the trajectory of fear by ash law

8/17/2019 The Trajectory of Fear by ASH LAW

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The Trajectory of Fear – or How toUse Horror Tropes Eectively in

your GameBy Ash Law

THE FOUR FEARS There are four types of fear once you learn the four types an! their trajectory you

will have mastere! unsettlin" your players# fail to learn them an! you$ll en! up with

a farce instea! of a horror% &t$s a lesson that the "reat writers an! !irectors of horror

learn# an! their imitators fail at%

UNEASE This is the startin" point% &t is the 'nowle!"e that somethin" is not ri"ht in the

worl!%

Eective Horror stories set this up well# poor Horror stories s'ip Unease entirely% The

more time you can !evote to (uil!in" Unease the (etter the foun!ation is lai! for

later types of fear%

Unease is the sense that somethin" is not )uite ri"ht with the worl!% &n movies this

is achieve! (y usin" o!! camera an"les# unusual loo'in" actors that the camera

lin"ers on a (it too lon"# an! o!! or !iscor!ant music% As a "ame master you won$thave any of that to wor' with# (ut you can mention to the players that their

characters *n! somethin" o!!%

Unease is noticin" that the woo!s (ein" thic' with (erries (ut no paths lea! there

from the villa"e# an! the locals !on$t loo' at the woo!s% Unease is *n!in" a half+

(urnt !oll naile! to a tree% Unease is noticin" that every(o!y in the travellin"

caravan is missin" their ri"ht thum(% Something is wron" here# (ut it is not an

imme!iate threat an! is ne(ulously !e*ne!% Unease is the eerie 'nowle!"e that

there is somethin" out of place in the worl!%

&f you are aimin" at ,spoo'y$ then unease is the emotion you are actually aimin" for%

DREAD-rea! is the suspicion# uncon*rme!# that somethin" is not ri"ht an! is HE.E it is

more imme!iate an! focuse! than unease% -rea! is (uilt on the foun!ation of

Unease# an! without that foun!ation can feel hollow% -rea! is the uncertain

possi(ility of certain !an"er/ you 'now that !an"er e0ists an! what form it mi"ht

ta'e an! that it is close# (ut it e0ists in a 1chr2!in"er$s jac'+in+the+(o0%


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-rea! is the characters in their tavern room noticin" the villa"ers scurryin" insi!e at

sun+!own# an! then half an hour later there is a stran"e soun! outsi!e% &t is possi(le

that the villa"ers are superstitious# that the soun! is a stray !o" rootin" a(out for

scraps of foo!# an! that the monster in the woo!s is not in town 3 (ut the monster

mi"ht (e near the tavern% -rea! is the uncertain possi(ility of certain !an"er% -rea!

is *n!in" a mutilate! corpse# (ut not 'nowin" if the 'iller is near(y or not%

-rea! !oesn$t have to pay o# it can (e !efuse! an! lapse (ac' into unease%

Buil!in" an! !efusin" !rea! is a "oo! way to (uil! up tension rea!y for the ne0t

sta"e of fear%

&f you are "oin" for a thriller style of "ame then !rea! is the emotion to aim for%

TERROR Terror is the most powerful type of fear (ecause of its imme!iacy% Terror is the sure

'nowle!"e that somethin" terri(le is imminent# that the !an"er is here an! now (ut

has not yet (een reveale!%

Terror is use! in Horror stories at their scariest point% &f the foun!ations have (een

properly lai! this is the place on the trajectory of fear that is the hi"hest point# the

(i""est emotional pay+o% &t is important to remem(er that at this point the root of

the fear# the cause# is still unseen an! a tension e0ists !ue to that%

Terror is the characters hearin" a "asp cut short from the common room of the

tavern# a raspin" (reath li'e a woun!e! o0en# an! inhuman footsteps "ettin" closer

on the woo!en stairs% 4The monster is here# an! we must run or hi!e or *"ht%5 The

monster is all the more terri(le for remainin" unseen# the player$s ima"inations

!oin" a (etter jo( of scarin" them than any !escription or illustration ever coul!%

