Fear - the final frontier of RPGs. Often attempted, rarely replicated except as game mechanics, which is pretty much a failure if you ask me.
Why does fear fail so often in RPGs?
Well, you have to be invested in the character - no investment, no return of fear. Movies draw you into the character (and add mood music and such) to draw you into the fear. Sure, the PC is yours, but until you've played him / her for a few sessions, you probably aren't as invested in it for real fear of loss to occur. Fear of loss is about the only kind of fear that works in an RPG.
RPGs tend to go for the immediate threat. Immediate threats result in fight or flight. Most situational conditioning in RPGs is to fight in these situations, even against overwhelming odds. From my own personal experience with 9-11 - when you don't have time to think, you do what you are conditioned to do. Without time to contemplate what I was fairly sure was my impending death, my training kicked in and I went into rescue mode. Believe me when I say I'm very invested in my own life, much more so than any player is in their character. Players will tend to react as they are conditioned - to stand and face the immediate threat despite overwhelming odds. I'm not saying they might not run, especially as parts of the party start dropping like flies, but that won't be the first instinct.
If you want to invest your players into their characters, if you want the stink of fear to permeate the gaming table, you have to make the object of fear a long term fear. If players are conditioned to handle immediate fears, they are rarely able to shuffle aside the long terms ones. From my own personal experience, my diagnosis of cancer a few years back (all gone now) caused me to curl up in a ball in the hallway to my kitchen and cry like a baby. Why? Because there was a distinct possibility (not a probability, but a possibility - less possibility than on 9-11 i would think) that I wouldn't make it past 12 months. I was looking death in the eye and running scared. Long term fear. I'm not conditioned for that. Too many possibilities. Too much time to worry. Heck, worrying was a luxury I had plenty of time for.
You want to put fear into your players? Hit them with a long term, debilitating curse after they've become invested in their characters. Finding the cure will become their immediate, short term and long term goal. Success and failure will have meaning. Heck, even immediate threats may get a response similar to that of a long term threat - time to run away, so as to survive long enough to overcome the long term threat.
Successful fear in an RPG is a long term situation that you need to put your players in, and much more effective (and enjoyable) than the short term "Save vs Fear."
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Fear - Why It Is Difficult to Replicate in an RPG (and a method on how to do so)?
Labels:
fear,
gaming thoughts
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tenkar's Tavern is supported by various affiliate programs, including Amazon, RPGNow,
and Humble Bundle as well as Patreon. Your patronage is appreciated and helps keep the
lights on and the taps flowing. Your Humble Bartender, Tenkar

Blogs of Inspiration & Erudition
-
-
#AtoZChallenge2021: J is for Jack O'Lantern - Here is an old favorite of mine that I just never got right. I had featured the Jack O'Lantern on three different occasions in three different witch boo...5 hours ago
-
here's a neat chart - *Villains and Vigilantes* was one of the great superhero RPGs from the period before the release of official Marvel and DC games in '84 and '85 respectiv...6 hours ago
-
Madam Maze’s Cabaret of Carrion Delights, D&D adventure review - By Nick Milton Nick Milton Publishing Generic/Universal/No Stats Deep inside the bowels of an Elderwolf god lies a crumbling cabaret. Like an intergalactic...6 hours ago
-
Free GM Resource: Pixabay - [image: Free GM Resource: Pixabay] One thing I'm always on the lookout for is some free art for use in future projects. Now I prefer to grab old illustr...7 hours ago
-
Felltower Progress . . . kind of - It's been a while since we've been able to play Felltower. Our last game was 3/7. Next game is probably 4/18. So what's up with that? Basically, scheduli...18 hours ago
-
Pestiliential Painting: The Third Outbreak - Welcome back to the Vectorium! Another couple of fruitful painting sessions has resulted in the completion of my third squad of Plague Marines. OK, the ...22 hours ago
