[UA] Something Nasty Under the Stairs

[James O'Rance]

Gareth Hanrahan <Gareth.Hanrahan at raidtec.ie> said:

 >>>Plus, almost everyone connects hospitals with pain, illness, suffering, 
blood and sharp metal things being poked into you.<<<

I must be weird; every time that I've been to hospital I've come out feeling 
much better than I went in... I've gone in severely underweight or via 
casualty wards, but I've always left feeling okay.

I associate hospitals with getting better, having two cooked meals per day, 
friendly nurses, and doctors who make me feel a bit guilty.

But then, the sharp metal things being poked into me has quite lost its fear 
value for me, considering that I do it thrice daily.

Here's a relevant point for running UA games (or any horror game): Sometimes 
the things that scare you don't scare your players. I'm not afraid of 
clowns. My friend Philippa is terrified of spider, but I give them no more 
than healthy respect and Jyan actually likes to see them in the house. So 
many people associate vampires with sexuality that you're better off 
describing them as some kind of horrible night-stalking cannibal.

UA seems to mostly use terror - "oh my God, that lunatic is gonna kill us 
all with an axe!" is terror - and terror is a lot of fun :). It's also 
easier to produce. Horror is much harder, and has only worked in games that 
I've played when the GM empathically understands what the players are 
feeling (and there are no idiots to break the mood). I don't rely on scary 
images to make it work. It's more intense and memorable, I guess.


Cheers,

James O’Rance
“Divine being creates petting zoo. It gets out of hand.”
- The Bible (summarised by John W. Mangrum)

http://www.geocities.com/dragon-dreamer/





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