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Kol Korran
2011-06-04, 01:41 PM
tomer, guy, alon and ariel, please don't read any further.

hey all! i'm planning a disturbing encounter for my group. they'll be in a grave yard, and looking for something pressed for time. the place isn't natural, and it's supposed to disturb people. i'm looking for things to put on tomb stones. these should be short, and i'm thinking of something in the following format:


whacky/ creepy name. if it can look like a possible answer to a riddle, than it's a bonus!

some sort of disturbing or intriguing... Memoir. (still short)

for example:

Fin Cof
they were always after him.
they still are...

Bathy Jirmow
Why the knife?

ok, these are not really that inspired, and that is because is suck at this. can you please come with something better? the more the creepier! :smallbiggrin:

Traab
2011-06-04, 01:43 PM
Yimminy Jeagerschwartz

"Look Underneath The Underneath"

Louis Cranium

Come Closer
closer
almost there
duck

I messed it up, but basically, the writing gets smaller so they have to walk closer to see more. At the end they trigger a pressure plate and have to avoid a decapitating trap.

Tvtyrant
2011-06-04, 02:25 PM
Here lay Zan
Buried alive
we still don't know if he died

JoshuaZ
2011-06-04, 02:33 PM
The names of the PCs are always a good creeper. For extra fun, have the death dates be sometime soon in the future (if any characters in the party have died before you can have their "graves" with the correct date of death also.) Also, from spending actually too much time in graveyards- the graves of children are always great.

There's some specific good ones here (http://www.hauntedbay.com/thelab/epitaphs.shtml). Some of them are just silly or stupid, but some of the creepier ones are very good, and some of the very creepy ones are from actual graves.

Tengu_temp
2011-06-04, 02:36 PM
Here lies Unknown
We don't know what was in the coffin
Nobody was brave enough to open it

And if the players decide to dig it up and check for themselves, the coffin turns out to be empty.

Eldan
2011-06-04, 02:38 PM
Good morning!

Tvtyrant
2011-06-04, 02:39 PM
Here lies Unknown
We don't know what was in the coffin
Nobody was brave enough to open it

And if the players decide to dig it up and check for themselves, the coffin turns out to be empty.

Or have the top be clawn open and a small tunnel made through the dirt.

TheThan
2011-06-04, 03:05 PM
“--------->
I’m with stupid”

“Your next”

“This guy’s totally dead.”

" here lies Lester Moor
four shots from a .44
No less, no more"

Jay R
2011-06-04, 03:15 PM
"If you can read this, roll for initiative."

"To let. Inquire within."

"Here lies the 37th hero who tried to slay the Dark Priestess.
She never bothered to learn his name.
She won't bother to learn yours, either."

"We think he was dying.
We know he was contagious.
So we buried him."

"This man dared to walk on my land.
You are walking on my land now.
Go away, or stay forever."

"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
cast Resurrection,
and walk away."

But the creepiest thing to put on a tombstone is Nystul's Magical Aura.

Eldan
2011-06-04, 03:31 PM
"Be right with you!"

Mazeburn
2011-06-04, 03:36 PM
When I was in Romania, I found a gravestone with birthdates but no death dates.

http://learningextra.com/pspynett/else/58369_437402502435_656987435_5058415_5166465_n.jpg

Actually, I swear half my photos from that trip are of creepy gravestones. :smalleek:

bansidhe
2011-06-04, 03:47 PM
Please Knock.

No free papers.

Please deliver packages too M. Dawkins 1609-1743.

Bell dosent work.

zyborg
2011-06-04, 03:56 PM
Come Closer
closer
almost there
duck

the writing gets smaller so they have to walk closer to see more. At the end they trigger a pressure plate and have to avoid a decapitating trap.


Here lies Unknown
We don't know what was in the coffin
Nobody was brave enough to open it

And if the players decide to dig it up and check for themselves, the coffin turns out to be empty.





"Here lies the 37th hero who tried to slay the Dark Priestess.
She never bothered to learn his name.
She won't bother to learn yours, either."


"This man dared to walk on my land.
You are walking on my land now.
Go away, or stay forever."

"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
cast Resurrection,
and walk away."


Those are awesome. Just wanted to say that.

Amnestic
2011-06-04, 03:57 PM
When I was in Romania, I found a gravestone with birthdates but no death dates.

Actually, I swear half my photos from that trip are of creepy gravestones. :smalleek:

Hah! I like that. Very creepy indeed. *steals for possible future graveyards*

Jay R
2011-06-04, 04:13 PM
When I was in Romania, I found a gravestone with birthdates but no death dates.

It's not actually that uncommon in some places to buy the stone and plot in advance of need, like buying life insurance. Then you hire somebody to carve the death date when you know what it is - if there is any money left to hire him with.

Flickerdart
2011-06-04, 04:29 PM
"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
cast Resurrection,
and walk away."




"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
dig up the body because Resurrection is a touch-range spell,
throw away 10k GP because Resurrected souls don't have to return if they don't want to,
and walk away."

JoshuaZ
2011-06-04, 04:32 PM
"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
dig up the body because Resurrection is a touch-range spell,
throw away 10k GP because Resurrected souls don't have to return if they don't want to,
and walk away."

Well, the 10k gp is easy to deal with if the person in question is an epic wizard so they can get Ignore Material Components. And if they have a level in archmage they can get around the touch range issue. Not sure how to deal with the soul not having to return.

Bobby Archer
2011-06-04, 04:46 PM
"We think he was dying.
We know he was contagious.
So we buried him."

This wins my award for Creepiest Tombstone of the Thread.

A good source of epitaphs is the Spoon River Anthology (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_River_Anthology).

Another thing you may want to try as the PCs get deeper into the graveyard is to make the tombstones and other elements of the graveyard more unreal: describe them as quietly weeping, bleeding, or melting. Have them move or change places/epitaphs when the PCs look away.

If there are (for instance) 4 PCs, make several references to "the five of you." When your players inform you that there's only four of them, look thoughtful and ask them if they're sure. When they stop to check, agree that, yes, there are only four of them. Then wait a few minutes, and begin referring to "the three of them"... repeat and mix as necessary.

Yukitsu
2011-06-04, 04:50 PM
Lonely.
Won't you please come in
And rest a while with me?

Popertop
2011-06-04, 04:56 PM
Yimminy Jeagerschwartz

"Look Underneath The Underneath"

Louis Cranium

Come Closer
closer
almost there
duck

I messed it up, but basically, the writing gets smaller so they have to walk closer to see more. At the end they trigger a pressure plate and have to avoid a decapitating trap.