-
Gone To The Frogs 1 : d12 Mysterious Frog Patrons & Quests - As I'm only inspired by frogs and as a lead up to a book for my birthday on April the 30th im just doing frog stuff for a bit. My FB and Tumbler now most...23 hours ago
-
Kingdoms of the Dead - Some OSR Thoughts on the powerful Undead of The Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea Rpg - " Moving in solemn pageant, with dark and haughty and hollow faces, the dead emperors and empresses of Cincor made obeisance to Mmatmuor and Sodosma, and a...23 hours ago
-
Magazine Madness 2: Knock #1 - The gaming magazine is dead. After all, when was the last time that you were able to purchase a gaming magazine at your nearest newsagent? Games Workshop’s...1 day ago
-
Succubus Sunday - Kali Neko - I've shared my love for Kali Neko before. She's a gorgeous succubus come to life. If you want to support her modeling and cosplay and don't mind NSFW cont...1 day ago
-
Piecemeal armor - This is going into my next PDF (*Manual of Arms: Armor and Shields*). It is still unfished, but I think I can publish the PDF in the next few days. I like ...2 days ago
-
[STUFF] The Nocturnal Table – Fantasy Grounds Integration - Now Even More NocturnalGuest Post by EOTB *I am pleased to announce the release of the Fantasy Grounds version of The Nocturnal Table. This version of th...2 days ago
-
AD&D2e (revised) P.o.D. - These arrived today for me from DriveThruRPG. They're print-on-demand softcover copies of AD&D2e (revised), originally published in 1995. When I ordere...2 days ago
-
Some Mosaic Strict Sets Appear! - Forty eight days ago, I wrote up Mosaic Strict, a somewhat light-hearted set of compliance rules for making modular parts of RPGs. It asked, what if ther...3 days ago
-
Velvet Hooks; Wound Whisp - Our attempt to provide useful adventure hooks for the Velvet Horison Monter manual continues; Previous entries here; Abhorrer & Aeskithetes Anemone Men &...3 days ago
-
Diagnosis - Do not read this post if you are easily upset. It is a discussion about matters pertaining to my health, discussed in this post. I'm fine; there's noth...3 days ago
-
Skurmish! Player maps - I put together some player maps so they can track the hexes they've explored and to track troop movement across the battlefield (I will be providing these ...3 days ago
-
Another Harn Day: The City of Azadmere and Kingdom of Kaldor Hardcover Kickstarter. - *City of Azadmere* Columbia Games released their latest Harnquest the dwarven city of Azadmere. If you needed a dwarven city in your campaign this is the...3 days ago
-
40k: Crassus Command, Sentinel Powerlifters, and Other Assorted Tanks - The Moribundan 1st Armoured Regiment, despite its cabinet-straining bulk, has a few gaps in its roster. Well no longer! Crassus Command Vehicle As origi...5 days ago
-
Size Matters, So Digest This... - When we first published Pits & Perils, lots of people assumed it was a digest-sized affair because, you know, Dungeons & Dragons. The rules, which defin...5 days ago
-
Project 10 - Commanders - This part of *Project 10* has been tricky to get right. Originally, I gave Commanders all sorts of wacky abilities to represent the armies they were lead...6 days ago
-
Can’t see the forest for the trees - Given how many fantasy worlds are dominated by uninhabited wilderness, and how much the generic image of fantasy is based around forests, it’s pretty surpr...1 week ago
-
A Date for Monsters! Monsters! Monsters! Galore - Everything leaves a trace. That's been my guiding principle researching the history of early wargames and role-playing games: any commercial product t...1 week ago
-
New Video: Reading the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Setting, Part 4 - Hey-o! There’s a new video up on the channel, where I continue my read-through of the World of Greyhawk Glossography. In this edition, I discuss the advent...1 week ago
-
grodog's post-GaryCon-XIII Repose - Part 1 - Yet-again, I had a wonderful time at GaryCon this year. Here's the first part of my post-convention recap, working off of my schedule for GaryCon XIII!...1 week ago
-
Rappan Athuk: Throat of Doom - Session played on 3/28 Nick the Pike, Fighter 6 (Me) Karl, Dwarf 9 (Julia) Borumar, Thief 9 (Josh) Darryl, Cleric (NPC) Biffin, Fighter (NPC) Cassandra, ...1 week ago
-
