This is a thing that
lives in the dark under the mountain.
It is the Big Scary Giant.
It's a Giant. That is Big, because it's a Giant. It's also scary.
Its scary because that's how it hunts.
Fear is not what leads it to prey.
Fear is what kills the prey.
It's a psychological hunter.
It hunts your psyche.
It finds the things lurking in the dark corners of you mind, and will pull out from the darkness that's all around you.
It is the Big Scary Giant.
It's a Giant. That is Big, because it's a Giant. It's also scary.
Its scary because that's how it hunts.
Fear is not what leads it to prey.
Fear is what kills the prey.
It's a psychological hunter.
It hunts your psyche.
It finds the things lurking in the dark corners of you mind, and will pull out from the darkness that's all around you.
It has mastered its
fear, learn the language of terror, the tongue of the dark, the
secret words of the skittering things behind your eyes.
And so it commands yours.
And so it commands yours.
You will know that the
Big Scary giant is near, because the darkness will move.
Also you'll be hit by big fucking rocks, because it's a Giant.
Should you prove worthy, and conquer your own fear, you will be accepted heartily as a fellow survivor of the dark.
If not, you'll be eaten and made into delicious sandwiches.
Also you'll be hit by big fucking rocks, because it's a Giant.
Should you prove worthy, and conquer your own fear, you will be accepted heartily as a fellow survivor of the dark.
If not, you'll be eaten and made into delicious sandwiches.
Because it's a Giant.
I was going to have the
BSG summon up character related shadowy Fears for them to battle,
using mental stats instead of physical ones.
Except, that's dumb.
Then again, fear is dumb. Why are Fighter, Barbarians, rogues and the like so vulnerable to fear?
Yes, a divine character would have faith to guard them against fear.
But the fighter and barb, as Thugs, stare into the face of horrible giant monsters ALL THE TIME.
The rogue has nerves of steel, because sneaking around is REALLY SCARY.
Except, that's dumb.
Then again, fear is dumb. Why are Fighter, Barbarians, rogues and the like so vulnerable to fear?
Yes, a divine character would have faith to guard them against fear.
But the fighter and barb, as Thugs, stare into the face of horrible giant monsters ALL THE TIME.
The rogue has nerves of steel, because sneaking around is REALLY SCARY.
Fear as an effect is
rubbish. You don't just tell someone "You failed you Will save,
you are afraid of the Dragon." And then they heroically overcome
their fear by rolling again.
No! Bad!
They should be afraid of the Dragon because it just bit the fighter in half or used magical halitosis to disintegrate half the people you know. And then you heroically overcome your fear by attacking it and dying horribly to a Dragon.
You should be afraid of the awful twisting murals of the Bone People because of the awful description of warped cartilage and sultry, teasing bones bulging and twisting along the walls of their dusty temple, not because your Master Of Rules says "You look at the wall? Here is a +26 against your Will. Hit? You are scared." (and you should be worried when the DM spends twenty minutes describing something horrible with evergrowing enthusiasm)
Characters are immune to fear when players are immune to fear. Scare the goddam players.
No! Bad!
They should be afraid of the Dragon because it just bit the fighter in half or used magical halitosis to disintegrate half the people you know. And then you heroically overcome your fear by attacking it and dying horribly to a Dragon.
You should be afraid of the awful twisting murals of the Bone People because of the awful description of warped cartilage and sultry, teasing bones bulging and twisting along the walls of their dusty temple, not because your Master Of Rules says "You look at the wall? Here is a +26 against your Will. Hit? You are scared." (and you should be worried when the DM spends twenty minutes describing something horrible with evergrowing enthusiasm)
Characters are immune to fear when players are immune to fear. Scare the goddam players.
The Fears that the BSG
brings out of the horrible twisted bad black realms of the nega-mind
dark should be something that the characters are afraid of. Your
cleric is fighting a vision of herself alone, without her thirty-six
dead gods whispering advice. Your Paladin sees the world dead and
cold, in the grip of A Bad Thing. Your druid sees that necromancer
that ruined all she knew.
Maybe the party fights
Fear in their own way.
The fighter punches it. Or bites it. Or hits it with an axe, because it's the knowledge that he is big, tough and horribly dangerous that gets him through things.
The Cleric … Prays at it. Demonstrates Faith.
Druid... fuck knows. Reasons with themselves? Just snubs it?
Rogues... Gaaah! Something!
Fuck it, how about we just ASK THE CHARACTERS how they face fear. How do they deal with it.
And let them do that.
(don't ignore the fear, it won't ignore you).
Maybe they drink it away.
Maybe they sing songs or work out.
Get a half-dozen Adventurer Freaks working out their fears in a big, dark cave, while a Giant lobs rocks at them.
Good times.
(actually maybe that's just Blades in the Dark)
The fighter punches it. Or bites it. Or hits it with an axe, because it's the knowledge that he is big, tough and horribly dangerous that gets him through things.
The Cleric … Prays at it. Demonstrates Faith.
Druid... fuck knows. Reasons with themselves? Just snubs it?
Rogues... Gaaah! Something!
Fuck it, how about we just ASK THE CHARACTERS how they face fear. How do they deal with it.
And let them do that.
(don't ignore the fear, it won't ignore you).
Maybe they drink it away.
Maybe they sing songs or work out.
Get a half-dozen Adventurer Freaks working out their fears in a big, dark cave, while a Giant lobs rocks at them.
Good times.
(actually maybe that's just Blades in the Dark)
