Ideas for making PCs miserable needed

[shilsen]

John, Michael, Dave, Eric and Avi - STAY OUT!!!


The DM of one of my groups cancelled with only a day's notice, so I offered to run a one-off game and asked the other players what kind of game they wanted (mystery, wilderness, dungeon crawl, etc.) and they asked for a dungeon crawl. I don't care for dungeon crawls much myself, but I figure that works well for a one-off game and gives me a chance to roll up my sleeves and make them cry

I'm thinking about going old school and sending them into the ancient temple now converted into a goblin warren to rescue a bunch of villagers captured by the gobbos so that the evil human wizard controlling them can sacrifice the captives and get mucho real ultimate power. I've already got some mean ideas for messing with the PCs, but figured I'd check and see what the ratbastardly minds of the community can come up with. Any suggestions? The meaner the better

The party will consist of the following:
Human Rog1/Rgr2/Swashbuckler3/Dervish2
Human Drd8 (with a 6HD wolf animal companion)
Human Ftr4/Rog4
Human Wiz8
and possibly a Human Clr8

Yes, all human. In the dark.

Thanks, in advance.

 

[S'mon]

Umm... are you sure _goblins_ are the right foes for this 8th level party? Unless the gobboes are all 4th level+, you'll have a hard time challenging them. Maybe special magical goblins like the Ravenloft Goblyns, or something from the Scarred Lands Creature Collections, would do the trick - more "fairytale nightmare", less "ok, your fireballl zaps the first 60 goblins..." - invisible goblins, goblin assassins, goblins with meatcleavers that cut off hands and feet, goblin traps that hold the PC helpless while goblins poke him with sharp sticks, pit traps swarming with goblin-rats that chew your face right off, goblins with Spell Resistance... (S'mon goes off into evil-GM reverie...)

 

[DMH]

A sewage pit (nothing is more miserable), traps galore, an evil artifact enhancing the goblins, tunnels in the cavern walls that are built to their size, murder holes, breakable ladders needed to get to the hostages, venomous vermin controlled by the wizard, and a couple blues.

 

[shilsen]

Umm... are you sure _goblins_ are the right foes for this 8th level party? Unless the gobboes are all 4th level+, you'll have a hard time challenging them.

Actually that's partly the point. I like taking weaker enemies and making them effective against the PCs through an intelligent use of tactics. It's a sickness, I tell you.

Maybe special magical goblins like the Ravenloft Goblyns, or something from the Scarred Lands Creature Collections, would do the trick - more "fairytale nightmare", less "ok, your fireballl zaps the first 60 goblins..." - invisible goblins

YUp

goblin assassins

I already have a plan for the Goblin Ninja. My PCs will soil themselves as they hear the dreaded cry, "Send forth the gninjas." Yes, yes, they will, precious!

, goblins with meatcleavers that cut off hands and feet, goblin traps that hold the PC helpless while goblins poke him with sharp sticks, pit traps swarming with goblin-rats that chew your face right off, goblins with Spell Resistance... (S'mon goes off into evil-GM reverie...)

And NOW we're talking! Man, I'm looking forward to this

 

[hong]

My PCs will soil themselves as they hear the dreaded cry, "Send forth the gninjas."

Gninjae.

 

[S'mon]

Oh, of course the clasic Nilbog anti-goblin* seems like a must-use here.

*Damage of all kinds merely heals it, only curing spells harm it, etc. It's in 1e Fiend Folio, dunno about 3e.

 

[shilsen]

Gninjae.

That does it! *flips out and beats Hong with a stick*

 

[Buttercup]

As a matter of fact, there was an excellent thread on this very topic back, oh, two years ago. I know it was archived, but sadly most of those threads are missing. I don't know whether or not there is a plan to restore them.

So in the meantime, I agree that traps, small tunnels, murder holes and the like are all good. You might also consider poisonous spiders. Perhaps the goblins are raising them and training them for combat. Heck, the goblins could even ride them--upside down on the ceilings, on walls and so forth.

Or maybe rats. Trained attack rats would be good. One isn't much threat for an 8th level party, but 200?

 

[Gulla]

I have a few traps/encounters that I have successfully frustrated my players with:

Water. With Undeads. A simple section of 15 feet deep water with skelletons or zombies standing on the bottom grappeling (or stabbing with spears) anyone trying to swin past.

The Famous Axe-trap. Actually an invention of kobolds, but goblins are small too, I guess:
A corridor with smale holes in the roof and (hidden) slits in the walls. Above each hole is a small room containing a goblin. As soon as they hear/see/are warned of the party they ready actions. When they see someone passing below they activate the giant pendulum axe which swings from the slit on one side through (or past) the unlucky PC and into the slit on the other side. I use goblins with 1 fighterlevel for this with exotic weapon prof. Pendulum Axe. (And fokus with it).
My players have always assumed that this is a trap, and have spent a lot of time trying to find it and disarm it, only to fail every time as the goblin's (well kobold's, really) readied attack hits them (Of course once you figure out there is a goblin above the hole this encounter is quite easy.

And this works for other "traps" as well. Any trap that is triggered by a hidden goblin is close to impossible to disarm:

Arrowtrap from holes in the wall: Is really goblins fireing when they see the PCs.
Pittrap: If they try to spike/jam it, just release it, at lest they will have to jump
Deadfall: Why bother with visible and disarmable mechanisms when a goblin in a hole will hit so much better.
The Rolling Stone: Is undetectable if ther is no trigger only two goblins (with darkvision) releasing it at a good moment.

In short: if the goblins have made tha place theirs, they probably have quite a number of non-advanced goblins running around. Use them

Håkon

 

[XCorvis]

Miserable, eh? Two words:

Green Slime

They're probably too high of a level for it to be really effective, but it'll scare the crap out of them. Also, if all their light sources are everburning torches, it will be more difficult because only the spellcasters will have fire available.