I'm working on a horror/suspense campaign to try to give my players something new and fresh besides the old fashioned aliens and daemons.

Here's the link to the original thread: www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp

I plan on starting this campaign two weeks from tomorrow. 11/22/2011

What I'm looking for in this new thread is things that the good people of FFG would consider things worthy of causing fear in marines (or more accurately the players playing the marines, seeing as how marines "know no fear") I figure that if the players feel fear they will instinctively play their characters afraid. I've enticed them all by telling them that if their characters survive I will reward them with the crux terminatus and any renown they need in order to receive terminator armour. I think that this will make them try to make their character survive thus making them cautious of danger and fear death. In the warp I won't be allowing the use of fate points other than burning to further put on the pressure. I'm also giving them a group of around 150 people also locked on the ship for them to protect and deal with. The inquisitor will be dying and his interrogator will take charge (until the team deems him unworthy.) I would greatly appreciate any input on anything, especially other ideas of how to cause fear in players or marines.

One of the things I need help with is designing new enemies to frighten the team. What aspects do you think causes the most fear in people?

The stats of the enemies I've started working on are as follows:

NAME WS BS S T AG INT WP FEL DP WOUNDS Special Rules Armour Weapon 1 W1 Damage W1 Pen W1 Special Weapon 2
Slasher 60 1 52 54 46 45 60 1 0 35 Swift Attack 8 All Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 P4 Razor; Arm Whip 1d10 + 2 2 Toxic (2) Flexible
Climber 45 50 35 37 62 50 60 1 0 26 Size – Small 4 All Projectile 1d10 + 5 P5 Toxic (2) AG dmg 1d5 temp; Talons 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Crawler 50 1 42 43 53 50 60 1 0 29 6 All 1d10 + 5 P4 Flexible Razor; Leg Blades 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Hulk 35 35 60 60 15 40 60 1 1 60 Unnat.T (x3) S (2) 15 All Slam 2d10 + 1 P 2; Projectile 1d10 + 3 2 Snaring
Spitter 45 42 42 46 44 50 60 1 0 28 6 All Spit 1d10 + 11 P10 Corrosive*; Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 4 Razor

-GRADE 2-
Slasher 70 1 62 64 72 55 80 1 1 45 Lightning Attack 8 All Arm Blades 1d10 + 8 P4 Razor; Arm Whip 1d10 + 2 2 Toxic (2) Flexible
Climber 55 50 35 45 78 60 80 1 1 38 Size – Small 4 All Projectile 1d10 + 5 P5 Toxic (3) AG dmg 1d10 temp; Talons 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Crawler 60 1 50 56 71 60 80 1 1 38 6 All Arm Whip 1d10 + 5 P4 Flexible Razor; Leg Blades 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Hulk 45 45 71 72 20 50 80 1 2 120 Unnat.T (x3) S (2) 15 All Slam 2d10 + 6 P2; Projectile 1d10 + 3 2 Snaring
Spitter 51 53 51 50 68 50 80 1 1 39 6 All Spit 1d10 + 11 P10 Corrosive*; Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 4 Razor

Corrosive Rule: Weapon causes persistent damage until the article of armour it is on is removed.

None of these rules have been play tested and suggestions are welcome.

The main thing I need assistance on is what these things look like. What aspects would make them scary? I want them to have a base human form just altered and twisted. The problem I'm having is that almost all 40k enthusiasts are numb to the fear of mutation and whatnot. So I need something fresh. I want to have the creatures not altered by chaos or the warp. They're entirely immune to its effects save psykic powers. Knowing the fact that these things aren't caused by warp mutations or daemon infestation can (I'm hoping) cause fear of the unknown reason as to why they are like this.

The ideas for visual aspects I have so far are: (Sketches to be added soon.)

Slasher:

Vaguely still human except the fact that its radius and ulna have extended beyond the hands and fuzed together into a jagged blade of sorts. One tentacle growing from its left scapula to be used as a secondary weapon.

Climber:

Somewhat human as well however the fingers on the hand have extended and fused in pairs to make an appendage with 2 fingers and a thumb. Under both wrists are long spikes that run inside the forearm between the radius and ulna. Muscular contractions can propel this spike forward making it an effective melee weapon. The legs have rotated backwards 180 at the hip to allow them to carry the creature on all 4 limbs more effectively. The foot has split in half allowing for better traction with 2 surfaces. the spine has extended out at the tailbone to make a tail. Underneath the tail is a muscular tube able to project poisoned stingers at a medium distance. The eye socket area of the head is open to the brain. The eyes have moved down below the cheek bones and the mouth has been sown shut. Secondary mouth TBD.

Crawler:

This creature has given up the human limbs in favor of newly grown ones. The 4 new limbs sprout from the front of the abdomen and are very much like arms except the fact they end in boney spikes. All features of the face are devoid save one large eye in the location of the nose/mouth area. The human limbs lie limp whilst the new limbs are the primary weapon for the creature. Secondary weapons TBD.

More to come...

Sounds like a classic case of Unexplainable Post Apocalytic "Zombie" Outbreak - aka Left4Dead (Love that game). So there will be your usual mutant and these are special mutants right? Can throw hordes of normal ones at your players. Maybe the mutation kills the human outright but animates their husks into undead. That'd make them more fun.

