Horror Adventures - Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft

Horror Adventures. Creating your own horror adventures is like crafting any other D&D adventure with one exception: your goal is to horrify your players in the most fun way possible. Frightening adventures benefit from an atmosphere of dread, conceived through a combination of terrifying narratives, dramatic presentation, and game elements encouraging fear. Drawing out the anxiety and anticipation of players requires deliberate consideration, though. The tools and techniques in this chapter provide ways to make sure your game is both spooky and safe in ways right for your specific group. A toolbox of horror-focused rules also provides options for what sort of grim adventures you might create. At the end of this chapter, a horror adventure puts these methods to use and leads characters on their first steps into the Domains of Dread. During a séance, a spirit makes itself known to the Keepers of the Feather Preparing for Horror Before you run a horror game, consider the following steps to ensure the willingness and full engagement of your players. If a group gathers to play a fun, low-stakes adventure but is immediately thrust into unexpected horror, the game can feel like a trap. You should avoid this. Rather, set expectations with your players about what a horror-focused game means, and determine what topics and themes will encourage or discourage players' participation. Understanding Horror Your primary goal as a DM running a horror adventure is to facilitate a fun D&D experience. This book assumes you and your players enjoy the thrill and suspense of scary stories. The audience of a horror movie can enjoy the menace on screen because they know it can't harm them (and they have an idea of what to expect from the film's trailer). In the same way, your players count on you to make sure an adventure's terror doesn't target them personally or otherwise step beyond the game. Your goal is never to make players feel uncomfortable or threatened. As D&D adventures aren't...