Halloween themed session ideas

[ChangeSumFlux]

So I’m at a good breaking point between quests in the campaign I’m running. With it being the end of October I thought it would be cool to have a Halloween themed session, but I have no clue what to do beyond environmental things and type of mobs to fight.
I was thinking maybe they get teleported into a labyrinth that they need to navigate, puzzles and fights and the like, but I wanted to see what other people could come up with. (I’ll also take modification/expansion to my idea)

Thanks in advance!

[CosmicHobbit]

I'm mostly a lurker in this subforum, but I'm going to post for this one.

You could make the characters trapped in a tower, or a labyrinth like you suggested. The twist is, they're being chased by only one enemy, and he/she's based on a slasher villain. The characters try to solve puzzles and slow down the slasher villain so they can escape without being slashed. Could be fun!

Alternatively, you could go for silliness. The evil necromancer is troubling a town. Turns out, the necromancer is a necrodancer and the creatures it raises from the dead are back-up singers and back-up dancers. A warlock is summoning demons and the whole city is affected. Ratchet up the tension, make it super spooky, and at the end...reveal the warlock is just a chihuahua with a wand strapped to it. Wait for the party to stop laughing or get over their shock, then start an epic boss battle where the dog actually summons demons and/or casts high-level spells by swinging the wand around and yipping.

Lastly, if you want, you can do a bunch of fake-outs on the puzzles in the labyrinth. I remember reading a story where there was a holy symbol on the ground. The room got closed off from all escapes and the walls started closing in. The party started panicking ad tried everything they could think of, most focusing on the holy symbol. Finally, they gave up. Right before the party was squished to death, the ranger had the idea to try a perception check. There was a secret door that the party would've found if any had attempted a perception check. Quick investigation check to figure out how to open it, and they're out of there. And of course there's the timer that looks all menacing, and pressing a button resets it. When the timer runs out, confetti pops out of the ceiling and a door opens up. Do traps like that, but mix them in with real traps.

Those are a few of my ideas. I'm not great at DMing, only done it 3 times that I can remember, but take whatever you wish.

[Finback]

So I’m at a good breaking point between quests in the campaign I’m running. With it being the end of October I thought it would be cool to have a Halloween themed session, but I have no clue what to do beyond environmental things and type of mobs to fight.
I was thinking maybe they get teleported into a labyrinth that they need to navigate, puzzles and fights and the like, but I wanted to see what other people could come up with. (I’ll also take modification/expansion to my idea)

Thanks in advance!

just had mine (well, the first half). It opened with the PCs hearing the sounds of a fight, and finding a mist-strewn graveyard, with two new PCs fighting back to back against skeletons. I used the old 4e minion idea, so each was a 1hp enemy with a flat damage of 5. On their own, no threat. But en masse... at the end of every round, I added a d30 more around the perimeter, slowly moving them in. The goal wasn't to fight them all, but to urge them to the big crypt in the middle of the graveyard, whereupon the real adventure started*.

A small complex, leading in three directions. To the left, was a room full of artefacts - stuffed animals, cluttered bookshelves, desks covered in paraphernalia, and a few chests - including a sarcophagus, propped up in the corner. Of course, someone wanted to pry off the lapis lazuli, so SURPRISE MUMMY. The next room had a man chained to the wall, surrounded by corpses who had been surgically dissected. A portcullis had slammed down behind the two PCs went in, and they tried to heal the man. And that's when the moon cleared the clouds, and he werewolfed out. they actually got out of that by casting sleep on him, then one had actually learnt greater restoration when they levelled up recently, so they had an NPC. They've now headed to the right section, whereupon they encountered a giant black pudding in a dark corridor, and ahead for the next game are:
* the room with the huge sized flesh golem, who will get bonus action/moves from the lightning generators
* crossing the elaborate, murky pool with the broken bridge (sahuagin baron and a couple of sharks)
* the villainous vampire patrician

Of course, to get into the chamber with the flesh golem, they need to find the key back in the mummy room - where.. weird, Perception check - where.. where are all the animals? Doors closing on their own, hearing footsteps in rooms they just left, etc. The sound of a child laughing...
It's pretty much just a big pile of classic horror tropes (I even considered a giant ant nest as well) because it's one of my "fun time" specials; at Xmas last year, they fought the Krampus.



* (it actually worked well in that one player, this was her first time playing D&D, so smashing mooks got her to learn how combat worked, how to calculate a hit)

[Finback]

Turns out, the necromancer is a necrodancer

Bonus points if you use the soundtrack from Crypt of the Necrodancer.

re: the wand-chihuahua - this could also be something like a misguided goblin


Lastly, if you want, you can do a bunch of fake-outs on the puzzles in the labyrinth. I remember reading a story where there was a holy symbol on the ground. The room got closed off from all escapes and the walls started closing in. The party started panicking ad tried everything they could think of, most focusing on the holy symbol. Finally, they gave up. Right before the party was squished to death, the ranger had the idea to try a perception check. There was a secret door that the party would've found if any had attempted a perception check. Quick investigation check to figure out how to open it, and they're out of there. And of course there's the timer that looks all menacing, and pressing a button resets it. When the timer runs out, confetti pops out of the ceiling and a door opens up. Do traps like that, but mix them in with real traps.

