| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| superman300038 |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 05:52:38
I think that the mood of RPing in the Forgotten Realms is obviously, adventuresome. There are times when that mood changes, but I'd have to say thats the typcial mood. The first RP I ever did, the DM had a real 'Dark' mood so to speak. It really felt like there was an evilness in the air, and that it owned the situation. And to this day, my favorite mood to be playing in is that dark, dreary mood. So my topic here is, how is it best created?? What are things that other DMs do to create this mood, and what are things that make the players feel like this?? Ive been looking at ravenloft websites here and there, and I think that really hits the 'air of darkness' feel. I even read a book of short stories set in Ravenloft and can say that evil owned the situation. SO theres my topic, thanks in advance for any responses. |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 18 Jan 2007 : 20:44:50
quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
"hear ominous and silent footsteps".
It's a truly talented PC that can hear silent footsteps.  
You don't? I hear silent and ominous footsteps right behind me all the time! |
| Marquant Volker |
Posted - 17 Jan 2007 : 20:14:20
In my experience combat encounters disillution the creepy atmosphere, after all its the unknown that scares the players, at every session (creepy or not) its better to minimze them, better add ridles/puzzles /hiding and information gathering (not the skill). One more trick is to try to make the game more novel-like than Orthodox-DND, i dont want rule-addicts in my game table but true roleplayers (knowledge and respect of the rules is valuable of course). Make a caster cast a spell unknow to the PCs (you can make your own, or better for balance reasons use spells from Magic of Faerun and other sourcebooks (there are tons of them))or use monster from sourcebooks the PC's dont own (unfortunate my PCs knows most of MM1 monsters) and see your player's faces growing pale...
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| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 17 Jan 2007 : 17:20:11
The problem with a dark mood is players who enjoy each others company so much IC and OOC that they play their characters so funnily that even when the scary stuff happens they can make each other and myself laugh...
The smaller the group the easier it is to create such a mood, large groups of easily distracted players ... impossible to really create a moody adventure/setting |
| Wooly Rupert |
Posted - 17 Jan 2007 : 17:14:48
quote:
Originally posted by Asgetrion
"hear ominous and silent footsteps".
It's a truly talented PC that can hear silent footsteps. |
| WalkerNinja |
Posted - 17 Jan 2007 : 14:32:35
My current Moonsea campaign seems pretty dark, even in the absence of "gothic" themes. People are self-interested and uncaring about strangers, the environment constantly threatens, and battles are hard. If I had to summarize my current campaing in a word, it would be: Grim. |
| Asgetrion |
Posted - 17 Jan 2007 : 12:25:00
Grim things happening to the characters tends also to darken the mood... I don't mean any "Your sword was stolen last night" type of stuff, but actual tragedies outside game mechanics.
In one of our campaigns, Knights of the Shield killed my fiance, and sent her soul to the Abyss. Also, we explored Maaril the Dragon Mage's tower, and some of the scenes there were truly grim and nightmarish (good creatures and children impaled on hooks and pierced by hundreds of iron spikes, for example). We, the players, had to ask if our DM was feeling alright... 
Bring those some traits and events alive in your NPCs, too. Mad and evil beings can easily become silly or goofy, but if you avoid overdoing this, you end up with grim, dark and frightening beings, whom will make your players and their characters shudder...
I also agree with what other scribes have said about using descriptions and "bring the world alive". Don't overdo this, however, as it can become boring very quickly - at least, if every time your PCs enter a dark room or corridor "they feel a dark presence" or "hear ominous and silent footsteps".
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| tauster |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 17:25:53
many good options for darkening the mood have already been named. a few more here:
the underdark
Adventures in the "night below" can be really great for a dark mood. Describe the feeling of closeness around the players as they delve through miles and miles of tight tunnels, the dirt, the stale air, scarce water and food, etc...
You can freak the hell out of your players just by describing that they start to get headaches and that they realize after a while that the air gets worse while they are several days below the surface!
dark villains
Give them opponents that are not only "just evil" but stark, raving mad! A cult of Tharizdun, Turaglas (see Dragon Magazine 312) or one of the dozen other gods or demons. There is no shortage of these buddies - USE THEM!
adventuring by night
Let the main action of the adventure happen by night. Humans (and thus, your players) get 80 or 90% (canīt remember exactly) of their sensual impression though their eyes. Thatīs why people are so afraid of the dark: they havenīt learned to use their other senses, so they feel (and are) helpless! When you are narrating the story, or generally, whenever you tell them something, donīt tell them what they see! Instead, tell them sounds, smells, the movement of air, vibrations in the ground, etc... and at the end, a few optical informations - but just enough to give them a vague idea. 
On a even more general level: Donīt tell them freely - let them ASK for information!
