I'm planning for a demonic incursion into a rural community in my game. The pcs are called in to investigate a series of strange murders, accidents and bizarre events.
What I'd like is something more out of a horror movie than from regular D&D; I have only had a few demon encounters but I've tried to make them very scary and weird. In this case I'm thinking of evoking the sense of supernatural kind of biblical horror--from films say like "The Reaping" "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" "The Devil's Advocate" and so on. I'd appreciate any help or thoughts--in particular which kinds of demons/devils/outsiders would be good for this kind of thing.
Also, since this is D&D, how could it best be drawn out? Obviously certain spells, particularly clerical spells, can simply make a demon go away, but I don't want that. I'd like for example for the pcs to be baffled as to what is doing this but getting clues gradually, having a confrontation only after they've discovered what it is, gone to a strange location to find the being and then have a chance to deal with it.
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Cultists and the like are a great way to avoid banishment, since their native plane is the current one. Maybe make them part demon, after summoning and striking a deal with the original, something like a Demon-Touched template.
Have someone infiltrate the PC's party and sow dissension among them, putting them all at each other's throats and feel that they cannot trust each other, that any one of them might be secretly working with the cultists.
With horror, it's not enough to just make the enemy a demon; that's been done to death and people aren't afraid of them anymore. Making the PC's afraid (I'm assuming that's what you're going for) will take much more than that. Play on their fears in real life, and threaten their characters with much more than death; death means either a resurrection or a new character.
One great way, if one of your players is up to it, is to have one of the players replaced, though not necessarily killed. Take one of your players aside and propose it to him/her, and have them roleplay the infiltrator. The best conclusion of that line is when both the real character and the replacement are in the same room and the party must decide who to trust, with you playing the real one. Of course, you should plan what to do should your players find out early, or make the wrong choice at the end...
Cat scares are great to get the blood pumping. Like when you're watching a movie: The hero is walking down a hallway, flashlight in hand, when he comes to a door. He slowly grabs hold of the handle, and begins to open it, when... a dark figure leaps out at him! Whatever will he do?! He draws his weapon and aims it readily at the... cat? What a relief...
This will make them more susceptible to the real scare when it comes.
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What level p.c.'s?
#1: especially for characters who rely on a cohesive group for success:
ISOLATION.
There's loudboys who sit at the table, popping off about "I'll pop an M203 in C'thulhu's mouth. Calamari, everybody?" I should know, I'm one of them.
The same loudboy when his character steps in a pit trap and ends up alone in a 10 foot by 10 foot room will pipe down.
What's behind the door over there? ONOES!!! No rogue with his listen skilz! Or, I'm a rogue and I hear 10 creatures jabbering in infernal. What are they saying? ONOES!!! No fighter!!! Help me! Help me!
ISOLATION.
Couple of brief thoughts:
If you have Pathfinder: The Skinsaw Murders, you could use the hauntings encounters as is, or modify them to be the "residue" of evil acts the demon has committed. They give plenty of weird and spooky flavor.
Think about possession. Fiendish Codex has rules for it. Never knowing which villagers to trust, possessed people setting up the heroes to look like the cause, etc.
The taint mechanic might be useful to you. d20SRD link
Check out Heroes of Horror for more ideas on running horror-type adventures if you can.
Out of interest, what level are you designing for? Likely to be some difference in the demon's plans if the main adversary is a quasit vs. a balor.
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A ghost with the ability to possess people sometimes works. A random thought - take the ghost template, apply it to a demonic creature and viola - new demon with new abilities.
Just as a word of advice, when trying to make some things like horror scarier in D&D, be very careful about how you word things. Instead of saying, "You are about to be possessed, make a will save." say something like, "You suddenly find yourself standing in a white room, there are no doors and windows, There is a presence in the room with you. It caresses your shoulders. What do you do...(pause)... okay, make a will save...," When they make the save describe everything as normal. If they fail it, either take them aside and have them roleplay the possessed character, or don't tell them what happens except they are trapped.... looking for a way out of a white maze (or some such).
Also, for cults to work really well, in movies, stories and games, the cult leader should be someone the PCs know and have come to trust. The sense of betrayal will help make the story more vivid.
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Also, for cults to work really well, in movies, stories and games, the cult leader should be someone the PCs know and have come to trust. The sense of betrayal will help make the story more vivid.
