Episode Details

Modern Mythos with Jon & Seth - Episode 14: Chaosium Con & Horror Atmosphere In this episode, Jon and Seth discuss ways to effectively create an atmosphere of horror at your gaming table, and the guys were able to finally meet each other in person for the first time at Chaosium Con in Ypsilani, Michigan. It was a blast, and they've got lots of thoughts on it as they reflect on the convention weekend and look forward to the next year's convention. Topic 1: Horror Atmosphere MUSIC is overrated – a playlist set to run in the background can't be relied upon to provide appropriate support for the rise and fall of emotions around the table. But, if used judiciously, music can be helpful.

• Music as a Timer
• Location-specific music & background sound effects
• Theme music for a major villain
• Volume can be difficult to judge. A classic problem is the music is too loud for everyone to clearly hear one another (restaurant problem).
• Opening song/pump-up song to begin game.

DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE – in each location and scene, the players only know what is told to them by the Keeper. So use of colorful descriptive language is used to paint mental pictures for the players. Things to keep in mind as you describe a scene:

• What is the player's POV? What can be seen as you first enter the room, versus after the character has crossed to the other side of the room? (If a monster or something dangerous and obvious, mention that last. Once you mention the monster, the players will not hear or remember the rest of the description after that)
• Touch on as many senses as possible – Sight - Sound - Smell (best writing tip I ever got was to always use 3 senses)
• Not all characters experience a scene in the same way. It's possible for two different characters to see two different things in the same scene. So sometimes the Keeper should describe the scene differently for some of the characters. Maybe the new scene is more personal for Character A and could shake their sanity more than it would for Character B.
• What's just as important as the words you sa