In much the same vein:

"Look behind you"


When I was in Romania, I found a gravestone with birthdates but no death dates.

http://learningextra.com/pspynett/else/58369_437402502435_656987435_5058415_5166465_n.jpg

Actually, I swear half my photos from that trip are of creepy gravestones. :smalleek:

OH... wow. That is really creepy considering Romania's reputation.

I'm just gonna go ahead and lose some more sleep tonight.

Cespenar
2011-06-04, 04:57 PM
"BRB." And some letters.

Don Blake
2011-06-04, 05:53 PM
Now I lie,
In this blessed/cursed place
Entwined forever
In Death's sweet embrace
*

Life is quick
But the grave is patient
*
Here lies John.
In time, may he forgive us.
*
Here lies Ezra.
1888. 1891. 1893.
*
(With all due credit to Alhazred)
That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons you will find that even death may die
*
Sara
1602-1624
I'm so sorry
*
Mark
b. 1563 d. 1581
God took you too soon
And gave you back too late
*
In this sleep,
What dreams may come?
*

Cerlis
2011-06-04, 05:57 PM
I prefer "Let me out!"

Nameless Ghost
2011-06-04, 06:01 PM
"Don't blink."

Eldan
2011-06-04, 06:05 PM
And we will always remember
his last words:
"Aargh, no,
Let me out.

Traab
2011-06-04, 06:15 PM
I wrote out Look underneath the underneath to give that clue sounding tombstone epitaph. Admit it gamers, if you walked up to a tombstone that said that, you would try all sorts of things, like digging up the grave then digging under that. Gouging out the area of the tombstone underneath the word underneath, etc.

Crossblade
2011-06-04, 06:25 PM
http://www.filehurricane.com/viewerthumbnails/9182008100331AM_respawn.jpg

Dr.Epic
2011-06-04, 06:27 PM
I prepared explosive runes before I died.

Uiriamu
2011-06-04, 06:37 PM
Gandalf

I'VE PREPARED EXPLOSIVE RUNES THIS MORNING.

randomhero00
2011-06-04, 06:42 PM
Some more obscure and puzzling ones (if inland) might be things like "Died for the dead at sea".

Another thing, that'd take care of all the tombstones..would be a mass grave. It'd say something like, "May the 2,000 burn for what they did. 1968-1994"

Except DnD dates. But yeah, the exact date is purposeful. Why were they all born in the same year and died in the same year? Why did the people that buried them wish them suffering?

One more, if dealing with undead; "Here's hoping this resting place is as nice as his home, see you soon." Or something along those lines.

olelia
2011-06-04, 06:51 PM
Here used to lie Hubart Howard Vecna



:smallamused:

navar100
2011-06-04, 07:05 PM
If you can read this
I'm sorry

randomhero00
2011-06-04, 07:07 PM
"I never thought it would end this way; me writing my own tombstone. And when it comes down to it, I'm as silent as the thing that took me."

Lord.Sorasen
2011-06-04, 07:34 PM
If you can read this
I'm sorry

Oh God oh man, this is my favorite so far. There is just something about it...

Dr.Epic
2011-06-04, 08:20 PM
Gandalf

I'VE PREPARED EXPLOSIVE RUNES THIS MORNING.

Wrong wizard.

Traab
2011-06-04, 08:43 PM
There are a dozen or more tombstones. Each with a name, date of death, and a single word chiseled underneath it. When arranged properly its the clue for the next step of the quest.

erikun
2011-06-04, 09:48 PM
I Love You
Stay With Me

Tombstones with family members, especially with dates like "tomorrow" or "last week" or "next time I am hungry" would probably work quite well. The players would need to be attached to their characters' relatives, though.

Tvtyrant
2011-06-04, 10:06 PM
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.

I forgive you.

Stumblebee
2011-06-04, 10:21 PM
IN MEMORIAM
to those lost
in this quicksand trap

TedEBearNC
2011-06-04, 10:37 PM
"I knew I shouldn't have worn that red shirt!"

dsmiles
2011-06-04, 11:15 PM
Bob was an Alchemist,
But now Bob is no more.
For what Bob thought was H2O
was H2SO4.

More funny than creepy, but whatever. :smallwink:

Kol Korran
2011-06-05, 02:08 AM
wow! thanks guys! this is great! i was looking for mostly atmospheric ideas, but some of the traps might be cool as well. the characters will be racing against time (matter of 20-30 rounds) so anything that might be a minor time waste might be great. including funny graves...

the sites are awesome as well :smallbiggrin:

thanks all, keep them coming!

Crossblade
2011-06-05, 02:26 AM
If Not Dead: Summon a Cleric

Here Lie the Ashes of Joe, Barry, Mike, Sally, Frank, Bill, Jane and Ned
Victims of a Disintegration Spell

Here Lies Joe Commoner, Arch Nemesis of House Cats

Greased-Hands Johnson. Last in line of the 5000 man rock pass event.
If only he hadn't missed the hand off of that rock.

Serpentine
2011-06-05, 02:59 AM
Elspeth Vistabar
b. 327
d. 342, 347, 349, 356, 357
What I like about this one is it would seem weird to the players, but in a world with magic and gods and Resurrection and Raise Dead spells it makes perfect sense.


John Stones
Didn't believe in fairies.

Ashley Canter
Beloved wife, mother, brother.

Harold Smith
Beloved Father
Despised Husband
His legacy lives on.

Michelle Wallace
b. 862, d. 724

Buried
But not alone

Do not remove this stone

You could also have perfectly ordinary tombstones that just have weird pictures or statues, or conditions. The Stone Angels from Doctor Who's Blink would certainly go well - especially for savvy players. Other possibilities, just off the top of my head:
A big crack across the top of the grave slab.
Vivid flowers - bright red roses, for example - covering the whole grave, but not touching anything around it.
A tree growing straight out of the grave.
A tombstone that appears to have melted.
A portrait - presumably of the interred - that seems to follow the viewer with its eyes.
A carving of a screaming face.
A mausoleum that looks like an ordinary country cottage, just all out of stone.
A tomb made completely of black stone.
A tomb or mausoleum that appears to have been completely carved out of the one solid stone.
A perfect statue of a person cowering in fear.
A fairly innocuous looking statue... that appears in odd places all over the place.
An unmarked grave-shaped patch of dirt that looks freshly-dug.
A grave or area around which absolutely nothing grows.
A grave with a beseeching skeleton sprawled over it.
A grave with one of those anti-live burial bells attached to it, with the string cut.
As above, but with the string attached, the bell ringing occasionally, and dated some time ago - months, years or centuries.

0Megabyte
2011-06-05, 03:38 AM
"What is dead can never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.

born xx21. Died xx53."

The tomb is empty.

Radar
2011-06-05, 03:46 AM
A regular tombstone with birth and death date and a faint scribbling under the last one: "Fat chance, ha, ha." (yes, someone wrote "ha, ha")



A fairly innocuous looking statue... that appears in odd places all over the place.

