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3 hours ago, Malkavian Grin said:

As to the other point, you have to be careful with this. Too much and you risk desensitizing players to it.

That's XCOM, baby!

Still, the point is a very solid one and one I've seen addressed with regards to fear and romance. The point of tension is that it's a tension- it's something that's moving not quite quickly enough, like a muscle being used to move a dumbbell. In that exercise, your body knows the kind of motion that's supposed to be happening and works to create it. In the fear scenario, your mind knows what could go wrong and tries to anticipate and prevent it. Maintaining a balance between drawing the tension out (where will the next attack come from) and relieving it (the monster lunges, providing the subject a tangible target of fear) is part of what makes horror effective, and why I relate it to exploration.

As I don't think I properly addressed that, a quick addendum. The reason why TPK anticipation isn't tense isn't just BECAUSE you know your character is going to die- after all, in horror movies when someone who isn't the lead is on screen they're probably going to bite it- but because you know exactly what's going to happen. A quick and dirty hack for tension in a foregone conclusion is complexity, by exploring the details.

• How is it going to happen? Maybe one cause is provided but another actually takes place.
• What are the knock-on-effects (the people behind you you failed to save, for instance)? Can you prevent them even if you can't prevent your death?
• Provide just the slightest fake-out, like the possibility of relief that's going to be crushed.
   

18 minutes ago, fabulist said:

I'd be really happy to have a training ground for these things. Where people who want to be better GMs can practice with willing and helpful players. Players who are completely honest about the game and the GM's actions, without being derisive. Fine line, I know, but it would help me immensely, for one.

I think oneshots or other short-span games might help with this, like a pick up and play or round robin 'one oneshot per person' setup.

3 hours ago, Malkavian Grin said:

As to the other point, you have to be careful with this. Too much and you risk desensitizing players to it.

That's XCOM, baby!

Still, the point is a very solid one and one I've seen addressed with regards to fear and romance. The point of tension is that it's a tension- it's something that's moving not quite quickly enough, like a muscle being used to move a dumbbell. In that exercise, your body knows the kind of motion that's supposed to be happening and works to create it. In the fear scenario, your mind knows what could go wrong and tries to anticipate and prevent it. Maintaining a balance between drawing the tension out (where will the next attack come from) and relieving it (the monster lunges, providing the subject a tangible target of fear) is part of what makes horror effective, and why I relate it to exploration.

As I don't think I properly addressed that, a quick addendum. The reason why TPK anticipation isn't tense isn't just BECAUSE you know your character is going to die- after all, in horror movies when someone who isn't the lead is on screen they're probably going to bite it- but because you know exactly what's going to happen. A quick and dirty hack for tension in a foregone conclusion is complexity, by exploring the details.

• How is it going to happen? Maybe one cause is provided but another actually takes place.
• What are the knock-on-effects (the people behind you you failed to save, for instance)?
• Provide just the slightest fake-out, like the possibility of relief that's going to be crushed.
   

13 minutes ago, fabulist said:

I'd be really happy to have a training ground for these things. Where people who want to be better GMs can practice with willing and helpful players. Players who are completely honest about the game and the GM's actions, without being derisive. Fine line, I know, but it would help me immensely, for one.

I think oneshots or other short-span games might help with this, like a pick up and play or round robin 'one oneshot per person' setup.