Creating Fear
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Compiled from various posts on rec.games.frp.dnd.
This document can be found at http://www.zioth.com/roleplay


Don't kill the PCs.
Be prepared to hurt them -- no idle threats.
Build off what the *players*, not the *characters* feel strongly about.
Use things that are good in narrative form.
Read horror: Foreshadowing, pacing.
Go slow. Players will torture themselves.
Hide information, so the players make up their own ideas.
Avoid combat, because it turns the horror into a bunch of numbers.
Have stuff happen around the PCs more often than to them: loved ones
 or friends threatened, have them see the effects of the horror on
 others (severely changes a friend, etc).
Contrasts -- lots of light, followed by darkness is good.
Roll lots of dice, + look like you're consulting some chart of horrors.
 Make PCs think something us up, even when it isn't.
Give old monsters new abilities. Regular monsters will seem scarier.
Mix comedy and horror, to keep them off-guard for the next assault, or
 always on-guard against trivialities.