If they mark or scratch, or do anything else to the statue, it will show on every other they encounter.

Serpentine
2011-06-05, 04:24 AM
@^ ...with a grumpier expression.


[name]
b. 824, d. 855, b. 955

CodeRed
2011-06-05, 04:54 AM
Serpentine why did you have to reference the Weeping Angels? Now I'm not going to be able to sleep again. Those things were seriously one of the most damn creepy things I've ever seen on television.

As to said above angels, they would make a great looming threat/atmospheric creeper. Whenever the PC's walk past an angel statue, they hear grinding noises as it turns to face them, despite being faced in a different direction a moment ago. Make sure to describe them as being all angelic and happy but with something thats just "off". If they know what it is, describe it as a sort of Uncanny Valley type feeling. Upon closer inspection (Spot/Search checks) they notice than the statues are smiling wicked smiles like they know something the PC's don't.

J.Gellert
2011-06-05, 05:04 AM
It's 50-ton boulder instead of a typical tombstone.

Asheram
2011-06-05, 05:33 AM
I see you


Step closer, child


Tomb of Verath the Seer
I've seen you die


Smith
B. 2372 - D.1695

Serpentine
2011-06-05, 06:03 AM
Ingrid Jhorsson

Slain by fate.
Eagles bear her soul,
Eagles bear her heavenward.

Young, she was.
Oh, unjust death!
Understand, you reader.

Milo v3
2011-06-05, 07:21 AM
Here lies
Ragna the Blood Edge
Died when the beast returned

Here lies
The Black Reaper
Izanami is with him

First one is to do with Blazblue.
Second Darker than Black.

Incorrect
2011-06-05, 07:29 AM
Have one of a standard adventurer.


Here lies
Marcus McKills-stuff
1412 - 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431, 1431,
1431, 1431, 1431, 1432, 1432, 1432, 1432, 1432, 1432, 1484

Many 1-20 campaigns are only a couple of years ingame.

Morph Bark
2011-06-05, 08:41 AM
Well, the 10k gp is easy to deal with if the person in question is an epic wizard so they can get Ignore Material Components. And if they have a level in archmage they can get around the touch range issue. Not sure how to deal with the soul not having to return.

Homebrew a spell that forces the target to come back, yet still requires an expensive material component (and possibly the whole body).


Anyhoo, this gave me an idea for my campaign: have the BBEG have a hallway in his castle (or just a graveyard outside somewhere), with a field of these:

Azrael the Meek
B. 1063 - D. 1120
“You’re next.”

Albrecht the Axed
B. 1062 - D. 1121
“Wasn’t careful enough.”

Aegar Ebrest
B. 1044 - D. 1122
“Made it to the second round.”

Arbuxle Hivverspoon
B. 963 - D. 1123
“Silver spoons, mate.”

Arwüst Hekstgetränk
B. 1089 - D. 1124
“Come closer,
Even closer,
A little more,
Duck.” (Reflex save)

Argon the Alchemist
B. 1096 - D. 1125
“Once an alchemist,
Now no more,
What he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4.”

Auster Pizzzack
B. 109 - D. 1126
“Only the good die young.”

Ajax Bladesdeath
B. 1089 - D. 1127
“Appropriately named.”

Aposte Rory
B. 1097 - D. 1128
“In hindsight…”

Ahan-Ajan
B. 1108 - D. 1129
“Here he lies, the Hero Ahan,
We were with many,
He was with one.”

Ai’k’txirwöçtl-‘Kpt
B. ???? - D. 1130
“What the **** was that?”

Albrecht the Twice-Axed
B. 1099 - D. 1131
“Must be in the family.”

Aquarrigeur
B. 1111 - D. 1132
“Rigeur, mortis.”

Ashe the Cold-Hearted
B. 1022 - D. 1133
“With a name like that, I just had to disintegrate her.”

Akabi Lee
B. 1107 - D. 1134
“Saw your invisibility.”

Angeli Q. Caliphe-d’Orme
B. 1119 - D. 1135
“Lots of loot on her corpse. Thanks for that, rich bitch.”

Aerus’x Alarda’s
B. 1065 - D. 1136
“Ugh, kobolds.”

Angus A’Brion
B. 1112 - D. 1137
“Triumphed at first, forgot about Resurrection. Payback’s a bitch.”


Three of the PCs have names starting with an A. :smallwink:

Jay R
2011-06-05, 08:55 AM
"He was my enemy.
Every week, I come here,
dig up the body because Resurrection is a touch-range spell,
throw away 10k GP because Resurrected souls don't have to return if they don't want to,
and walk away."

In fact, there is more than one version of the game, with more than one set of rules.

Eldan
2011-06-05, 09:07 AM
A statue, but not a whole person. Just an arm, from elbow to hand, trying to dig it's way out.

JoshuaZ
2011-06-05, 09:15 AM
Homebrew a spell that forces the target to come back, yet still requires an expensive material component (and possibly the whole body).


Yes, but I was trying to deal with it completely with standard mechanics. Sice I got two out of the three problems, I was hoping that there would be a way of dealing with the third. Although now that I've looked the epic seed Life doesn't require the being in question to be willing. However, that makes a target lose 1 level. There's probably a way to do this with epic magic but I don't know the epic system well enough to work out the details.

In terms of homebrew, a 9th level spell that functions just like Resurrection, requires an intact body, and doesn't care if the being in question is willing or not would probably be balanced.

Serpentine
2011-06-05, 09:18 AM
Wouldn't just Raise Dead do, on the cheap?

Hyudra
2011-06-05, 09:20 AM
Timotel, 224-210 z.b.
Reader of this Epitaph
Beware of spider bites
Timotel was bitten once
Her children ate him from the inside out.

Here lies Graff the Body Thief
Unconscious and drugged when buried.
We pray his wandering stops here.
Beware companions who laugh too often.
That was his thing.

Grace Erteasxcsdr
wer werz xsdfsdfpo
sdfsdfl, zdxfdasofdkl
(After reading this, the PCs find the next few things they read as well are all gibberish, too, even stuff they own or stuff/epitahs they've read before. For extra effect, have something else that was unreadable make sudden sense.)

Here lies the burnt midsection
Of Kalder the Red.
His other ashes scattered
To the four corners of the Prime
Let us pray we prove the lie
To his promise to return in a century's time.
210 - 200 (100 years prior to current date)

Afraid rhyme isn't my thing, but there you go.

JoshuaZ
2011-06-05, 09:41 AM
Wouldn't just Raise Dead do, on the cheap?

Not for that purpose. Raising also requires the soul to be willing. Moreover, even if it didn't they lose a level or a point of con when being raised. So one wouldn't be able to do it more than a few times.

