I've never really been a big fan of Halloween and horror. I kind of like it, but in small doses. I prefer my horror as a form of foe you cut down, or creepy evil that you ultimately deal with violently. Or at least magically.
All of that said, though, in a campaign way back when I did write an encounter that I never got to use centered on a horror theme.
After listening to the album "Welcome to My Nightmare" by the incomparable Alice Cooper, I wrote up an encounter based on Vincent Price's character in "Devil's Food."
I mapped out a little tower where an old wizard obsessed with spiders lived, gave him some appropriate allies (large and small), some spider-themed magical items, and a fair bit of loot to reward the players for discovering and eliminating this cover threat to the city.
I planned to drop it into Waterdeep since I was running a campaign set almost entirely in and around that city using 1st edition GURPS. Sadly, though, the PCs turned away from the adventure seed I had planted related to it and ended up going off for some adventures in the north.
In retrospect, I probably should have worked a Steven-like kid into the whole thing for some real upsetting foes, but hey, live and learn.
I know at least one of my players - the one who loaned me his Alice Cooper records way back when - would love to encounter this guy now. But the notes on that are basically lost in old Wang Word Processor files at best, gone forever at worst . . . and I've have to seriously, seriously up-gun the threat and wildly change the location to pull it off in DF. I mean, we've obviously still have spiders, but maybe not a Vincent Price inspired wizard along with them.
Or we might.
Dammit, you have to make this spider wizard with drider allies just to freak out our arachnophobic Viking!!
ReplyDeleteMartin's idea might beat mine.
DeleteI've always wanted to make a "Spiders All the Way Down" monster.
ReplyDeleteStart with a really big giant spider, shrouded in armor made from it's own webs. It seems to have no vital bits to target and fights until at -5*HP ... at which point you discover it was made from a huge colony of co-operating dog-sized spiders. These are also no vitals types who explode into spider swarms at -5*HP. Damage done to the swarms releases micro-spider dust that works like one of the killer spore cloud types.
However, if I deployed this, regardless of PC survival, GM survival would become very uncertain.
I like my odds!
DeleteHjalmarr disbelieves.
DeleteYou're right, Alice Cooper is incomparable. I had the luck of seeing him three times in concert. They were amazing concerts and I'll never forget them.
ReplyDeleteYour story idea sounds cool, Vincent Price wizard with a spider theme, I'm going to steal it. Thank you very much.
Steal it with my blessing!
DeleteI haven't seen Alice Cooper live yet. I have to rectify that ASAP.
Hjalmarr hits the “dislike” button. Time to start saving for the DEET amulet of insect and arachnid repellent.
ReplyDelete