What is the proper feel of a DG game? Some suggestions. 

Reading Lovecraft, one can't help but notice that the monsters are nearly always in the periphery. Once they've been glimpsed they lose their power to frighten. Likewise, the players should know something is out there - and should feel it's effects - but they should never be fully confronted until they already know something else is out there too. The players in my game are about to come face to face with their first MiGo. They've had hints, but don't know what to expect exactly. And in the last session they came to the realization that there's some sort of black organization pulling strings around them. They don't know if it's related to this thing they're about to confront or not, but they do know that just getting rid of this upcoming thing isn't going to solve everything like they thought it might. The monsters can't be kept of of sight forever (that would be monumentally boring), but once the spotlight hits them the fears should already be gathering elsewhere.

About character death versus insanity - both must be tangible possibilities. Almost every game I've ever played in has been run by game masters afraid to actually kill characters. Recognizing this, the characters I've run have become increasingly brash, and often do things that most players are shocked at - and yet I have never lost a character that way. I'm usually the first to open the ominous-looking door, and the hidden dice of the DM always seem to fall so that I'm left with a hitpoint or two - or, at worst, unconscious with some easy access healing nearby. That won't fly in a good DG game. The last DG Keeper I played with ran Tatterdamalian a long time ago. He was as surprised when I walked off a Carcosan spire where I thought there might be an invisible bridge as I was when he killed my character for it. That was my first game with him, and I kept going back for more because I finally had a real game keeper. I can't recall ever getting killed by any other game master in any RPG.

So, entering a combat should carry with it the risk of death. If it doesn't, what's the point of running it? By the same token, opening a tome of eldritch lore or casting a spell or tracking down a sanity-blasting creature should carry with the risk of losing a character to insanity. Otherwise, two hours of roleplaying can be summed up as, "Okay, you get out of the car and get shot at. It takes time, but you successfully manage to bring down all fifty of the hidden enemies and make your way into the tomb where you find a book with a big 'N' on the cover. Opening it, your mind melts, but only for a minute or two, and then you become the most powerful sorcerer in the world and bring about the endtimes and the Earth explodes. Okay, where's the Monopoly board. Got any beer?"

In my game, the players are beginning to realize that pulling a gun is tantamount to finally admitting to themselves that they screwed up somewhere. They know that combat is deadly. They also know that had they not screwed up, they very well might have lost their minds in some other way.

At the same time, the illusion of progress is important. When I player goes through a character sheet every month, they like to know that they are at least getting closer to some hidden truth. Even if they know that the world is doomed, at least they can put it off another day. Without that, there's even less reason to play than when your Keeper can't being themselves to kill you.

Those are my three most important "feel" elements: Death is around the corner to those careless enough to seek it, insanity lurks everywhere if you only know where to look, and that by confronting those possibilities you can make a small difference in what happens next.

Another thing that lends itself to feel is environment. Appropriately chosen scene-specific music, scenario-specific background music, lots of handouts and props whenever possible. If they can hear the ambiance and see and feel the objects their characters are manipulating, then that's three senses that they are sharing with their characters. In some rare cases you can even engage the other two if you feel like cooking scenario-appropriate food. By engaging these physical senses in addition to the "mind's eye" of imagination that most keepers try to engage, you can lend an amazing amount of feel to your game.

And here's the kicker: All the above stuff applies, regardless of what system you use. Spycraft is great, but it's not going to make your props any better. D20 has it's plusses and minuses, but none of them matter if your players have immortal characters.


Credits: Agent Marshall Gatten