DontEatRawHagis
2011-06-05, 10:27 AM
A tomb stone that has depictions of all the ingredients to turn into a litch, engraved on the side. Surrounding the phrase "death is just the beginning."

Another stone, in small print "If you are reading this thank you". Add to the affect a shriveled hand bursts from the ground and tries to pull the reader down below.

John Campbell
2011-06-05, 10:36 AM
HERE LIES JACK SMITH
OR AT LEAST
WE BURIED HIM HERE

SARAH JONES
WE PRAY
THE GODS KEEP HER
THIS TIME

Morph Bark
2011-06-05, 10:46 AM
Not for that purpose. Raising also requires the soul to be willing. Moreover, even if it didn't they lose a level or a point of con when being raised. So one wouldn't be able to do it more than a few times.

Level + 1/2 Con score (rounded up) - 1 to be precise.

Also you'd have to make sure they can't break out of the coffin and dig their way up, or simply teleport out, so initiators with some Stone Dragon strikes and sufficiently high-level Monks and Wizards would be out of the question, as well as anyone who can reliably consistently deal more than 40 damage per attack ( as magically treated adamantine has hardness 40) without killing themselves in the process (such as with AoE spells).

Making the inside like an Anti-Magic Field would help, but then you would have some extra trouble doing the resurrecting.

Plus, they'd have 1 day to get out, plus a number of hours that they can pass their Con checks from thirst, up until they pass out from it due to high nonlethal damage. (When would they actually DIE from it though? Never got official rules anywhere. Perhaps it'd just be kinda like the rules for drowning or such.)

Traab
2011-06-05, 11:59 AM
A list of names dates and times, including that of whoever is reading the stone, then have a time marked roughly 5 minutes after they started reading with the name of some sort of really nasty creature to make them paranoid.

Jay R
2011-06-05, 12:50 PM
Using an idea from a recent thread:


Here lie the few remaining bone fragments
Of John Smith
Who ventured outside
during the semi-annual velociraptor migration.
<Date, exactly one year ago today>

Hiro Protagonest
2011-06-05, 01:01 PM
I got a good one.



Here lies [name of PC]
[date of birth]-when he looked at this tombstone


And another.



Here lied Vecna
[date of birth]-undeath

ScionoftheVoid
2011-06-05, 01:23 PM
Positioned so the reader is directly above a magical trap of some kind (Sarcophagus of Stone spell? Possibly some kind of trap with an additional Sepia Snake Sigil), "We have not had a death in X days", with whatever number X is melting and becoming a zero when it's read and the trap springs.

Another one:
Esp Ivanot

"He would lie here, but well..."

Ghast (or other appropriate intelligent undead) under an Invisibility effect says "Right behind you", from, where else, right behind the party.

Zale
2011-06-05, 02:44 PM
Here lies Bob
In his fourth And hopefully final
Resting place.

Seriously. Don't raise him again.

Force
2011-06-05, 03:32 PM
Cribbing from Jim Butcher...


He died doing the right thing.
[PCNAME] [PC Date of Birth]-[ILLEGIBLE]

As a plus, have an enemy give the cemetery plot to the PC in question.

PetterTomBos
2011-06-05, 04:17 PM
It's 50-ton boulder instead of a typical tombstone.

And the boulder shakes and rattles every now and then..

From graves in the MMO Tibia:

"God is dead - Nietzche"

Beside it:

"Nietzche is dead - God"

:smallbiggrin:

mikeejimbo
2011-06-05, 04:20 PM
I seem to recall there being a bunch of good ones in Fable, but don't remember any specifics.

I think that listing nutrition facts would be pretty creepy.

dsmiles
2011-06-05, 04:22 PM
Here's a couple:


This marks the grave of Annie
whose aim was just uncanny.
She shot from hip or shoulder
at twelve or maybe older.
The guns that brought her fame
made legend of her name.
Though wrapped here now in cotton
she'll never be forgotten.


Poor Billy's just a kid
who cared not what he did.
This wanton William Bonny,
always kinda scrawny,
made an awful eyeful
in baggy pants and rifle.
Since Pat has laid him low
he's stiff from head to toe.


Old Sam was really coarse
even meaner than his horse.
He stole it on a Monday,
brought it back on Sunday,
but no one gave a hoot
about the mangy coot.
Now he's hanging from a tree
just as dead as he can be.


Here lies a man named Shorty
whose age was two and forty.
We knew he wouldn't last
and now he's finally passed.
His drinking did him in—
He barfed on boots of men
who propped him up on poles
and shot him full of holes.


The man beneath this dirt
was too much of a flirt.
They found him in an alley
as he was kissing Sally.
To cool his heedless passion
he got a gruesome thrashin—
They severed both his feet
and rolled his head down the street.

bansidhe
2011-06-05, 04:35 PM
Too quote Spike Milligan,who really does have this on his stone.


See,I told you I was ill!

randomhero00
2011-06-05, 05:37 PM
Or how about just simply putting cooking critiques on them?

"Needed more salt"

"Could have done with more pepper."

"Way over cooked."

etc.

Hiro Protagonest
2011-06-05, 05:41 PM
R.I.P. Van Winkle

Tech Boy
2011-06-05, 06:51 PM
"Here lies Royal Tennebaum. He died saving his family from a sinking ship."


:)

Asheram
2011-06-05, 07:10 PM
Note for next time
The door to the left is trapped

Marillion
2011-06-05, 10:00 PM
"God is dead - Nietzche"

Beside it:

"Nietzche is dead - God"

:smallbiggrin:

Beside that:

"Oh, real mature, God - Nietzsche"

:smallwink:



Grace Erteasxcsdr
wer werz xsdfsdfpo
sdfsdfl, zdxfdasofdkl
(After reading this, the PCs find the next few things they read as well are all gibberish, too, even stuff they own or stuff/epitahs they've read before. For extra effect, have something else that was unreadable make sudden sense.)


Ooh. I like this one.

Welknair
2011-06-05, 10:18 PM
William, son of [PC Name]
Its such a shame he left this world so soon
And in such a frightful manner.
[Birth date is missing the last two digits. Death date is entirely illegible]

Serenity
2011-06-05, 10:48 PM
Above a mausoleum door: "ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO [Illegible Scrawl]." The next time they see it, the first part has become illegible, and what was illegible before can now be clearly read as "ENTER HERE."

A tombstone with no other adornments but a single carved word: "HELP."

"[PC Name]. WELCOME."

No name on the tombstone. Just a picture of a scared and confused looking man; the eyes seem to follow the PCs. Carved below his portrait: "WHY?"

SleepyShadow
2011-06-05, 11:15 PM
Better Safe Than Sorry.

[PC Name]
Maybe S/He'll stay dead this time.

