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Plan to Be Frightened

Source Horror Adventures pg. 9
Characters who aren’t afraid of anything—or who are incapable of emotion—are the worst characters to play in a horror adventure. If the slasher bursts onto the scene and no one’s startled or frightened, that’s a bad sign for a horror game. Fight-or-flight responses, instant reactions, and expressions of revulsion are key components of a terrifying scene. In horror adventures, it is the GM’s job to set up grim scenarios, and it is part of your job to consider how your character would actually react to these situations.

That doesn’t mean your character needs to be a shrieking coward, though. Your character likely is skilled with weapons or has the power to magically manipulate reality. By the same token, your character should also be a person. In the face of a terrifying encounter, consider how your character would respond. If you’re not sure, think about your own reactions when to being frightened or unsettled in the past.

If you decide that your character would probably have some sort of startled reaction to a scene, consider expressing that. Your character’s actions might even intersect with specific game rules. As such, here’s a list of reactions to frightening situations common among Pathfinder characters. Sometimes your reaction will be strong or important enough to warrant flight or a moment of shocked paralysis, but in other cases you just want it to be flavorful and not impede a more strategic response.

Cast a Protective Spell: You gird yourself with magic.

Draw a Weapon: Usually done while taking a step back, you both prepare for and distance yourself from danger.

Gape: You hold your ground, but look on in shock.

Guard: Moving into position between the threat and an ally, you try to prevent another from seeing the scene.

Pray/Swear: You call upon the gods or verbally express shock.

Retreat: You seek escape if the situation is overwhelming.

Screaming might also be an obvious reaction, but that tends to be the domain of victims, not heroes (though, everyone has the occasional less-than-heroic moment). Retreating also seems distinctly unheroic, but in a horror game, that might occasionally be the prudent choice, especially if it is clear that a threat outmatches your group. Remember that in horror games, combat is not always be the surest path to victory.

Archives of Nethys

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Plan to Be Frightened