&f you are "oin" for a horror+movie feel to your "ame then you want lots of hi"h

points of terror# which means hol!in" o on revealin" the monster%

HORROR

Horror is the most imme!iate an! primal type of fear# (ut para!o0ically the

wea'est% Horror is the revelation# meetin" the !an"er an! !iscoverin" the

(oo"ieman% Horror is the punch line of fear# the thin" that elicits "asps an! jumps%

Unfortunately the moment the horri(le thin" is reveale! the tension from the terror

is release! an! we are (ac' to where we starte! from% Horror in an .6G is the

!escription of the monster# an! the rollin" of initiative + more even than in literature

an! movies# in .6Gs Horror is wea' compare! to the other three types of fear% At

this point the monster from the woo!s has (urst into the room or the characters

have (urst out onto the lan!in" an! a *"ht is in pro"ress%


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THE TRAJECTORY Fear !one well has a !e*nite arc/ Unease# -rea!# Terror# an! Horror% Thin' of it as a

roller+coaster% Unease is the (uil!in" e0citement "ettin" on the ri!e% -rea! is the

cars "oin" up the hill% Terror is that !elicious moment (efore the !rop% Horror is the

lon" screamin" ri!e !own# a cathartic release of the tension that ha! (een (uil!in"%

Li'e a real roller+coaster it is (est to have small hills (efore the main one%

THE GAS PEDAL

&f you ,step on the "as$ for one type of fear then the "ame )uic'ly (ecomes farcical#

even if you have (uilt a proper foun!ation% &f you over+!o it with unease then you$ll

en! up with somethin" that feels li'e the A!!ams Family – (ecause everythin" is

out of place nothin" elicits actual !rea!% 7ver+!o !rea! an! the "ame (ecomes a

monster+of+the+wee' show% 7ver+!o terror an! the "ame (ecomes a farcical

pastiche% 7ver+!o horror an! the "ame (ecomes just a (loo!y mess of "ore%

THE KILLER DOLLLet$s put the trajectory into practice in a sample "ame% &n this scenario a town has

suere! attac's from an animate! 'iller !oll% To 'eep their chil!ren safe they have

sent them away to a nei"h(orin" town% The !oll has a ha(it of hi!in" an! spyin" on

people (efore attac'in"# so the villa"ers are constantly fearful an! !o not mention

the !oll for fear that it may (e listenin"% To prevent it hi!in" amon" re"ular !olls the

villa"ers have naile! the chil!ren$s !olls to trees surroun!in" the villa"e%

The a!venturers ri!e towar!s a !istant town% 8normality# no fear9

1omethin" is not ri"ht in this town% :hen the a!venturers arrive they notice that

the townsfol' seem fearful# an! are constantly watchin" the sha!ows an! "lancin"at the spaces un!er chairs% 8unease9

A spoo'y !oll is foun! naile! to a tree# this is somethin" that is out of place an! a

little psychotic% ;ay(e the person who !i! this is !an"erous% ;ay(e the person who

!i! this is still aroun!% 8!rea!9

The !rea! is !efuse! (ecause there is no !oll+nailin"+psycho aroun!% The players

are tol! (y the G; that there are no chil!ren in town# which is o!!% Even o!!er

when you consi!er the !oll naile! to a tree% 8unease9

The a!venturers *n! a tiny (loo!y han!+print% &s whatever ma!e this aroun!< &ssome(o!y small in !an"er< 8!rea!9

The (loo!y han!+print is ol! (loo!# there is no imme!iate !an"er an! so the !rea!

is !efuse!% The a!venturers notice that all the win!ows in every home are naile!

shut% 8unease9


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The a!venturers *nally "et a strai"ht answer out of some of the townsfol'% A 'iller

!oll is on the loose% The players are uncertain if the 'iller !oll is near(y% 8!rea!9

As the a!venturers hea! to (e! they hear tiny footsteps near(y% The !oll is here=

