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D&D Ideas — Phobias

Welcome once again to the weekly newsletter. This week’s topic is phobias, which we discussed in our weekly live chat. We hangout every Monday evening at 8 p.m. EST on Nerdarchy Live to talk about D&D, RPGs, gaming, life and whatever nerdy stuff comes up. Speaking of phobias more than a few magic items contained within the Mage Forge evoke terror like the Fright Armor and the Book of Dying Light. You can get Nerdarchy the Newsletter delivered to your inbox each week, along with updates and info on how to game with Nerdarchy plus snag a FREE GIFT by signing up here.

Nerdy News

Lean hard into wizardry from the week that was! Magical buffing is all about layering, discover the No. 1 homebrew magic staff and Pathfinder makes adventures for D&D plus our weekly hangout, a live chat with an industry pro and two live game plays round out this week’s Nerdy News. Check it out here.

Delving Dave’s Dungeon

The trick of using phobias in fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons is to play on the characters’ fear — not players (unless you’ve got consent). If you are going to run a fear themed adventure or use fear as a centerpiece of your campaign you should discuss it with the other players beforehand. This is especially true if you are playing with players with whom you aren’t familiar.

Some of the best Dungeon Masters I’ve played with prepare fear themed adventures by asking the players for something their character fears. This allows the players to collaborate more deeply on the story. It also respects any boundaries of the players. The days of gotcha DMing should be a thing of the past.

Once you get the consent then have at it. There are plenty of safety tools available to implement if need be and the players can always check in within each other periodically.

Once the I’s have been dotted and the T’s have been crossed let the games begin. I’ve seen the term knives used as a way to give a DM ammunition to use against your characters. As I understand it these knives are offered up willingly by the players. By their nature they are permission based. Listed among these knives could easily be a list of fears and phobias.

By doing this as part of your session zero and in the beginning of the campaign these phobias could be sprinkled out as opposed to asking what characters are afraid of at the end of one session in anticipation of the next. This also gives the DM time to foreshadow upcoming events. Players who are heavy into immersion could use this as an opportunity to really invest in roleplaying.

You might describe slithering tracks in the sand and cast off snake skins for a character who suffers from ophidiophobia. Webs and desiccated corpses serve to elicit a response from the arachnophobes in the party. How about crisscrossing skywalks and flying buttresses for a character suffering from acrophobia? When the players roleplay and react in games to their phobias you can reward them inspiration.

You could use magic and effects to cause insanity to instill phobias in character whether it becomes a permanent part of their character or it’s a temporary condition for them to overcome. The Order of the Wizened‘s nemesis organization employs tactics such as these.

Another use of phobias and fears is through spells. There may be more but here is a list of spells that cause the frightened condition. A DM could either describe one of the character’s phobias or even let the players describe what their character is most afraid of and let them roleplay it out.

List of 5E D&D Fear Based Spells

• Antipathy/Sympathy
• Cause Fear
• Eyebite
• Fear
• Phantasmal Killer
• Symbol
• Weird

From Ted’s Head

A while back we talked about fear. When we touched on it I felt the direction was more on the aspect of the mechanical nature of the game. Creatures who produce fear effects and the genre of causing fear were the lens through which we looked at the topic. In the case of phobias these are fears the characters might already have before a game starts or develops over the course of an event or campaign.

This idea came to me as my fellow player in the Dawnbringers game over on Mini Terrain Domain has a phobia of water. This fear has been reinforced over and over again in the years we have been playing this campaign. Jeremy, who plays Talmud, made a decision to have his character have this phobia. I applaud anyone who makes this kind of choice and sticks with it consistently.

I must admit my choices of backstory and limitations — or lack thereof — has to do with the style of the DMs I gamed with in my formative years. Having an adversarial DM means you do not spoon feed them weaknesses that can be used against your character. It has been a long time since I have had to deal with DMs like this but sadly the damage has been done. Now it is time for course correction.

Having a phobia might mean your character is at a disadvantage for certain parts of the game. So long as the scope of your phobia does not cover a large percent of the game or is greatly effected by the major plot points it can be a fun roleplaying element and something that either gives you an idiosyncratic experience or a building block of something to overcome.

Another aspect I think could be fun and give you a fright would be adding a weakness or a phobia to magic items. Doing this could allow a DM to hand out magic items at earlier levels if it had a drawback. For instance a +1 weapon that gives its wielder a phobia of spiders. Then when you provide a normal +1 weapon it is an improvement and the user can chuck the weapon with a phobia or keep it if they want. Here’s a magic sword you can add into your own game designed with this idea in mind. If you decide to use this item or one like it and your players complain, just blame me.

Webbed Weakness

Weapon (shortsword), common

This +1 short sword is made of a dull grey steel and is not as shiny as normal steel. The small cross guard is heavily marked with spider web designs and tiny spiders. Despite its design while you carry this sword you experience a phobia of spiders. You must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw against any spider or spiderlike creature you see, such as drider, or become frightened.

