Post/Author/DateTime	Post
BrazilRascal 02-12-07, 02:58 PM	This thread is a cousin to the ever-popular "best quotes" threads we all know and love. In this case, though, I want to know the best scary, barbed words you've used for the BBEG or NPCs to threaten and frighten the players, and make them think that maybe, this time, drawing swords and just hacking this particular guy isn't such a bright idea. One of the best example sI can recall was a post-fight threat that made the whole table panic. PCs stromed me BBEG fortress to retrieve a hostage, and just as they found him, BBEG himself drops in and outclasses them so bad they (wisely) choose to run, hopping back onto their carriage. They had invested in pretty good horses with magical bonuses to be -fast- (they liked grand exits, so to speak). Soon enough, they look back to see the BBEG himself giving chase on a massive horse made of black obisian. They frown at first, but when the rogue whips their horses, they finally start to add distance between thmselves and the villain. Like all PCs who think they have it made, they obviously started gloating, making signs, etc. Until BBEG used a Sending spell to manifest as a glowing, dark shadow of himself and say a mere six words. "Your horses will tire. Mine won't." Commence simultaneous panic...mark!
ciryx2k 02-12-07, 03:19 PM	This thread is a cousin to the ever-popular "best quotes" threads we all know and love. In this case, though, I want to know the best scary, barbed words you've used for the BBEG or NPCs to threaten and frighten the players, and make them think that maybe, this time, drawing swords and just hacking this particular guy isn't such a bright idea. One of the best example sI can recall was a post-fight threat that made the whole table panic. PCs stromed me BBEG fortress to retrieve a hostage, and just as they found him, BBEG himself drops in and outclasses them so bad they (wisely) choose to run, hopping back onto their carriage. They had invested in pretty good horses with magical bonuses to be -fast- (they liked grand exits, so to speak). Soon enough, they look back to see the BBEG himself giving chase on a massive horse made of black obisian. They frown at first, but when the rogue whips their horses, they finally start to add distance between thmselves and the villain. Like all PCs who think they have it made, they obviously started gloating, making signs, etc. Until BBEG used a Sending spell to manifest as a glowing, dark shadow of himself and say a mere six words. "Your horses will tire. Mine won't." Commence simultaneous panic...mark! That is BEAUTIFUL! I'm going to HAVE to steal that one some time. Best I've got is in one homebrew campaign I was running, BBEG was a lowly imp (sounds funny because they aren't big an menacing). Trick is, he had corrupted several people and they where who the party tracked down. After capturing the guys and interrogation, the discover the imp was the mastermind behind it all. They find out where he's hiding: A hidden temple constructed by some disciples of Azmodeus. They decide to sneak in while most of the disciples are gone, and then get to the corridor that the imp is supposed to be down. Unbeknonst to them, the door the opened and walked through, was actually a portal to the Nine Hells. The cleric walks up and gives short speach and then casts banish on the imp... at which point he imp chuckles and says, "Welcome to hell." At this point some other devils came in and combat ensued. This confused my players SO much they had no clue what was going on. The cleric was chewing me out saying that there's no way the imp is immune to banish. They thought his welcome was figurative, not literal.
SilverFoxKnows 02-12-07, 04:36 PM	The PCs tangled with this guy when they were pretty low level. Burly Human male, ugly as a sack full of !@#$%^&. This guy took arrows, sword hits and was finally knocked off a ledge. The group's archer scurried down the hill to finish him off when the guy got up, spit blood and teeth and said "I'm going to skin you alive". The look on the player's face was priceless.
bartleby42 02-12-07, 05:25 PM	Alright, the PCs meet the BBEG in his office. (Yes evil people can have houses and offices just like everyone else) The PCs explained that they killed several of his minons and were going to take him down, and would under no circumstances join him, the BBEG said. "I understand you all have high moral convictions and are fair and honest. I too am fair and honest, I intend fully to have all of you killed, but I am generous. Tell me, how would each of you like to die?" The sputtering was wonderful. Because the PCs not only were outclass (at the moment) but because they were surrounded by the BBEGs minions they knew they couldn't fight their way out. So the PCs had to come up with an execution plan for themselves they could wiggle out of. Great fun.
Kradlo 02-12-07, 05:45 PM	A BBEG of mine, received a PC visitor in his lair. The villain sat back in his chair, steepled his fingers together, and casually said, "Why don't you tell me why you've come, and I'll pretend I don't already know." Nothing makes a character feel fearful like having your every move anticipated. The really neat part of the trick is that the BBEG doesn't necessarily have to know, so long as he can make the PCs think that he does.
Delfedd 02-12-07, 07:13 PM	The last thing that I used was not a human. It was an uglurasta. For those who don't know, it's a giant worm with an acid breath ability. The creature was part of a ritual granting it haste, bulls strength, and false life. To complete the ritual, it had to devour a champion. It did. a wave of necromatic energy washed out over the stadium, draining four levels from every character in the stadium. Every character killed by it became a wight. For some reason, the thought of 18,000 wights and a giant, necromaticly charged worm frightened them. Yeah, they ran away after that.
Icewraith 02-12-07, 07:37 PM	The players are trying to rescue the trapped soul of the high priest of a deity. They track the perpetrator to his lair, where they are met by a projected image of him. The players wish to know if there is anything they can barter for the release of the high preist's soul and the return of a stolen artifact- otherwise they will be forced to take both by force. "Hmm... I don't know. The souls of head priests have a flavor that other souls simply lack, and it has been such a long time since I dined on one. Really the only thing I would trade would be the soul of another head priest..." Since the "lich" had blanketed the head temple of lathander in epic darkness, paralyzed everyone and then stolen the soul of the high priest who had tried to turn him, the party decided that even though they were epic level, maybe they didn't want to tangle with this guy on their home turf. They also knew that liches didn't normally devour souls. A compromise was eventually reached.
