FocusWolf413
2015-10-05, 01:16 AM
Hey everyone! It's October, and that means super spoopified Halloween adventures. Does anyone have any creepy, scary, or just downright odd rpg stories to tell?
I'll start with an idea that I've had for a while. Someone I know wants to use the general theme for a campaign idea, but I doubt he's going to use most of the details.
On a clear, crisp autumn night deep in the pine forest outside of a mining town, something falls from the sky. It screams down from the heavens with pale blue fire and silently explodes into a flash of cold, pure, empty white light. People from the town wonder what happened, but wisely choose to wait until dawn to venture into the woods. A group of five experienced hunters set off towards the site of the explosion and do not return.
The miners grow worried and the mayor sets out a call for investigators. Eventually, the party shows up. Some are in it for gold, some are in it for the adventure, and some want to know what in the nine hells happened in those woods. After two days in town, the well equipped party sets out towards the site of the explosion.
Around ten miles out of the city, the party's ranger or druid notices some trees that stand out. They are white and gray, with no leaves, bark, or mold. They stand in small circles of gray dust.
As the party progresses deeper into the forest, those strange trees become more frequent. Not long after, the party enters dead woods. Everything is bone white and lifeless. The grasses have lost their color, the trees have all lost their leaves and bark, and the layer of dead leaves that usually covers the ground have disintegrated into a fine white powder. Everything is still, everything is dead, everthing is silent. Not even the wind moves.
If someone detects magic at this point, they would notice a very faint necromantic haze covering everything that grows stronger the deeper they go.
After another ten minutes of walking, the party starts to see bones. At first, they notice the immaculate skeletons of a rabbit or squirrel, but they soon start to see other, larger skeletons. An intelligence, nature, heal, or survival check reveals that the animals seemed to have just dropped dead; their soft tissues turned to dust around their skeletons.
If the party continues deeper, they eventually find the bodies of the hunters. The corpses aren't like the others. Although their bodies are completely desiccated, their soft tissues still exist. No decomposition is evident. A perception check reveals that all of the men have a couple tiny puncture wounds on major arteries and the blood was drained from them.
If the party still does deeper, they find a tree that stands out. Its bark is flaky, its limbs are gnarled, and its leaves are the color of graphite. It slowly oozes sap with the color and consistency of crude oil. The ground around it is drenched with blood. Any rangers or druids must make saves versus nausea. The tree radiates a powerful necromantic aura, but it has a different flavor and texture than the forest's aura. Once the party turns away, a dryad, covered in the same oily sap, attacks them. It uses sneak attacks with constitution poison and bleed damage to try to drain the life from them.
If the party tries to leave, they must make perception checks to notice movement around them. Once they get within half a mile of the edge of the dead woods, they spot a single dryad. She is gaunt, her skin is pulled tight, and she looks as desiccated as the corpses of the woodsmen. She talks ro the party with a hollow, whispy voice, explaining to them that the forest needs life. She asks them to follow her back into the woods. If they resist, they are attacked by three pixies (or other appropriate fey) wielding daggers. They try to dose the party with poisons that knock them out. If they comply, she leads them into the center of the woods.
If at any time the party rests, make whoever is standing watch roll one perception check per party member, plus himself. If he succeeds, he can warn the party before they're dosed with poison to keep them knocked out. There is one pixie or level appropriate fey per member.
Somehow, the party reaches the center of the dead zone. This area radiates strong enough necromantic energy that the area glows with cold white light. Creatures take one point of negative energy damage per five rounds. There is a hole in the ground with a five foot radius. Light bubbles from it, but does not illuminate anything. The fey, all gaunt and desiccated, claim that "it needs life, it needs blood, for the forest to come back." If the fey aren't convinced by the party that the forest is being warped by "it," they attempt to sacrifice the party. If they are, they move back twenty feet and watch the party.
In the hole, there is a creature. It looks something like a mixture between an elf, a troll, and a vampire. It stands fifteen feet tall, has long, spindly limbs, long fangs, pointed backswept ears, and black eyes. It communicates telepathically with the party. It lets out a barrage of charm or other enchantment spells in order to attempt to force the party to sacrifice themselves. It uses necromantic energy to feed off of their life force. It can only be killed with positive energy.
If it is killed, the fey do not change much. They let the party leave, but still prey on anyone else who enters the forest. If the party attacks the fey, they are constantly hounded in a slow battle of attrition. Eventually, the party must flee. If the party attempts to set fire to the forest, surrounding fey again attack, but the party is not tailed. Everything screams as the party flees the quickly spreading inferno. Only by killing the creature and torching the woods does the party end the threat.
