Orphanage run by a hag - what's in the time out room?

[Brookshw]

Disclaimer, this might be a bad idea that I'll drop, but I'm doing some brainstorming to see if there's something salvagable.

My players are soon going to be encountering an orphanage run by a hag. I've got a number of things set up but want there to be a "time out" room that the kids are scared of. Normally it would be easy to throw lots of sadistic thing in there, but I have to be very conservative with how far I can push it and can't put anything actually cruel in there, and here cruel is a very low bar. If it gets you in the feels, it's probably out. So, what can be in the "time out" room that's not actually cruel, that kids would be afraid of? Or at least highly dislike. The room does not need to have one consistent property and can be different every time. There's a certain fey wild thing going on currently so anything along that line would be particular appropriate (but no need to confine ideas).

A few ideas I've been playing with:

Everything in the room is all greyshade and the kid in the time out room can only watch the other kids playing, but can't be heard. No colors, just dismal isolation
Similar, kid is alone in the forest and hears predators (or at least creatures) all around
Kid is visciously mocked by illusions of their peers
A room full of toys that break whenever the kid tries to play with them
Stuck in boring lectures
Exposure to a fear, i.e., kid afraid of the ocean is on a boat, kid afraid of heights is on a high and narrow bridge, the sort of thing where the fear is way out of proportion to the actual risk.


If you have any other ideas please let me know.

[Rynjin]

Nothing. Literally, it's a sensory deprivation chamber.

[Ritorix]

Put all the awesome toys in there. The hag's lesson is 'being bad is good'.

[Nagog]

All things considered, some people believe instilling fear into others is cruel, so you'll have to be more specific on where the bar is, because I can think of a few really psychologically cruel things to children that don't actually harm them physically.

I swear I'm not a terrible human being, I'm just a DM.

[Teaguethebean]

"Sweet mother, sweet mother, send your child unto me for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear."

[Mr. Crowbar]

I was a player in a scenario almost like this. a hag captured people, reverted them to childhood, and trapped them in her pocket dimension. SO maybe you can adapt some things we encountered?

Every kid had a stuffed animal that protected them from the night/darkness. If a kid lost their animal, they would be missing the next morning.
These animals could be "murdered" and others kids spoke as if the animals acted of their own volition but they were always just stuffed toys. We saw some animals hung from a tree all execution style, and another had been buried under a mound. One girl woke up and instead of hugging her cat toy she was covered in blood.
There was a stuffed bear without a child left in the play room. It was kept in the time-out chair because it was "naughty" and presumably murdered two other toys but we never witnessed it (again, it was always just a toy when we interacted).

So I could imagine the kids all sharing rumours about some innocuous toy, and being afraid of it, but to observers it's just a toy kept in the time out room. Until it's out of sight and something bad happens, and you're stuck in the same room as it.

The only food served was super gross... time out could def be accompanied by a meal of slop with mystery chunks.

I like the Nothing idea. It could also be accompanied by rumours that the room does terrible things, and those rumours induce more fear than the room itself.

the feeling of being watched it always unsettling. What if the room itself just like... breathed.

[greenstone]

An intellect devourer?

[Brookshw]

All things considered, some people believe instilling fear into others is cruel, so you'll have to be more specific on where the bar is, because I can think of a few really psychologically cruel things to children that don't actually harm them physically.

I swear I'm not a terrible human being, I'm just a DM.

To level set, one of my players (my wife) is pregnant with our second, and we have an almost two year old. So, there's very little wiggle room. Beyond that it's kind of hard to tell you. Fear is probably okay, or minor emotional abuse (emphasis on minor). I'll be filtering/editing any suggestions so don't worry too much about holding back, I'm just trying to give an idea of where the target area is.

@Mr. Crowbar, very cool set up.

[Damon_Tor]

The time out room is a one way trip. When a kid gets put in there, he doesn't get to come out.

Ever.

It's enchanted so the kids in there never age, never starve, but they're entirely aware of the passage of time. Within a few days they go mad and soon after revert to staring at the wall, rocking back and forth.

[Lunali]

A room full of pictures of kids that did things that warranted more than a time out.

[Blood of Gaea]

There's a bucket of some kind of rancid liquid in the middle of the room. It's worse than the smell of skunk spray.

[Grim Portent]

Classic fairy tale idea, how about an enchanted spinning wheel? The children sent into the room have to spin flax into cloth for the entire time they're in there no matter how tired, hungry or sore they get.

By the time they're done they're famished but not really starving, very tired but not actually exhausted and may have various aches and pains from using the spinning wheel. Plenty to make kids dread being sent there for the better part of a day, but not enough I'd consider it to push into the realm of sadism.

[Zetakya]

Their parents graves?

