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10 months ago ::
Aug 12, 2012 - 9:52PM
#11
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Date Joined:
Aug 11, 2012
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Make every magic item have negative effects. These should mostly be mild, and not directly affect their effectiveness.
1. An item could slowly change the skin/hair color of the user, needing as many days unequipped as it was used, for the change to be undone.
2. A strong item could have a masculinity/femininity curse while on the person.
3. Effects that mimic disgusting diseases and undeath would be particularly dark.
4. Armor that tries to equip itself while the owner is sleeping.
5. Dream encounters which leave real world effects. A sleeping PC could dream of fighting a monster, then wake up with some of the injuries from the battle (keep the fight short, so the other players do not get bored).
6. Enemies which destroy magic are always feared by a party. This is also a good way to encourage players to avoid a fight and find a different way to overcome the encounter. Connecting such battles to a specific smell can be fun. My players feared the smell of cinnamon so much that they would avoid bakeries while in cities.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 13, 2012 - 10:04PM
#12
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Date Joined:
May 30, 2010
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Anybody have some particularly good music to give an atmosphere? I've been looking around, haven't found the piece that just clicks for me yet.
Btw, the candy part actually made me chuckle a bit. Seems like it would have been fun to play in XD
Granted I finished Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which makes me think that would be a bit more of a relief.
Amnesia pretty much inspired me to make this part a horror adventure.
Gothic Vampires From Hell & Covered in Goth It is a 2-pack CD, the tracks you want are the instrumental ones which are tracks 14+. Some very good, creepy instrumental music.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 14, 2012 - 2:05AM
#13
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Date Joined:
May 14, 2010
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Anybody have some particularly good music to give an atmosphere? I've been looking around, haven't found the piece that just clicks for me yet.
Oh god, you have to do b movie quality music or I'll cry.
Look up background music for elvira or cryptkeeper.
Grab music from castlevania games.
Spinal music from Killer Instinct gradually speeds up.
Grab some quiet chanting from another language. Native American and Latin are the iconic choices.
Pretty much every castlevania background music.
Doom is a great source of music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK4RQg9kEZU&feat...
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10 months ago ::
Aug 14, 2012 - 1:46PM
#14
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Anybody have some particularly good music to give an atmosphere? I've been looking around, haven't found the piece that just clicks for me yet.
Oh god, you have to do b movie quality music or I'll cry.
Look up background music for elvira or cryptkeeper.
Grab music from castlevania games.
Spinal music from Killer Instinct gradually speeds up.
Grab some quiet chanting from another language. Native American and Latin are the iconic choices.
Pretty much every castlevania background music.
Doom is a great source of music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK4RQg9kEZU&feat...
Hadn't thought of Castlevania, though the only tracks that I'd thought were spooky were the music from the Abandoned Mine and Catacombs (can't recall the exact BGM titles) from Symphony of the Night... and perhaps the music from Castlevania 64's Villa.
As for music, I can't say I know too much that would be good... most I could suggest is Nox Arcana, but they've got an absolute load of stuff from quite a few different concept albums, so I can't say for sure what would work. You could also try searching for "dark ambient" music on YouTube or somesuch... though I myself haven't done that so I don't know what will come up, but the genre sounds promising.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 14, 2012 - 10:04PM
#15
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2012
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Anybody have some particularly good music to give an atmosphere? I've been looking around, haven't found the piece that just clicks for me yet.
Oh god, you have to do b movie quality music or I'll cry.
Look up background music for elvira or cryptkeeper.
Grab music from castlevania games.
Spinal music from Killer Instinct gradually speeds up.
Grab some quiet chanting from another language. Native American and Latin are the iconic choices.
Pretty much every castlevania background music.
Doom is a great source of music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK4RQg9kEZU&feat...
Hadn't thought of Castlevania, though the only tracks that I'd thought were spooky were the music from the Abandoned Mine and Catacombs (can't recall the exact BGM titles) from Symphony of the Night... and perhaps the music from Castlevania 64's Villa.