I'm still putting together details, but I like it.
What about you guys? Do you have any fun stories to share?
I'll start with an idea that I've had for a while. Someone I know wants to use the general theme for a campaign idea, but I doubt he's going to use most of the details.
On a clear, crisp autumn night deep in the pine forest outside of a mining town, something falls from the sky. It screams down from the heavens with pale blue fire and silently explodes into a flash of cold, pure, empty white light. People from the town wonder what happened, but wisely choose to wait until dawn to venture into the woods. A group of five experienced hunters set off towards the site of the explosion and do not return.
The miners grow worried and the mayor sets out a call for investigators. Eventually, the party shows up. Some are in it for gold, some are in it for the adventure, and some want to know what in the nine hells happened in those woods. After two days in town, the well equipped party sets out towards the site of the explosion.
Around ten miles out of the city, the party's ranger or druid notices some trees that stand out. They are white and gray, with no leaves, bark, or mold. They stand in small circles of gray dust.
As the party progresses deeper into the forest, those strange trees become more frequent. Not long after, the party enters dead woods. Everything is bone white and lifeless. The grasses have lost their color, the trees have all lost their leaves and bark, and the layer of dead leaves that usually covers the ground have disintegrated into a fine white powder. Everything is still, everything is dead, everthing is silent. Not even the wind moves.
If someone detects magic at this point, they would notice a very faint necromantic haze covering everything that grows stronger the deeper they go.
After another ten minutes of walking, the party starts to see bones. At first, they notice the immaculate skeletons of a rabbit or squirrel, but they soon start to see other, larger skeletons. An intelligence, nature, heal, or survival check reveals that the animals seemed to have just dropped dead; their soft tissues turned to dust around their skeletons.
If the party continues deeper, they eventually find the bodies of the hunters. The corpses aren't like the others. Although their bodies are completely desiccated, their soft tissues still exist. No decomposition is evident. A perception check reveals that all of the men have a couple tiny puncture wounds on major arteries and the blood was drained from them.
If the party still does deeper, they find a tree that stands out. Its bark is flaky, its limbs are gnarled, and its leaves are the color of graphite. It slowly oozes sap with the color and consistency of crude oil. The ground around it is drenched with blood. Any rangers or druids must make saves versus nausea. The tree radiates a powerful necromantic aura, but it has a different flavor and texture than the forest's aura. Once the party turns away, a dryad, covered in the same oily sap, attacks them. It uses sneak attacks with constitution poison and bleed damage to try to drain the life from them.
If the party tries to leave, they must make perception checks to notice movement around them. Once they get within half a mile of the edge of the dead woods, they spot a single dryad. She is gaunt, her skin is pulled tight, and she looks as desiccated as the corpses of the woodsmen. She talks ro the party with a hollow, whispy voice, explaining to them that the forest needs life. She asks them to follow her back into the woods. If they resist, they are attacked by three pixies (or other appropriate fey) wielding daggers. They try to dose the party with poisons that knock them out. If they comply, she leads them into the center of the woods.
If at any time the party rests, make whoever is standing watch roll one perception check per party member, plus himself. If he succeeds, he can warn the party before they're dosed with poison to keep them knocked out. There is one pixie or level appropriate fey per member.
Somehow, the party reaches the center of the dead zone. This area radiates strong enough necromantic energy that the area glows with cold white light. Creatures take one point of negative energy damage per five rounds. There is a hole in the ground with a five foot radius. Light bubbles from it, but does not illuminate anything. The fey, all gaunt and desiccated, claim that "it needs life, it needs blood, for the forest to come back." If the fey aren't convinced by the party that the forest is being warped by "it," they attempt to sacrifice the party. If they are, they move back twenty feet and watch the party.
In the hole, there is a creature. It looks something like a mixture between an elf, a troll, and a vampire. It stands fifteen feet tall, has long, spindly limbs, long fangs, pointed backswept ears, and black eyes. It communicates telepathically with the party. It lets out a barrage of charm or other enchantment spells in order to attempt to force the party to sacrifice themselves. It uses necromantic energy to feed off of their life force. It can only be killed with positive energy.
If it is killed, the fey do not change much. They let the party leave, but still prey on anyone else who enters the forest. If the party attacks the fey, they are constantly hounded in a slow battle of attrition. Eventually, the party must flee. If the party attempts to set fire to the forest, surrounding fey again attack, but the party is not tailed. Everything screams as the party flees the quickly spreading inferno. Only by killing the creature and torching the woods does the party end the threat.
I'm still putting together details, but I like it.
What about you guys? Do you have any fun stories to share?