What makes a good BTS GM?

[mrloucifer]

Similar to the “What makes a good BTS player” topic, anyone is welcome to add whatever tips, thoughts and whatnot to this post.

And similar to the aforementioned post, BTS requires a very different approach to GM’ing than playing something like RIFTS or ROBOTECH. Modern day horror is arguably the most difficult type of game to run successfully and is virtually required to follow some basic procedures to do so. However, once you’ve mastered them, you’ve got a game that can run chills down your player’s spines!

My first rule of Conduct: Imply rather than tell. This was a rule given in the BTS1 book years ago, and it’s still as potent today. Never tell ANYTHING more than you have to about anything. The more you imply without telling, the more the players have to think about what the danger or issue could be and then their imagination runs wild with fear.

Example: I once had this scene where a player walked into a dark room and his flashlight was busted. The scene was described like this; “The room is too dark to make anything out, save for one spot, a sliver of moon light that squeezes in between a set of curtains carries over to a set of eyes. The eyes are located several feet taller than you, they don’t move, nor does whoever owns them make a move… no words, no breath, no sound. Whatever it is, it simply stares at you.” Oh, the player was simply frozen in his tracks as his mental agility dissolved into a primal panic and start firing away at the eyes.

Turns out, it was a moose head on the wall across the room… completely harmless. But the player didn’t know that, I simply implied that there was something staring at him and then I let his imagination do the rest.

I’ll try to post more tips through the day, but feel free to add your own rules and examples.

[vika]

I learned these from Sasha.

1. Threaten emotional security: this is basis of your #1 rule and the game on the whole. Everything comes out from this one.
2. Cycle tension: with pacing using devices like you did with the moose head as well as over different time spans. Tension, release, tension, release. It keeps the characters from emotionally setting.
3. Instill hopelessness/urgency: like Sun Tzu said, if you put a man's back to the wall, you will be amazed what is he capable of doing. It keeps the characters in the story. You can do this by making small scope adventures (it all happens inside the haunted house) and/or by involving people/principles/objects that the characters care deeply about.

[mrloucifer]

"It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn." – Robert Southey

My next code of conduct: Use your words well.

This one more than any other rules will take practice, but can mean the world in your games. The short answer would be to say “build your vocabulary”. I know a good GM’s who used to have a bad habit of taking minutes out of the game to describe a setting or a monster, and by the time he was done the players lost interest as he’d take them out of the spirit of the game. Had he put that energy into the words he was using, he could have not only cut the description time in half, he could have kept us on the edge of our seats listening.

To help out with this problem, my first advice is to read as much as you’re able, simple as that. NOTHING builds a vocabulary like reading does. Taking this idea a step farther, read a lot of horror novels and pay close attention to how the authors use their words. I strongly recommend reading books by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, David Niall Wilson and Brian Keene for the best examples I can think of.

My next bit of advice would be to write down your descriptions till you feel capable of stating them yourself. I know this can make you feel like a “noob”, but Horror RPG’s more than anything else requires planning ahead of time anyway, so taking the time to write it down helps get your thoughts and plans in order and therefore your ability to tell the tale with pizzazz. In fact, with twenty years practice I’m still known to write things down and read when needed. Of course, reading it like you mean it instead of straight off the paper makes a huge difference as well. Be a story teller, not a bank teller.

A good practice exercise would be to write a description that’s as long as possible, then write a second practice trying to use as little words as possible to tell the same thing. Don’t be surprised if the shorter version tells it better.

[mrloucifer]

My next code of Conduct: Use all the senses.

This is another one I can’t stress enough. Don’t rely on explaining the visuals. Get the nose, ears, touching (and in some cases, tasting) involved.

This is something else bright up in the BTS1 book. In the course of a year, a player may be given a description of a monster at least a hundred times. After first few times the player will acclimate to the description and get bored with them… unless you mix it up!

For example, when describing a monster, mention that its breath is HOT, and REEKS of rotting meat. When grappling with it, mention that its hide FEELS slimy, and that its shriek SOUNDS like nails on a chalkboard.

Point being, these description, although familiar, will allow the player to imagine the creature in much more vivid detail, and imagination breeds the fear and chilling sensations that makes for a good horror game.

[dante144]

keep these coming, please!

In a horror game I had a GM that used a soundtrack to set the mood, to great effect. He used cds from several horror movies. Nowadays I guess you could just make a play list on your computer.