Guess it's not meant to be - for now - Well, I tried. I got some folks interested in possibly playing a run through the classic module U1 - The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. I just could...1 week ago
-
Time Marches On - It’s probably the historian in me, but one issue I’ve had with running a long-term Victorious chronicle is that of time moving onward. I suppose it’s a pro...1 week ago
-
Started a new notenook - Along time ago, I was complaining to Matt that I never complete anything. He made me a nice 6x9 booklet with graph and hex paper and lines. It's basical...1 week ago
-
DM's Report: Solo Adventure - Sir William - Most of the players in Seaward are content with the PCs they have, but Jack wants a new one. So now we're doing Discord-based solos 1-2 times a month....2 weeks ago
-
Swords and Sorcery House Rules PDF available again - Many years ago I put together some 'swords and sorcery' house rules for *Swords & Wizardry *(also usable with older editions of D&D, such as '0e' and 'B/...2 weeks ago
-
Dieselpunk Manifesto Part 14: A Nest of Spies and Villains! - 130-144 Buck is pursuing a Mongol assassin through Niagara when he encounters Lanlu -'the Emperor's favorite!' Quick aside, Lanlu is a scheming social clim...2 weeks ago
-
The Reasonable DM - The English common law relies to a surprisingly large extent on a single magical word: "reasonableness". It appears everywhere. Businesses must make "rea...2 weeks ago
-
On time running out - I've been live streaming for 19 hours. I will continue to do so for another 10!! My Kickstarter just crossed 12.8k!!! Don't miss out. You will be sad. Y...2 weeks ago
-
-
Emulating Battle in Roll20 - For session 70 of my Sunday AD&D game on Roll20 I decided to do something different. A former player who had to drop due to personal issues had some unex...3 weeks ago
-
Carl Krenek - Hansel and Gretel, 1913 - [image: Carl Krenek - Hansel and Gretel, 1913]Artwork found at the imKinsky auction house.3 weeks ago
-
Return to the Known Lands Sessions #8 and #9 – Cabin and Cellar - Dates: 11-8-20, 11-21-20 PCs: Gato (Halfling FM 2) Osan (Elf F/MU 1/1) Dorful (Elf F/MU 1/1) Omes (Half FM 1) … Continue reading →3 weeks ago
-
You Died - You Died is a book about Dark Souls, written by a pair of game journalists. It was first published as a simple paperback and then reimagined as a deluxe ha...3 weeks ago
-
My favorite comic book scientists - It's becoming clear to me that my posting here will slow a bit now that I've finally started a new job here in Jersey. But first, to celebrate the fact...1 month ago
-
Myconids - Psychology Humans are very contemptuous of orcs. They are brutes, never shying away from any cruelty. And they are warmongers, always divided against ea...1 month ago
-
Fifty Years of Fantasy Role Play Table-top games. - Today marks an interesting, possibly momentous, anniversary. It has been 50 years since the Boris Karloff movie *The Black Room* aired as part of a dou...1 month ago
-
Successfully Funded! Some Stats and Insights - The Zine Quest 3 Kickstarter campaign for The Many Crypts of Lady Ingrade came to a close. It funded within an hour and had a steady growth through the ...1 month ago
-
Zine Quest: Errant - Before anything else, I want to apologize for writing two posts in a row which prompt you to spend money. Its been my entire 2021 output so far. Hopefully ...2 months ago
-
New Cover for The Salt Mine - Heya folks, got a new cover in for Dark Matter (The Salt Mine 15) and thought I should share.2 months ago
-
Necrotic Gnome Website - It's been a long time since I last posted on this blog... and the reason for that is that I'm now posting news and updates at necroticgnome.com directly....3 months ago
-
AD&D Poison Notes - In *Dragon* magazine #81 (January 1984) the article "Taking the Sting Out of Poison" by author Chris Landsea offered truly exhaustive coverage of the top...4 months ago
-
My RPG Zine Trilogy is on Kickstarter! - I can't believe I didn't post about it here! The Dead are Coming, Screams Amongst the Stars and Running Out of Time are on *Kickstarter right now!* Thes...4 months ago
-
Quantum D&D - A funny thing happened to D&D in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s: it got popular. It went from a game everyone learned from someone whose knowledge of the...5 months ago
-
Maximum HP 004, one week to go - Just one week to go for Maximum HP issue #004, the undead. We are pushing through stretch goals and wracking up contributions for the best issue yet. We...5 months ago
