D&D 5E Halloween themed D&D Ideas?

[MichaelArkAngel]

Hi Everyone, my first post, but have been lurking about taking in as much as I can. I am currently running The Hoard of the Dragon Queen with roughly about 6-7 characters. They are currently on chapter 4:On The Road, and are just on their way into the wilds with the caravan. The group itself is split up amongst the caravan, and one character in particular is traveling with Lasfelro the Silent. I say this only because I have it set up to have Lasfelro transporting his "master," a vampire in the wagon with him and the gargoyle.

Our next game session is going to fall on Halloween, and I thought it would be fun to incorporate some kind of Halloween fun into the story for that night. They will be traveling through/by the fields of the dead and I tohught this could be the perfect place for some "ghostly" encounters? I've done some research on this location, but really haven't found a whole lot about it.

I would love to hear some ideas from everyone,

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Great call on the Fields of the Dead location.

For my part, I’d keep things quiet with the vampire in the wagon, or obfuscate his presence (like dropping hints about a vampire’s burial mound in the Fields of the Dead), so that 1 – the big reveal has more oomph and 2 – that the PCs don’t figure things out quickly and just stake the vampire during daylight.

I’d also add some ghoulish fun – maybe there’s a tribe of orcs that carve jack-o-lanterns (perhaps hiding will’o’wisps or mephits inside them, depending on your preferences). And of course, all the spooky-ooky trappings. Or a reanimated soldier a la Frankenstein...

 

[MichaelArkAngel]

These are some great ideas, like the idea of a tribe out in the fields, and especially the reanimated soldier. very cool!

 

[gamefreak180]

also depending on the type of field you could easily sneak in a scarecrow or two for the party to fight. you could add a headless horseman, jack o lantern monsters (use animated plants as a base) more in theme with hoard of the dragon queen have kobolds in "dragon" costumes "flying" around and "breathing fire" to harass the caravan. have a witch come up to the party asking if they wish to buy some "Candy" from her. the candy could easily be a Halloween themed version of potions, poisons and other consumable items. Zombies and skeletons can always add fun to the game.

But how tongue in cheek/ campy do you want it to be.

 

[Noctem]

I did this one year and it was quite a bit of fun. Have everyone start in a tavern as a peasant. Then suddenly the town gets attacked by demonic spirits which jump into people and transform them into random monsters. Have 20 monsters ready of around the same level. Have all the players roll a d20 to select a random monster they transform into and give them "character sheets" of the monsters and the abilities they have including any special ones you want. Then have them be the bad guys as they go through the town and complete objectives like destroying the main gate, killing innocent people, fighting off the town guard, destroying the church (which is where lots of people have gathered since it's a safe haven against monsters or so they think..), invade the castle, etc.. If they die have the demonic spirit inhabiting the body jump into another nearby innocent person and make them roll on the d20 again. Basically they work together because the demon spirits work together toward the common goal of freeing the big bad. Kill enough innnocent people to get bonus abilities and that sort of thing. It was lots of fun and I have people ask me to run it every year now.

If you don't feel like doing a one-off, I would suggest having everyone go to sleep in the fields of the dead and then having a sort of vision / dream where all of the above takes place. Once they wake up after killing the king and queen (royal blood is the final requirement to free the big bad) you could have it be an adventure hook into something else. Like either investigating the dream they had together, researching the past, trying to prevent this from happening if it was a vision of later events, etc.. or combine, it can serve multiple purposes. Or it could just be a good reason not to sleep in the fields of the dead again.

 

[MichaelArkAngel]

I did this one year and it was quite a bit of fun. Have everyone start in a tavern as a peasant. Then suddenly the town gets attacked by demonic spirits which jump into people and transform them into random monsters. Have 20 monsters ready of around the same level. Have all the players roll a d20 to select a random monster they transform into and give them "character sheets" of the monsters and the abilities they have including any special ones you want. Then have them be the bad guys as they go through the town and complete objectives like destroying the main gate, killing innocent people, fighting off the town guard, destroying the church (which is where lots of people have gathered since it's a safe haven against monsters or so they think..), invade the castle, etc.. If they die have the demonic spirit inhabiting the body jump into another nearby innocent person and make them roll on the d20 again. Basically they work together because the demon spirits work together toward the common goal of freeing the big bad. Kill enough innnocent people to get bonus abilities and that sort of thing. It was lots of fun and I have people ask me to run it every year now.

If you don't feel like doing a one-off, I would suggest having everyone go to sleep in the fields of the dead and then having a sort of vision / dream where all of the above takes place. Once they wake up after killing the king and queen (royal blood is the final requirement to free the big bad) you could have it be an adventure hook into something else. Like either investigating the dream they had together, researching the past, trying to prevent this from happening if it was a vision of later events, etc.. or combine, it can serve multiple purposes. Or it could just be a good reason not to sleep in the fields of the dead again.

This sounds like a blast! I always wanted to do a reversal of roles, kind of a what if? kind of scenario! great ideas everyone!

 

[dmccoy1693]

Might I recommend Deadly Delves: Along Came a Spider for 5e from Jon Brazer Enterprises (my company). This 1st level adventure was just released today and is designed for some spider-themed Halloween fun.

Available now at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, d20PFSRD, and Paizo.com.

 

[CaptainGemini]

Re-create the scenario of Deneb from the original Ogre Battle.

 

[Scorpio616]

And then there is the game after Halloween where the Party has to mow through the contents of the Halloween Isle clearance!

Giant Spiders
Giant Bats
Giant Skeletons
Giant Rats
Giant Roaches

 

[Grand DM]

Hi Everyone, my first post, but have been lurking about taking in as much as I can. I am currently running The Hoard of the Dragon Queen with roughly about 6-7 characters. They are currently on chapter 4:On The Road, and are just on their way into the wilds with the caravan. The group itself is split up amongst the caravan, and one character in particular is traveling with Lasfelro the Silent. I say this only because I have it set up to have Lasfelro transporting his "master," a vampire in the wagon with him and the gargoyle.

Our next game session is going to fall on Halloween, and I thought it would be fun to incorporate some kind of Halloween fun into the story for that night. They will be traveling through/by the fields of the dead and I tohught this could be the perfect place for some "ghostly" encounters? I've done some research on this location, but really haven't found a whole lot about it.

I would love to hear some ideas from everyone,

Tales from the Game Tavern issue #1 is Halloween themed! You will also find all sorts of Halloween inspiration on my blog.