Emily Smith
1234 - 1234
We never wanted her. Take her back.


Just a few ideas.

Amiel
2011-06-05, 11:17 PM
That which is not dead can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.


Behind You


I was you all along

Gadora
2011-06-05, 11:49 PM
I'm just throwing a few ideas out there for people to play around with.

How about having one of these (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magicCircleAgainstEvil.htm) etched into a stone slab above a grave?

What languages are available to play around with? For example, an otherwise innocuous elven tombstone becomes rather strange if it's written in orcish or goblin.

Serpentine
2011-06-05, 11:50 PM
R.I.P. Van WinkleI like this one :smallbiggrin:
Too quote Spike Milligan,who really does have this on his stone.


See,I told you I was ill!"The report of my death was an exaggeration."
That which is not dead can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.I think that was the 4th or so time that one's been said...

mathemagician
2011-06-06, 12:30 AM
Those who are about to die, we salute you! *hands tear from the ground*

Whenever a PC reads the tombstone, the engraving fades, and shows the way in which they died. Make it so that they are searching for a particular grave, and about halfway through their search, one of the tombstones shows someone being killed while reading a tombstone :) Might put them on edge, eh!

Dienekes
2011-06-06, 12:45 AM
Have a graveyard filled with normal tombstones with 1 in every 5 or so saying

Here lies Jamie Madrox
1368-1402

Or have an entire graveyard filled with normal names and every one ending on the same death date with the simple words.
They called for us.

Ravens_cry
2011-06-06, 12:59 AM
SNEH, SNEH, SNEH.

Ganurath
2011-06-06, 01:30 AM
Finden Underhill
"He knew too much."
[Recent Year] - [Year Immediately After Birth Year]

OracleofWuffing
2011-06-06, 01:37 AM
"Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu."

"Peperony and Cheez"

"Here lies THE PLOT TRAIN. 'Twas good while it lasted."

"This space for rent."

"MM PLZ"

"The left vase is cursed, right?"

"Stored underground are the remains of Steve J. Wizards. 'I AM INVINCIBLE'."

"This is the Tomb of Jacobs G. Switchmaker. 'Remember this: 4, 9, 7, 2, 1 3'."

"May the spirit of this departed soldier rest in- oh my gosh what the hell is going- sweet merciful Pelor, it's the zom BRAAAAAINS"

Radar
2011-06-06, 02:40 AM
If you go with a tombstone with a realistic portrait, make it Vigo the Carpathian (I wonder, if the reference would still be noticed).


"May the spirit of this departed soldier rest in- oh my gosh what the hell is going- sweet merciful Pelor, it's the zom BRAAAAAINS"
Lovecraftian stone-cutter?

a_humble_lich
2011-06-06, 02:47 AM
If you go with a tombstone with a realistic portrait, make it Vigo the Carpathian (I wonder, if the reference would still be noticed).



Oh yes, the world will be mine and Vigo's....well, mostly Vigo's.

Milo v3
2011-06-06, 02:54 AM
Lovecraftian stone-cutterSounds more like the guy from Monty Pythons Holy Grail.

The Castle Aarrrrgh.

Radar
2011-06-06, 04:35 AM
Sounds more like the guy from Monty Pythons Holy Grail.

The Castle Aarrrrgh.
I was refering mostly to this (http://domochevsky.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=72#/d1ymufw), but Castle Aarrrrgh works as well.

Earthwalker
2011-06-06, 04:59 AM
Hope

Died {Date of birth of one of the player characters}

Dubhghall
2011-06-06, 06:51 AM
(Found on ten tombstones)
Forgive me now, for I have tried
Though one was spared, eleven died

Here lies Erin,
Who surely drowned.
The lake took her.
No body found.

A warning to you passersby
If no rose grows here where I lie
The night shall ever on thee rest
Unless...
(the rest is too faded to read)

Radar
2011-06-06, 06:56 AM
Hope

Died {Date of birth of one of the players}
Good one. :smallbiggrin:

Talyn
2011-06-06, 07:18 AM
Lovecraftian stone-cutter?

Maybe he was dictating.

Unknown Woman
Sleep she forever
Rise no more
And may the earth sate her hunger

The actual grave has got an enormous, iron-bound stone slab over the grave. The stone is starting to crack.

Milo v3
2011-06-06, 07:20 AM
Maybe he was dictating.

Unknown Woman
Sleep she forever
Rise no more
And may the earth sate her hunger

The actual grave has got an enormous, iron-bound stone slab over the grave. The stone is starting to crack.

Then you check inside and there is nothing. A few weeks later the party finds out there is a murder on the lose who eats her victums.

Kol Korran
2011-06-06, 08:27 AM
this is great stuff! thanks you Serpentine, dsmiles, and the rest of you! this will make for a cool encounter!

Welknair
2011-06-06, 09:31 AM
Here lies [PC Name]
[87 years before birthdate - Birthdate]
We shall never forget.

Serpentine
2011-06-06, 09:53 AM
Yay! I got listed first! I'm the favourite! :smallbiggrin:
:smalltongue:

Bobby Archer
2011-06-06, 10:55 AM
If you go with a tombstone with a realistic portrait, make it Vigo the Carpathian (I wonder, if the reference would still be noticed).

In that same vein:

Death is but a door
Time is but a window
I'll be back.

Jay R
2011-06-06, 10:57 AM
Or have an entire graveyard filled with normal names and every one ending on the same death date with the simple words.
They called for us.

I've been in a graveyard in a ghost town, with hundreds of crosses all with the one date, followed by hundreds more with a single date about ten years later.

Dawson, New Mexico -- it was a coal mining town.

Ganurath
2011-06-06, 11:11 AM
If you're feeling lighthearted, you could have a tombstone with the family name damaged beyond recognition, but the personal name being sufficiently intact to be identified as that of an actual player. The second one should have indication that the person was a travelling merchant and/or a halfling to avoid being too obvious.

The Clown Got Him
While He Slept

Took The Party
Off The Trial
Once Too Many

Caught Stealing Food
Now Eats Free Worms

As for more serious ones... Well, there are ideas.

Received Bittersweet
Victory Fighting Fate

We Would Not Hear Her

The Smartest Man In Town
Could Not Outwit Loneliness

Invested Everything Here
(This tombstone will be small and minimal, but bear the graveyard's name.)

[Male Name]
Her Love For Him
Was Not The Only Thing
Illusionary

randomhero00
2011-06-06, 01:16 PM
His last words: "I get the feeling they want to kill me..."

Welknair
2011-06-06, 05:06 PM
He was a necromancer
He spoke often with the dead
May he now converse with them forever


Reverend John
Missing, Presumed Undead


(Single tombstone atop large mound of earth devoid of foliage, looking as though it was torn apart some decades ago)
There were twelve
We know not where they went
All we know
Is that they chose to leave

Notreallyhere77
2011-06-06, 05:18 PM
"We're sorry it ended like that,
but it was still pretty funny."