They !o not yet see it# (ut it certainly sees them% 8terror9

The 'iller !oll rushes from the sha!ows its tiny teeth *le! to re! points% This is

horri*c# (ut once the com(at starts it is cathartic% 8horror9

The a!venturers van)uish the !oll (ut its spirit >ees to the nearest vessel# a !oll

naile! to a near(y tree% The a!venturers set a(out systematically !estroyin" every

!oll# !enyin" the vile spirit refu"e% However# as they ri!e out of town they *n! a

tree with a nail in it an! no !oll – !i! the 'iller !oll *n! a new (o!y after all<

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CASE STUDIES

DOING IT RIGHT

No Catharsis:

1hot (y *lm Hollywoo! outsi!ers on a (u!"et that woul! not cater for a !ay of a (i"

shoot# The Blair :itch 6roject !i! it ri"ht%

From the outset we are tol! that the worl! is wron" – that there is a le"en! of awitch in the woo!s% Townsfol' tell their tales# *shermen in the (ac' woo!s tell a

!ierent tale% 1poo'y lost houses# missin" chil!ren# a witch# a curse% Unease (e"ins

to set in%

The hapless *lm+stu!ents hi'e into the woo!s# "ettin" lost an! stum(lin" a(out%

They shoul! not (e this lost# they shoul! (e out of the woo!s (y now% Evi!ence of


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stran"e thin"s# o!! noises in the ni"ht# stic'+men hun" from trees% 7ne of them

"oes missin"% -rea! sets in%

Finally the house# the house of the witch# or of the chil!+'iller% The characters enter

the house that shoul! not (e there# calle! (y the cries of their missin" frien! ?or are

they


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' good e%ample of in7game signposts can be found in the Silent *ill series of games. 8hen the monsters

are near there is a sign usually static on electronics. In my games I li!e having blood7red flies precede

and accompany "and infest# the undead. If my players encounter red maggots or flies they !now that

undead are nearby a particularly nasty type of demonic undead that will provide them with a very tough

fight. Signposts allow you to hint at the possible presence of danger without actually showing the danger

giving you the ability to build read.

Once you have your signposts in place and the players are feeling read the ne%t step is to IS'+:. ;ou

build the read but you want to be able to disarm it. The figure in the dar! was $ust the village goodwife

fetching water from the well not werewolves. The flies were regular flies not red demonic flies. (y going

as far as read and then disarming you brea! tension and allow players a chance to rela%. ,ust li!e a

rollercoaster has some ups and downs before the final drop you will want some ups and downs too.

;ou see this disarming maneuver all the time in movies the music builds < is it the mad a%eman= No it is

the friendly cop come to chec! that the protagonist is all right.

The final step is >)O'? T*&N '&+. In order to build Terror you need to show your SIN-OSTS

"for werewolves howling in the woods# to get to read then you get to >)O'?. This is where the

characters almost see the danger but not @uite.

The movie 'liens has a great >loa! scene/ the marines are counting off the ammo left in the sentry guns

and both guns run down to . Then their motion detector shows the threat getting closer closer closer.

This isn5t a mista!e not a false alarm < it is obvious that danger is coming but is not here yet. This builds

the Terror. They ?NO8 that the aliens are coming.

'nother great e%ample is the (ritish move og Soldiers. In one scene the wolves are about to attac! and

are $ust outside the range of the light. 8e can see them in the trees silhouettes. It is obvious what is

about to happen that an attac! is imminent but not yet. The classic film Aulu has a similar scene where

the Aulu army lines up chanting and singing but too far away to see details.

Ne%t comes the '&+. The attac! itself. The *orror. 't this point it is best to show not tell < andbetter to hint than show. 'n actual fight will be frenetic fast confused. The player characters don5t have

time to measure the creature they are facing to see that it has five eyes < they $ust !now it is huge and

has a multitude of eyes. ?eep descriptions obli@ue rather than describe the Bombie as having rotting

flesh describe the slime that characters feel splash off it as they hac! into it with a%es rather than have

the character see that its eyes glow red say that the scene is lit with a red glow that seems to come from

inside the s!ull of the Bombie. The more you can imply the better. 8ith implied details involving all five

senses an encounter with a simple farm animal in the dar!ness can become the stuff of campfire stories.