[mrloucifer]

keep these coming, please!

In a horror game I had a GM that used a soundtrack to set the mood, to great effect. He used cds from several horror movies. Nowadays I guess you could just make a play list on your computer.

DOODE!! That's the very next bit I planned to write about as I'm a big time soundtrack player in my games.

[mrloucifer]

What makes a good BtS GM? An ability to think as quickly on one's feet as a IRL covert aent, a brain that contains the entirety of the encyclopedia britanica websters dictionary and all the scifi and horror movies from the silents to today. For other essentials, you'll need an imagination that can make Stephan King shudder in fear, a skill at acting that would make Shakespear himself covet you, and a wallet as bottomless as you intend the stacks of pizza and soda (our sessions are non alchoholic cause when we bring beer the game gets rediculous) A comfortyable surrounding with adjustable lighting is most helpfull, as is an unoccupied couch for if a player gets sleepy and "just needs a nap" during longer sessions - loading up on stimulants does not improve thought processes, it just drives off the sleep the brain needs. I tend to keep gregorian chants or similar ominus yet melodic background music going, at the barely audible level, washes out traffic, wind ect. while helping to set the right atmosphere.

Oh... well, if this is all it takes, no wonder I'm so damn good at GM'ing BTS games.

[dhorn]

This is a great thread folks! Thanks for sharing your thoughts - lots of good advice.

[mrloucifer]

As dante144 mentioned earlier, music can be an awesome mood enhancer with horror RPG’s.

However, like Shang Li mentioned, you need to keep it as background music, ergo keep it soft and low enough that it will kill the background noise and whatnot.

I love the music option myself and I’ve built quite the collection of soundtracks and CD’s to compliment my games.

For example, at one of my latest games I used the Theme music from the “Angel” tv show to start the game, and then played preselected tracks from the following soundtracks: Underworld 1 & 2, the Messengers, The Village and the group Celldweller (specifically the “Soundtrack for the Voices in my Head- Volume 1” CD).

A well selected track in a pre planned game can perform magic sometimes.

[mrloucifer]

This next one is one of my person favorite weapons in my arsenal used against my group.

My next code of conduct: Use the players own weaknesses against them!

In essence, find out what your scares your players and incorporate those elements into the game at every opportunity!

This one should be an easy one as most players love to talk about their fears to one another (I know my group loves to share); all you have to do is listen and notate their fears as you hear them.

Even better is that after the group has shared and discussed their fears, you’ll find that their fears can be incorporated to bring that same fear out in the others.

I got a gal in my group who is absolutely FREAKED OUT by bugs. So (he he heee), creepy crawlies show up at every opportunity in my game. In fact I created pestilence beasts just for her amusement (insert evil chuckle here). I have another player who hates the idea of being paralyzed, so I use paralysis or moments of helplessness when I can and I can just see the distaste on his ugly mug when we play.

There is one last avenue to exploit here: your own fears! You know what scares the crap out of you, so why not use it to scare your player’s silly too? Why should you have to suffer your fears alone? If something you read or saw in a movie creeps you out, by god use it! If you’re giving yourself the chills describing the setting or situation, chances are you’re doing the same to your players.

This all being said, a word of warning. If a player is so terrified of something that they ask you to not inflict it on them, please respect their wishes. Some things are so tragic or detrimental to some people that their personal terror takes the fun out of being scared.

I’ve encountered this with a player who had a near drowning experience and had a full blown phobia of drowning. Once he confided in me, I never used that angle on him again and kept it to a minimum with the rest of the group. No one wants their phobic underbelly exposed to others, especially during a game.

Side Note: As some of you regular know, this was a real gift from me as I use drowning risks in my games all the time, especially since his departure (left on good terms, he simply moved out of state).

[dhorn]

I like the tension-cycle approach too. It has worked great for a Dead Reign game I've been running and I will most definitely incorporate it into my BTS2 game. The real key there is to use it strategically so that the cycle itself doesn't become predictable. I think this will be somewhat easier in BTS because there are a greater diversity of plot devices that lead to new tension-cycles and a greater number of foci for those cycles (i.e., many more derivations of pranksters, evil creatures, etc.). I also loved the moose-head example. That is great stuff! Not every investigation has to result in a confrontation with the paranormal, after all.

This leads to a question: How often do you use the 'Red Herring' in your games? How has it worked?