One Thousand Ways to Freak Out Your Players

[Sodalis]

557) send them to fight a rickety old man. the weakesta nd most fragile thing they have ever seen. lvl 20 monk

558) have a huge campaign build up to a climactic battle with the Big Baddie. the first attack (spell or melee or ranged) that flies at him kills him. Gather up belongings and start handing out XP

 

[Eccles]

A nice easy one:

559. Give them a really substantial reading list (including Milton and Dostoyevsky) to read before the game begins "to get them in the mood"

 

[Jolly Giant]

(What's with the bumps?!? Why do people keep posting them?)

560 When the PCs start feeling good about themselves, thinking they're really powerful: Hit them with something that is so far over their powerlevel, it's blindingly obvious they stand absolutely no chance of defeating it. A vampire casting level 9 spells, for instance, is good against lvl 10 PCs. Make the foe really annoying and obnoxious, laughing at them for being so weak and amateurish. Really rub their noses in it. They'll hate you forever!

 

[333 Dave]

561: "You hear chanting down the hall... any of you speak infernal? Yes? They're saying 'And we sacrfice to you, Dark Lord, this unholy shrine of evil, and all that is within it...' "

562: Blood rain. Yeah, its cliché, but it works. Alternativly, you can have oil rain or (if you don't mind a foul smelling campaign) urine rain.

 

[James McMurray]

Extension to 561.

563: You hear chanting from ahead. Does anyone speak infernal? Ok, it is a prayer to Heironious. Sound like someone is regaining their spells for the day.

[edit]

To be even freakier, make sure the cleric realizes the guy prayed for and Unholy Blight or a Chaos Hammer.

[/edit]

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

James's sig made me think of this one...

564) Devise a gigantic campaign that takes a few hundred hours of play time to complete. As the party is working its way through the bad guy's dungeon lair, have them encounter a door that can only be open by a singing bard. (The party has no bard, of course). Suddenly recall that you forgot to tell the players they were playing Bard's Tale d20.

 

[terrestrialboy]

This scared my players thoroughly enough.

The players get told of a horrible pirate on the seas. They finally meet him and his fleet of twelve ships.
They are taken aboard and see that the ENTIRE fleet is made up of gnomes. They find the pirate's name is the Dread Pirate Goodbooty and his flagship is the flaming Queen.
During odd times when nothing is happening, the gnomes would break into song (usually 'In the Navy").
My players would cower and cover their butts (really!).

Ethan Parker

 

[gamecat]

566: give your npcs bizzarre speech patterns; Mercanes end every sentence with a high-pitched "hmmmmmm?"...

 

[Bob5th]

567. Great Red Wyrm with a miror image cast on him right before he encounters the PCs.

 

[Helspar]

568) Keep your players in line with some "tough love." I hurt you guys 'cause I care... Now don't make me use that stick again.

569) Dice rollin' off the table. That's a paddlin'.

570) TPK! YES! YES! Who's your daddy!