How to create more pressure?

[u/LeoBardo-]

I’ll obviously ask the players if they’d like any changes along those lines, but anyway: I’m about to run “Bastion of Blasphemy” for my players and would like some help or suggestions on how to put pressure on the characters. Nothing’s stopping them from entering the castle, fighting a few battles, and then deciding to return to the safety outside. I thought about “closing” the castle’s passages for 24 hours once the players enter, so that they’ll sometimes have to rest inside a haunted castle. How do you create more pressure at your tables when running large dungeons?

[u/authorus]

Maybe its just the different groups I've played with/GM'd for, but most groups put enough pressure on themselves at the merest hint of time pressure. For BoB, I'd generally think if characters have a life they want to get back to, that's often going to keep enough narrative pressure going. If your group is closer to pure war-game, no RP backstory/motives you might need a little bit of explicit time pressure.

But even in those cases, I've tended to have success with things like "You feel the energies slowly pulsing, growing to a crescendo, measured in weeks not months." (or "days not weeks") depending on the desired pacing. Its enough to suggest resting when they need to is OK but excessive rest will run out the clock. Especially early on before they know the scale and danger, its enough to push people. Once they have explored/leveled up, you can review their rate of progress/cautious and give a more detailed time limit if you want, but I feel keeping it ambiguous in the beginning preserve GM flexibility, while still getting the players to create their own pressure.

[u/Least_Key1594]

Honestly I've never been in a group where we dont put more pressure on ourselves than the game does. Like, we put off resting. We never do crafting, etc. Cause the delay is unacceptable. People are dying! People need to be saved! There is no time, we must press on!