[Temperjoke]

What if it's an illusion that shows a person it's worst fear? Like the boggarts from Harry Potter? So the kids are terrified, but what they describe wouldn't seem all that scary to adventurers or to other people, which is why the hag gets away with it, people think that kids are blowing things out of proportion. No physical harm to the kids, as it feeds on their fear.

This allows you a lot of flexibility without having to cross any lines.

[Tawmis]

A painting on the wall that shows signs of a wonderful celebration.

However touching the painting transports them into the painting, where they live forever... trapped inside the painting ... unable to move... but completely aware of the world happening outside of the painting (that they can see)... Like being stuck on the opposite side of a mirror.

[Misterwhisper]

Nothing but thick humid darkness. In the darkness always sounding further away than possible to be in the room are whispers, almost unintelligible but they could swear they hear inhuman evil voices whispering about them.

Every few minutes the child would feel the hot breath of massive monster lightly tough their skin but no matter what they can’t hear it. Only feel the hot air of its breath move around them.

[Chronos]

Fear.

Just fear, with no particular cause. When you're in the room, you're Frightened.

[scottoz]

Put a big locked crate in the other end of the room that has scary noises coming from inside and have some children tell rumours they saw the crate start to open in various stages.

I would definitely fear going into the time out room thinking i would be the unlucky one to get eaten by the monster.

[Sariel Vailo]

To escape the time out room you must destroy your favorite toy and say thank you mother may eye.

[Squire Doodad]

If you want to make it comedic, try something that the hag is terrified of and that the children are only scared of because if it terrifies the hag, it must be scary.
So what's inside is a group of talking walruses which politely offer you a blueberry muffin again and again until you accept it. The hag is absolutely mortified by the idea of a walrus, has them sectioned off just so that she doesn't have to deal with them, and the kids act all scared because they are worried that if they don't act scared that something bad will happen.

Alternatively, for actual fear I'd suggest a "toy graveyard", filled with lots and lots of torn apart toys which look eerily like the child's favorite toys. A dismantled power ranger. A shredded teddy bear. A stegosaurus with its leg clawed off.

That or the kids have to sit still in a chair while a spirit tells them a very boring lecture on why what they did was bad, makes terrible metaphors, and drones on and on in a monotone voice.

[Sariel Vailo]

If you want to make it comedic, try something that the hag is terrified of and that the children are only scared of because if it terrifies the hag, it must be scary.
So what's inside is a group of talking walruses which politely offer you a blueberry muffin again and again until you accept it. The hag is absolutely mortified by the idea of a walrus, has them sectioned off just so that she doesn't have to deal with them, and the kids act all scared because they are worried that if they don't act scared that something bad will happen.

Alternatively, a "toy graveyard", filled with lots and lots of torn apart toys which look eerily like the child's favorite toys. A dismantled power ranger. A shredded teddy bear. A stegosaurus with its leg clawed off.

The part 2 thing here is a concept I might use.

[Squire Doodad]

The part 2 thing here is a concept I might use.

Glad I could help :D

[No brains]

To go along with the OP's first suggestion, you could use a night hag's powers to have the time out room be the border ethereal. The kid is technically safe, but they're cut off from anyone and anything, only able to watch muted shades of colors and fun. Plus, if the kid ever wants to leave, they had better be ready to say they are sorry when the hag returns.

You could even bend this idea by having an especially defiant ethereal escapee 'haunt' the party. When the party discovers that there's a kid stuck on the ethereal, rescuing the kid will only be the start of the adventure.

[Spriteless]

First thing that comes to mind, a dark and boring room, with a bed of hay for napping, but if you try you will wake up with roaches in your hair. :roach:

[Sariel Vailo]

Glad I could help :D

I'm not the op but I love the idea of a toy graveyard that comes to life to scare the child. "William why didn't you sweep the floor william,you could have saved us." Ten more join in while crawling on his legs "could have saved us,william."

[Sigreid]

Illusions of their parents healthy and happy with a child they've never met laughing about that bad seed they sent away.

[Ventruenox]

A music box that plays discordant versions of children's songs, at a slower tempo, where A=440Hz, and it never stops playing.

Wall art of nursery rhymes, where the figures will stare at the children with baleful eyes until the child looks back, just catching a momentary glimpse of them turning away.

A teddy bear that when touched creates a sinking feeling in your stomach, and no matter where a child tries to hide it or if it is damaged, will constantly reappear right next to the kid a second later in perfect condition.

Above the hearth will be a portrait of the hag looking matronly, with a smirk and eyes that seemingly stare at the child wherever he/she is in the room.

[Osrogue]

I’d just steal the Chokey from Matilda, honestly. For those who don’t know, it’s a small cupboard too short for a child to stand up straight and too narrow to lie down. It’s pitch black, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are lined with nails, broken glass, and other sharp implements.

