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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pukunui" data-source="post: 5364556" data-attributes="member: 54629">My "Halloween Special" didn't turn out to be particularly creepy either, although I think I still managed to surprise my players. I wasn't really expecting to be able to scare them, although it would've been nice.The PCs were still on the planet of Cato Neimoidia, and I had decided to have them get stranded on a derelict space station overrun with Half-Life 2-inspired headcrabs and zombies. So first I ran them through a little scripted bit to get them off the planet.One of the players didn't like the look of the junky freighter I gave them and wanted to find an alternative (and cried "Here comes the train!" when I said there wasn't an alternative - at least not one with a hyperdrive), even going so far as to try to steal the other ship I had stuck in the derelict station's hangar bay. Luckily for me, when his PC went to activate the ship's computer, I started it off as hostile and he proceeded to roll very badly, which locked him out.But then he went a little metagamey: when I said that the repair bay that would be the most likely place to have spare parts for their ship was on the other side of the station, he decided he would have everyone go outside and traverse the hull of the station and then go back in through a maintenance hatch. I went along with it because I didn't want any more accusations of railroading - besides, it was a clever idea and I couldn't see any reason to say no. However, it did mean that I was not able to build up any suspense or anticipation, so when the big reveal with the zombies and headcrabs finally came, I think it fell a little flat.However, they were not expecting suicide-bomber zombies with grenades.We didn't get all the way through it, so they're still on the station ... they have to go repair the ship and then go deactivate the stuck-on tractor beam that's holding their ship in the station's hangar bay. So I still have a chance to make things a bit more scary ... hopefully.In retrospect, though, I think it may have been simpler - and potentially more fun - if I had just had the zombies and headcrabs attack them as they were trying to make their way off the planet instead of forcing them onto a derelict space station. I could have thrown in some stormtroopers as well, and maybe the PCs could have gotten caught in the crossfire. Isn't hindsight great?</blockquote>

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