Hallucination Encounter - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Hallucination Encounter

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
loki77
Oct 18, 2011 12:48:38 I'm starting a new D&D 4E game soon that is going to be almost entirely no-magic. The characters are all martial classes and magic is unheard of in the modern world.

I'm working on a few adventure paths for them (trying to use the 5x5 method to give them a lot of options and a more sandbox feel) and I have an idea for a twist inside of one that I was hoping you guys could help me flesh out.

Basically the idea is that the characters will be hired by an explorer who has found information about a sunken ruin that is believed to have been home to the 'ancient big bad overlords' from long ago. It's in a swamp, and has since been taken over by a tribe known as the 'Ghost Walkers'. They are largley avoided by other tribes (the players are from a more civilized society btw, not tribal) because of their willingness to go near these places and their worship of the dead and other spooky stuff (tm).

I'm thinking I'll make the place possibly where the tribal shamans stay (and I may have them be diseased, something the tribe reveres as well). It will be protected by the tribe, but after a certain point the regular tribesmen are not allowed to go further due to tribal taboo.

At that point I wanted to see if I could come up with a cool trap. Basically I plan to have a fungus that grows in the area that the tribe uses heavily - in some it makes them sickly and weak (minions they'll fight somewhere), in others it drives them a little mad (effectively becoming berserkers) and in others still it causes hallucinations. One other use they've found for it is as a hallucinogenic poison.

I was thinking it might be cool to have the characters get hit with this poison somehow, and have that poison give them images of ghosts and what not. I thought if I could turn that into a combat (maybe with each other as they think each other are ghosts/undead) or something that it could be a cool encounter.

Anyway, I'm looking for ideas on ways to make this encounter awesome - maybe only some of the characters get affected and the other players have to keep them from hurting each other until the hallucinogens wear off?

Also, it'd be cool if I could somehow make the players think they're actually fighting undead/ghosts/wights/whatever until the drug starts to wear off, so any ideas you have on that would be really appreciated.

Thanks!
#2
Saranghae
Oct 18, 2011 20:55:52 Maybe this could work?

Let's say 3 of the 5 PCs get afflicted. Then ghosts or ethereal beings of somesort appear (either they really do, or the 3 just think they do).

The 3 PCs want to immediately attack them, but they see all other beings as the things they need to attack.

Let's say 4 of the beings appear, that means 8 possible targets appear. Assign them each a number (perhaps based initiative), and the PC attacks that target regardless of who/what it is.

The 2 PCs that are left can either try to knock the afflicted PCs out with nonlethal damage or maybe just help kill the ethereal beings, then worry about the "Crazies."

If that doesn't make sense, my apologies, but I hope it helps!
#3
ciaran
Oct 20, 2011 11:19:11 I was working on a stronghold owned by an evil illusionist. There were to be "hallucinatory" encounters. I painted up bizarre figurines, such as an oversized orange goblin with an 8 ft sword and a golden devil statue and others. I found a bunch of tiny-sized bunnies for minions.

Sadly the party got themselved killed before they got there.
#4
Saranghae
Oct 20, 2011 11:42:29 aww man. That sucks, but I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.
#5
ciaran
Oct 20, 2011 11:48:26 Perhaps work out a mechanic where the monsters are dealing extra damage until the characters realize not everything is real. Once they sucked on a check to do so they either shake it off or begin making saves.
#6
ciaran
Oct 20, 2011 11:49:13 succeed, not sucked.
#7
loki77
Oct 20, 2011 12:18:21 Thanks for the replies guys. After reading them and thinking it over a bit more, I think I might handle it like this - let me know what you think.

At some point they'll get hit by something that will get the poison into their systems. Whether that's a trap that fires the spore into the air in a room, or a maybe poison darts, it doesn't matter. At first they won't feel anything - I'm going to say that it takes a bit for them to be affected.

So they'll continue along till eventually they reach a room with a door they have to figure out how to bypass. While they're doing that that's when the poison kicks in.

At that point I'll tell all the players to go into a private chat channel (we're playing online, and using Teamspeak for voice chat). To the characters who weren't affected by the drug earlier, I'll have the continue to try to figure out how to get through the door.

In the other player's private channels I'll play it up like the world starts to change around them, shadows growing longer, a strange chill.. they think they hear voices. Then suddenly ghosts rise up - ghosts of the people they've harmed in the past, or of who they lost. As well they find that they are surrounded by wights.

