I guess maybe this a super newb question, but how does the terrifying tag work? Does it call for dd+wis? How do y’all use fear in yr games?
I guess maybe this a super newb question, but how does the terrifying tag work?
I guess maybe this a super newb question, but how does the terrifying tag work?
I use it during soft and hard moves as a GM on 7-
No additional moves needed, unless the players look to me to see what happens next
It often ends up with a Defy Danger w/WIS, yes. Or maybe CON or CHA if the player can justify it.
But more specifically, I use it as justification for GM moves, soft or hard as appropriate. And that often leads the players to Defying Danger.
GM: “It’s horrible, bulging eye fixes you and you just go cold. Your brain goes blank, and you every instinct you have is to just run the fuck away. It takes a lumbering step towards and sneers, hefting its club. What do you do?” (put them in a spot)
Fighter: “Um, I charge it!”
GM: “Yeah, weird, your legs just won’t move. Your hands are shaking. It takes another step closer. You’ve got to do something to get a hold on yourself… or else turn and flee. What do you do?” (tell them the requirements and ask)
Fighter: “Huh. Okay, I swallow hard, choke up on my ax, and unleash a guttural yell! GAAHH! I’ve faced fiercer things that this!”
GM: “Cool, sounds like you’re Defying Danger with… mental fortitude, I guess. Yeah?”
Fighter: “I was hoping for CHA, actually.”
GM: “Hmm. I think that’d be more like if you were boasting, or urging your allies to follow you, or something like that.”
Fighter: “Oh, sure! Instead of growling, I’ll call out ‘Lo, giant, I am Hawke. I killed the razor boar of Krenshar Wood, and faced the ghost of Titch, and slew the wyvern of Scorpion Roost! And I will fell you, like just so much timber!”
GM: “Oh, yeah! Defy Danger with CHA it is.”
Fighter: “Uh… a 7-9.”
GM: “Well, your words don’t seem to convince it very much. the ogre keeps coming, and snarls, and as you finish your taunt, it’s swinging that tree trunk sidelong at your head! You shake free of the fear, but you’ve barely got a moment to defend yourself. What do you do?” (worse result >> put them in a spot).
For me, I make it utterly terrifying. Unless my players are reacting with fear of it I have not given it enough fiction. I use a lot of soft moves. And a hard move is they just loose their cool and player chooses to fight or flee for the rest of the scene.