-
Steve Jackson Interview - James Maliszewski recently did an interview with Steve Jackson over on his Grognardia blog. Steve chats about the beginnings of The Fantasy Trip and upcomi...7 months ago
-
The Hero’s Journey 2nd Edition, Campbellian roleplaying at its best! - (this review done using the reviewers own purchased copy) I have been a James Michael Spahn fan since he wrote his Swords & Wizardry Companion. His writing...7 months ago
-
Undermountain Map Origins - As documented on the Ruins of Undermountain sales page, "TSR didn't actually use Ed Greenwood's original maps," at least not in their entirety. This post d...9 months ago
-
A to Z of Megadungeons - I've seen a couple of A to Z's lately and decided we needed one for megadungeons. So here, we go. A is for Architect Someone needs to build the megadungeon...10 months ago
-
A Campaign Begins for Newbies - Like many of you, the affects of the Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted how hundreds of millions of us fellow mutants interact and function in our jobs, co...11 months ago
-
WB:FMAG Total Print Sales - Hello Folks, The last time I did a quick sales report was in September 2018. I pulled reports from Amazon, Lulu and DrivethruRPG from October to current fo...11 months ago
-
The Minotaur for Old-School Essentials - *Minotaur* *Requirements:* Minimum STR 9, Minimum CON 9 *Prime Requisite:* STR and CON *Hit Dice:* 1d10 *Maximum Level:* 8 *Armor:* Leather, including shield...1 year ago
-
The Mauve Plague, Gravy Urns, and Batlace Frills: News from the Hill Cantons - And now the News... In a statement beamed from the Oracular Society today *Morafans the Rickmaster*, the Psychosocial Health Minister of the Overking, ha...1 year ago
-
WIZARDS OF POHJOLA - Init +0 Melee Atk • sword or dagger +1 (1d5 or 1d3) Ranged Atk • hot iron sparks +3 (1d4+2 to two targets within 20' but not closer than 5') AC 14 HD 12d...1 year ago
-
Strange, Dangerous, and Inhuman: The Fey and Fairie - When I was a boy I loved fairy tales. Jack and the Beanstalk, Puss in Boots, Rumpelstiltskin - I devoured all of it. My fascination that there was a strang...1 year ago
-
Merlynd the Magician: A Remembrance of Don Kaye, TSR's Co-Founder Now Available - LINK to Description and Ordering: https://www.tlbgames.com/collections/the-red-book-line/products/merlynd-the-magician1 year ago
-
New AD&D Greyhawk Campaign Notes - I recently launched a new AD&D campaign on Fantasy Grounds. Although we're using the 2e ruleset FG released earlier this year, my only books for reference...1 year ago
-
The Withered Crag custom print version for sale again - Just re-enabled the direct sales button for the custom print (classic style detached cover) version of F4 The Withered Crag, and also for F3 Many Gates of...1 year ago
-
Dungeons & Dragonmead Fall Schedule - *As you know, I run public classic Dungeons & Dragons games at **The Loaded Die**/Metro Detroit Game Night's Board Game Nigh at **Dragonmead**, in Warren...1 year ago
-
Home Sweet Home Azeroth - A very simple mash up of the World of Warcraft Cinematic Trailer and Classic Announcement set to Mötley Crüe “Home Sweet Home” from the Theatre of Pain a...1 year ago
-
-
D&D Sling Damage vs. Large Targets - In many early editions of D&D, weapons were assigned two damage values: one for small/medium targets (i.e. man-sized) and one for large targets (giants and...1 year ago
-
James A. Smith, Jr. Memorial Video - A beloved father, devoted friend, and D&D Dungeon Master extraordinaire. We miss you! To view video, click here Memorial Video Note - The original video...1 year ago
-
Let's Talk About Pacing! - The idea, I think, is that the RPG is ultimately about the long game. Even rolling back to the early days of Basic & Expert, the goal of the player was...2 years ago
-
Profane and Profound Prep Part 2 - This is part 2 of my work to edit my magic items for a DMsGuild release, along with adding cursed items along the way. Here is part 1. Bone of a Saint 8000...2 years ago
-
SHORT BREAK. - I'm going to take a break for a week or so and will start up again in the New Year. Thanks for reading and we'll start with Level 6 when I get back.2 years ago
-
Iain Lovecraft, 3D Sculptor - Nope, it's got nothing to do with Cthulhu. I just did a video conversation with Iain Lovecraft, who designs 3D miniatures and terrain. If you're not doin...2 years ago