The wights are the other players. The ghosts are total hallucinations. They can then decide what they want to attack - the ghosts or the wights. Whoever they decide to attack, I'm going to say that the strangeness of the situation puts them off balance, leaving them with a -2 to attack.

The other players will see the drugged characters acting weird and will try to stop them - which the druged players will likely interpret as them being attacked by the wights.

What do you guys think?

At this point I'm just trying to figure out what conditions need to be met to break out of it. Maybe I make a secret saving through each round for them.. it starts with a penalty, but that fades each round. Another option is that if they strike a ghost and kill it, then they remove some of the penalty as well as their mind starts to disbelieve, letting them shake it off faster.

Thanks again for all your help!
#8
loki77
Oct 20, 2011 12:24:58 BTW, I definitely want the undead to be fake. There will be magic in this world (sort of, I'm going to base it more around psionics. The 'big bad guys' in this game are going to be Mindflayers) but I don't want it to come out this early. Most likely it will go like this:

Heroic Tier: They do a bunch of stuff to establish themselves, then find out about a plot to bring back the Dark Watchers (these are the mindflayers that used to control the world). It will all culminate with them rushing to stop the ritual, and while they disrupt it they ultimately fail. The BBG don't make it through, but there's been a tear in the planes and they are coming.. and their minions have made it through. This will also signify the return of psionic energy to the world.

Paragon Tier: The players do what they can to deal with the invading monsters. Eventually they realize they can't stop it, so they need help. They then set out to find a way to summon the Archon's (Githyanki effectively, though in this world's religion they are viewed as angels of war and redemption - I'll probably change a lot about them). Also they likely get ahold of at least one or two magical weapons that can be used against the BBG.

Epic Tier: All out war - the Dark Watcher's have returned, and (hopefully) the Archon's have as well. The players kick a bunch of Mindflayer ass with the Archon's supporting them, and it looks like they might win. Then they realize that there's no way to stop this permanently without going through the rift and after the source of the Dark Watchers. If all goes well they'll make it to the rift, get through, end up in some sort of nasty horrorscape, and then eradicate the source of the Watchers - possibly sacrificing themselves (probably a sort of ascendance) in the process.