RE%E%ER& LINES AND #EILS(efore each new game especially in *orror games have the chat about lines and veils.

LINESSome topics are $ust too upsetting for some players to handle and they shouldn5t have to. 8e game for

fun not to get hurt. There is a difference between good clean scares and hurting your players. Sit down

and discuss what lines the game will not cross. This is an opportunity for everybody to chec! in on

everybody else5s boundaries and to set boundaries for others. This is an opportunity to not be a dic!.

Ta!e it. Ciolating personal boundaries is not mature or edgy it is $ust rude and upsetting. *ave the chat

set lines and be adults.


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Spea! up/ *olding bac! and not spea!ing up and later being uncomfortable and weird at the table is a

disservice to yourself and others at the table. If you !now there is something that will upset you or that

you will not en$oy at the table it is your duty to yourself and your fellow gamers to mention it. ;ou don5t

have to give a reason why it is a problem/ $ust that it is.

#EILSSome things are O? to have in a game but not for them to be e%plicit. :ost groups are comfortable with

graphic violence but not graphic intimacy so it is O? for that group to describe in great detail how the

>leric and the 8iBard smite the undead with brains splattering and blood gushing and bones crac!ing <

but the moment the >leric and the 8iBard get romantically intimate everybody at the table gets

uncomfortable. In these cases it is best to have the chat about lines and veils so everybody in the group

!nows to fade to blac!.

LAND%INES;ou5ve had your chat and you5ve decided that everybody in the group li!es graphic violence a couple of

members don5t want e%plicit torture scenes so those will be veiled somebody doesn5t li!e romantic

intimacy at the game so that will be veiled too and somebody has a problem with human sacrifice so that

will be a line that the game will not cross. Then the : introduces a plotline about child !idnapping andyou start to get uncomfortable really uncomfortable. This is a landmine. ;ou didn5t !now that the plot

would ma!e you feel this way so you didn5t spea! up about it during the lines and veils chat < but here it

is. ;ou5ve hit a land7mine. Spea! up NO8. Say DI5m sorry < I5ve hit a land7mine2. Say what the problem is

what you need to be behind a line or a veil. ;ou don5t need to say why and if somebody presses you $ust

say Dbecause I find it upsetting and would rather not discuss it2. &nd of story. The : ta!es a brea!

everybody ta!es E and you come bac! to the table once you5ve had a chance to calm down and the :

has had a chance to reformulate their plotline or scene or encounter or N->.

Sometimes landmines can !ill games totally. It happens. (e an adult accept the fact that a landmine has

e%ploded the game and move on. If you are going to play on the edge sometimes the game falls over. It

is worth it playing on the edge is fun.

HO$ TO E A GOOD HORROR G% 'THE SI(

CO%%AND%ENTS)*ere are some simple rules for running a *orror game and not having frustrated players but e%cited and

scared players/

I: THOU SHALT ADD TOO* NOT TAKE A$AY FRO%-layers spend ages carefully crafting their characters ma!ing their warven :ounted 'rcher the very

best warven :ounted 'rcher they can be. They want to tell stories about their :' which relies upon

certain elements and if you !ill the dwarf5s horse steal his magic bow and blind him F you are being a

douchebag :. ;ou should never ta!e away from a character that which ma!es that character live and

breathe. Threaten and imperil those things but never outright snatch them away.

Ta!ing away the player5s toys $ust leads to frustrated players.

Instead of ta!ing things away add to the character5s woes. Inflict the dwarf5s foot with a withering disease.

' gimpy foot won5t stop the dwarf from riding nor from firing a bow < but you can play up the pain that it

causes the dwarf point out the odd loo!s it earns him.


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II: THOU SHALT LO#E THE CONSE+UENCENothing is more frustrating than the gotcha. “You open the mansion door – rocks fall. You die. Ha ha!” '

gotcha has no weight no meaning. Sudden unavoidable damnation is $ust not fun. 's a : you have

ultimate power don5t waste it pulling wings off flies.

