Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gat 08-12-05, 03:05 AM	Tell some cool situation that i could make situation for them to fear in the campaign
otto333 08-12-05, 03:29 AM	You could make them have to run from a moving wall with spikes coming towards them, in a rectangular room. They would have to flee onto a ledge that was 2 ft wide that goes onwards like 30 ft (still in the room) with 50 km\h winds trying to push them off, and if they fall they land in a wierd pool that drains thier lvl by d4. at the end there is a door to safety away from the moving wall.
Dunelord 08-12-05, 03:37 AM	They are exploreing a dungeon at mid levels. They see a draco lich running at them, max speed with smoke pouring off it's body. It ignores them and flys off into the night saying "Run for you lives!" Around the corner comes a little blond human girl with big green eyes in blue sun dress who says "He wouldn't be my freind, will you be my freind?"
Hugin 08-12-05, 10:32 AM	I've found that the best way to instill fear into players is to not have them see their foe for a little while. Use clues, sounds, conflicting rumours, smells; keep them guessing and uneasy.
Patryn Runner 08-12-05, 02:07 PM	The best way IMO is to make them feel helpless/put them in a situation in which they feel helpless. A few sessions ago my PCs were on a ship crossing a sea where many mysterious beasts have been sighted. In the middle of the night (after all of them had gone to sleep) one of the PCs awoke to find that their cabin was rapidly filling with water. He was a wizard with an 8 STR, no ranks in swim and a crummy fortitude save and the actual player screamed "WAKE UP!!!" to everyone in my basement. Long story short: the ship sank, the wizard held onto a brute barbarian, but the PCs were still stranded out in the middle of a sea with no land in sight and only the dark murky depths below them. They had just started to make checks for endurance and some characters were gulping in large amounts of water when an early morning fisherman rescued them. Afterwards nobody had died, I awarded experience heavily for various ingenuities but all of my PCs were pretty angry that I scared them like that.
shaan888 08-12-05, 03:13 PM	tell them they will blow up if they dont move ;) ;)
Elrana 08-12-05, 06:14 PM	Let them make a good leap of logic to follow a plot hook that was a little obscure. As they approach the cave/dungeon/mansion and the enemy reveal themselves say "well, you've skipped a bit of the plot, I expected you to be a couple of levels higher when you met this gang of nasties, but seeing as you're here anyway, let's roll initiative..." :)
otto333 08-12-05, 07:00 PM	You could put them in a hot air balloon drifting above a huge army of thousands of deamons. The hot air balloon would start to sink down to the army. There would be no more sandbags on the balloon. 1 of them would have to jump out in order to save the others. The PCs would then draw straws. This would be a very tense moment. ;)
Laranis Callirr 08-12-05, 07:09 PM	Fear does not necessarily have to come from situations where combat is seemingly difficult. Create an enthralling atmosphere, and add to that with vivid descriptions. Make the adventure venues gruesome and chilling, then add some background music. Make them fear the unknown. If you can find it, I suggest you read Stephen King's short story, Salem's Lot. It'll give you an idea of what I mean.
WCH 08-12-05, 07:16 PM	Step one: kill a PC early in the campaign; this will let the group know that you don't pull punches. Don't just go psycho on them and kill them all the time, or they'll think you're a jerk, but make sure at least one PC has died at some point. Step two: suspense. Sit there and smile at them for a few seconds before continuing the game at regular intervals. Roll dice in secret and smile at the results. If they ask, deadpan and don't answer. Give them hints of stuff, but never the entirety of what they're dealing with. Step three: devious traps and enemies. If the PCs think that there could be a trap anywhere, they'll be worried that anything they do could kill them -- maybe there are only two traps in the entire dungeon, but the PCs don't know that. Step three point five: don't let them take their time. Make them rush their decisions, not take 20, etc. Result is that they're on edge, thinking that any second now death could come... the concept isn't that death does come, but that it could.
