Lingering Magical Residue

[Wolfbelly]

Greetings again, all. I'm planning on having a powerful magic spell cast at a certain place in the backstory of my game, and I'd like to somehow convey the feeling that something largely unnatural occurred at this place without overtly saying "You detect a magical presence." So, when it comes to lingering spell effects, what sort of ideas can you guys think of? One that comes to mind is green ectoplasm which appears to be secreting from every physical surface in the area, but ... meh ... that sounds a little TOO Ghostbusters.

[Spearman23]

Im always a big fan of exploding all the wildlife in the area, but then I like messy surprises
Other than that, I would draw from the weird events string. Most of those could be used as after-effects of a spell.

[thingmaker]

I'd relate the effects to the original spell.
A major Gate type event might leave the area intermittently connected to other places... Sounds, smells, even things from elsewhere appearing and fading... Things from here getting lost.

A really awesome spell of necromancy or ressurrection might leave an area where the dead don't stay entirely dead.

Something like a truly Godzilla level Fist of Yog Sothoth might occasionally make solid objects tend to vibrate and/or generally deaden sound in the area - like it was immediately after the event.

[FunGuyfromYuggoth]

Greetings again, all. I'm planning on having a powerful magic spell cast at a certain place in the backstory of my game, and I'd like to somehow convey the feeling that something largely unnatural occurred at this place without overtly saying "You detect a magical presence." So, when it comes to lingering spell effects, what sort of ideas can you guys think of? One that comes to mind is green ectoplasm which appears to be secreting from every physical surface in the area, but ... meh ... that sounds a little TOO Ghostbusters.

Ideas = Gnarled trees with branches lifted as if in prayer; a blasted heath; the smell of decay and death hanging in the air; a peculiar cast in the color of the waters of the lake; a fog that never seems to lift; a murder of crows and/or whiporwhills that seem to crackle in the air; gale force winds at unexpected momentst that can knock a man down; scars on the ground/trees/buildings indicating lighting strikes, charred wood, still smoldering; fissures on the ground emitting a repellent, sulfurous odor; large stones that move overnight, a sense of deja vu, a sense of deja vu, and my favorite, an antique coin (Roman Era) lying on the ground, looking shiny and new.

[Carl_Stanford]

This is maybe wondering away from the topic a bit, but anyway: our group was once shocked witless when a Dimensional Shambler arrived through the barrier of reality by busting up everything electrical, including the lights, in such a way that all that the players could see of the monster was the odd glimpses made visible by the showering sparks coming from the occasional socket or whatnot. Thanks to the great atmosphere, all the players panicked and ran away although we could have easily defeated the thing if we would have only realized it to be 'just a Shambler'.

I think that CoC is always best served (as are horror movies) by keeping the creatures/spells/gods completely unseen, thus the sort of 'residue' of the mythos can add up great dimensions to the game atmosphere. FunGuy's ideas were absolutely great, think of reality and twist it or flip it sideways, make mundane things look menacing (but don't overdo it).

[RdphCarter]

I am always partial to messing with the one thing all investigators take for granted -- the accurate input of their 5 senses.

Some tried and true techniques: things seen at the edge of vision that are unseen when looked at directly, shadows that don't match the object or protrude at "wrong" angles, a faint oder carried on the breeze, alterations in the quality of sound.

How extreme these disruptions become depends on when and how you plan on using them. As a foreshadowing of events to come, they may be relatively weak; if they represent an imminent threat, make their influence stronger.

Nothing discomfits an investigator more than being unable to rely on their perceptions.

[dogstar]

I agree with the last post. Distortion of time and space never fails to unnerve. The inclusions of deja vu, premonitions and doors that open into one room, but open back into a different location. Also reuse events that occur there in the near past and near future.

Another classic is to have a 'blank' occur. Then have the players go back and play it out at a later date, but not necessarily in sequential order (a bit tricky if its an encounter - though the paradox of man dying because he is slipping back into the past when he did die, is quite horrible in its implications.... Especially when the body turns up somewhere else in 3 months time....