From the Nerditor’s Desk

Between our live chat and the follow up editorials from Nerdarchists Dave and Ted we covered phobias in the context of 5E D&D pretty well. Much of the conversation and ideas relate to phobias manifested by characters in games. There’s fertile ground for collaboration between DMs and players for exploring phobias and their impact on the emergent narrative of a campaign.

But what about outside the game? Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking and it’s remarkably common. Estimates put around 77% of the population with some level of anxiety regarding public speaking. This common phobia might account for the phenomenon of DM anxiety at least partially. Thankfully the same suggested methods for overcoming phobia of public speaking come in quite handy for DMs too.

Here’s a variety of steps you can take to manage your own DM phobias about public speaking from the Mayo Clinic. I planned to modify them somewhat so they’d relate closer to the 5E D&D experience but if I’m honest they work just as well without any changes. I’ve added a few comments here and there for additional help.

• Know your topic. The better you understand what you’re talking about — and the more you care about the topic — the less likely you’ll make a mistake or get off track. And if you do get lost, you’ll be able to recover quickly. Take some time to consider what questions the audience may ask and have your responses ready. [One big step you can take is identifying what parts of running a game you struggle with the most then focusing your efforts on learning more about that part.]
• Get organized. Ahead of time, carefully plan out the information you want to present, including any props, audio or visual aids. The more organized you are, the less nervous you’ll be. Use an outline on a small card to stay on track. If possible, visit the place where you’ll be speaking and review available equipment before your presentation. [Because 5E D&D is interactive and collaborative there’s much more likelihood of going off track. There will be times you’ll have to improvise but if you’re organized you’ll find a way back to what you’ve prepared and the players will probably never know.]
• Practice, and then practice some more. Practice your complete presentation several times. Do it for some people you’re comfortable with and ask for feedback. It may also be helpful to practice with a few people with whom you’re less familiar. Consider making a video of your presentation so you can watch it and see opportunities for improvement. [When it comes to 5E D&D practice means running more games. Because it’s so easy to find players and groups online these days you can run the same adventure multiple times for different people. Also don’t think you have to prepare a long campaign right off the bat. Start with a single encounter instead and see where it leads.
• Challenge specific worries. When you’re afraid of something, you may overestimate the likelihood of bad things happening. List your specific worries. Then directly challenge them by identifying probable and alternative outcomes and any objective evidence that supports each worry or the likelihood that your feared outcomes will happen. [In my experience this step is the least likely or helpful. You can consider a million possibilities but players will do the million and first thing just about every time.]
• Visualize your success. Imagine that your presentation will go well. Positive thoughts can help decrease some of your negativity about your social performance and relieve some anxiety. [Pretty straightforward! At the end of the day 5E D&D is a game. If players get to do their characters’ cool gimmick and come out on top then more than likely you were a terrific DM.]
• Do some deep breathing. This can be very calming. Take two or more deep, slow breaths before you get up to the podium and during your speech. [Seriously, remember to take it easy. I’ve had a few DM panic attacks in my time but I’m still here running games and having a great time.]
• Focus on your material, not on your audience. People mainly pay attention to new information — not how it’s presented. They may not notice your nervousness. If audience members do notice that you’re nervous, they may root for you and want your presentation to be a success. [This is a tricky one for me because I think reading the room is a crucial factor in being a DM. Since running a game is different than regular public speaking though you do have a secret weapon — passing the ball to the players. If you feel unsure or too much in the spotlight just move the onus onto someone else in the group. Player agency is important too, right? Thrust it upon them!]
• Don’t fear a moment of silence. If you lose track of what you’re saying or start to feel nervous and your mind goes blank, it may seem like you’ve been silent for an eternity. In reality, it’s probably only a few seconds. Even if it’s longer, it’s likely your audience won’t mind a pause to consider what you’ve been saying. Just take a few slow, deep breaths. [A group of socially awkward nerds gathered together to roll funny shaped dice is going to have moments of silence. This is the least impactful step on this list and not really a concern.]
• Recognize your success. After your speech or presentation, give yourself a pat on the back. It may not have been perfect, but chances are you’re far more critical of yourself than your audience is. See if any of your specific worries actually occurred. Everyone makes mistakes. Look at any mistakes you made as an opportunity to improve your skills. [Post game elation is a real thing. Whenever I run a game of 5E D&D it usually lingers in my mind the rest of the day, which is a good thing. I think about all the awesome moments we created together and capitalize on new ideas inspired by the session for the next one.] 
• Get support. Join a group that offers support for people who have difficulty with public speaking. One effective resource is Toastmasters, a nonprofit organization with local chapters that focuses on training people in speaking and leadership skills. [You’re here reading this editorial and presumably a fan of Nerdarchy or at least D&D creators outside the official team. You’ve got this step mastered already!]

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