For example, pit them against Vampires. The main part of the adventure is bound to happen during the night. Happy hunting! |
| ShadezofDis |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 16:51:23
A few of the things that I do to keep the mood properly somber (when I'm going for the somber feel of course, too much somber ruins the somber effect IMO *g*) is keeping the players ignorant. If they're unsure about the little village they're in but can't put their finger on why then it tends to keep them jumpy. I also make players make tough choices, deciding if they should chase after the bad guys or stay behind and help the townsfolk and I make them face the concequences of their actions. If they chase after the bad guys then it's likely that more townsfolk will perish than if the pcs were there to help heal them and sometimes (always planned out beforehand to make things fair) the attack is just a diversion to get the pcs out of the town so that a secondary force can destroy the village behind the pcs. Of course if you don't chase down the bad guys then there's always the possibility that they can muster some more forces and attack again.
Another good way to make your players feel like things are going badly is to have some of their "agents" corrupted (ie. the smith they usually use, the weapons dealer, the mage they go to for help) or killed off. Have the PCs get "help" from another group of evil doers who want the first group delt with without dirtying their own hands.
There are a slew of ways to mess with people's heads, just hit them where they aren't expecting it :) |
| Delzounblood |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 15:32:45
quote:
Originally posted by boddynock
When using the options Ergdusch say (darkening the room, spooky music, candles ...) you can go a bit further. Describe every feeling, chill or tast a character feel/hear. If he is traveling through the underdark tell them that they hear the sound of foodsteps. When they stop walking and try to listen, tell them that they don't hear anything anymore. If they cross statues, let them make a will check (or roll it secretly), those who fail their saves have the idea that the statue just moved a bit. (their mind is playing tricks with them). Describe the creatures they face without immeadiatly revealing what it is. (Once I scarred the hell out of my players with a normal animal. Because the characters never meet a crocodile before, I described the beast). The players didn't made the link with a normal crocodile and were thinking the creature was a "small" or immature waterdragon or something like that 
a small warning: remember that horror is not the same as gore and slaughter. Sometimes it's more terrifying to know something is stalking you. (scratching on the door, sound of footsteps just out of your room, a howl in the night) than to see the creature bursting through the door and attack
AHH the art of Role Play.
This reminds me of my favorite quote
"RPG = Role Paying Game, if we were just to play it would be PG, and that stands for Parental Guidence!!! Keep the 'R' in RPG"
best advice to give anyone!
Delz
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| boddynock |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 14:14:45
When using the options Ergdusch say (darkening the room, spooky music, candles ...) you can go a bit further. Describe every feeling, chill or tast a character feel/hear. If he is traveling through the underdark tell them that they hear the sound of footsteps. When they stop walking and try to listen, tell them that they don't hear anything anymore. If they cross statues, let them make a will check (or roll it secretly), those who fail their saves have the idea that the statue just moved a bit. (their mind is playing tricks with them). Describe the creatures they face without immeadiatly revealing what it is. (Once I scarred the hell out of my players with a normal animal. Because the characters never meet a crocodile before, I described the beast). The players didn't made the link with a normal crocodile and were thinking the creature was a "small" or immature waterdragon or something like that
a small warning: remember that horror is not the same as gore and slaughter. Sometimes it's more terrifying to know something is stalking you. (scratching on the door, sound of footsteps just out of your room, a howl in the night) than to see the creature bursting through the door and attack
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| Ergdusch |
Posted - 16 Jan 2007 : 10:01:37
Well, Ravenloft has it's own kind of 'mood' definitly. One that you cannot really copy and for that matter should not copy into a Realms setting. Actually that is what makes each setting special - its own special 'mood' or 'basic feel'. If you call the FR setting 'adventuresome' it somewhat fits the bill I think. For that matter, there are others here at candlekeep that most likely could rent on this topic for hours. 
However, you could generate a somewhat 'darker' or 'hopeless' mood also in the FR by creating a certain setting on your own. Take a barony in the Moonsea region that is ruled by a cruel and bloody tyrant or have your adventurers go against the night Masks or stop the evil schemes of a Cyric cult. All these scenarios can create somewhat a dark mood (with undead around every corner, with mischief amongst the common folk, where to trust noone, with a deadly knife in every consealed hand, with flogged and hanged opposition members openly displayed on the village gate to discourage others) .
You have the possibilities to do all that, but you should NOT turn the FR into Ravenloft. For that you should simply play in Ravenloft.
Edit note: and of course, there is a way to highten the mood by: darken the room to only candlelight, play some spooky music, remove all other distractions from the players (like food, sourcebooks, phones, ect.). All that helps already. And lastly, the DM should be able to chanmnel that 'dark' mood by his discriptions and his voice. Be as specific with the gruesome details as you can as long as you don't offend the players. Cause, whatever you do - it still should be FUN for everyone! |
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