As for music, I can't say I know too much that would be good... most I could suggest is Nox Arcana, but they've got an absolute load of stuff from quite a few different concept albums, so I can't say for sure what would work. You could also try searching for "dark ambient" music on YouTube or somesuch... though I myself haven't done that so I don't know what will come up, but the genre sounds promising.
The mentioning of Nox Arcana/Midnight Syndicate pleases me. If I may toss a few in... I recommend a game in the Doom family, QUAKE! (Trent Reznor did the soundtracks, very epically!) Also, Amnesia The Dark Descent has some great amnient tracks that are great for an eerie mood. Not to mention, survival horror classics like Silent Hill and Resident Evil series. If you avoid the obvious/nostalgic tracks, there's some great ambient goodies here too 
Edit: I need to read more... most of these are already mentioned! Well, in that case, I'll toss in another one! NIGHTMARE HOUSE 2, an epic mod for GMod with a cool soundtrack! Very creepy! Check it out! nh2.wecreatestuff.com/
Disgruntled ghost of the Knights of W.T.F.
(Keep D&D alive, end the edition wars!)
"And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Disclaimer: Most of my posts are based on opinions (and are sometimes humorous, other times inspirational)
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10 months ago ::
Aug 15, 2012 - 7:08PM
#16
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STEP 1
Have the party come across the ghost of baby whose hands and feet have been removed. A thorough search of the area reveals the skeleton of the baby in one location and the feet and hand bones in another. A proper burial will put her soul (and ghost) to rest. If ignored, players are haunted and cannot get a peaceful extended rest.
Later...
STEP 2
Have the party come across the ghost of a young girl quiety sobbing. Since it is underground, the girl thinks she can't see because it's dark. When they see her face, the party realizes that her eyes have been cut out. The girl tasked them to find her mommy. She doesn't realize that she's dead. Once again, a proper burial is required. Comfort and a proper burial will put her soul (and ghost) to rest. If ignored, players are haunted and cannot get a peaceful extended rest.
Later...
STEP 3
Have the party come across the ghost of a teenage girl breathing laboriuosly. She has a quest to put her to rest but cannot communicate due to her entire lower jaw and tongue missing. She can nod yes and shake her head no. She resembles the same girl from step 2, and there is something else familiar about the girl that they cannot identify because they cannont get a good veiw of her face. A proper burial will put her soul (and ghost) to rest. If ignored, players are haunted and cannot get a peaceful extended rest.
Later...
STEP 4
Have the party come across the ghost of one of the female characters in the party. The left side of her body looks burned, withered, and deformed. All partymembers realize that she is the same person as the ghosts in steps 1-3. She points at the the character (herself) and weeps. Once again, a proper burial will put her soul (and ghost) to rest.
Unfortunately, the character is not dead yet.
Take it from there.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 16, 2012 - 9:34AM
#17
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Date Joined:
Jan 20, 2011
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Make PC's uncomfortable? Simple: DM naked. On a more serious note, take common ordinary things and stand them on their heads. Things like:
- Mother animals/monsters consuming their young.
- Carnivorous livestock.
- A locale where the children are obviously in charge.
- Ever see those "3 monkeys" statues? See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil? Hands covering the appropriate organs? Lose the hands. Eyes gouged, ears nailed closed, lips sewn shut.
- Merchants and innkeepers who are more interested in making the PC's go away than in acquiring their money.
- Rapid decay. Armor rusts, jewelry tarnishes, potions smell like spoiled meat. Attempts to clean or maintain only make it worse.
- Undead servants. Kinda off-putting if the rotting waiter drops a thumb in your soup.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 17, 2012 - 1:16PM
#18
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I don't know the maturity of your players but I am playing a vampire campaign where I sometimes feel like creeping the party vamps out. We are very mature though and all of us over 20 so don't do this in a highschool game I guess :P I use handouts for certain things, of which some are nightmares during their sleep-time.
