The Art of Fear — Horror Gamemastering 101
Ever struggled with running horror campaigns? This Workshop will provide tips and tricks for scaring your players and building tension in your games.
TYPE
SYSTEM
LANGUAGE
EXPERIENCE
AGE
$25.00
/ Session
Details
Once / Friday - 4:00 PM UTC
Aug 1
Session Duration / 2 hours
1 / 20 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/20
About the adventure
You've seen all the movies, read all the books, and have been hearing ghost stories since you were a child—you're a sucker for a scary tale. But how do you effectively incorporate horror into your campaigns in order to invoke fear in your players? What's the best approach? If you're looking to run a horror TTRPG campaign for the first time, and you don't know where or how to start, this symposium is for you! Join me for a couple hours out of your day while we discuss the psychology of fear, the proper and subtle building of tension, generalized horror tropes, and techniques for captivating your audience without causing them to run for the hills in terror. I'm Zym—Keeper of the Ebon Grimoire and Master of Horror. If you'll let me, I can be your guide through these dark, eerie, and undiscovered avenues of storytelling. After some time with me, I'm confident you'll be able to sit down with your players and run a truly memorable—and horrific—campaign that will keep them coming back for more!
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(10)
1 year on StartPlaying
12 games hosted
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Creativity, Sets the Mood
About me
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐬! 🧙 I’m Jon (most in my discord community call me Zym), a 𝟐𝟎+ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 with an undying passion for all kinds of games, with TTRPGs being chief among them! I have loved TTRPGs ever since I got my hands on the core 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝟑.𝟎 books back in the late 90s, and my passion has continued to spread into other RPGs, such as 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐥𝐡𝐮, 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄, and 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤. As a professional Gamemaster, it is my job to share that passion with you in the hopes that you, like me, will discover your own genuine fondness for the wide and vast world of TTRPGs, and perhaps fall in love with them like I did! For more, find me here! ➡️ 𝐡𝐭𝐭𝐩𝐬://𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐭𝐫.𝐞𝐞/𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐢𝐫𝐞
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
No characters will be made during this Symposium, but group exercises will be utilized to help stretch your scary muscles!
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Please ensure that you have a working computer, headset (or speakers), and microphone for communication. Before the symposium begins, you must have Discord downloaded to your computer and have joined "The Ebon Grimoire" Discord server. The link to the server will be provided after signup occurs.
What Jon Boynton brings to the table
To help facilitate your learning, sounds and ambience will be used for exercises in the five senses, as well as vivid imagery (viewer discretion is advised). Handouts containing lecture points will also be provided to each participant.
Homebrew rules
None! This is a teaching exercise.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Headphones
Platforms used
Safety
How Jon Boynton creates a safe table
No gameplay will occur, but participants are urged to join with an open mind and an acceptance that horror is subjective and might contain disturbing themes.
Content warnings
Safety tools used