Share some DnD tales

[Savagezion]

Inspired by the other tabletop thread, I am actually starting a campaign in DnD 3.5 and it is homebrew as that is what really got me into RPGs originally. However, in this thread, the rules don't really matter. You see I am GM'ing again (my favs) and I have got the introduction sequence pretty well mapped out. I tend to GM in a Bethesda style where I create a world that is open with politics already set and in motion when the "campaign" starts. From there, I half wing it with the politics at play but I have many triggers waiting for the players to trip. I make most of my content based on previous play sessions and try to allow the player to shape the world.

The reason I made this thread is in hopes for more ideas. I have a crude world made so far with basic politics of a small island off from the mainland, I have 3 "big triggers" that are world changers once the player stumbles upon them. I am missing the finer details and small triggers. Now, I have some but I need more and am happy that this time, I have time to write this all up. IN the past I have had to scramble and bullshit my way through play sessions going in under-prepared almost every week as it always started like this "Hey, let's start a DnD game this weekend". 4 days is not enough time to craft a world. This time I have like 4 weeks.

The game will start with my players going to prison island and have nothing - so no need for gear rolls, lol. (Ain't I a stinker?) Most of the prison stuff is done. I suspect my players won't want to be in prison and suspect they will be looking for a way out which I have a few ways they could do so that I am sure they will find. My guess is that the prison sequence will last 2-3 gameplay sessions. (Giving me and additional 2-3 weeks to better craft the larger world on top of this initial 4 weeks.

What I am looking for is fun encounters in your games you would like to share. I don't think I will copy/paste them into my game directly, but I need variety and I need like 30-40 more and forums have helped me in the past. As for some examples, there was one mentioned in the other thread where an amulet caused insanity on anyone who cast detect magic on it which I find to be hilarious and am trying to think up an artifact or something to use that on in this game. As well, a game in the past my character had some boots that would increase savings throws against stealth and dodge but cast 'silence' on me (I could talk but no one but me could hear me) which I did not know and it took me 3 game sessions to find out. At one point I went to kill a governor or duke or something and monologued to him in his study with his back turned about killing him and why which he heard none of and was startled when he spotted me in his study. SO he died never even knowing why I was there.

This does not have to be limited to item enchanting though. Unique encounters in general is what I am looking for. Any part of a campaign you found fun. Encounters, puzzles, anything really. I need some variety.

I can give you a sampling of the game world I have created if you would like, but the only real thing worth noting is that there are 0 Dragonborn (Draconians) in this game yet and Tieflings are super rare; maybe 1 in every 10,000 population at most. Then, Dwarves and humans have rising tensions due to a recent dwarven trade embargo.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I've got a plethora of stories, but unfortunately most of them are slipping my mind right now. Most of them have involved the antics of players trying to bypass difficult obstacles with very creative and unconventional means. Here's one though, with any luck I can remember enough of the details for it to be somewhat coherent.

Our DM described the setting of the game (it was a one shot) as a completely bustling city full of opportunities. He said that it was very flexible, and that if we want to make a "Closet Maker's Guild" or something similar to be a part of, we can go nuts.

So naturally my character became the leader of the Closet Maker's Guild.

I decided to take a somewhat liberal take on the guild however (somewhat inspired by Ankh Morpork's Firefighter's Guild). My character, Cyril Dunh was a thug who grew up as the son of the head of a respected assassin's guild. While his father (and the fellow assassins) valued secrecy, subtlety and precision, Cyril was notoriously brutal, violent and loved to throw himself into the spotlight. On more occasion than one in his childhood he had drawn unfavorable attention to the Assassin's activities. While his father held him in high regard as his only son, the rest of the guildmates hated him, but wouldn't make a move against him because of his father. These feelings were exacerbated by the fact that Cyril would inherit the Assassin's Guild when his father died.

The day came where Old Man Dunh was killed in a job, and that very night the higher ups of the assassin's guild advised Cyril to disappear and never show his face in their halls again. Cyril despised this, and vowed to make them rue the day they stole his birthright. He needed some backing though, so he gathered what thugs he knew and attempted to start his own Assassin's guild.