Discordia 08-12-05, 07:27 PM	Illusions are always a fun way to ratchet up the tension. Easiest way: send a powerful illusion of an extremely large monster with a CR that's 10 or so ranks higher than the highest level party member. It's even better if its a monster the players know is immune to their weapons. Or, create an illusory monster with a breath weapon or a gaze attack and put the players in a narrow hallway opposite the creature. Ultimately, though, the best way to scare the players is via a little clever metagaming. My old group knew me as a sadist who probably wouldn't kill them, but would bring them to the brink of death and keep them there for long periods of time. Because of this, they would get really freaked out when I would look at my notes or roll some dice and just start laughing maniacally. More often than not, the real danger was a good half an hour away. I just liked to let them sweat a bit. Sometimes I'd even tell them things days in advance, knowing they'd talk to each other and start imagining really horrible things. If this sounds cruel, it's only because you don't know my group. Trust me, they had it coming.
DorsetDas 08-12-05, 07:45 PM	How about just look at them and grin when they make a decision!!! ;)
Drath'ri 08-14-05, 05:59 PM	better yet mid to high level.... they enter a dungeon and after a short while of adventuring they come into an open chamber 100ft by 600ft the can only walk 5ft to either side (the hallway is flanked by permanant walls of force that go all the way down the lenght of the hall way) on the othersides of the walls of force are two great red wyrms. trust me it creeps them out
drakintana 08-14-05, 09:34 PM	Send them into a cave about 1000'x1000' and a couple hundred feet high. Now have hundreds of permanent deeper darkness spells laid across the entire cavern. Now if they try to dispell it or bring daylight into the area they still won't be able to see anything. Coat the entire floor with skeletons of various creatures. Remember they still can't see anything so they will only know that they are stepping on crunchy things that are obviously not rocks. To top it off you send a creature that relies on sound or something else that has blindsight at them. Also make it so that they cannot turn back. And for the cherry on top ask the fighter for a will save, the wizard for a reflex save, and the rogue for a fort save. :D
20goingon1232 08-14-05, 10:42 PM	I just sit there with this half-smile on my face when they make a decision. Two of my players would go "Ah crap! We did the wrong thing! We made the wrong decision, didn't we?" Another would go "We are going to die. He's got something evil planned. We are doomed!" I would just shrug and continue. I have already killed one of them, and another has been knocked to -ves at least once, if not three times in every session. A third has been KO'd twice. They maybe have a valid fear there ;)
imperialjunkie 08-14-05, 10:56 PM	I just sit there with this half-smile on my face when they make a decision. Two of my players would go "Ah crap! We did the wrong thing! We made the wrong decision, didn't we?" Another would go "We are going to die. He's got something evil planned. We are doomed!" I would just shrug and continue. Yes. The effect of a DM's smile is wonderfully fun to watch.
Unca_Laguna 08-14-05, 11:16 PM	I managed to scare my players during our last session. I had been playing Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory so I made a mission where the party had to infiltrate a bathhouse to eavesdrop on or disrupt a meeting of enemies. here's what happend from my perspective: I rolled randomly for the encounters and came up with a hound archon. I like a challenge so I started thinking, "why would a hound archon be in a bathhouse full of evil people?" I decided that the archon had taken it upon himself to guard the ladies bath against peeping toms. here's what happened from the player's perspective: our rogue moves to a window at the back of the bathhouse and climbs the wall to peek in. rogue:i rolled a 15, do I climb the wall? DM:yes rogue:what do I see? DM:a great red hand. rogue:? DM:a great red hand thrusts out the window and shoves you from the wall, you take 4 damage. :D rogue: OMG WTF? DWAA? :confused: from there on, all of the PCs were afraid to enter the ladies bath. the only one who would go in was the one guy who ran a female character. :rolleyes:
Gat 08-19-05, 03:13 AM	Thanks for the advises
The_EvilDungeon_Master 08-19-05, 04:21 AM	When in combat and its the enemies turn: DM: "Soo... [Player Name] How much health do you have left? PC: "Er, 16, why? Dungeon Master procedes to roll a few dice, then bursts out laughing maniacally. Then, just sits there with a huge grin on their face. DM: :D "No reason.. Puts the fear of god in to them every time, provided you don't use it too often. ;)
hollow_ghost 08-25-05, 09:41 AM	Asking a player about his long dead master's description. Ok, nothing scary there. Add in the fact that the player read R.A. Salvatore's Exile from Forgotten Realms. DM: ''Can you describe how your master was? player: ''Yes... Oh no! Please don't Zincarla him on me!'' DM: ''Umm... Never tought of that...'' player: ''Aww f***'' I was aiming for making a sentient weapon with his soul in it. :D
Ulrich Valdemont 08-25-05, 10:05 AM	Little hints of danger always do the trick, and then: DM: What do you do Player: I'll open the door DM: Are you sure? Player: Eh... DM: I'd never thought you would, ok, let's see.... eh ..... yes it WOULD be interesting ..... * looks through notes, opens MM, starts roling dice * Ok, proceed. You open the door, where is everybody? A CE-alligned city that is difficult to get in but imposible to get out is also known to cause fear. DM: Make a spot Player: 14 DM: You notice you're the only Elf in sight. The Orcs who where cutting meat of a dead horse are now looking at you. The biggest one starts to smile. Do you speak Orc?
