Not everyone showed up the other night for one of our gaming sessions. So me and another that did show up began discussing things. We looked over one gaming text that I had collected that was supposedly a fantasy/horror mix. The game came across as pure munchkin, but our comments about what was found made for good conversation.

Finally, we both agreed that whoever wrote the book had no idea of horror. The fantasy elements were abundant, but nothing that was horror. Even the monsters were fantasy staples, and not what we considered creatures of horror.

We mentioned our own problems bringing horror into role-play. It was almost impossible to generate horror to a group of people who armored up, weaponed up, magicked up, then went after the experience points. I commented that I did often try to bring horror elements to my game, but had come to be satisfied if I simply caused my characters some concern. I said that if I could just get my players to have their characters take some extra precautions, I felt that I had accomplished something. The other guy said that he would be happy with less, and since he had to put up with my smiling confident attitude as one of his players -- he was probably correct.

Role-playing does not handle horror well, because it rewards facing danger and defeating it. Real horror is best done with people that are having their status-quo disrupted, and either don't want to face any real trouble or simply desire to do what they can to survive. The best at handling horror was the old "Call of Cthulhu" game, because it actually penalized (by loss of sanity) doing all the things normal role-players would do (seek clues about the monster, then work to face it, and defeat it). It however took a group willing to alter their usual RPG mentalities to play CoC well. Modern d20 CoC is back to treating the characters as heroes, and the monsters as creatures to be bested, and really is not that scary at all.

Having said all of this, let me present my views on bringing horror into a RPG.

1) Kill people. That is right, make certain that bodies are found. Yes, they might be nothing more than farmers or merchants or sweet young children, but make certain that the party understands that what they are going to face is responsible for actually causing death.

2) Disturb the wildlife. Send normal animals, frightened and scared into the midst of the party. Bears, wolves, and such can be good opposition, but they can also let the party know that whatever they are facing is causing fear in others.

3) Creepy location. Abandoned houses, caves with dead foliage around it, marshes reeking of stagnation, and other such settings can really set the mood.

4) Creepy monsters. These do not need to be undead, but slimes, spiders, and other such creatures can help put a party on edge.

5) Wonderful lair. Make the final battle occur where the monster has the confidence of its terrain.

Note that NONE of the above options mention anything about MAJOR hit dice and doing MAJOR damage. Remember, fear of the unknown is the greatest fear. Usually, when the actual source of the fear is encountered, it isn't so bad. I am not known for killer monsters, but even so I have often caused the party to really power up in fear of what they might encounter.

Excellent post!

The most I can get out of my players is a feeling of paranoia.

My husband is running a pretty efffective horror adventure right now, but he is using elements of Lovecraft, as you mentioned.

Years ago, he DM the original Temple of Elemental Evil, giving it a real "Cthulhu" feel.

Now the "next generation" are playing in the Return to the TOEE (although he's incorporating several 1st edition modules into the whole campaign -- I'm currently playing in Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth -- and he uses the 1ed Deities & Demigods with the "Cthulhu Mythos").

And we do have a player that "ate of the fruit of Tharizdun," so he's pretty much destined to doom the party.

I actually specialize in horror and considered TA a class about the nature of horror, terror and the phenomena of fright.

There really some interesting stuff when you break down the phenomena; Freud talked about 'der heimlich' the aspect of 'the home sanctuary mentality turned against someone. The familiar turned unfamiliar. Very interesting concept so I based my lecture off that.

Haunting; the house/sanctuary, the place where you are at your most vulnerable. To have spirits this is a direct violation of the familiar; a place of respite.

The defilement of people; how many times have we seen 'deliverance' ripped off...if us fellows are lost out int he woods...we should fear the woods, not people finding us...if anything, people take us in, give us cocoa and call us a cab...however...the der heimlich twist is these people are "twisted" their comforting presence turned against us, they become a threat...

finally...what I and many think are the most frightening; possession...what is more familiar than the body? and what is more frightening then another force invading it? someone you know and love turned against you. Or someone...who isn't you, now inside your head?

Needless to say, you can see the implications...theres also different types of fear, of course. Horror is defined as the exact moment of witnessing something traumatic...terror is the state of something gripping your mind after or before the fact, which coincides well with suspense.

Good ol ravenloft used to have the fear factor, where folks would be terrorized in various states depending on what they've witnessed as an rp aid. I considering that something of a cop out, heh...true horror is a state of mind...if we can convince people of that IC and OOC...well, thats some story-telling.

And I think you list is dead on (pun only slightly intended) But we can certainly go further, heh....

But its true; were prepared for war. our characters our heroes...they may not get scared outright, but they can still be freaked out, heh.

I even ran the usual scary terrain and made it unfamilar;

the pcs discovered, after falling into an open grave and getting dragged down into the murky water, the open water logged field they were in was in fact a drowned cemetary...lacedons would pop out of the graves and pull them down into the drink...

there was also a time when they ended up under a cemetary...the corpses were dropping out of the ceiling, heh.

Most of the time...as you said, horror comes the unknown, but the frightening aspect is that heimlich twist...theres much of horror thats oddly...similar; take the wight...an archaic term for 'man' or the vampire...they appear human, they are able to, at times, appear so to alarming degree, and they still retain man-like tendancies; to feed.

Largely, it depends on mood and hence yer list. Mood...cannot be fought...it cannot be trampled upon or beaten up...it doesnt necessarily attack, but it seems to lead itself of that possibility of the known unknown; we know something bads gonna happen...but we dont know when........or what......