Oh, let me tell you about a HORRIBLE puzzle I did. A square room, about 25x25ft. There is a door on opposing sides, and a small pit in the floor, about big enough for a single medium sized PC. When they enter the room, they find a few skeletons, one with a sword in its ribcage, one in the pit, another in a corner. As the party enters, the entry door slams, and a grinding starts. About one round later, the ceiling begins sliding down. The PCs will begin to freak out, maybe fight for the pit - which is the trap. If there are Perception checks, they can discover a few things:
1. Obviously, the skeletons are intact - not crushed. After about 30 seconds, the ceiling is about maybe a foot off the floor - and stops, and slowly recedes, before repeating.
2. The skeleton in the corner? Looking around it shows a slot in the wall - narrow, and right in the corner. There's four of them.

If the PCs slide four bladed weapons (or similar items) into the slots simultaneously, they'll hear a click, and the exit door opens. What happened previously, is the party turned on each other, desperate to get to the pit. One person was stabbed (this sword is also useable as one of the four "keys" to unlock the mechanism if someone lacks a blade), one was likely killed with a spell, and the one in the pit starved to death, because as the only survivor, they couldn't trigger all four mechanisms.

[CosmicHobbit]

Oh, let me tell you about a HORRIBLE puzzle I did. A square room, about 25x25ft. There is a door on opposing sides, and a small pit in the floor, about big enough for a single medium sized PC. When they enter the room, they find a few skeletons, one with a sword in its ribcage, one in the pit, another in a corner. As the party enters, the entry door slams, and a grinding starts. About one round later, the ceiling begins sliding down. The PCs will begin to freak out, maybe fight for the pit - which is the trap. If there are Perception checks, they can discover a few things:
1. Obviously, the skeletons are intact - not crushed. After about 30 seconds, the ceiling is about maybe a foot off the floor - and stops, and slowly recedes, before repeating.
2. The skeleton in the corner? Looking around it shows a slot in the wall - narrow, and right in the corner. There's four of them.

If the PCs slide four bladed weapons (or similar items) into the slots simultaneously, they'll hear a click, and the exit door opens. What happened previously, is the party turned on each other, desperate to get to the pit. One person was stabbed (this sword is also useable as one of the four "keys" to unlock the mechanism if someone lacks a blade), one was likely killed with a spell, and the one in the pit starved to death, because as the only survivor, they couldn't trigger all four mechanisms.

That is a horrifying puzzle with some awesome backstory to it. Out of interest, how did the party you did this for react?

As another bit of a help to the thread, you could make quest that you'd find in a children's tv show. Skeletons and zombies have ransacked the village for days, and the people are barely holding out. Somehow make it so the party has to fight their way through the zombies and skeletons to get to the lich raising them. The lich then traps them, and reveals that he's actually quite nice and was just trying to make a kingdom of undead. The undead were going to the village to announce the making of the kingdom and to ask for trading opportunities. If asked why they kept coming, the lich says, "They're still going? Huh. Must've forgotten to call off that order." Bonus points if you make it seem like a normal, undead-themed quest up until then.

[TerakasTaranath]

I'm about to run a horrorish themed game on Sunday. I plan on starting on a possession of a girl whos about a month away from turning 13. Her father is possessing her because he found out she was targeted by a hag. My goal is to get them to end the possession by solving clues and such. I even took some liberties from youtube (I seriously recommend looking them up and taking advice.)

My friend did a great job with a necromancers dungeon. We had all the lights off and used candles for light in the dead of winter as well. In this dungeon I opened a door to a bedroom and under the covers was a small skeleton of a young girl. However we didn't know that yet and as soon as the DM said "you see a bed with a small bump under the covers" and me and the other player literally flipped **** and were freaking out for minutes. The DM was new and didn't quite understand his power in the unknown and was very confused by us xD

The unknown is the best way to spook people. A were wolf is scary sure, but when you hear raspy breath and the heavy breathing of a dog like creature coming from the dark area with yellow eyes glaring at you it's a different story. Apologies for my poor description but I think you understand my point.

The Dungeon Dudes, Web DM and Monarchs Factory have been my main inspirations for spook time games, I bet Nerdarchy and others have made awesome videos too.

[Maelynn]

I even took some liberties from youtube (I seriously recommend looking them up and taking advice.)

I might, if I knew who 'them' is?

[GlenSmash!]

Here is one of my favorites

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?471472-Halloween-Adventure-The-Laboratory-Tomb-of-Dr-Viktor-Vampenstein&highlight=scenario

[TerakasTaranath]

I might, if I knew who 'them' is?

sorry, I just didn't want to fanboy over them all over this post xD

But I mention some later in my post but here's my favorite: Web DM, Dungeon Dudes, MonarchsFactory, SethSkorkowsy, Nerdarchy and A Fistful of Dice who I haven't watched in a while. There's boundless other great ones as well I'm sure.

