Party-killer Intro & Other Tactics - For GMs ONLY

[Gallahan]

Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert! Spoiler alert!

Read on ONLY if you are a GM, or a player wanting to ruin a good time by reading tactics that GMs employ on their parties. What kind of tactics, you might ask? The kind that SCARE and create MYSTERY... Switcheroos and reversals. The stuff that makes great games GREAT, and great players CRINGE.

Share your favorite tactics and set-ups here so that budding GMs can get some ideas on how to conduct a terrific SCARE. Or, for those GMs who want fresh ideas. Got a classic scene or situation that you like to use, or need? This is the place to ask for them, the place to share them. I don't think that the ceiling is going to crumble down if players end up reading these. Just like that masked magician who revealed magic tricks, listing some of your favored techniques and tactics here will only raise the bar and force good GMs to create new devilish ways of scaring victims ---er, I mean... PLAYERS.

So, now it's up to you.... Don't be afraid to share your best tricks. We would all like to read your personal contributions to the scaring of players who dare to saunter in the realms of BEYOND THE SUPERNATURAL.... Let's make this juicy!!

"The door creaks open, revealing a candlelit room ahead... Before you know it, you're drawn in, and the door slams shut behind you. Eerie, distant pipe music plays from an unknown source. A figure emerges from the shadowy arched hall ahead, and smiles... "Tell me your secrets," it says. And, without thought... you simply follow its instructions... Complete, utter madness ensues as you take it upon a tour of the crypt-like vaults of your own imagination..."

[mrloucifer]

Try handing over the reigns of an evil thing to one of the player's sometime.

Write up the villain’s stats and abilities and general nature, and then give it to a player who’s PC isn’t part of the main investigation. Then basically, sit back and referee the game awhile. Don’t make a habit of this and don’t give it to the same player more than others when you do this, but it turns out to be a unnerving aspect when one of your players (team members) is now playing the creature that’s trying to kill you.

I wouldn’t use major NPC’s for these events either. This is best used for the more predatory beings, such as vampires, were creatures, Nacarants and so on.

Another option is if you have a player doing something solo with his PC, have the rest of the players become zombies, or gremlins, or grave ghouls, or hell hounds, or things that work best in packs and go after that character. The suddenly realization that your truly alone (your “teammates” are not siding with you anymore than the GM) and that everyone is out to get you creates a really disturbing and scary situation.

[Gallahan]

Wow...! Both posts are really juicy.

I like the idea of the mass disappearance. It's just one of those things that isn't solvable. Even Stephen King has included/referenced "vanished" towns in at least two of his novels ('Salem's Lot, and Under the Dome). Plus, it also provides a nice set-up for an event or story arc later on in the campaign.

And, handing over the reigns to a monster (or group of monsters) to another player (or players) is just as cool... Suddenly, even your *real world* friends/players are out to get you! It's like when a player's character (in game) really attacks another player's character with the real intention of killing that character. This really disrupts parties and causes real world angst. BUT... here... players are given permission to be devious, getting a taste of being a GM. I especially like the group against a single character.

Any more tactics and techniques out there?

[Lord Z]

This is a great concept for a thread, Gal-Guy. I look forward to seeing where this is going.

Regarding Gallahan's Party Killer Introduction: This is an excellent tactic and a fine introductory submission to the thread. I would like to try it some time myself. You are correct about not overusing the trick lest the BtS game begin feeling like a bad Call of Cthulhu game or a good Paranoia game with new PCs joining the adventure for no reason. This tactic is a variation of the prophetic death scene we saw in the Evil GM Strat article of a recent Rifter. Or, maybe the Prophetic Death Scene is a variation on the Party Killer Introduction. I like Gallahan's version better.

Regarding Rhomphaia's Empty Town Concept: It reminds me a lot of Dean Koontz' Phantoms. Anyway, I love this concept. The brilliant part is that it never gets resolved. It's an encounter which is designed to remain a mystery, a masterpiece of world-building. I don't understand, however, why you used the spoiler code in your post. The information inside the spoiler block was basically the same as the information before it. This tactic could eat up a lot of table time if a player doesn't want to let go of the mystery, so I wouldn't try it in a situation where gaming time is precious.

Regarding Rhomphaia's Gotcha Moment: Yeah, you are right about knowing your players well. I game with at least one guy who would punch me in the face if I tried that. Hmmm, a punch in the face might be worth it. I used to game with a guy who felt very strongly about not mixing in-game and out-of-game elements. He would have totally resented this tactic.

I don't have any dirty tricks to add to the discussion at this time except for these two. These are more of Adventure Hooks, but they each conceal a dirty trick. I call these The Deep Black Sea and The Like-A-Look.

http://bbs.dragonslanding.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2939

http://bbs.dragonslanding.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2974

[Gallahan]

--Thanks Z; much appreciated.

I knew that the empty town scenario had reminded me of something (Koontz's PHANTOMS, one of my all time favorite novels; the movie's not bad either, but the novel rules supreme). Thanks for pointing that out, because it flew under my radar.

There's another GM trick that is useful in most any RPG. And, that is the infamous dream sequence. This has to be used no more than once (perhaps twice, if a GM can do it masterfully). The reason is obvious: players start to lose confidence in the "reality" of their world. Used too often, and people get easily frustrated. Handled with care and used only once (twice if you're a true Game MASTER), it's another way to play out a scene.

Well, if anyone reading this thread ever plays in one of my games, you've got MY number! Hahahahaha...

Now it's time to read Z's adventure hooks!!!!

[Xar]

Now it's time to read Z's adventure hooks!!!!

Regarding "Deep Black Sea"

That's just a super cool adventure! It also solves a nice problem in my planning of a Phase World Campaign. I've got three linked adventures that occur in the past, and then wanted a way to bring the characters forward in the timeline.

[Lord Z]

Thank you, Xar. Please let us know how your Phase World game shakes out.

Regarding the dream sequence, I am not a fan. Keep in mind that when this happens in a movie theater, the audience actualy groans.

Yes, I can see that Gallahan is correct, and it can be a fun and very effective tool. Inception was a good movie. Dream Police was a brilliant comic book. As a platter, I just ask that the dream sequences be kept short. I would hate to struggle through two game sessions and then learn that none of it ever happened.

[Gallahan]

Regarding the dream sequence, I am not a fan. Keep in mind that when this happens in a movie theater, the audience actualy groans.

Yes, I can see that Gallahan is correct, and it can be a fun and very effective tool. Inception was a good movie. Dream Police was a brilliant comic book. As a platter, I just ask that the dream sequences be kept short. I would hate to struggle through two game sessions and then learn that none of it ever happened.

Z, you're absolutely right. --The dream sequence should NOT be over-used, or be too long. In fact, it should not last for more than 50% of any single gaming session. Now, that being said, say you are lucky enough to be able to play for 12 hours. Well, I still would not have a dream sequence last more than 1 or 2 hours of that.

Now, if the story itself concerns a creature from nightmares, or someone manipulating dreams... That allows you a bit of license. However, it should be clear that the PCs are onto a villain/cult/Lovecraftian monstrosity that uses dreams to kill or haunt. Then, at least, they expect it and it's fun. And again, even this storyline must end sometime.