This went horribly, and was probably a better testament than anything of why he had no place being the leader of an Assassin's guild. Not eager to consider himself beaten, he decided to put his resources into a scam that was more his style.

This scam was the Closet Maker's Guild. It was a guild obscure and seemingly unnecessary enough that it didn't already exist in such a bustling city, which was both a blessing and a curse. But it was something he could work with. He just needed a reason for people to pay them. And that reason was closet ghouls.

To start off they went around spreading rumors about the danger of ghouls lurking in closets. Certain conditions surrounding the closet (placement in the house, mold, size of the closet) made them a perfect place for ghouls to reside. Of course nobody really believed this, but getting the word out was just phase one.

He and his underlings staged various attacks on unsuspecting homes. They would sneak into the home disguised as ghouls curling up in the back of their closets. When someone tried to use it at the middle of the night they would burst out of the closet killing all but one person to leave as witness.

A lot of the previously skeptical began to suspect that the rumors were true. While most wouldn't accept it as fact, (certainly not clerics) it was enough that there was the nagging thought that maybe, just maybe, there might just be some truth into it.

Enter the Closet Maker's Guild. Claiming to have been from a foreign city that was similarly beset with the ghoul problem, they began to work. They proposed various, nebulous and vague regulations that must be implemented. They began charging people to "Ghoul proof" their closets. Most people still didn't fully believe it, but it was relatively small fee, and better to be safe than sorry.

As the plan developed, and they were subject to more attention and scrutiny, the Closet Maker's Guild decided to start using real ghouls. They would hunt for ghouls in the wilderness, bag them, and then sneak them into people's homes. The stigma was enough that they didn't even need to throw it in their closet. People would assume that if a ghoul was in their house, it was damn well because they were too cheap to get their closets Guild Certified.

Of course other people claimed to know the secret to safe closets and started their own companies. Mysteriously these company's certification seemed to draw more ghouls. It was very strange, because to the untrained eye these closets looked exactly like a Guild Certified one. People quickly learned to stray away from the imitators and stick to the Official Guild even if it cost a bit of an extra premium.

In the end, Cyril became pretty cozy as the leader of the Closet Maker's Guild. Any company seeking to build a house had to pay a fee to ensure that their homes were safe to visit.

***

Skip to the beginning of the game. The city council heard rumors of undead lurking in ruins beneath the city. Cyril, with his knowledge of ghouls was recommended for the team to investigate.

As we went into the city we encountered a Lich who was the head of a society of sentient undead dwelling underneath the city. They simply desired to be allowed to live beneath the city, something which the council would not abide by with one prominent member being a cleric of Pelor.

Cyril saw his opportunity and made a deal. He would keep their society secret and offer to help sneak ghouls into the city provided that they only preyed upon homes that did not have Guild Certified Closets. The Lich liked the deal, agreed and we completely avoided any fight with undead.

So that's the story of the first Lawful Evil Closet Maker's Guild


Basically, I'd say this game enlightened me on how much better things are when the characters have a place in the world. I'd give a very rich description of your world, but leave a lot of wiggle room too so that the characters can carve out their own piece of it. It makes you way more invested in the game

 

[Thebazilly]

Does D20 Future count?

Last session, the party was trying to break into the experimental labs of an evil corporation to rescue all the test subjects. So far, we had found the mode of transportation to the lab - a small shuttle/shipping container that met up with a large container ship that had a dozen or so others just like it attached. After a scuffle with some mercs who were trying to loot the ship, we did a little searching and found the ship the mercenaries had arrived in, and a container full of what the GM described as "not goats, but similar in smell and temperament to goats."

A party member pipes up, "So wait, how are these containers identified? Is it a signal?"

"Uh... sure."

"Can the transmitters be swapped out?"

"Yeah, they're all the same."

We swap the transmitter from our container with the one full of space-goats, thinking to cause a distraction when we arrive with some rampaging animals. The party medic/scientist whips up some sort of chemical agent that's supposed to drive the animals into a frenzy... and promptly rolls a 1 on her craft check. The results remain to be seen as our plan proceeds unknowingly.