"May he rest in peace, and may she join him soon."

"He called heads, and so the coin landed. At least he got to choose his fate."

"Caution: Wet."

"Peep show! 3cp for 30 seconds!"

"Fell to the Razor Snails. It wasn't a quick death."

I've been thinking of homebrewing razor snails as a monstrous swarm, but if you want, maybe just have a couple in the cemetery. They were bred to mow lawns and trim hedges. They were supposed to be harmless...

"It was a dark and stormy night, and the captain said to the boatswain's mate, "Tell me a story." "Very well, said the boatswain's mate. "It was a dark and stormy night, and the captain said to the... (the text loops, and gets smaller. At the base of the tombstone, the carvings are too small to read.)

Hope I'm not too late for these to be useful. If I am, I hope someone else can use them.

navar100
2011-06-06, 05:36 PM
"This is not a tombstone."

bign10
2011-06-06, 07:19 PM
"Out for lunch"
With smaller writing below, "Thanks for delivering"

Qwertystop
2011-06-06, 08:36 PM
"His last words were:
"Hey, watch this!""


"I didn't think he was serious"

Amiel
2011-06-07, 01:34 AM
I think that was the 4th or so time that one's been said...

Clearly because it's extremely appropriate.

Show
2011-06-07, 01:35 AM
Fresh-cut flowers.

It works best if the grave is waaay out in the wilderness or otherwise unaccessible.

... get it? Put on a grave...

nevermind.

Amiel
2011-06-07, 01:41 AM
Ensure the surrounding vegetation or structures around the tombstone are decrepit-looking, defaced or rotting.
Describe the tombstone itself as unnaturally pristine with evidence of it being well-tended to and cared for.
Have the following inscription upon the tombstone "I await"

Welknair
2011-06-07, 08:16 AM
Say that the players hear the sound of music and rejoicing when they approach a particular tombstone (Come within ten feet, for example). When they turn to leave this range, they hear wailing until they're out of it.

horngeek
2011-06-07, 08:59 AM
Here's one:

[Name],
[date]-?.
We just couldn't deal with the screaming anymore.

For those who are confused: Look up the spell 'Eternity of Torture' in Book of Vile Deeds.

For extra effect: 'If you listen closely, you might hear the faint sound of screaming.'

Misery Esquire
2011-06-07, 09:42 AM
Micheal Andrews
Men Choose, Slaves Obey
So Start Digging

Alas, poor Tom
We Knew Him Well
In The End
It didn't help

Robert Black
We got him this time
Fairly sure that did it
Tomorrow for sure
June 23, 1451 - September 24, 1486 September 25, 1486 September 26, 1496

The last one, of course, takes place on September 25th.

SuperPanda
2011-06-07, 10:15 AM
"He gave his heart for love,

If only he had stopped there."


The grave could be done as several tiny mounds in the grass instead of a single one.

Mono Vertigo
2011-06-07, 12:10 PM
The usual Memento Mori and Tu Fui Ego Eris, or their translations, may do the trick.
More personal examples:


Never really was on our side.

Her soul wandered to unknown lands. In the wait of her return, here lies her body.

Dead all along.

Get me out.

It hurt.

Join us.

I know what you did.

I miss you.

[NAME]
[DATES]
[OTHER NAME]
[OTHER DATES - OR MAYBE THE SAME DEATH DATE]
[rinse and repeat as desired, yes, on the same tombstone]
They will not forgive us. The Gods might.

[NAME]
[DATE OF BIRTH IN THE FUTURE] - [DATE OF DEATH, SHORTLY AFTER THE BIRTH DATE]
Fate has spoken.

[NAME CLEARLY RELATED TO THE ABOVE]
[DATES] - ???
Will not defy Fate for long.

[NAME OF A GOD]
Birth of the world - [DATE IN THE VERY CLOSE FUTURE]
No divinity can survive the end of the world itself.

And, of course, because we can't stress it enough, graves of children. There's a reason if they're always so effective. :smallamused:

Vknight
2011-06-07, 01:33 PM
The party finds a tree with a man wrapped in chain hanging from it.
Below on a tombstone.

Here hangs the 'Hanged Man'
Don't let him down.
Birth-Unknown, Death- We Hoped 100years ago

Have around the graveyard various bodies with there death dates ranging from 30 to 140years back all saying 'Killed by the Hanged Man'

Alternate Tombstone
Here hangs the 'Hanged Man'
Last time we tried to bury him 10 good men died

Have the 10mens tombs say 30years back all with killed by the 'Hanged Man'. There should be a second set of dates 50years before that and a third set 70before that.

Vivian
Lichs remeber who breaks there phylactery

Emmet
He just kept comin back
Birth-57 , Death- 87, 88, 90, 93, 97, 102, 108, 115, 123, 132, 143, 152, 160, 167, 173, 178, 182, 185, 187, 188, 190 (It repeats until the current date)
*A hand then bursts out*

-The Grave has whitesnakes lying upon it
-The Tomb is always in a shadowed area even at midday.
-Three men and of marble stand atop the tomb 1missing his eyes, one his mouth, and one his ears.
-Her lies the stage magician Rozo keeper of the tale of Ozor

SleepyShadow
2011-06-07, 02:18 PM
Chivalry

On a more serious note, a blank tomb stone can be quite effective, especially if it looks particularly older than the stones around it.

HalfDragonCube
2011-06-07, 02:31 PM
Creepy things to put on a tomb stone? Body parts of the last NPC they met is nice.

Heroes of horror has some nice things. For instance, perhaps the stone could be polished and reflective. When a PC looks into it they see themselves brutally murdered by a friend, blood spraying up against the inner edge. They don't appear in mirrors after that.

'Date of birth - unknown. Date of demise - if only.'

This could go on a mass grave: 'Cause of Death: each other.'

John Campbell
2011-06-07, 05:23 PM
Scattered in amongst the others, a number of tombstones with the same day of death, but in different years, exactly one in each year for a period spanning decades. Each of these tombstones bears a girl's name, and a little arithmetic shows that the girl was between 12 and 16 when she died.

navar100
2011-06-07, 09:47 PM
A smiley face

Welknair
2011-06-07, 10:41 PM
Chuck Norris



He begged for death



Contained herein is Volgnoth the Dread's left big toe. May the earth tremble if he is ever reformed



We didn't mean to



Because she was different



PCs are never welcome



Stay awhile and listen



We told him it was dangerous to go alone


The Souls of PCs


Darastrix Achthend
One guess how he met his end

Vulaas
2011-06-07, 11:33 PM
Of gamblers, here lies one of the greats,
If only he hadn't pulled the aces and eights.