TheErsatzFacsimileOfMe 08-25-05, 10:08 AM	I typically just pick up dice and start rolling them...that gets my players' attention.
LCD2YOU 08-25-05, 10:24 AM	Especially if you can get away with it, lower the lights in the room and use small, individual lighting for the players and yourself. Have the light be from below so everyone ends up looking like a villian. (Try it. Take a flashlight and in front of a large mirror and light's out, have a flashlight shining up on your face from below. It works). When the PCs are in what would be a scary situation, face it how many here would go into some old tomb when undead are real, don't forget to add the flavor texts at maximum. "Yes, as you descend down the spiral staircase, you look back to see the shadows swallow up your link to the outside would and sunlight". Keep that stuff up and be EXPRESSIVE AND FORCEFUL when the bad guys attack them. All that and a lack of light will make the players' imaginations start running wild.
Esgay 08-25-05, 10:56 AM	I find gas spores (beholder-shaped plant from lords of madness) put the fear of god into low-level metagaming parties, Makes them wonder why at level 3 they are facing a beholder, is it an illusion? are we meant to run? what do you mean it exploded? beholders don't do that! spores? what? hehehe, priceless
chrushinator 08-25-05, 05:09 PM	in the game i run, i've given the players forewarning that i play by the book and don't fudge my rolls. they frequently encounter massive challenges, and if they don't play smart people die. for example: at level 3, the bard of the group began the innitive round against a Hydra (CR5). he decided to charge in (literally), and died in one round. if the players know that even though you're really not out to get them, that you're simply building challenges that they may or may not want to get involved with, and that you will under no circumstances pull your punches - well, trust me, they tread lightly. couple this with the fact that any character who plays in my game begins at lvl1 and you have a terrified group of PCs.
ShadowDragon8685 08-26-05, 02:39 AM	Wow, sounds about as fun as volunteering to be a sadomaschoist's victim. As for striking the fear of GOD/DESS/E/S into the players, here's one. Next time you have someone killed by a recurring villian in their sight, preferably while the villian is invisible, describe the person's high-pitched, blood-curdling scream of pain, describe them arched back in agonoy, hovering about four inches off the ground, while giant splats and geysers and floods of blood, far more than a human should contain, enough to easily obscure vision and get blood up to 15 feet away, explode out of the victim. Then say they find him or her laying on the ground, with nary a mark on him. White as sheet, and bone-dry, but not shriveled at all...... :evillaugh THAT will scare the bejeebers out of them.... Y'know, I think I'ma write that up as a spell. [edit] Done! Geyser of Blood Necromancy (compulsion) [evil, mind-effecting] Level: Brd 4, Sor/Wiz 5 Components: S Casting Time: Immideate action Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels) Target: One creature which has just been slain or nearly slain. Duration: Instantanious Saving Throw: Will negates, Fort Negates, see text. Spell Resistance: Yes When any creature within range has been slain or nearly slain (reduced to between 0 and -10) by actions of you or someone else, you may use this spell as a swift action which does draw an attack of opportunity. The targeted person dies instantly if they fail their save (if they were slain outright by the attack, they get no save, ) and floats four inches off the ground, bending back and emitting a horrible, high-pitched blood-curdling scream of tremendous pain. Blood explodes from them in fountains, geysers, and giant splats, far more than their body could hold by volume which fill a 15 foot radius, +5 for each size catagory above Medium (no penalty for Small or smaller creatures.) This spell serves several effects. All creatures in the area must succeed on a will save or be Fascinated by the person's