Building Suspense

Hunting season has made it a little more difficult for to find time to muse about Dungeons and Dragons, but Tim's recent post has inspired me to get back up on the figurative horse and write. The topic at hand? Building suspense in your game.

Ever since I was introduced to the Ravenloft campaign setting, I've been attracted to the dark, gothic side of D&D. If there isn't at least one point in a campaign where my players have been too afraid to head down that dark passageway, float a boat out onto a strangely calm underground lake, or—in the case of my old Star Wars campaign—board a deserted Star Destroyer, then I'm not doing my job right.

But weaving the elements of horror into your campaign is harder than it sounds. First of all, I believe it's much harder to give someone a good scare in a Dungeons and Dragons game than it is in a horror movie. The spoken-word medium of D&D just can't capture the energy and visceral feeling that film can, no matter how hard the DM tries.

The key to building suspense, if there is one, is to avoid the expected. That means no horror clichés. Not only can they break the in-game atmosphere, but they show a lack of imagination on the part of a DM. If your players are expecting something bad to attack while they're traversing that eerily calm lake, let them cross unharmed. Then, when they're resting on the other shore, hit them with the best you have.

Show, don't tell. It's a cardinal rule for writers, and it applies equally well in this case. In D&D, words are all you have—and you have to use them wisely when it comes to building a truly terrifying experience. Obviously, you can't order your players to be scared. But if you take the time take your time to describe the sights, smells and sounds of their surroundings, you're immersing them deeper into the game. When your players are immersed—when their disbelief is suspended—they're more easily scared. So, don't tell them they're in a dank underground passageway.

Instead, say something like: "Rocks jut out at sharp angles in the underground passage that stretches before you, and they conspire with the flames of your torch to cast strange shadows across the crevices and crags of the cavern. In the distance you can hear the faint sound of soft footfalls, as something passes unseen further down the tunnel.

Your preparations don't always have to be in-game, either. A great way to build tension is to host a game by candlelight or by flashlight. It simultaneously makes your game setting more intimate (because all your players can see is the table and each other) and more creepy.