This is a loose outline, and I'm still working on it. Right now I'm most concerned about the Heroic Tier obviously, and making the world cool.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 loki77 Oct 18, 2011 12:48:38	I'm starting a new D&D 4E game soon that is going to be almost entirely no-magic. The characters are all martial classes and magic is unheard of in the modern world. I'm working on a few adventure paths for them (trying to use the 5x5 method to give them a lot of options and a more sandbox feel) and I have an idea for a twist inside of one that I was hoping you guys could help me flesh out. Basically the idea is that the characters will be hired by an explorer who has found information about a sunken ruin that is believed to have been home to the 'ancient big bad overlords' from long ago. It's in a swamp, and has since been taken over by a tribe known as the 'Ghost Walkers'. They are largley avoided by other tribes (the players are from a more civilized society btw, not tribal) because of their willingness to go near these places and their worship of the dead and other spooky stuff (tm). I'm thinking I'll make the place possibly where the tribal shamans stay (and I may have them be diseased, something the tribe reveres as well). It will be protected by the tribe, but after a certain point the regular tribesmen are not allowed to go further due to tribal taboo. At that point I wanted to see if I could come up with a cool trap. Basically I plan to have a fungus that grows in the area that the tribe uses heavily - in some it makes them sickly and weak (minions they'll fight somewhere), in others it drives them a little mad (effectively becoming berserkers) and in others still it causes hallucinations. One other use they've found for it is as a hallucinogenic poison. I was thinking it might be cool to have the characters get hit with this poison somehow, and have that poison give them images of ghosts and what not. I thought if I could turn that into a combat (maybe with each other as they think each other are ghosts/undead) or something that it could be a cool encounter. Anyway, I'm looking for ideas on ways to make this encounter awesome - maybe only some of the characters get affected and the other players have to keep them from hurting each other until the hallucinogens wear off? Also, it'd be cool if I could somehow make the players think they're actually fighting undead/ghosts/wights/whatever until the drug starts to wear off, so any ideas you have on that would be really appreciated. Thanks!
#2 Saranghae Oct 18, 2011 20:55:52	Maybe this could work? Let's say 3 of the 5 PCs get afflicted. Then ghosts or ethereal beings of somesort appear (either they really do, or the 3 just think they do). The 3 PCs want to immediately attack them, but they see all other beings as the things they need to attack. Let's say 4 of the beings appear, that means 8 possible targets appear. Assign them each a number (perhaps based initiative), and the PC attacks that target regardless of who/what it is. The 2 PCs that are left can either try to knock the afflicted PCs out with nonlethal damage or maybe just help kill the ethereal beings, then worry about the "Crazies." If that doesn't make sense, my apologies, but I hope it helps!
#3 ciaran Oct 20, 2011 11:19:11	I was working on a stronghold owned by an evil illusionist. There were to be "hallucinatory" encounters. I painted up bizarre figurines, such as an oversized orange goblin with an 8 ft sword and a golden devil statue and others. I found a bunch of tiny-sized bunnies for minions. Sadly the party got themselved killed before they got there.
#4 Saranghae Oct 20, 2011 11:42:29	aww man. That sucks, but I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit.
#5 ciaran Oct 20, 2011 11:48:26	Perhaps work out a mechanic where the monsters are dealing extra damage until the characters realize not everything is real. Once they sucked on a check to do so they either shake it off or begin making saves.
#6 ciaran Oct 20, 2011 11:49:13	succeed, not sucked.
#7 loki77 Oct 20, 2011 12:18:21	Thanks for the replies guys. After reading them and thinking it over a bit more, I think I might handle it like this - let me know what you think. At some point they'll get hit by something that will get the poison into their systems. Whether that's a trap that fires the spore into the air in a room, or a maybe poison darts, it doesn't matter. At first they won't feel anything - I'm going to say that it takes a bit for them to be affected. So they'll continue along till eventually they reach a room with a door they have to figure out how to bypass. While they're doing that that's when the poison kicks in. At that point I'll tell all the players to go into a private chat channel (we're playing online, and using Teamspeak for voice chat). To the characters who weren't affected by the drug earlier, I'll have the continue to try to figure out how to get through the door. In the other player's private channels I'll play it up like the world starts to change around them, shadows growing longer, a strange chill.. they think they hear voices. Then suddenly ghosts rise up - ghosts of the people they've harmed in the past, or of who they lost. As well they find that they are surrounded by wights. The wights are the other players. The ghosts are total hallucinations. They can then decide what they want to attack - the ghosts or the wights. Whoever they decide to attack, I'm going to say that the strangeness of the situation puts them off balance, leaving them with a -2 to attack. The other players will see the drugged characters acting weird and will try to stop them - which the druged players will likely interpret as them being attacked by the wights. What do you guys think? At this point I'm just trying to figure out what conditions need to be met to break out of it. Maybe I make a secret saving through each round for them.. it starts with a penalty, but that fades each round. Another option is that if they strike a ghost and kill it, then they remove some of the penalty as well as their mind starts to disbelieve, letting them shake it off faster. Thanks again for all your help!
#8 loki77 Oct 20, 2011 12:24:58	BTW, I definitely want the undead to be fake. There will be magic in this world (sort of, I'm going to base it more around psionics. The 'big bad guys' in this game are going to be Mindflayers) but I don't want it to come out this early. Most likely it will go like this: Heroic Tier: They do a bunch of stuff to establish themselves, then find out about a plot to bring back the Dark Watchers (these are the mindflayers that used to control the world). It will all culminate with them rushing to stop the ritual, and while they disrupt it they ultimately fail. The BBG don't make it through, but there's been a tear in the planes and they are coming.. and their minions have made it through. This will also signify the return of psionic energy to the world. Paragon Tier: The players do what they can to deal with the invading monsters. Eventually they realize they can't stop it, so they need help. They then set out to find a way to summon the Archon's (Githyanki effectively, though in this world's religion they are viewed as angels of war and redemption - I'll probably change a lot about them). Also they likely get ahold of at least one or two magical weapons that can be used against the BBG. Epic Tier: All out war - the Dark Watcher's have returned, and (hopefully) the Archon's have as well. The players kick a bunch of Mindflayer ass with the Archon's supporting them, and it looks like they might win. Then they realize that there's no way to stop this permanently without going through the rift and after the source of the Dark Watchers. If all goes well they'll make it to the rift, get through, end up in some sort of nasty horrorscape, and then eradicate the source of the Watchers - possibly sacrificing themselves (probably a sort of ascendance) in the process. This is a loose outline, and I'm still working on it. Right now I'm most concerned about the Heroic Tier obviously, and making the world cool.