Hi, I was thinking of running Death House from Curse of Strahd as a stand alone adventure in play by post format. Having never done anything remotely Ravenloft, I was looking for some DM tips.
Horror genre stuff, such as anything Ravenloft related, seems really not scary at the table. And if you're trying to make it scary then you'll probably end up looking kinda hammy. Not that it can't be done, but any genuine creepy sessions I've had at a table were accomplished with lots of other effects that most DMs don't have the resources or coordination to pull off.
So instead, go with suspense. Player's going into a "death house" will automatically be paranoid of sneaky enemies and traps under every floorboard. Prey on their paranoia, build the suspense, and keep them on their toes. Even if it's just rolling behind your screen for no reason or making it look like your taking random notes after a player mentions something conspicuous. Give them the impression that everything is against them. Exude a confidence that makes the players associate you with the house that has trapped them and leave them unable to guess what either of you will do.
Also, read the module over and over and over. Nothing will break a tense moment like stumbling over your script or forgetting a description.
Here's my number one suggestion after running the Death House adventure for multiple groups; do not, under any circumstances, have the fake Rose tell the party there is a baby on the third floor. Have her be more vague about it like "my baby brother is still in the house somewhere." Everytime the party has found out there was a baby on the top floor, some or all of them rushed up the stairs and caused the party to really miss out on experiencing the whole house just to try and save a baby. Be more vague about it and let them explore more of the house, maybe occasionally use soft echoing baby cries to move them in the direction you want.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Hi, I was thinking of running Death House from Curse of Strahd as a stand alone adventure in play by post format. Having never done anything remotely Ravenloft, I was looking for some DM tips.
Horror genre stuff, such as anything Ravenloft related, seems really not scary at the table. And if you're trying to make it scary then you'll probably end up looking kinda hammy. Not that it can't be done, but any genuine creepy sessions I've had at a table were accomplished with lots of other effects that most DMs don't have the resources or coordination to pull off.
So instead, go with suspense. Player's going into a "death house" will automatically be paranoid of sneaky enemies and traps under every floorboard. Prey on their paranoia, build the suspense, and keep them on their toes. Even if it's just rolling behind your screen for no reason or making it look like your taking random notes after a player mentions something conspicuous. Give them the impression that everything is against them. Exude a confidence that makes the players associate you with the house that has trapped them and leave them unable to guess what either of you will do.
Also, read the module over and over and over. Nothing will break a tense moment like stumbling over your script or forgetting a description.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone
Check out his guy's blog...he knows what he's talking about. Use for inspiration and make it your own:
http://slyflourish.com/running_death_house.html
Here's my number one suggestion after running the Death House adventure for multiple groups; do not, under any circumstances, have the fake Rose tell the party there is a baby on the third floor. Have her be more vague about it like "my baby brother is still in the house somewhere." Everytime the party has found out there was a baby on the top floor, some or all of them rushed up the stairs and caused the party to really miss out on experiencing the whole house just to try and save a baby. Be more vague about it and let them explore more of the house, maybe occasionally use soft echoing baby cries to move them in the direction you want.
Thanks all for the awesome advice! I hadn't considered the idea that it would actually be not scary at all, that makes perfect sense though.