Come twilight, I rise
Come dawn, I sleep
Please let me rest

Johnathon Woods
Friend, Researcher
Found the last Name
Never seen again

Lonely Tylenol
2011-06-08, 06:04 AM
"Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu."

Oh boy! I almost convinced my party to name our airship "H.M.S. Pazuzu Pazuzu Pazuzu." Made me laugh so hard when I saw this.

hewhosaysfish
2011-06-08, 06:22 AM
Darastrix Achthend
One guess how he met his end


OK, so I recognise the Draconic word for "Dragon" so I can guess the whole name translates as "Dragon's Dinner" or "Dragons are wimps!"...

Milo v3
2011-06-08, 06:28 AM
OK, so I recognise the Draconic word for "Dragon" so I can guess the whole name translates as "Dragon's Dinner" or "Dragons are wimps!"...
It tranlates directly into "Dragon Food".

Welknair
2011-06-08, 08:07 AM
It tranlates directly into "Dragon Food".

On the nose. I laughed so hard when I first finished the tutorial quest in DDO. I wonder how many people caught that the Illithid's name was Darastrix Achthend.

Edit contribution:


Beware of Tombstone-Shaped Mimics

Notreallyhere77
2011-06-08, 11:54 AM
Here lies Darren Winthorp.
1829-1672
Darren, if you're reading this,
you really need to tighten the
screws on the chronoshield, or
your time machine will explode
on re-entry to the timestream.
You can prevent this!
There is still time!

Aron Times
2011-06-08, 12:12 PM
"Don't blink."
"THE ANGELS HAVE THE PHONE BOX."

Vknight
2011-06-08, 02:39 PM
Here Lies Joe
He was not part of the PC hive mind

Here is Jester
1401-1400
He made a time machine with a Teddy Bear

SuperPanda
2011-06-09, 08:19 AM
"Shh. You'll wake the baby."


On a different note, is it bad that this thread is making me want to run a game again just to have a creepy graveyard scene in it?

Saintheart
2011-06-09, 08:29 AM
Look Behind You

SuperPanda
2011-06-09, 08:48 AM
How about:

"Don't bother to look behind you,

he's moved."

Zale
2011-06-09, 11:14 AM
Here lies Richard.
He'll be back.
With fire.
And lightning.
And reanimated chipmunks.
And Raccoons.
On fire.

Kol Korran
2011-06-10, 03:55 AM
"We're sorry it ended like that,
but it was still pretty funny."

"May he rest in peace, and may she join him soon."

Hope I'm not too late for these to be useful. If I am, I hope someone else can use them.

these are precious. in the midst of looking for their buried friend, this kind of humor. thanks!

Welknair, thanks for your input as well. and the rest of you. i chose some things from most.

wow! i never expected such a response (most of my "ask for help threads" never go beyond the first page) i chose about 33 ideas for now. it will do. tomorrow the meeting takes place. i just hope my players don't find a way to totally circumvent it (and there is one prepared already).
thanks again,
Kol.

Vknight
2011-06-10, 11:10 AM
"You shouldn't be reading this."

"Your New Home"

Players Parents Names on the Tomb along with birthdate and dates of death.
Next to it is the players with the date being 1month from then

Serpentine
2011-06-10, 11:22 AM
I suggest doing a search for something like "weird or strange or unusual tombstones". There's some good stuff there. For example (http://freakymartin.com/2007/11/19/unusual-tombstone-4-photos/).

Drynwyn
2011-06-10, 11:26 AM
"Postman, please note forwarding a dress: Gehenon, Asmodeus's fortress, fifth lemurs on the left."
"Soon you'll join this fellow in hell! -BBEG"
Heh, references.

Pink
2011-06-10, 12:32 PM
I suggest doing a search for something like "weird or strange or unusual tombstones". There's some good stuff there. For example (http://freakymartin.com/2007/11/19/unusual-tombstone-4-photos/).

Those pictures are totally now added to my GM resources folder. That'll make an awesome hand out, either trying to do a good cemetery bit, or outside a medusa's lair.

Winds
2011-06-10, 11:13 PM
I know you 've got all you need, but I can't resist.

If you hear scratching
please help (Alternate-If you hear scratching, RUN)


It won't be enough


(The name they're looking for)
Well...part of them.


If you thought what happened to me was bad
then maybe you should close your eyes for this


Went to see an oracle
He advised me to kill myself painlessly
I should have listened




Style ideas:
The epitaph is written in a blood rather than engraved

The stone seems to be in a slightly different position than when you last saw it

You notice that one gravestone has much more vegetation nearby, or much less

Pokonic
2011-06-10, 11:29 PM
Have this on a single gray 9 angled rectanguler slab.
Y'AI'NG'NGAH
YOG-SOTHOTH
H'EE-L'GEB
F'AI TRHODOG
UAAAAH

Tell them they hear moaning behind them if they prononce it correctly.
Its a spell that will raise the dead from the Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

And better yet,
That is not dead which can eternal lie.
And with strange aeons even death wither and die!

Pic: A large, vine covered vault. There is nothing in there, but if any sort of magical effect happens inside, strange reports of people dancing on a small hill near the town are reported, as are strange statues that cannot be identified by magical means are uncovered inside the colletion of a wealthy baron nearby, who died soon after ordering all angles in his house removed.

Clovis
2011-06-11, 07:50 AM
How great for you to come
I've been here long
Now that you've arrived
Please stay awhile
And I promise I won't keep you long
I'll keep you forever

courtesy of Slayer

Case
2011-06-11, 07:50 PM
Huh kinda suprised nobody thought of this...

A tombstone with a stone head attached to the top with a pained look on it's face:

Roland Black:

Born: 486

Flesh to Stone: 508

Yeah used that on my party once... They got rather freaked out once they understood that there wasn't anything buried under it...

@ V: Ummm, yeah, the person would die rather quickly. There wasn't really enough left to scream just kinda gurgle for a bit. Also it wasn't a beheading, the guy was turned to stone and chisled into his own tombstone.

Qwertystop
2011-06-11, 07:55 PM
Huh kinda suprised nobody thought of this...

A tombstone with a stone head on top with a pained look on it's face:

Roland Black:

Born: 486

Flesh to Stone: 508

Yeah used that on my party once... They got rather freaked out once they understood that there wasn't anything buried under it...

What happens if they Stone to Flesh it? Would it scream, or just die, or would there be a way to stop it from dieing of beheadedness?

Vknight
2011-06-11, 10:06 PM
Well it could be going either way. The Head turns into flesh the rest being rock or the body is there transforming back to its pristine condition.