The child must remain crouched in an uncomfortable position in pitch blackness and total silence, and will cut if they do anything but hold absolutely still.

[Dr. Cliché]

I was a player in a scenario almost like this. a hag captured people, reverted them to childhood, and trapped them in her pocket dimension. SO maybe you can adapt some things we encountered?

Every kid had a stuffed animal that protected them from the night/darkness. If a kid lost their animal, they would be missing the next morning.
These animals could be "murdered" and others kids spoke as if the animals acted of their own volition but they were always just stuffed toys. We saw some animals hung from a tree all execution style, and another had been buried under a mound. One girl woke up and instead of hugging her cat toy she was covered in blood.
There was a stuffed bear without a child left in the play room. It was kept in the time-out chair because it was "naughty" and presumably murdered two other toys but we never witnessed it (again, it was always just a toy when we interacted).

So I could imagine the kids all sharing rumours about some innocuous toy, and being afraid of it, but to observers it's just a toy kept in the time out room. Until it's out of sight and something bad happens, and you're stuck in the same room as it.

The only food served was super gross... time out could def be accompanied by a meal of slop with mystery chunks.

I like the Nothing idea. It could also be accompanied by rumours that the room does terrible things, and those rumours induce more fear than the room itself.

the feeling of being watched it always unsettling. What if the room itself just like... breathed.

This is fantastically devious. :smallamused:

[Aelyn]

My first thought, based on it being a hag's orphanage? Cooling pies, just barely out of reach, maybe behind a grate or something.

Anyone who sees the room thinks it's innocuous enough, it's there to taunt the children with a treat they can't quite reach.

The orphans themselves, however, share rumours about what happens to kids who are persistently naughty. For them, the pies take on a whole 'nother meaning - and they are extremely effective at encouraging the children to behave themselves in the future.

Just make sure it's ambiguous what the pies are actually made from.

[SpikeFightwicky]

A small room full of dozens of marionettes, all suspended from the ceiling and just out of reach, that all constantly stare at the kid, and move their heads/necks in sync if the child tries to switch to a new spot to avoid their gaze. If the kid sits or lays down, the marionettes descend to remain as close as possible while still out of reach.

[Aett_Thorn]

The good: Clowns. Nothing but clowns. Clown’s going to eat me. And circus music on repeat. But mostly clowns.

The bad: a room filled with hate and fear. It looks normal, but when the door is closed, the people inside are barraged with every sort of negative emotion.

The ugly: the entire room is a mimic. From the outside, it looks like a normal room with just a chair and maybe a window. But once inside you get eaten.

[Sigreid]

No real need to be specific, it could be a room or box that confronts the child with their fears like a nightmare. It will shrink and constrict if the child claustrophobic, surround the child afraid of dogs with wolves, etc. All in their head.

[KorvinStarmast]

By the time they're done they're famished but not really starving, very tired but not actually exhausted and may have various aches and pains from using the spinning wheel. Plenty to make kids dread being sent there for the better part of a day, but not enough I'd consider it to push into the realm of sadism. Yeah, this one's a bit less sick than some of the suggestions.


I’d just steal the Chokey from Matilda, honestly. For those who don’t know, it’s a small cupboard too short for a child to stand up straight and too narrow to lie down. It’s pitch black, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are lined with nails, broken glass, and other sharp implements. The child must remain crouched in an uncomfortable position in pitch blackness and total silence, and will cut if they do anything but hold absolutely still. That's rather sadistic, along the lines of an Iron Maiden.

[Segev]

Classic fairy tale idea, how about an enchanted spinning wheel? The children sent into the room have to spin flax into cloth for the entire time they're in there no matter how tired, hungry or sore they get.

By the time they're done they're famished but not really starving, very tired but not actually exhausted and may have various aches and pains from using the spinning wheel. Plenty to make kids dread being sent there for the better part of a day, but not enough I'd consider it to push into the realm of sadism.

This is a pretty clever idea.


Another would be that the phrase isn't, "You'll be put in the Time-Out Room," but rather, "You'll be put in time-out." Or "Do you need a time out?" Or some variant. Because there is no room. "Time-out" is being transformed into a doll. One of the rules is that the children aren't allowed to damage the toys, of course, and those who've been there know that any of the dolls might be other kids. It's temporary, usually. An hour or two; a few days at most. But you're aware the entire time. And the other children may play with you. Except for the name of "Bad Billy," who was a particularly naughty child and is always used as an example of what you don't want to happen to you. Nobody speaks in more than vague terms, but it's hinted that Billy is still in time-out. Even if nobody knows which doll he is.

There are, of course, perfectly normal (if creepy) dolls that the hag provides for her tender lumplings.