death, staring in revulsion and unable to act or look away, for the three rounds it takes for them to die. The area filled by blood is so thick with flying red that it blocks all vision, granting total concealment to anyone within it's area, as well as anyone behind it. Anyone caught in the area of the emulsion must succeed a Fortitude save or be Sickened for 1d4 rounds after the Fascination ends, or immideately if they succeeded the Fascination throw. If the creature was not slain by you, the DC takes a -2 penalty. In addition, anyone who knows that a spell has been used is granted a +6 on the Will save. Anyone familar with previous castings of the spell gains a +2 on their will save - these effects are culmative. When the spell ends, the corpse is laying in the center of the pool of blood on the ground, with no injuries, even those sustained before they died, or even long ago injuries that scared over. The corpse is in pristine form, nude, and laying with arms folded over chest. There is no blood or moisture within the body, and no blood sticks to it. They do not appear to suffer from dehydration. Personally, if the players were hanging on my every word as I described it, I'd say they failed their will saves automatically. Bwahaaha!
hollow_ghost 08-29-05, 12:09 AM	DM to party: ''You enter a dark room where you can distinguish hundreds, maybe thousands, of grey shapes surrounding you, expressing an opressing aura. Roll initiative.'' The shapes are bricks.
sabbattack 09-20-05, 02:30 AM	I like this thread! Keep'em coming guys!
Kelnozz Kenafin 09-25-05, 03:49 PM	just look at them as they make an important decision, laugh and quickly stop, as though you couldn't help yourself and just gave something away...works every time....MWUAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!
SwitchUK 09-25-05, 04:02 PM	two words: "...you sure?"
LordHumungus 09-25-05, 04:10 PM	I always keep a reference sheet handy with players Attack Bonuses, Saving Throws, HP's and any other pertinent facts I may need. As an alternative to rolling dice myself, single out a player and tell him to roll a d20, consult the sheet for a moment and give a small chuckle/smirk. When the player asks what happened, say that he doesn't notice anything unusual or see anything happen.
AlphaSquirell 09-25-05, 04:30 PM	two words: "...you sure?" That's a REAL good one. Others: Lots and lots of Listen/Spot checks. (more Listen if underground, a few more spot aboveground) Randomly remove their light source at night/underground. (slight breeze works) Room filled with invisible walls. (like a labrynth, but you can't SEE the walls) Then add SOMETHING they don't want to fight. (they KNOW it is there, but don't know how to get to it, or how to avoid it) Shake your head every now and then and mutter to yourself. (what you say doesn't matter, but "they shouldn't have touched that" or "this isn't going good" usually works) Have them run into someone insane. (example, PCs find a really nice necklace in a dungeon. Randomly, a halfling rogue comes running around a corner, as if it is fleeing something. Upon seeing them, he runs away, simply because he is insane/scared. Make it obvious to the PCs, however, that he took a look at the necklace before he screamed. They think "cursed item" while it had NOTHING to do with the item itself, maybe the halfling didn't like gold...)
Argon_Asimov 09-25-05, 07:25 PM	I didn't notice for a long time, but one of my players finally pointed out that before anything really bad happens, I flip through my 3-ring binder for about 30 seconds. I've since learned to put monster or NPC stats on index cards / get certain documents ready before hand, etc., but I still use this tactic to make the players think something terrible is about to happen. Its great, I look, down, start randomly flipping pages, and suddenly they start drawing up marching order and bickering about who should go first, and asking the cleric how many heal spells she has left. Generally, I use this time to think about my next course of action or dialogue, or find something I'm going to need soon. :)