- I threatened one of the girls with rape by another PC (me a girl so may be a bit more intimidating if you're a guy) to which she only woke just 'in time' (no sexual description given, just being tied up and watching the guy undo his belt)
- I made one of the guys throw a fit and kill his mentor (he's voluntarily contaminated himself with something that makes him bigger and stronger but then takes over sometimes.. I figured he'd say no to it when I offered but he accepted and welcomed my roleplay with him on this).
- I poisoned one of the NPCs that nurtured them and kept them safe (5 years of intermittent campaigning, was in there for almost 4,5 years and was a reverend I picked out of one of their backgrounds, they really came to love this guy) and left him near death on their lawn - they saved him in the end, but were really shaken by this - how dare the enemies take out one of their own!
I actually am a nice girl believe it or not  In short: ways to creep out your players: - take away control from them for a short while and then not have anything bad happen ( whew that was close!) - build their trust with fluff (VERY IMPORTANT: use only fluff! So don't take away something that they thought they would hold onto forever): with your NPCs, locations for them to be safe etc. Then feel free to maim that trust in scary ways and only with things that they can't directly explain/make sure it won't get them too (OMG! look what happened to Harry.. He was standing right next to me.. What the..!) DO NOT mess with the essence of their characters without their consent. In the case of damaging a location/NPC: give them options to rebuild, or heal/help/save their NPCs once they come to like them. Also, either give them time to do this or an immediate way to strike out or go after who/whatever did it - they most likely will.
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10 months ago ::
Aug 18, 2012 - 5:50AM
#19
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Date Joined:
Mar 10, 2011
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First off, this game is 3.5, but as I understand this forum is currently edition-neutral....
...For the most part, it seems the terror is in descriptions. Specifically, the little girl who turns to face you, her eyes are missing while the holes are encircled by dried blood that seems to seep down to her chin. Real blood drops to the ground in the dead silence, before she begins to scream at you. Oh, and Slenderman.
Yes, I think that all the best stuff in this forum is edition-neutral: the advice on managing player expectations, resolving social problems out of game after putting the dice down, delivering engaging stories and settings to the players, and all the other good stuff you just can't assign stat blocks to or throw dice at.
For music, I usually like to suggest the soundracks from the Quake, Diablo, Undying, and Alice video games, some of the earlier music by Mortiis, Neptune Towers, bits and pieces of the soundtracks from films like Suspiria, The Fog, Phantasm, The Thing, Alien, The Exorcist, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and NASA recordings of radiation from planets like Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Saturn converted into sound.
If you are interested, I created an edition-neutral (and, indeed, setting- and system-neutral) group on this site, dedicated to DMing horror-themed or -flavored games with an emphasis on storytelling and atmosphere. Anyone interested in that sort of thing is absolutely welcome to join and participate: (link)
New DM Tips
Show
- Trying to solve out-of-game problems (like cheating, bad attitudes, or poor sportsmanship) with in-game solutions will almost always result in failure, and will probably make matters worse.
- Gun Safety Rule #5: Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy. (Never introduce a character, PC, NPC, Villain, or fate of the world into even the possibility of a deadly combat or other dangerous situation, unless you are prepared to destroy it instantly and completely forever.)
- Know your group's character sheets, and check them over carefully. You don't want surprises, but, more importantly, they are a gold mine of ideas!
- "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's a problem if the players aren't having fun and it interferes with a DM's ability to run the game effectively; if it's not a problem, 'fixing' at best does little to help, and at worst causes problems that didn't exist before.
- "Hulk Smash" characters are a bad match for open-ended exploration in crowds of civilians; get them out of civilization where they can break things and kill monsters in peace.
- Success is not necessarily the same thing as killing an opponent. Failure is not necessarily the same thing as dying.
- Failure is always an option. And it's a fine option, too, as long as failure is interesting, entertaining, and fun!
"Broken or not, unbalanced or not, if something seems to be preventing the game from being enjoyable, something has to give: either that thing, or other aspects of the game, or your idea of what's enjoyable." - Centauri
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10 months ago ::
Aug 18, 2012 - 7:46AM
#20
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Nice link YronimosW. Good stuff.
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