I feel cheated. When I read “hello” in response to a post about darkness I was expecting it to be about old friendships. 
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Not sure if it fits, but I’m terrified of Jack Russell terriers. Maybe rabid dogs/other animals as a more generalized fear?
And undead things, if that kind of magic exists in this setting.
Maybe bats. And scorpions.
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@Jacic –
I know you have an insects choice, but flying insects are a terrifying category all by themselves
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When it comes to disease, all you need to know to be terrified of it is that it’s deeply unpleasant and it can kill you. The less you know, the scarier it actually is.
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My fears are more to do with emotion and people, like perhaps a misery incarnate, something that feeds off your emotional pain by setting you through different trials that make you question yourself and your purpose?
I hope that makes sense.
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hello subverting expectations, my old friend~
Ugh, I know your pain. 
It’s been easier ever since I got dogs because whenever I feel one of them at my feet or snoring on their doggy bed, they inadvertently serve as a grounding presence for me. But without them…
See, my fear of the dark is rooted in my brain’s inability to shut up. Say I’ll open my eyes to try and find my phone, my brain will suddenly make something up like, “Hmm, imagine if there’s a face staring back at you as soon as your phone lights up. Or what if as your grab your phone, someone else’s hand grabs yours?? Isn’t that terrifying??? :D” Like yeah Brain, that’s super fucking terrifying, thanks for sharing! 
And then even though I know that’s just not gonna happen, my anxiety kicks in saying, “oK bUt whAt iF?¿?”
And bam, that’s why I’m afraid of opening my eyes in the dark.
But as I said, if I have a dog (or a person I trust) with me, then the dark doesn’t bother me at all because now my brain is focusing all my attention on them, leaving no room to run amok.
Also, nightlights. Nightlights are wonderful. 
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Phobias are illogical by definition. That’s why it’s possible to have a phobia of something that can actually hurt you. (Avoiding places you know are frequented by venomous snakes is healthy and normal; having a panic attack while reading “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” isn’t.)
But I didn’t think the original post was asking about phobias; it was asking about fears. Pretty much everyone who has a functioning limbic system has a few pet fears that stand out more than others. Everyone who reads Nineteen Eighty-Four knows what would be waiting for them in Room 101. Everyone who reads Divergent has at least some idea what their own personal fear landscape would look like. But only about 10% of the population could properly be diagnosed as having a phobia.
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My bad, I just reread the original post and did incorrectly assume. I’m still not totally sold on the idea but since we are talking fear and not phobia, I suppose it is a reasonable fear regardless of time period.
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Sorry not very clear. In this case it’s an entity that can take the shape of something that the MC will need to fight.
Nightmare setting. Pretty much anything goes as long as it’s not modern. (Think ancient greek era stuff, but I am playing a bit fast and loose with the mythology aspect so it’s nothing super solid. So things like needles, planes, etc are all unsuitable for the setting.)
Either, but probably leaning more towards fears.
I have no idea what it is about clowns, but I’ve never been particularly fond of them even as a kid before I was exposed to things like “IT”. Strange as the only experience I’ve had with them are people jumping around in silly ways or making balloon animals.
Would probably how I’d depict something in the general disease type category if I went there.
You’d make a good team with my brother. He got chased down the road by a dragonfly once after trying to swat it. I was not as sympathetic as I perhaps could have been at the time. (I actually did get stung pretty badly a few times by something a few nights ago (for no particularly good reason, just 'cos it’s Australia most likely) that flew off and left me wondering where it had got to and if it was coming back, so do totally get the flying aspect as an extra bit of nope-ness.)
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not scared of most insects, but (stinging) wasps are terrifying
Maybe the undead or living dolls?
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If it’s ancient times, out of the options given I’d have to go with disease. That stuff was terrifying before medicine was figured out properly (and it’s hardly like we have everything solved now, either). Painful, lingering deaths, years of suffering, crippling for life, being outcast for fear of infection, the terrible things ‘doctors’ might do to try and cure you…
Magic obviously might alleviate some of these things, but given that you’re going for a nightmare setting, the opposite could just as well be true.
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Score another for flying insects.
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People fear the unknown. Especially when it first appears familiar, think the Thing or the uncanny valley. Something that should be reassuring like your friend, breaking and twisting into a monstrosity that wants nothing else but to kill you slowly. Just my two cents.
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Maybe the fear of the King/leader/president or who ever is reigning over the land (if that is a thing in the story)
or one of their lackeys, like the guards or the royal executioner… things like that.
Not a fear of mine, but might be something the MC could be afraid of…
Or the fear of rejection. But that is hard to slice in two.
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Hmm, I’ve perhaps not explained myself eloquently enough. How commonplace is magic? Does every village have someone who can do it? And what can they do with it?
Disease is a common fear in the real world because there’s no certainty of surviving it, but if you can expect that there’ll always be someone around that can get rid of it, then people in your world probably never developed a fear of it. Same with famine, which was a super common fear: if there’s magic that can keep crops going at high productivity, then people shouldn’t be afraid of it.
There’s always the four horsemen route: Death, War, Pestilence, Famine, Conquest, Sword, Wild Beasts, and Chaos.
“But, JBento,” I hear you say, “you named EIGHT four horsemen?” Yes, yes I did, which exemplifies the need for my question: the four horsemen changed identities as people stopped fearing things and started fearing new things as the world evolved. So knowing how your world differs from the real one is vitally important to know what people in it would fear greatly.
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Is there any particular job you like the MC to be in the games you play? Whether that’s player-selectable or not. Are there any you always/almost always select if it’s available? Any static professions that make you excited to try a game? I’ve added some options that I’ve thought of and an Other option; I’m sure this doesn’t cover everything. Some are more or less specific than others; you can specify if you want.
- Police Officer
- Detective
- Soldier
- Professional Athlete
- Teacher
- Criminal
- Office Worker
- Blue Collar
- Monarch/other royalty
- Corporate Boss
- Doctor/Nurse
- Some magical/fantastical profession
- Other
0 voters
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I’m always delighted when I can play a more intellectual and/or creative character. I have a special love for characters who are devoted in some way to the life of the mind - professors, scientists, writers - but I also enjoy characters whose skills may be more obviously practical but who are more likely to tackle a problem by applying knowledge to it than throwing punches at it - doctors, lawyers, detectives. This extends to fantasy in which magic is treated as a discipline requiring serious learning and study. I also love games about people involved in the artistic creation process, especially when it involves storytelling. (A disproportionate number of my favorite games are set either in a school or in a theatre.)
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Detectives, criminals, artistic types, and royal/noble MCs are my favourite from the ones you listed, but I think my ideal professions in IF are spies and advisor adjacent roles. What I would give to play a game where you’re a moustache twirling vizier who advised the monarch! So generally professions where you can manipulate people.
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It’s still early, but this is actually going roughly as I expected. Though teacher is higher up on the list than I thought it would be.
@fool I’m actually considering adding royal spy as an option for the game I’m starting. The concept initially assumed you’re leaving home because hate the current Emperor, but it’s entirely feasible you could have been given a task as a loyalist spy instead. But I’m not certain I will, since the route would probably have to be very different from all the others.
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Doctor! Unfortunately, this is not very common profession in IF. I also like when MC is some c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ scientist.
In fantasy games, it’s fun to be monarch or royalty.
Because I love MCs that aren’t “traditionally good” I’m always happy to play a criminal (my favorite type is hacker).
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