MasonMurdoc 02-12-07, 07:46 PM	A compromise was eventually reached. What kind of compromise?!
damixmastermike 02-12-07, 07:58 PM	The party is traveling through a jungle where ten of thousands of people have gotten lost. A prestige class ranger is leading them through and she informs then that she found an abondoned temple where they can sleep so they won't be attacked like they had been each other night. So they go into the temple and board it up and go to sleep. The Ranger sleeps in the remanats of the top floor in copper tube, the party can see her as there are no interior walls remaining. (now I've dimmed the lights in my living room, lit two candles and began playing Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig Van Beethoven) You awake in the middle of the night to see a little girl walking through a the temple. She wears only a deep blue dress and think blindfold. She carries a torch and walks around the camp examining things. The ranger yells at the party from the second floor "Don't talk to it, just go back to bed". The bard managed to role high enough on Bardic Knowledge to figure out that it's a long dead god. One the PCs acctually motions to trying to communicate without speaking, the girl looks at him and just for an instant, instead of her demon's face, red eyes with steam comming out of them, a sharp beak with black ink-like drool oozingout the sides and three dozen horns froming a circle around her head.
BrazilRascal 02-12-07, 08:18 PM	One thing I'm pondering is using subtle allusions to nasty combos the PC themselves use and abuse. Such as, say: The PC's walk into the lich-king's mausoleum. Draped over the walls are several dissicated corpses, some still wearing armor with the holy symbols of Good deities, each and every one with a horrible expression of agony on its face. "Welcome, morsels. This is my resting place, where so many fools have been kind enough to enter of their own free will to provime me nourishment. Look at my pantry..." It whispers with the wave of a bony hand, encompassing the room. "All of them champions, and all of them screamed, then moaned, then just wept as I drained their souls before finally ripping their spirits from their shells and tossed them into the deep ravine with the shrieks of the damned..." RP-focused characters will gulp. Metagamers wil go "Oh my..I'll be Energy-drained/Wail of the Banshee'd five ways to friday now.."
DM_V2 02-12-07, 08:20 PM	PCS are about to permanatly close a portal to hell that has been plaging the land. The head wizard who has been thier quest giver up until then even comes with them. They open the doors to the temple that holds the portal, expecting to find a whole lot of devils. Instead they find a whole lot of dead devils, Pit fiends, horned devils, big powerful guys. So they were thinking :eek: "OHHH... @#%$". They procede through the pile of corpses to the portal chamber. to find more dead devils and Grazzt the Dark Prince himself standing thier with a bored look on his face. "I've been expecting you, but... youre quite late" He says his mouth suddenly twisting into a terrible grin. "I've been waiting hours for my sacrifices to get here." At that point the head wizard NPC figures out grazzt's plan and starts flinging spells. grazzt shrugs them off and then crushes the wizards head. The Pcs are mortified because they rally liked Eldo(the wizards name).Grazzt then explains he needs Powerful mortal sacrifices to rerout the portal from hell to the abyss. "Foolish, foolish mortals you thougt coming here would end the invasion from hell, and indeed it did... but unknowingly youve doomed your world to my wrath" :fight!: The PCs charge heroicly and full of rage, cue epic music.
damixmastermike 02-12-07, 09:39 PM	PCS are about to permanatly close a portal to hell that has been plaging the land. The head wizard who has been thier quest giver up until then even comes with them. They open the doors to the temple that holds the portal, expecting to find a whole lot of devils. Instead they find a whole lot of dead devils, Pit fiends, horned devils, big powerful guys. So they were thinking :eek: "OHHH... @#%$". They procede through the pile of corpses to the portal chamber. to find more dead devils and Grazzt the Dark Prince himself standing thier with a bored look on his face. "I've been expecting you, but... youre quite late" He says his mouth suddenly twisting into a terrible grin. "I've been waiting hours for my sacrifices to get here." At that point the head wizard NPC figures out grazzt's plan and starts flinging spells. grazzt shrugs them off and then crushes the wizards head. The Pcs are mortified because they rally liked Eldo(the wizards name).Grazzt then explains he needs Powerful mortal sacrifices to rerout the portal from hell to the abyss. "Foolish, foolish mortals you thougt coming here would end the invasion from hell, and indeed it did... but unknowingly youve doomed your world to my wrath" :fight!: The PCs charge heroicly and full of rage, cue epic music. THAT IS THE AWESOMENESS!!!! This is the DnD idea I've heard in months!
Icewraith 02-12-07, 11:24 PM	What kind of compromise?! The party got the soul back after quite a lot of negotiating, but left the artifact. However, the fact that each side knew the other was a very heavy hitter (and the party had already blasted through a couple of very intricate traps) made both willing to compromise. In the end, as long as the lich promised not to invade the surface with the artifact and the PCs paid to have the traps reset, the PCs would get the soul back and not damage or threaten any more of the lich's prized magical item collection. The PCs figured that since the lich had gone to such lengths to acquire the artifact, yet had not already invaded something, that he probably wasn't going to. (They were right, the lich was a collector, with a stronghold in the underdark where he could spend all his time with his collection) The session had some of the best RPing I've seen from my group as they crossed wits with my (demi)lich. However, if it hadn't been for that opening line- and the fact that the High Priest's soul was held hostage - they probably would have gone in there slinging spells and then even I'm not sure who would have won... and I was the DM! So yes, that line, correctly phrased, led to probably the most intense RP session my group has had.