One Thousand Ways to Freak Out Your Players

[James McMurray]

Ok, this is the second time in two days I've seen a reference to a scroll that just says "Hastur Hastur Hastur." The other was in a KoDT bundle of trouble. What is the reference to?

Also, to stay on topic:

(Counting the previous post as a single suggestion)

419) Always play an NPC (or DM-PC) in your group. Switch out every now and then when you get bored. The party will come to expect it, and if all of the characters you have played so far have been trustworthy, they will stop worrying about the strangers they let into their confidence. Then, have an NPC (a disguised Red Dragon) turn on them and use them for his own goals.

They'll go from overtrusting to over-paranoid in a matter of seconds.

 

[HalfElfSorcerer]

C'mon, people, don't let the thread die.
420. Two words: silly string.
421. Name NPC villians after family members of the players. Give massive experience penalties for failing to finish off a villian in combat.

 

[spunky_mutters]

422. Name monsters for maximum effect. As per an old DM - "Radiation Dragon"

Of course if it's a squirrel they'll be let down. You have to meet their deadly expectations.

423. Have an NPC ask for something nonsensical in return for info/item. Knucklebone of an ass, Horn of halfling, etc.

 

[spunky_mutters]

424. "The sun is momentarily blocked by the shadow of something large passing overhead." Of course they can never spot it.

 

[spunky_mutters]

425. Players always freak out if they get some meaningless random malady. If they have joint pain they think they're slowly transforming into a demon or something. A headache is some sort of psychic attack. You can really torment them. Tie it into eating sausage at their favourite tavern or something. They'll probably never tie the two together.

Totally OT, but in an earlier post I thought that I read ...my D12 doesn't get enough ass... I nearly fell off my chair.

 

[spunky_mutters]

Jeez. I'm feeling like I should maybe stop posting and get some work done.

426. Every couple of weeks game time, have a player (same player every time) make a reflex save while eating. If he fails, he takes 1 point of damage from something sharp in his food. It should be creature-based, like a quill or a tooth or something. The kitchen staff have no idea what he's talking about. Neither do the guys who pack his iron rations. Stagger the incidence to prevent him from seeing it coming. After a while it will be driving him crazy.

 

[Nish]

427) Two words: lich mime.

If your players have sanity to lose, that should take care of it for them.

 

[Lela]

427) Two words: lich mime.

That's just wrong. Very Wrong.

427B) Vamp Mime
427C) Red Dragon Mime
477D) Nymph Mime

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

428) Let the party find a skeleton key, a rope, and a pistol. Then let them meet themselves from ten minutes in the future and make them give up the skeleton key, rope, and pistol.


429) When the party searches a room for treasure, let them find a small sack. If your players are anything like mine, they'll immediately say, "is it a bag of holding?" Think about it for a second, and then say "yes..yes it is." Of course, it's just a normal sack. Or, if you're evil, it's a bag of half-holding....it takes half of what you put in as a storage fee.


430) Have a stuffy "antiques roadshow" type of person be the local sage in town who identifies magic items. Have him go on for hours about the details of every little item, telling the pcs where and when it was made, point out tiny intricacies which mean nothing except to experts. Estimate the item's value at "eh..about a gold piece or so"

 

[HalfElfSorcerer]

431. This one is based on something from a DM I once had. When the players enter a city for the first time, have a halfling walk up to them and say "There is no halfling mafia." Repeat several times. When the players finally take the time to ask some random passerby about this, say this:
"All the halflings in the area look towards you and shout 'There is no halfling mafia.'" Keep up references to the allegedly nonexisten mafia as long as the players are in the city. Never actually allow them to notice mafia operations except for the strange halfling behavior.