[Finback]

That is a horrifying puzzle with some awesome backstory to it. Out of interest, how did the party you did this for react?

They were quite worried, as I was really driving home the roof lowering down, but the party ranger managed a great Perception check, as I recall.


As another bit of a help to the thread, you could make quest that you'd find in a children's tv show. Skeletons and zombies have ransacked the village for days, and the people are barely holding out. Somehow make it so the party has to fight their way through the zombies and skeletons to get to the lich raising them. The lich then traps them, and reveals that he's actually quite nice and was just trying to make a kingdom of undead. The undead were going to the village to announce the making of the kingdom and to ask for trading opportunities. If asked why they kept coming, the lich says, "They're still going? Huh. Must've forgotten to call off that order." Bonus points if you make it seem like a normal, undead-themed quest up until then.

OK, I have to share the story of a 4e storyline I was working up. The PCs were sent to find a sage called Krarius. He'd help them save their friend blah blah.

Allow me to describe Krarius the Mad. A good lich (or at worst, neutral) who has worked to hollow out parts of a mountain range (like, enough so that there are mountain peaks INSIDE the hollows) and build upon the ruins of an ancient city deep within. He's building Skeletopia, a commune for undead who didn't choose to be raised, and just want to be left alone. Of course, a lot of these are mindless skeletons/zombies, etc but hey, he's not going to judge them for it. There's also a dracolich there (who hates the party for something that hadn't happened, because I was going to create a time travel sub-arc involving them befriending and accidentally killing a young dragon), and some interesting NPCs (a gnome barbarian and a a half-orc artificier - bodyswapped!) The ancient city? Modrons. The PCs did find a room full of inert cubes - they managed to activate one, which set about activating the next, etc. Eventually, their city was going to "transform" and emerge onto the surface, and Krarius was going to create a new synthesis of society - undead and constructs.

The end game was the PCs were going to HAVE to awaken the Tarrasque, in order to fight an incursion of Far Realm aberrations. Krarius was going to help by riding in on the dracolich, leading an army of flying-by-rotating-their-arms-super-fast-with-swords undead, to "Ride of the Valkyries" - the skelechopters.

Krarius needs to return for another adventure, I think. He was a mad, flamboyant lich who was a lot of fun to play.

[CosmicHobbit]

OK, I have to share the story of a 4e storyline I was working up. The PCs were sent to find a sage called Krarius. He'd help them save their friend blah blah.

Allow me to describe Krarius the Mad. A good lich (or at worst, neutral) who has worked to hollow out parts of a mountain range (like, enough so that there are mountain peaks INSIDE the hollows) and build upon the ruins of an ancient city deep within. He's building Skeletopia, a commune for undead who didn't choose to be raised, and just want to be left alone. Of course, a lot of these are mindless skeletons/zombies, etc but hey, he's not going to judge them for it. There's also a dracolich there (who hates the party for something that hadn't happened, because I was going to create a time travel sub-arc involving them befriending and accidentally killing a young dragon), and some interesting NPCs (a gnome barbarian and a a half-orc artificier - bodyswapped!) The ancient city? Modrons. The PCs did find a room full of inert cubes - they managed to activate one, which set about activating the next, etc. Eventually, their city was going to "transform" and emerge onto the surface, and Krarius was going to create a new synthesis of society - undead and constructs.

The end game was the PCs were going to HAVE to awaken the Tarrasque, in order to fight an incursion of Far Realm aberrations. Krarius was going to help by riding in on the dracolich, leading an army of flying-by-rotating-their-arms-super-fast-with-swords undead, to "Ride of the Valkyries" - the skelechopters.

Krarius needs to return for another adventure, I think. He was a mad, flamboyant lich who was a lot of fun to play.

This is amazing. All of it, from head to toe, is awesome. I may have to steal Krarius! :smalltongue: With your permission of course.

Okay, another idea now. You could do something the headless horseman. Tell the group of a ogre-sized man in armor with a jack-o-lantern for a head who has been kidnapping people and/or murdering people with a sword. Horse is optional. Make it a mystery, so the PCs have to find out where the people are being taken and/or where this monster has made its lair. Eventually this leads up to a fight with the guy, with skeletons and zombies as his minions. Pretty cliche, but cliches are impossible to avoid once in a while. If you can get your hands on some spooky music that still pumps you up and/or is epic, play it during the final battle. I don't personally have any music right now, so you're on your own for that.

In other news, the "and/or" count on this post is 3, 4 if you count the one in this sentence.

[Finback]

This is amazing. All of it, from head to toe, is awesome. I may have to steal Krarius! :smalltongue: With your permission of course.

I like to think once I flesh out a character enough, they belong to themselves, and so Krarius the Mad belongs to the world :D I'd love to hear how a bunch of PCs encountered this madcap, off-the-wall lich who fails to conform to any expectations, and aids them in weird, crazy ways :)