The 10 Balancing Acts of Engendering Horror

I have always been fascinated with the horror genre. I think its the queer mix of humor in the face of adversity, the strain of watching others in jeopardy, the fright factor of scary concepts, and the grittier ker-thunk of wretched realism which takes a look at just how bad a certain something can be. Since I've always loved horror, I've always wanted to run it.

The trouble is that a horror game is bloody hard to run.


After all, a horror game is a tight rope walk between opposing concepts, some of them intrinsic to the genre and others to the format (roleplaying in general). So to help wrap my head around what to do and how to do it, I've written up a series of articles on how to deal with the issues of balancing the various needs of the game to bring out the most horror potential.

Balancing Act 1: Personal Investment

Balancing Act 2: Dealing with Competent Heroic Personalities

Balancing Act 3: Pacing

Balancing Act 4: Threatening Nature

Balancing Act 5: Playing Environment

Balancing Act 6: Props

Balancing Act 7: The Flow of Information

Balancing Act 8: Immersion

Balancing Act 9: Scaring the Characters

Balancing Act 10: Rigging the Challenge

Stay tuned every Thursday for the next Balancing Act article!