Adventure Twists

[Imaculata]

I had my players discover a treasure map, but the map didn't make any sense at first. The players themselves eventually figured out that if you fold the map a certain way, it becomes an all new map (I actually made a functional prop for this).

But there was a second twist regarding the location of the treasure. It was later revealed that the treasure was located on a different plane all together; the map showed how to find the treasure in the realm of the dead! This complicated matters, since the realm of the dead is a very dangerous and cold place.

 

[ArchfiendBobbie]

The last Han Solo Trilogy book used this variation:
The Ancient Treasure was cutting-edge 500 years ago but is technologically second-string today. (IRL blueprints for muzzle-loading flintlock pistol, say) However it does have historical value. And it is HUGE - bulky, heavy, too difficult to move, and not very valuable in small amounts. It can be monetized with time and effort, but is not make-a-quick-buck -friendly.
Give the PCs a chance to decide if they want to "plant roots" or are "just passing through".

The Ancient Treasure is all artworks but they are obvious copies of really good stuff, of indifferent craftsmanship, made of inferior materials (polished bronze instead of gold). It looks good from a distance but will not hold up under close inspection. The ancient owner is also a wannabee - bastard child of nobility, youngest daughter's el cheapo dowry, general who deposed rightful king, traitor to his master, &c.

I got my idea from a certain quest in Fallout: New Vegas.

 

[Henry]

One of my favorite twists (one I haven't pulled off, but want to try sometime) is that the PCs invade a dungeon, and defeat an enemy force, when an even BIGGER enemy force comes in behind them (perhaps as a rescue force to the first bad guys) and the PCs must withstand a seige in the VERY dungeon they just busted into. Suddenly, spending all those spells and dailies, and wrecking all those doors, barricades, and traps wasn't such a good idea...

And if they didn't decide to wreck the defenses, it plays to their favor!

 

[Eltab]

If you can locate a copy of "If I Was the Evil Overlord", it suggests a number of plot twists that can be set up and sprung on the PCs.

 

[Imaculata]

One of my favorite twists (one I haven't pulled off, but want to try sometime) is that the PCs invade a dungeon, and defeat an enemy force, when an even BIGGER enemy force comes in behind them (perhaps as a rescue force to the first bad guys) and the PCs must withstand a seige in the VERY dungeon they just busted into. Suddenly, spending all those spells and dailies, and wrecking all those doors, barricades, and traps wasn't such a good idea...

And if they didn't decide to wreck the defenses, it plays to their favor!

This reminds me of the time I let my players use the traps in a dungeon against an invading army. We were playing a monster campaign, and one of the players played a Lich. I told them that the quickest way to their goal, was through the lair of the Lich, and it was up to him to guide them safely through the maze. So I gave the player a map of his lair, and where all the traps were. The map also told him of any illusory walls, and where his phylactery was located.

And about at the same time this demon army invaded the dungeon, and now the players got to lure them into all these traps. It was a lot of fun.

 

[hopeless]

1) Turns out the nemesis party of adventurers only has one evil aligned character, the reason they're so effective is their leader is a charlatan paladin whose actually heroic, is genre savvy and actually likeable!
2) You were hired to kill a supposed evil sorceress except she is the only local who brews healing potions and refuses the local church's demands she converts to their faith!
3) Remember those legends about the God of Murder being reborn?
They aren't legends but you're the ones who will get the blame for it!