Throw in a suicide bomber that explode and cause splash mutated form of acid. To add to horror, throw in the "zombified" children. Ones that jump onto the SM. That'd really be creepy.

I like that idea. It would make things interesting fighting hordes that don't die as easily as normal humans. I would love to do that, however, the only thing I'm concerned about in doing this is that one of the players strongly dislikes zombies. (Yeah I didn't think it possible either.) So I'm trying to steer the creatures away from zombie status. I want them to have an undead aspect that they just refuse to die, but I need to find a way to make it not in a way of zombies. Plus the other players really like zombies so they most likely wouldn't find it scary to fight them. Though no doubt they would enjoy it. Also, Nurgle's presence in the 40k universe makes a valid explanation for zombies. I've read several 40k novels that have various factions fighting Nurgle zombies in them.

Here's a repost of the stats. Hopefully the word wrap wont cause a huge break in it this time. Sorry if its hard to understand. I made it in excel so its actually organized in that, but copying it kinda ruined it. I also forgot to note that DP is going to be the enemy equivalent of Fate Points.

The stats of the enemies I've started working on are as follows:

NAME WS BS S T AG INT WP FEL DP WOUNDS Special Rules Armour Weapons
Slasher 60 1 52 54 46 45 60 1 0 35 Swift Attack 8 All Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 P4 Razor; Arm Whip 1d10 + 2 2 Toxic (2) Flexible
Climber 45 50 35 37 62 50 60 1 0 26 Size – Small 4 All Projectile 1d10 + 5 P5 Toxic (2) AG dmg 1d5 temp; Talons 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Crawler 50 1 42 43 53 50 60 1 0 29 6 All 1d10 + 5 P4 Flexible Razor; Leg Blades 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Hulk 35 35 60 60 15 40 60 1 1 60 Unnat.T (x3) S (2) 15 All Slam 2d10 + 1 P 2; Projectile 1d10 + 3 2 Snaring
Spitter 45 42 42 46 44 50 60 1 0 28 6 All Spit 1d10 + 11 P10 Corrosive*; Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 4 Razor

-GRADE 2-
Slasher 70 1 62 64 72 55 80 1 1 45 Lightning Attack 8 All Arm Blades 1d10 + 8 P4 Razor; Arm Whip 1d10 + 2 2 Toxic (2) Flexible
Climber 55 50 35 45 78 60 80 1 1 38 Size–Small 4 All Projectile 1d10 + 5 P5 Toxic (3) AG dmg 1d10 temp; Talons 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Crawler 60 1 50 56 71 60 80 1 1 38 6 All Arm Whip 1d10 + 5 P4 Flexible Razor; Leg Blades 1d10 + 3 3 Razor
Hulk 45 45 71 72 20 50 80 1 2 120 Unnat.T (x3) S (2) 15 All Slam 2d10 + 6 P2; Projectile 1d10 + 3 2 Snaring
Spitter 51 53 51 50 68 50 80 1 1 39 6 All Spit 1d10 + 11 P10 Corrosive*; Arm Blades 1d10 + 6 4 Razor

Corrosive Rule: Weapon causes persistent damage until the article of armour it is on is removed.

None of these rules have been play tested and suggestions are welcome.

I would just suggest a different approach.

Nothing is more terrifying than the unknown.

Give your Kill-Team encounters where they see only shadows...that the shadows vanish when they retreat their attacks. And, since they're undead, they leave no blood.

Don't know about you, but the scariest monster is the one you don't ever see fully.

And, don't add humorous elements on your own...the PCs can, but, you making anything too campy will ruin the mood you're trying to set.

Ah I like that! Have things lurking in the shadows or peering around corners to vanish just as you think you've seen something causing you to second guess if it was really there. I think I'm going to be transferring info via notes to the players. That way they can decide if they want to tell anyone risking sounding crazy. I definitely will be using this. I never like to add humor to my rpg session but one of our players is a total troll and makes quirky comments all the time. Usually they're hilarious but it kills the mood. So I think I'm gonna have a sit down with him and let him know that I need him to back off a bit to keep the mood. Which i believe he'll respect. He loves horror games and he was actually thinking about being gm for a game of Cthulu.

Thanks for the input. Really appreciate it.

Tell your Kill-Team to go ahead and roll damage on their attack rolls. Then roll dice behind the screen for Dodges/Parries. Don't tell the Kill-Team whether the monsters have dodged or parried. This helps add an element of uncertainty to the game - did the player hit the monster? Did they damage it?

Never let your monsters get drawn into an extended combat. Have them strike from the shadows, trying for a surprise round, then melt away once the Kill-Team starts to fight back. By the same token, never let your Marines get the jump on the monsters.

After an encounter where a Marine takes damage from a monster, have that player roll Willpower checks at inconsistent intervals. Let enough time pass between checks that it moves to the back of the player's mind, but not so long that they forget about it entirely. Up to you whether the Willpower checks actually mean anything or not....

