One Thousand Ways to Freak Out Your Players

[333 Dave]

905(ish) : Going back to the old bad guy theme song idea, play the BBEG's theme song when they return to the tavern after an adventure. Bonus points if the BBEGs Good Twin runs the bar.

 

[hammymchamham]

907) Bring a pig to the game and a dagger. Tell your players 'Tonight we make our sacrfice to Satan for allowing us to play tonight." I guess this will work best if you have one or two really new players and you can borrow someones pig. Of course, don't actually do the sacfice, unless thats you thing.

 

[Mercule]

908) Let the PCs find out that the BBEG is a red dragon. Let them prep to their hearts' desire. They will no doubt be cautiously expectant. When they finally face the red dragon, only then do they discover that it has a mate sharing its lair.

*chuckle* I still have probably a month of play before they discover the horrible truth.

 

[Zappo]

909) As 908, and the dragon is actually a white cloaked in illusion.

 

[Magic Rub]

910) All of the monsters you use are "The Munsters", Like Eddie Herman, Grandpa, & the whole gang, But give them HUGE CR's so the fights are nasty. Every time there's a fight play the theme song from the TV show. After about 2 hours your players will cry at the sound of that song, & as a side effect they'll never be able to watch the show again!

911) After you've used "The Munsters" Trick for a bit Start playing old TV & Movie theme songs & dittys for everything & see what happens. They enter a town play "Petticoat Junction". They talk to the towns gaurd play "Dragnet".

912) Have all NPC bards sing & play old TV & Movie theme songs & dittys. The Theme from "The Beverlyhillbillies", or "The Dukes of Hazzard" just to name a few good examples. "Come & listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed..." It just screams Bards Tale don't it

 

[MerakSpielman]

907) Bring a pig to the game and a dagger. Tell your players 'Tonight we make our sacrfice to Satan for allowing us to play tonight." I guess this will work best if you have one or two really new players and you can borrow someones pig. Of course, don't actually do the sacfice, unless thats you thing.

913: Instead, bring a cute, friendly pig. You can get them reasonably cheap in the country (not one of those expensive pot-bellied pigs). Bring it to several games. Let the players get used to it, even those that at first think a pet pig is a bit odd. Give it a cute, cuddly name and teach it a trick or two.

Then one day, when the players show up, have some BBQ pork chops on the table and no pig anywhere to be seen.

Say nothing. Pretend you never had a pig if asked. Eat your pork chops loudly and occasionally mutter under your breath something that sounds kind of like the pigs name.

It's up to you if you want to really slaughter the pig or just give it away and buy pork chops, but never tell your players the truth.

 

[MerakSpielman]

913: Instead, bring a cute, friendly pig. You can get them reasonably cheap in the country (not one of those expensive pot-bellied pigs). Bring it to several games. Let the players get used to it, even those that at first think a pet pig is a bit odd. Give it a cute, cuddly name and teach it a trick or two.

Then one day, when the players show up, have some BBQ pork chops on the table and no pig anywhere to be seen.

Say nothing. Pretend you never had a pig if asked. Eat your pork chops loudly and occasionally mutter under your breath something that sounds kind of like the pigs name.

It's up to you if you want to really slaughter the pig or just give it away and buy pork chops, but never tell your players the truth.

914: Do this with other kinds of pets, but just lock them in a room on BBQ night and serve pork chops.

915: Do this with the household child, and wait for a night that they're away to pull the prank. Serve pork chops (hopefully people can tell that they're really pork and won't get TOO freaked out)

 

[Xarlen]

916) Bring up childhood fears, in idle conversation. Admit your own, let your players tell theirs. Casually ask what their characters fear.

Three months later, have the characters break into a tomb. A coffin, perhaps of stone, or some odd material (Jade?) is in one corner. They open it.

That night, have a PC roll a will save against a Nightmare spell. Describe the nightmare paticularly. Repeat this, as they go on down their adventure (Take characters aside, when doing this perhaps). Now, while they're having a fight with an enemy, traveling through boring situations, having NPC RP, have them make a Will save. If they fail, (Let us take the example of snakes) a snake is crawling up their leg. Do this repeatedly.

Start throwing Suggestions at the party, as well as covering PCs with illusions of that fear. As well as Fear spells, and finally, Phantasmal Killers.

If the PCs aren't going nuts, attacking eachother, or hiding, and they're using True Seeing, have them find an Incorperal being hovering amid them. The steady fear that they've been enducing has been Feeding him. He's now a Nasty Incorperal Outsider.

917) Let them kill him.

Repeat, 3 months later.

917b) Have one character have a nightmare, three months later. It's just a nightmare.

 

[brun]

918. Use a fly. Every now and then, describe a fly annoying them. It then goes on to do whatever flies do.

919. Have the fly detect as magical. (it uses the fly spell)

920. The fly is chaotic neutral.

 

[s/LaSH]

909) As 908, and the dragon is actually a white cloaked in illusion.

Or just painted red. Seriously. Get a few buckets of red paint and douse yourself in the stuff. If you have minions, get them to do it for you. Just be careful to get rid of the evidence afterwards.

I saw this in Adventurers! once. If you haven't read it, do so; it's about a console RPG and is hilarious.