Café de Nuit

So here is an interesting topic. What sorts of things do you use to help create a mood of fear, and horror in your games? Do you use props? If so, what kind? Do you use background music? If so, what do you recommend? As DM, it's up to you to help create that sense of fear that is all too important in a Ravenloft game. Being a good storyteller is important for all role-playing games, but even more so when it comes to Ravenloft I think. What works well for you, and what doesn't? I'm always looking for ways to improve my ability to set the mood in a game, and I would value your opinions on this.

Things I like to use:
Props: Rubber Knife, an old pocket watch with chain, towing chains to rattle underneath the table, an antiquated smoking pipe, an old dice bag partially filled with loose change, a small antiquated wooden, or tin box, to serve as a "snuff box", or "spell component box", a black eye patch to give that sinister look, old costume jewelry(This by far is one of the most useful props I've ever incorporated in my games. It can be used in any setting)

Background Music: The SoundTrack to "Bram Stokers: Dracula" This works, but I really could use some suggestions on this, as this was all that I could think of at the time.

Lighting: I'm sure everyone at one time or another has used candles to help set the mood, but you may want to keep them out of reach as my players had a tendency to play around with them when there was a lull in the game. LOL! Ideally, it's better if you just have a lamp or two on rather than an overhead light, or better yet, if you have a dimmer switch this would be perfect. The idea is to have only just enough light for the players to actually read their character sheets, and books if necessary.

That's all I can think of that I've used at one point in time or another. I'd love to hear your ideas. Thinking on it, and the fact that I'm running a Masque of the Red Death Campaign right now, I'd love to procure an old Top Hat, and Brown Derby. Not so easy to find I suspect. At least not without it costing me a chunk of money.

There are plenty of movie soundtracks I can think of offhand that work. Dracula being one of them. Frankenstein, The Mummy, Sleepy Hollow, Conan the Barbarian, The Castlevania Game music from Symphony of the Night is great. Some of the Silent Hill Soundtracks.

There is a group called Nox Arcana who have several CD's of various themes that are just perfect for gaming. I highly recomend looking them up, you will not regret it.

OMG!! Thank you sooo much for recommending the Nox Arcana Group. I found their website, and was able to listen to several samples of their music, and it's EXACTLY what I was looking for!!! I'll be sure to purchase at least two or three of their albums for gaming purposes. Plus, you just can't beat possibly using one of these as background music for say a "Halloween Party". Simply awesome!!! Thanks again!

No problem. But picking which one unless you bought them all will be a problem. So choose wisely.

This is a common discussion around here. You can search the forum for "music" and "props" and see what comes up. Most of the good suggestions have been archived in http://fraternityofshadows.com/TheVault.html

But we're always looking for new suggestions, so keep them coming.

And if you like Nox Arcana (who are great), check out Midnight Syndicate as well.

I'm just going to post my current playlist for my campaign,

The Illusionist OST - Phillip Glass
(good and evocative without being too dynamic and ruining the mood.)

Ghosts I - IV - Nine Inch Nails
(a series of shortish instrumentals, some work quite well; but you have to dig around the 36 tracks.)

The Wolfman OST - Danny Elfman
(abit dynamic, but good. Great for gypsy curse scenes and the like)

To the Bottom of the Sea - Voltaire
(Need a drinking song for pirates, sailors or a tavern it's "This Ship's Going Down" . Damnit, there's a song on here called "Stakes and Torches (the uprising of the peasants)")

RPG Atmosphere
( This is a sound effects program that's still in beta, but works wonderfully. You can set up sound-scapes to run in the background under music or by themselves. You can set random sounds to pop in at random tones and between ranges of volume. Also there is a soundboard so you can hot key noises to your keyboard; For the appropriate wolf howl.)

For music nothing beats Nox Arcana in my opinion. You can get their albums cheap and they are all absolutely perfect for Ravenloft. Their albums span the gamut and can be used in any Ravenloft setting.

I too recommend "The Wolfman" from Danny Elfman. I found it very much in the same spirit of "Bram Stoker's Dracula".

Midnight Syndicate is a group in the same vein of Nox Arcana that also have a good selection. But, like Nox Arcana (if I remember well), you have to select which tracks within the albuns you prefer since some have a 'mood voice' that you might not like.

One soundtrack that made good success in my sessions of D&D was Aliens (James Horner - Deluxe Edition). I may seems strange for a Ravenloft game, but some of the tracks are excelent for mood and they created terrific tension moments when we were playing.

If you like to make compilations, I recommend you search music from the likes of Jerry Goldsmith, Ennio Morricone and John Williams. Most – if not all – of the times, you can find excelent tracks; even from the least expected albuns.

Take John Williams' "Hook", for example: A mix of diverse pacing music, but the track "Hook-Napped" is particulary inspiring for a 'tension-night-foggy-complete darkness-what comes there' moment.

Or the track "Presenting the Hook" for an Harkon Lukas – or Azalin – entrance.

You can also look to computer games soundtracks. There are some very good selections for mood. One example that comes to mind is "Sounds from the Lighthouse: BioShock 2 Original Soundtrack" (Garry Schyman).

Hope this helps.

Lighting is one I always point to black lights for. I mean real black lights, not those phony incandescent bulbs that claim to be black lights. It's just light enough to see what you're doing, but dark enough to give players the creeps. And if you have dice that fluoresce a certain color--which is a good idea so you can read them regardless--then you can make those rolls appear to be even more dramatic based on color. Dark red glowing dice can make those critical, life-or-death rolls seem all that more scary.

Black lights are also not that hard to find. Most stores that sell lighting have them, and some novelty stores sell battery-powered black light lanterns. Finding dice that glow the way you want can be a bit trickier since color isn't always an accurate indicator of how they'll look under black light; some that appear bright won't glow, while others that are darker may glow brightly. If your hobby shop clerk is willing to indulge you, though, then kudos.