One Thousand Ways to Freak Out Your Players

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Not sure if this one has been done.

508:
At the end of the last session, make sure that you emphasize that you thought it was the greatest session you, and your players have ever done.

In the next session, you DM an exact replica of the previous session - even the date, time and characters actions are all the same - EXACTLY. Sorta like Groundhog Day.

Repeat as necessary.

Never admit it is the same.


509:
Have an NPC that has audience monologues - he/she knows the cameras are there and speaks in meta-game language... "Little did the party know that I had cast Sanctuary; the first level cleric spell that can be found in page two hundred and forty seven in the players handbook."

Then introduce audience participation - so the characters meet adoring fans that follow their travels on the tv screens your NPC talks to.

 

[Magic Rub]

508:
At the end of the last session, make sure that you emphasize that you thought it was the greatest session you, and your players have ever done.

In the next session, you DM an exact replica of the previous session - even the date, time and characters actions are all the same - EXACTLY. Sorta like Groundhog Day.

Repeat as necessary.

Never admit it is the same.

I've done this! It took my players 4 sessions to figure out what the hell was going on. It involved another (nonrelated) NPC party that screwed things up in trying to defeat a wizard. The PC party had to put there quest on a side line to fix the time stream. A long story for another time...



510: Have a curse placed on the entire world, 'Silence' (as per the spell but a global area of effect) and your PC's have to figure out how to bring back sound to the world.

 

[Moe Ronalds]

511: Have adventurers enter a town of seemingly friendly commoners. Have the mages in the party led to the center of town for a "roast". Watch the players squirm as their characters are suddenly, and rudely, tied to big stakes.

512: Have a music contest between the party bard and a strange-looking man that's just entered town. Start playing the devil went down to georgia.

 

[Clear Dragon]

513: Have a village or town terrorized by a CN druid of high level who has created a mass awaken spell and has all the livestock and nearby forest creatures planning a revolution.

514: Continue the Animal Farm style fun by having the PCs stumble upon this a little farther along, humanoids have been completly ousted or are used as slave labor. Give the awakened creatures some class levels. To really freak them out describe the red light distrinct of town in full detail. Perhaps they need to go there (disguised either by illusions or polymorph) and "interact" to gain information.

515: To really freak them out describe the red light district of town in detail. Or worse, perhaps they need to go there (disguised either by illusions or polymorph) and "interact" to gain information.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

166: Night of the full moon, Pc's encounter an undead too powerful for them to deal with. Have it throw a bag of coins at a particular players feet and say "My master is much pleased with your services."

Oooooo, eeeevil. I love this one.

516: In a room with treasure have an urn in the corner. When the PCs lift the lid a silver skinned humanoid stands up out of the urn (doesn't matter how big the urn is), snatches the lid out of the offending PC's hand, yells, "By all the holy gods, it doesn't matter where I go, I can't get any sleep!" He drops back into the urn, lid rattling closed and then the urn disappears. Over the next year of real-time playing, have the urn appear a couple of more times.

Worked well when I used it. The players all looked slack jawed for a moment then burst out laughing (I was running a serious campaign at the time and decided some levity was needed.)

 

[schporto]

More in the paranoid players line:

517: Allow your players to rull 5d6 and drop the 2 lowest rolls. Mumble "You're gonna need it."

518: Put action figures (gi joes, whatever) in with your normal lead figures.

519: (a bit of a setup) Trim down the pages you have in front. Make sure the players see that you only have 2 maybe 3 papers in front of you (not counting scrap). Then show up once with a good sheaf of papers, even if you still only need 3.

520: Pretend you're counting a bunch of objects, monsters whatever. So they run into 4 monsters. Once they've all rolled inititive, say "hang on". Dance your finger around like your counting things for a few seconds, roll the eyes a bit, etc. "Ok let's go" They'll be sure there's another bunch of baddies comming around the corner.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

521:
After having your major bad guy killed, have a session full of paranoia where the PC's are hunted by mysterious stalkers who wait in the shadowy darkness.

Then when the players go home, pay off some criminals to break into their homes and scare the **** out of them. Tell the criminals to scream the bad guys name over and over as they beat your friends senseless.

You know what. I should rethink that one.

522:
Come to the session with all your d20 completely covered in white paint. When you roll them, write on that side whatever number was needed to pass until you have exhausted all 20 options. Fake a seizure if the players mention your dice.

523:
In the middle of a huge mage duel, have the evil necromancer draw twin magnums. Begin shooting.

 

[alsih2o]

524 create a group of bad guy bards based on george clinton and the p-funk allstars

 

[Savage Wombat]

525: In the middle of a mage duel, have the evil Necromancer draw twin magnums of champagne and being firing corks at the PCs.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

526: In the middle of a mage duel, have the evil Necromancer draw twin magnums of champagne and a lovely little coffee table. Make friends.