It could be the person infiltrating the group, that is seemingly the target of the attacks made by the cultists. He goes to great ends trying to save the PCs, "putting his life in danger" to save them, and at the end they find out that it was all a ruse and that they have to kill the person they once called a friend, or even a brother-in-arms. I like this idea......
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Also, for cults to work really well, in movies, stories and games, the cult leader should be someone the PCs know and have come to trust. The sense of betrayal will help make the story more vivid.It could be the person infiltrating the group, that is seemingly the target of the attacks made by the cultists. He goes to great ends trying to save the PCs, "putting his life in danger" to save them, and at the end they find out that it was all a ruse and that they have to kill the person they once called a friend, or even a brother-in-arms. I like this idea......
o o i know who the traitor is. *stab*,*stab*,*stab*,*stab*,*stab*,*stab*,*stab* yay!
I got hunter!. i think
(just playing around srry)
i do agree with hunter it would be a great idea to see that kind of roleplay turn out
Wow, I appreciate all the help.
They're going to be around 11th/12th level. That's part of why I want it subtle.
I like the infiltration/isolation ideas, I think those are good staples for horror as well. What I very much want to avoid is hack and slash.
The setting is a rather rural community as I said; there's a trading town, 4 farm villages centered around manors, a local mine, a few isolated farmsteads, and a fortified bridge that leads to another town and keep that's a few days' journey away.
I'm throwing in a red herring as well, so perhaps play with this idea: the whole thing I thought could start with a murder, one that seems to just be over jealousy. One of the pcs' cohorts was courting a girl who turned out to be betrothed (this is something I just threw in as a leadership dilemma) and was told to break it off to keep good local relations. The suspected murderer is the young man engaged to the girl the cohort is sweet on--the victim is the girl.
(the cohort is a 4th level fighter btw, a young somewhat romantic and impetuous soldier)
Here's an important question: how can I avoid this being an investigation led game? One of my players in particular prefers roleplaying or action.
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Here's an important question: how can I avoid this being an investigation led game? One of my players in particular prefers roleplaying or action.
The way to avoid an investigatory game is to have it be event driven. This means that its going to of necessity be more railroaded than it would otherwise.
What I would do is plot out the story in your mind and then set up a series of encounters and events to drive the story towards your predetermined goal. At the same time, embed both clues and red-herrings within the story so that it feels like the players are investigating even though you know they are probably going to find the leads you want them to find and jump to the conclusions you want them to jump to.
And while you are doing all of this, you want to strive to do it in a way that makes it feel to them like they are the ones moving the story along.
Do yourself a favor. Start off playing by the horror movie rules. Oh, and let the party win. ;)Keep it moving like a typical horror film until the party is just about over-confidant. Then change the rules. Attack during the day, and in the open. Ambushes galore. Give them no or little time to breathe.
Oh.. Personally the betrayed by a friend thing gets old. They'll be looking for it. So instead of one guy, make it a group, or family. Or even the whole village. ;) Play with their expectations.
To not be an investigation, keep the game event driven. Keeping them on the move will limit the detective work.
Mr. Fish, I would invite you to mine this thread for some great inspiration. I was working on a high level horror/demon adventure at the time and solicited some ideas from this community. There was some really great stuff that came out of it.
Good luck on designing your adventure!
Edit: Just scanned that thread. I started it 3 years ago! I can't believe it was that long ago! Geez!
Thanks for the help in focusing further, and yes that thread was very helpful and challenging the usual D&D responses to adventures. I can see how this kind of adventure planning is rather tricky.
I've been thinking of having the murderer escape, witnesses die under bizarre circumstances. Then perhaps the murderer's body is found--suicide is presumed. Only the pcs really suspect him of being posessed. Thoughts? Where would I take it from there? I thought of a couple of possibilities.
1. Disturbing events surrounding it. I'm trying to think of things that just indicate the corruption the demon has brought into the area.
2. What if the demon doesn't so much do acts of violence as actual acts of corruption? Seductions, betrayals, that kind of thing? Undermining the very efforts of the pcs to establish their colony, sowing mistrust and confusion?
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A twist you could throw in there is to have the "mastermind" be some sort of Fey creature, but is making it look as though it is the work of a demon. We all know that certain Fey love nothing more than to bedevil and twist the minds and ambitions of mortals, and you could make it more malicious than most others, like "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" kind of thing. Maybe the PC's find an ally in a demon trying to get rid of the impostor. Then, of course, it becomes a question of trying to decide which is the lesser of two evils, and if the demon will be more trouble after the fey is gone.