-
New website! - Slowly but surely, all the content here will make its way — in updated form! — to my new website: timbannock.com. For fairly obvious reasons, that site wil...2 years ago
-
Please Update Your Link! - If you're seeing this, it means your link to the Greyhawk Grognard blog is out of date. Please update your link to www.greyhawkgrognard.com (RSS feed is h...2 years ago
-
How can We Destroy this Campaign World? - d12 1. You must trick a bard into strumming the *Chords of Fate* on the *Lute of Annihilation* 2. Legends tell of thermonuclear weapons beneath megadungeo...2 years ago
-
Mord Mar - Session 6 - We weren't able to play Mord Mar last week, due to a family funeral. This week we played on Monday for the first time, due to kids returning to school and ...2 years ago
-
A Small, Quiet Plea - There has been a great deal of discussing political agendas, social grievances, and personal attacks within the little corner of gaming that is my hobby....2 years ago
-
Don’t Sleep It’s Broken - Expanding/editing my comments from What Makes Something Broken G+ thread: “Broken”, for me, is anything that makes normal character choices, tactics, or ro...3 years ago
-
Swords & Wizardry Light-Themed Birthday Party - Last month, my wife and I helped our oldest to celebrate his birthday in style. Ever since 2013, we have hosted a themed birthday party for our now-15-ye...3 years ago

I find if I let myself get a little spooked, that unsettlement communicates itself non-verbally to players. If I can give myself goosebumps and play on my own fears, I'm much more likely to get under their skins.
ReplyDeleteIt is also worth thinking about the difference between suspense, terror, and horror. The jump scare is fun but if overused gets old fast.
Terror is that fear that something bad is going to happen and you will not be able to protect yourself or those you care about.
Then there's horror; that sick creeping feeling of unavoidable awfulness. Like when they get a single piece of information that changes how they interpret a whole string of events (think the Architect reveal at the end of the second Matrix movie.) Or when they've been close to someone who commits suicide. Or they are mutating and can't stop it.
So many flavors.
I developed some house rules for fear while playing WH40K Dark Heresy. I believe that the trait I developed does a pretty decent job of capturing some longterm effects. Check it out on my blog, here:
ReplyDeletehttp://revdoctoredj.blogspot.com/2012/08/alternate-fear-rules-for-dark-heresy.html
Still what ever evil might be said about level drain in d20 systems - it really mechanically replicates that dread of contagion. You can't make players afraid of touching unpleasant creatures by narrative alone but having those creatures steal their hard earned xp does go a long way in replicating that reaction. It's faking a smile to make your self feel better.
ReplyDeleteThere is no longer term effect than death. The possibility of permanent death should always be on the table.
ReplyDeletedeath is not as scary a mechanic as loosing a level because its too drastic. death on the table triggers a different feeling from the player, either it is sudden in which case they are more shocked than scared or it is projected, in which case they feel either excited or disgruntled. level drain might not simulate fear exactly but it maybe simulates a feeling of horror
ReplyDeleteI had a great campaign where for the first 4~5 sessions I had my players have foreshadowing dreams about an evil wizard at the start of each session. they would then try to interpret the dreams in to material actions they could take. Get that spell, find this sword and so on. I then had an NPC who was coming to give them an update on a disease that was travelling through the mainland arrive by boat. Then everyone in the castle got sick, vomited blood for 2 days and died. At this point I made them all save versus disease. the fear was palpable.
ReplyDeleteI then messed up, and didn't kill a PC who had failed. It was 4e. Had it been 2e or earlier, the expectation of death would have made it acceptable to the players.
Lesson learned...
very nice stuff. I've been trying to tackle this myself for a couple of blog posts, and I'd love to get some more feedback.
ReplyDeletehttp://shortymonster.co.uk/?p=220
http://shortymonster.co.uk/?p=165