or may be right- conclusions.
For another is is easier to hide the strange in the mundane. For example, if you have been describing the shadows playing across the window from the trees, to step the finger like shadows into the room is only a small movement. The players may eventually start to ask themselves how, or if, the trees have moved.
And finally. When your players guess right they can feel smart and good about themselves, and in a intense game such minor victories are no bad thing.Fear distorts you perception of time and space.
The longer explanations will help here, also if a character has to traverse a space which may be appear 'dangerous' - even if you know it is not - let them feel the distance. Suddenly its a long corridor with dark doors on all sides. Get them to explain to you exactly how they are going to get from one end to the other. This gets the players concentrating on the details too.
Make them wait. If the squad has split up use the change over to dealing with the other part of the team to leave the victims pondering over the situation they have left themselves in.
Sudden changes of pace. If things have been going quickly, suddenly slow things down to describe some detail of the events. Remember in your heightened state even little things can shock. When its slow and quiet, make them jump. Banging on the table to indicate a door has just been kicked open is perfectly acceptable - unless you are playing with some one with a heart conditions, but you have to question to wisdom of an intense horror game at all in those cases :)- Fear is infectious
Have the NPC's they meet afraid. Show it in the way they talk and act. Tim's game Sla-con 01 saw 7 experience gamers playing 7 experienced operatives barricade them selves in a bed room over night based wholly on the attitudes of the NPC's - we didn't even see the 'monster' until after this event. [ok being briefed by Mr Albert Shiney's twin brother probably didn't help]
- Slow revelation of the truth
Remember how scary Jaws is before you see the tacky plastic shark?
Allow them to glimpse of the horror of each situation a bit at the time. A shadow here, a blood trail there will be far more effective than the finally nasty just appearing before them. Think about what is worse - Hearing the blood curdling scream and finding the body or hearing the blood curdling scream and not finding the body? Spending the rest of the adventure wondering where the victim is? Wondering if may be they are still alive waiting to be rescued?- Challenge their assumptions
Some times you are faced with players who know or have guessed what is going on (Guilty as charged Guv!) This can be a problem as such confidence can under mine the horror. The trick is to be flexible, Be prepared to change the plot to throw them of the scent. if need be. If at any point before the final encounter they look like they might have sussed what is going on don't worry about changing reality :) After all until the wave form is collapsed, How will they know if schrodinga's cat is dead?
Detecting success. "My players are pissing themselves laughing - I don't think they are scared."
Remember laughter is natures way of not going mad. If they need to defuse things this much then you have won. Regular calls for drinks/ toilet breaks and pleas for "Mummy" are a fair indication that you have to tone right. However recall this is meant to be fun. If it is obviously getting to some one, back off for a while and given them a little victory - Finding some victim alive so they can feel that they are winning might help.Gothic Horror
It's important to recall that gothic horror - example by Frankenstein and the lair of the white worm, was born from the abandonment of mans humanity in the face of the scientific age. As a result the horror comes from with in, and this should evolve from the actions of the characters rather than the NPC's.
As a Ref your job is to manipulate the players so their characters "perform". A subtle corruption is required, lead the characters on a slow and slippery slope where each next step seems logical and minor. Play it calm because if you go too quickly then this will not work. You may have to back of if they are getting suspicious.
Played correctly they will eventually be doing things that at the start of the campaign they would have been repulsed by. Then all it takes is a NPC well place comment to make them spot how far they have descended into the corruption. Or may be present them with a BPN at the beginning with they reject as to OTT, but accept later in the campaign, when it is very slightly reworded.
This style works perfectly for SLA campaigns but is less suited to a one off adventure where time is too short for the corruption to be subtle.
Detecting success: "Boy did we really do that?"
In summary.
Like all games it is important to tone what you are doing to your players. Some will enjoy Psychological horror, others will find it too intense. Some players will happily run down the slippery slope of Gothic Horror with out any qualms, and thus loose the point. No doubt they will enjoy the game but it will not be horror if they don't get the response at the end..
Unlike action games where all you have to do it given them something to shoot, or investigation where you just need a mystery for them to solve, with horror games you are playing with people emotions - or it will not work. Be aware players - being people- have phobia and psychosis and it can be all too easy to actually scare someone- and then it stops being fun. Keep a careful eye on how they are reacting and back off is some one looking genuinely uncomfortable.
That said a well run horror session can be a amazingly memorable experience and worth a try - If you have the guts to do it.
If this gives you any good sessions, why not write them up and enter the horrify Sue comp.
Mail me with you ideas and comments
Sla-net needs your wop!