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One Thousand Ways to Freak Out Your Players


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I've not been keeping track with all the posts, I dunno if something similiar to this has been said, I doubt it though, but here it goes.

897. Pick up a copy of the MM2, and take every creature in the book and add all it's stuff into one HUGE creature. Everything like the ability scores, the feats, hit points, special abilities, spell like abilities, supernatural abilities, natural armor, special attacks, etc. Everything including the kitchen sink! And as the campaign goes along, have everyone refer to a legendary creature named "Ungeheuer Handbuch Zwei" (MM2 in German if I'm not mistaken, correct me if I'm wrong, I used a translator. Use some other language if your players speak German.) After a few sessions have the PC's finally run into the big baddy! And when they finally discover what it is, and have died to it, give them awhile to be so mad at you that they want to hurt you physically. When next session comes around, tell them it is morning and they have awaken in an inn after having the worst nightmare about something called "Ungeheuer Handbuch Zwei!"

To be even more evil, don't have them wake in an inn, but instead make new characters because they died!

Maybe it isn't that much to you guys, but it would be so funny to me, to see the reactions on my players faces!
 

898: Serious Identity Crisis

This is just creepy. I hate myself already for the idea. Have a monster that can morph into an exact duplicate of a PC, and has an attack that instantly kills the target. Then the monster acquires all the memories, personality, abilities etc. of the PC. Then give control of the monster to the player of that PC.

Then watch as the PC goes slowly mad trying to analyse their own identity, while everybody else tries to kill them.

Bonus points if you allow the PC's old body to be raised.

Extra bonus points if you don't inhabit the old body with an evil spirit, but bring back the real PC.
 


I guess its 900 now

900. Introduce a musical instrument artifact thats intellegent that is LG in alignment, and is obsessed with one thing, and that is "He only speaks the truth." Make it a Sitar. Give said Sitar a curse where the Bard (or who ever uses it) can't get rid of it short a Wish or Miracle. Give the Sitar a couple abilities that make it atractive. Have the Sitar attempt to turn the bard to be LG.

yes, stolen from Moulin Rouge, but it could freak some members of the party out :D
 

901) "accidentally" leave the character sheet of the evil dude that the players are just about to face behind when you go to the bathroom. Put it in plain view. Make it innacurate to what the actual villain is... Say, a few... hundred, levels higher than what he really is. :D
 

A dash of Steven King

902 - A small Zombie Child, or Animal, which the the NPCs that are "with" the zombie treat as if it were normal and living. Bonus points if the decay is insignificant to begin with, but small things start being mentioned. "The old mans cat looks like it might have a touch of the Mange" next day " There is a fly that seems to be pestering the cat, but the cat does not swat at it" later "The cat's ear seems to have been chewed off recently, there are a couple small wounds on the cat as well" and even later "The cat does not seem to be healing well, but he seem in fine spirits, dispite the fact that you think you can see a patch of his skull through the fur still on his head"

Well, it would freak me out a little


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903. Give one of your major enemies a henchman that stays in the shadows and isn't seen by the PCs for quite a while. Name him "Balor." Great reactions when they detect thoughts on one of his allies.
 

900b: In your deeds not words game, let your characters see the villain's name only, and only long enough for them to read it before you pretend to realize they can see it. For the villain's name, put "Galactus"


Edit: Galactus *is* the name of the guy that eats planets and whatnot, right?
 
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904: Every single time there is a need for a climb check, swim check, balance check, or any other check that involves getting from point A to point B or die, have a convenient rope for the players to use. Always a perfectly fine, very high quality, steel chain, or a silk rope.

After about two sessions where the ropes don't do anything negative, start having the ropes turn out to be a very bad idea to use.

a) The rope turns out to be animated, or a creature

b) The rope is a trap, is brittle, or is cut by someone else

c) The rope is covered in a contact poison, has a slippery substance rubbed all over the last 10-20 feet of it, or is an illusion in the middle and is held in place by a spell

d) The enemy casts an entagling spell or animation spell on the rope, to tie up the person holding it

Really a multi-faceted idea, since there are quite limitless combinations of ways to simply screw someone over with a chain or rope... just remember to motivate them to want to use it the first couple times, before you get them...
 

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