Instead learn to love the idea of conse@uences. )et players !now what the outcome of their actions is

li!ely to be. If they leave town now nothing bad will happen but their characters will never get rich...

investigating the old house on the hill might lead to riches but might also lead to doom. 8hich action with

which li!ely conse@uence do they choose=

;ou can let the players !now about conse@uences directly or give the players clues through their

characters. I find the best road is the middle7ground of the DIt is obvious thatF2 such as “It is obvious to

your character that the locals shun the mansion on Snake Hill. The ton rave that you passed had a lot

of recent raves" and you sa old snakebite ounds on some of the villaers. The mansion looks to be of

solid construction and richly appointed” . (y saying DIt is obvious thatF2 you let the player !now what their

character !nows and so the player can ma!e an informed in7character choice. -erception rolls are all

very well for finding hidden doors or secret treasure or detecting ambushes < but for plot7related decisions

you want something a bit more transparent.

iving the choice over to players lets the players choose to put their characters in danger. -layers will

often willingly wal! into a trap if it is a choice. +emember ,aws= The characters decide to put out to sea in

a tiny boat to face the shar!. The big shar!. The C&+; big shar! that they !now lives in the sea and can

chew through boats. That was a choice. Greddy ?ruger springing up and $ust !illing somebody a fate that

they neither chose nor could have avoided= That is a gotcha. ,aws is far scarier than Nightmare on &lm

Street.

>onse@uence is cooler. )et the players !now ahead of time what the conse@uences of their actions are

and that way when they choose to open the door to the haunted mansion or read aloud from the cursed

boo! it is them damning themselves.

III: THOU SHALT RESPECT OUNDRIESThe )ines and Ceils thing= o it.

-eople change over time so chec! in every so often and have the chat again. >hec! in after sessions

too. “Hey uys – the thin ith the male monk breastfeedin the iant slu – as that cool ith

everybody or as it too much#” .

8hen everybody !nows that this table is the grown7up table people at the table can tell grown7up stories.

Scary grown7up stories.

I#: THOU SHALT RESPECT THE TROPES* UT NOT APE THE%

Gigure out what ma!es good horror for you what common elements wor! well. Then figure out why theywor! well. In horror fiction you5ll see a great movie that really wor!s and then a doBen imitators that don5t

wor!. 'fter 'lien and 'liens there were a slew of monster7and7people7in7a7place movies and they all fell

flat. They had failed to grasp why the 'lien moves wor!ed. They failed to create a baseline of normality

and had failed to establish a threat had failed therefore to build nease. 8ith no nease there could be

no read "and often there were no signposts#. No read lead to no Terror. They were left with $ust *orror

< a series of rubber mas!s and giant >I sna!es "and actor ean >ain#.


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If you see a really scary movie sit down and analyBe 8*; it was scary. on5t recycle the set dressing the

monsters the superficial parts. +ecycle the bones under that. iscover the scary bones and use those.

#: THOU SHALT E UNCANNY Throw a load of subtle stuff at the players and watch them. )et them latch on to what seems interesting

or unsettling to them. Then build on that. :aybe you have a werewolf game planned but you throw in a

village maiden with a withered arm. That arouses the interest of your players. (ench the werewolf plot or

perhaps modify it. Now the werewolves transform bac! to human but their s!in no longer @uite fits.

-erhaps they shed their human s!ins and when they turn bac! they are raw and bloody and climb bac!

into their s!ins. >an the villager werewolves swap s!ins=

8hen you use what arouses the player5s interests your players become part of the creative process

allowing you to uncannily Bero in on what frightens them.

#I: THOU SHALL RE%E%ER THE TRAJECTORY OF FEAR"establish normality# 7H "establish threat# N&'S& 7H "sign posts# +&' 7H "disarm# N&'S& 7H "sign

posts# +&' 7H "cloa!# T&++O+ 7H "Fthen dagger# *O++O+

the trajectory of fear by ash law

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