The party takes the ship that the dead mercs came in, and follows the containers to the secret lab. Thinking we'll have a little chaos on our hands, we try to bluff our way in with the party leader shouting about a shipping mix-up and practically making every NPC in the place simultaneously poop himself with intimidate checks. Used to being shouted at, the lab techs follow his orders and one even mutters into his radio "Do what he says, it sounds like they're decapitating people again...."

The lab techs go to open the container, and out comes a horrible stench. The space-goats have all died horribly, and the walls are coated in all manner of bodily fluid that could possibly come out of an interstellar herd animal. All the NPCs think we've accidentally released space ebola in the lab.

The party leader contacts the medic on the radio during the chaos: "What the fuck did you do to these goats?!"

"You said to 'fuck them up,' those were your exact words. You didn't say you still needed them alive."

With the ensuing panic and chaos, we managed to clear out every corporate goon in the lab by ordering them to get this whole mess cleaned up before we informed upper management. We locked them all in the shipping area and took our sweet time finding the elevator to the ultra-security labs where the prisoners were with no resistance. The GM was quite impressed.

 

[babinro]

I've actually never played a D&D campaign that's been heavily story driven or RP driven. Pretty much everyone elses D&D experiences come across as more exciting than mine. That said...I've played the game for years having fun with the combat side of the game and making the most out of the DM's abilities to simply 'make up' rules to create some fun encounters. I'll post a few of the concepts below that you can feel free to use or expand upon.

1) Room of Mirrors

This takes the idea you've seen on tv/movies/cartoons and applies it to D&D. You know the scene. Someone is standing in a room of mirrors and the hero can only guess which image is the true one. I implemented this into a campaign through a crystalline cavern. These crystals not only reflected the image of the monsters but they'd reflect magic between them (think zelda light puzzle) to create a mess for any line spells thrown. From a mechanics standpoint you'd essentially apply a percentile chance to hit. A sufficient perception check or other creative means to determine the 'true' monster in the room would also work.

2) The Evil Dead

Fun with undead! Many undead in D&D are fairly plain. 0 hp, done. Why not spice it up?
- Did the zombies get decapitated? Have the body continue going for the party.
- Arm cut off? The hand continues to crawl at the party...grabbing at the leg...climbing towards the players weak and squishy eyes...
- Did you cut open its bloated stomach? Out comes a swarm of insects
- Set it on fire? After a couple rounds it's flesh melts away and you check out some skeleton monster stats. The fight continues!

3) Bosses with stages

I find these types of encounters to be the most interesting. Suppose your villain/boss involves a typical mage whose lair the PC's are invading. The room in question could contain one or multiple standing sarcophagus' that are slightly ajar. From here a couple of things could happen.
- The big bad calls upon his lackeys for help (the PC's would naturally expect this) but enter mummies or the like
- The big bad flees into a sarcophagus and whispers a magical trigger word. This closes and animates the sarcophagus much like how they'd animate a golem. Suddenly you have a solid stone monstrosity facing the party whose outer surface makes it all but immune to weapon damage. When the spellcasters crack the shell the mage could come crawling out with an anti-magic field all but shutting down the casters. This all happens while the lackeys pressure the party. This kind of boss battle gives moments for the melee classes to shine and for the casters to shine while the lackeys ensure there is always something to do.

4) Blood for the blood god!

A typical room crushing trap that might be more interesting. The party enters a room whose center contains a sacrificial pit whose symbol/historical relevance could hint to the party what must be done to survive. The pit itself contains several groves which all funnel towards a central basin. The room contains dozens of rodent sized holes. The party naturally triggers the room crushing trap at some point. In doing so, the room slowly closes in all while swarms of rodents/insects or even oozes come through the holes. The party can survive this trap by the rogue discovering and disabling the mechanism hidden within or by ensuring that sufficient blood is funneled into the basin (from the corpses of the monster they kill above it ideally).

Trap survived through blood sacrifice? Great. Did I mention that was intentionally the last component of some dark ritual?
Hope you enjoy the evil horror you've just brought upon the world...or that powerful spell you've suddenly triggered.

As you can tell...our campaigns probably feel very 'video gamey'. It's a style that works for us and makes the most out of a combat system that can quickly get stale as the characters settle into their abilities.