Leave a few survivors aboard. If the by now jumpy Kill-Team shoots them before checking their targets, congratulations, they just killed innocent civilians. If not, then the survivors are infested and will attack the Kill-Team when the opportunity presents itself.

Force your players to declare marching order, what they're watching for, and where they're looking. Have monsters attack from unconventional avenues, such as the walls, ceiling, or floor. Occasionally roll dice behind the screen. Ask Scary Specific Questions: "You're opening the door? Which hand are you using?" "Which hip are your grenades stashed on?" "Anyone got a Charm?"

Set up an area map for a hallway or room the Kill-Team has to cross. Describe the room in lavish detail. Make sure there's lots of cover and shadowy corners. Then have the Kill-Team get through the hallway/room with no combat, there was nothing important in there.

Other miscellaneous horror elements: trails of blood that lead to piled corpses, doors opening/closing, muffled bangs and scrapes coming from the walls, glimpsed motion out of the corner of the eye, bloodcurling screams, abruptly cut off, from the room before them, but when the Kill-Team gets there no one is left.

Haha that is awesome. Thanks a ton! That's going to help a lot! I was getting shills just thinking about it. I think I need to find some ambient noises to play while we're playing. I think it would add a lot to it. Like get the muffled scraping and banging in the walls as an actual audio file and play it. I never thought of asking them random questions or make them take tests and never tell them the reasons or the results. That's an excellent idea. I definitely going to do all the rolls behind my screen. I like the idea of them having no idea what's going on. Do you think I should make the rolls for them behind my screen too? Then they wouldn't have any idea whether or not they're succeeding, or do you think that would detract too much from the game?

Copious amounts of thanks to you sir.

If it's a roll relating to their player (in the case of the aforementioned Willpower checks, for example), I would have the player make the roll, that way they can't accuse you of fudging dice rolls for them. They'll know they succeeded or failed, but they won't know what that MEANS.

Oh, another thing I just thought of. In the case of the Willpower tests, make sure to ask how many degrees of success they succeeded or failed by. If nothing's actually wrong with them, it'll make them think it's an Opposed Test against....something....and will drive their paranoia up a notch. If something IS wrong with them, you need to know that information anyway.

I love it. I think that will definitely creep them out and keep them on edge.

Yeah i think that if i do too many rolls for them then it will detract from the game experience and just kind of seem like a horror choose-your-own-adventure.

I'm liking where this campaign is headed. Thanks again.

I see you 80+ people that have viewed this and not commented! If you have any input of any kind it would be appreciated! I need all the help i can get, especially with only a couple weeks until we play again.

Something that definitely scares the Hell out of Space Marine players are attacks that damage a SM's gear . Check out the "Living Ammunition" stats under the Eye of the Abyss entry in Creatures Anathema for a good example...

In many ways, a marine's strength comes from his gear. If the players are veterans of Deathwatch, have them go in with just Scout Armor initially and weaker weapons. A lot of common enemies are a lot more frightening when you don't have power armor and chain swords, even to a space marine.

Also agree with Brother Carharias, sometimes it is the unseen which is the most frightening. When you do reveal your villains, have them pose a credible threat. An enemy that can take down a Space Marine is imposing indeed.

Ways to scare a player/SM

1. Split them up. Using simultaneous objectives or using a division method like: "Oh, the corrider collapsed between us"To fight an enemy horde with the devastator supporting your assault is routine. To charge not knowing if you are running into an ambush, thats creepy.

2. Use close enviroments. An Space Hulk is ideal. If there is an enemy 20 m away, its easy to shot it down. To hold an horde with your heavy bolter at point blank range and with a wall at your back, thats creepy.

3. Use demons! Ghosts! I scared my players with some Bersekers appearing behind them: PC shot them, without effect. A moment later, the Ghost Berserkes went throught the squad, passing through them without harm.

4.Strange Phenomenoms. My favourite. Use great ammounts paranormal phenomenoms. Make the walls bleed, the corridors twist for a moment, phantom voices from nowhere, the psyker having headackes like: this place is full of spirits. Random dots in the auspex also work very well.

My favourite creepy phenomena its one from a Dark heresy mission in a dammed world. Through radio, a transmision cames: "Help me... Help me... Help me..." its ciclical. When they arrive to the transmision origin, they stay hearing the same. Then, one of the players will surely say: "its a recording". In that moment, the transmision mutes, and some seconds after, it restarts "Help me, (PC name)... Help me, (PC name)..."

Maybe your ideal enemy would be demons, since they may not die at first shot, not even bled, and can stalk your Kill-Team constantly. Or you can create a new xenos specie

Sorry for double posting, just had an idea.

Also, you can have an enemy like the Dead Space thing. An amorphous alien made up of bodies and flesh of the dead. There is one in Deathwatch history, a creature that Chaplain Strome captured from a Space Hulk after looking how the fire of a full squad couldnt harm it.

SM players feel so mighty that they think they can kill anything you throw them. So you can have an undying creature stalking them. Only one creature, but with the ability to regenerate itself almost instantly, or completely inmunne to common damage but really vulnerable to EMP pulses, for example.

The Kill-Team will face an invulnerable enemy which can hunt them down until they discover how to kill it.