Also

On a plaque for a masuoleum.
Welcome its good to see you *PC's Name* along with your friends *The rest of the party* Come down for a bit.
It won't take long after all its not like you'll be going anywhere in the next few days.

Xanmyral
2011-06-12, 12:21 AM
Here Lies Ryan Wethers
B. [Appropriate Time] ~ D. [Last date plus thirty some years]
"Death Eats All That's Heath, Is Such So He Oft Read Though"
Scratched heavily, and deeply, below what is written are the simple words, "Yes it is."

Kol Korran
2011-06-12, 07:02 AM
We had the Encounter! in Retrospect, it wasn't such a great design (i'll get to that), but the players liked it!

the party was walking through the grave yard in the Mournland (Eberron's Bizarre/ twilight zone), when they saw many white raves around them, and some black ones, with tiny ugly human faces. the white raves watched them, then took wing, and swarmed them!

attacked by freaky albino ravens? no way! the wizardess won initiative and fired a spell, and suddenly fell to the ground, all stiff, eyes looking at nowhere, a mask of fear on her face. the raves took flight, to the laughter of the black ravens. the cleric kneeld down and checked her- she was holding her breath.

right.

then one of the black ravens said a creepy little riddle, that got them realizing they should look in over the graves. they rushed there and moved amongst them, trying to solve the riddles. i'll name but a few choice reactions:

Louise Cranium
Come closer
Closer
Almost
Duck

the duskblade didn't dare read the last line, but that freaked him out, to the other's laughing.


Ashley Canter
Beloved wife, mother, brother.

that got a good creepy funny vibe

Vivid flowers - bright red roses, for example - covering the whole grave, but not touching anything around it.

the party got convinced the answer was there, and started to bash the grave with earnest. i don't understand players :smallconfused:
B. F. Raid
and
I. B. Daide

got a few smirks

Finden Underhill
"He knew too much."
990-991

sent a chill through them

(charater's name)
Date for 3 more days

the Dsskblade got even more creeped out by this (as it so happens he had a vision of running away from a location they are about to visit in... 3 more days. i forgot about that. he is partially convinced i'm planning his death now)
but more hilariously, after the encounter ended, he dug the grave, distraught, and found a skeleton of approximately his size. after trying to ascertain if it's him or not, he sighed and said: "ok, so is there any loot?"
players will be players- looting HIS OWN corpse

Anny Moore
964-984
We just couldn't deal with the screaming any longer.
and
"Shh. You'll wake the baby."

these both got the most disturbed looks from the group

in the end the party found the right grave, and dug it up to to find a figure in tight wrapped shrouds, they tore them up and found the wizardess, who gasped for air (she was holding her breath the whole time. the character with a low Str had little to do this whole time. not interesting for the player... bad design), as the "previous" her died. for all intents and purposes she is the same person, only a slightly grey hue to the skin. (and what did the party say? "does she has the same loot as the dead one? double loot?" players...:smalltongue:)

thank to all of you for helping make a fun (and hopefully a memorable) encounter.

Serpentine
2011-06-12, 07:32 AM
Whee! I got used! Twice! :biggrin:
Glad it went well :smalltongue:

Qwertystop
2011-06-12, 07:43 AM
Wait, so the wizard got clone-teleported into a grave? What was in the grave beforehand?

Welknair
2011-06-12, 10:49 AM
Here Lies Ryan Wethers
B. [Appropriate Time] ~ D. [Last date plus thirty some years]
"Death Eats All That's Heath, Is Such So He Oft Read Though"
Scratched heavily, and deeply, below what is written are the simple words, "Yes it is."

That is amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Kol Korran
2011-06-12, 10:54 AM
Wait, so the wizard got clone-teleported into a grave? What was in the grave beforehand?
um, not sure... in the Mournland things don't have to make sense. perhaps an empty space for the creepy puzzle-trap?

randomhero00
2011-06-12, 11:53 AM
How about a graveyard with no bodies and no deaths? just a bunch of tombstones with names of the people that live nearby with an open date like

Tom Smith
1980-

Sam Shoehammer
1955-

Rex McCrag
1979-

Giant Panda
2011-06-12, 12:00 PM
If you don't mind a shameless Lovecraft rip;


That which is not dead can eternal lie,
And in strange aeons even death may die.



Or some improvised ones;

The way has been opened,
Key turned in the lock,
The seal has been broken,
Underneath this cold rock.

Asleep in peace,
Resting forever under the soft moonlit sky.
If the PC's look away, and then back at the tombstone, just below this, scratched into the tombstone as if by fingernails
Am I?

Or just a normal gravestone, like;

A fancy name.
A short, normal-seeming memoir.
Then the date.
1999-2034
But the second number is violently scratched out to illegibility, with flecks of dried blood on it.

Vknight
2011-06-12, 12:01 PM
I think we shall continue this for it is a novel idea and very helpful.
My players will hate me once we get to the graveyard next session because of these awesome ideas.

Also a new one

A Skull rests upon the tombstone light comes from the eyes like a candle has been placed inside, the mouth is gagged.

On the tombstone

Birth: +200years ago, Death: +150years ago, Rebirth: 2days after death

If the gag is removed then the lich starts talking and chanting to dominate a player to do his bidding and free him from the stone

Serpentine
2011-06-13, 12:33 AM
That is not dead which can eternal lie
And with strange aeons you will find that even death may die

That which is not dead can eternal lie,
And in strange aeons even death may die.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.
And with strange aeons even death wither and die!
That which is not dead can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.

That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die.Five times and counting! :smallbiggrin:

Gadora
2011-06-13, 01:24 AM
*Snip*

applause.gif


Five times and counting! :smallbiggrin:

So it needs to go on five separate tombstones then?:smalltongue: Wyren's Blood, my spelling is shot all to Hades right now. It took me five tries to get the word "separate" spelled properly.

paddyfool
2011-06-13, 01:52 AM
[PC's father's name]
[PC's father's birth date]-[current year]
He died for his son's misdeeds. The mother lives yet awhile.

Behind you.

(When they turn back: Made you look)

A tombstone that starts out askew, but is bolt upright after somebody reads the inscription, which simply reads Tilt World.

A gravestone wrapped in vines which twitch strangely.

lerg2
2011-06-13, 02:19 AM
They said it would build character. Now they will.

DoomHat
2011-06-13, 03:57 AM
Zonhar Multaf
2189 ~ 578
"I can only hope I had no part of my own ancestry..."

Abigale Holdenshield
678~UNKNOWN
BY ROYAL DECREE
DO NOT DISTURB

Giggling Ghast
2011-06-13, 03:47 PM
"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'll be right with you"

Hiro Protagonest
2011-06-13, 03:54 PM
Two tombstones, right next to each other.

First one they read says "Dead men tell no tales".

Second one says "This guy tells tales". Not told, tells.