Evil DM Stories

[Maxymiuk]

If I hear this (or something similar), I know I have done something extremely good. Make evil adventures and opponents that completely intend to hurt the players with every means possible...but if they find a solution (and even if it is one you don't like much) accept it with a shrug. You'll get them sooner or later. Just don't change rules at will, railroad them too much and change the situation ad hoc just because the group has it too easy.

If I get my players to mutter "You absolute bastard" and then go ahead and trounce whatever I threw at them, I know I'm doing something right.

It gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling right in my evil bone.

[Premier]

2nd ed. AD&D, play-by-post games with relatively high-level characters (around 9-11):

The party enrolls in what they believe to be a secret group of elite mercenaries in the king's pay, whose task is to defuse a formenting rebellion through guerilla warfare. Little do they know that their commander is in fact the very one formenting the rebellion and plans to use the mercs to saw chaos, but that's not the point right now.

Anyway, they get order to move out of the hidden camp, set up a road block on a nearby road masquarading as a local noble's soldiers, and intercept a courier carrying a message from city A to city B. (Map of the realm clearly reveals that this means a courier approaching the roadblock from the east.) Since this is a covert operation, all this must be done with minimum fuss.

So, the party heads out and on the way encounters a small patrol of (real) soldiers who stopped to look into some minor matter of no importance. Since the patrol didn't spot them, the party could easily circumnavigate the location with minimal loss of time. Party shenanigan 1: they decide to attack the patrol despite being on a stealth mission.

Once the patrol is wiped out, they move on to the roadand set up a roadblock. After a few hours of waiting and letting an unimportant merchant pass, a man wearing a royal tabard approaches on horseback... from the west. Claiming to be a royal messenger, he waves around some letter of passage and demands to be let through. Party shenanigan 2:the party, failing to realise that the guy is coming from the opposite direction as their quarry, engage the messenger and bring him down in a hail of arrows and magic, then hide the body and the dead horse in a ditch overgrown by tall grass.

While they're busy covering up the signs of battle, they spot four horsemen appear in the distance, this time from the east. They stop and look ahead for a few moments, then split up: one turns north and leaves the road, another turns south, and two turn around. (This were the real messengers carrying four copies of the message. They had orders to split up and head on westwards on separate routes in case of any trouble.) Party shenanigan 3: realising that they've been spotted by the four unidentified riders, the party decides that the situation became untenable and the should leave, still not realising that the messenger they killed could not have been their target.

Oh, before this, a new player joined the game and his character was introduced as a messenger from their employer carrying a note that once they're done, the party should head not back to the original camp, but to a new location a day or two to the west.

Anyway, the party decides to leave, and for no reason that I could comprehend, they start heading east. After a few hours' of travel, they spot a large group of horsemen coming up ahead, and they wisely hide in the bushes. The horsemen stop near them for a minute, and some dialogue that the characters overhear reveals them to be a patrol of some 20-30 men from the nearby city sent out after one of the four messengers went back and notified the garrison of the road block. After a few moments of rest, the patrol thunders off to the west. (As you can guess, I've been feeling generous and used this encounter to tip off the players that the messengers they're supposed to intercept are still afoot.)

Finally, the characters get the message that they've killed the wrong guy in the first place, and turn around in an attempt to find those four riders they've spotted from the distance. After several hours of walking (they're on foot), night falls, and they overtake the patrol which has made camp along the road. In the darkness, it would be easy to circumnavigate them. Pary shenanigan 4: they (IIRC, 7 or 8 of them at this point) decide to not go after the messengers, after all, and instead attack the patrol's camp, for no good reason beyond it being there.

It was at this point that I broke out the Evil DM Kit. The two sneaky characters (thief and monk) who snuck into the camp to stampede the horses were spotted, captured (I had nothing to do with that; the monk had a pretty bad Move Silently skill but insisted on going), and securely bound. The rest of the party, which has split up and attacked from three directions, suddenly found that the army patrol consisted of elite 5-6th level fighters supplemented by spellcasters and rangers. Two characters were blinded and simultaneously lit up (making them easy targets for archers) by the wizards casting Continuous Light on their heads; one character was forced to run by a Phantasmal Killer, one was stopped in his tracks by Evard's Black Tentacles. The party's fighter/necromancer, who was acting as the central prong of the attack by his lonesome, was set upon by the rangers, who were hiding in the darkness and the tall grass and kept disrupting his spells by sniping him with bows.

Everyone in the party survived (the thief and the monk managed to slip their bonds and ran), but barely. And, since they were attacking from opposite directions, they couldn't even team up, as they had to run for their lives in opposite directions while chased by the soldiers; and it took them several days of adventuring to finally meet again.

[Lapak]

Everyone in the party survived (the thief and the monk managed to slip their bonds and ran), but barely. And, since they were attacking from opposite directions, they couldn't even team up, as they had to run for their lives in opposite directions while chased by the soldiers; and it took them several days of adventuring to finally meet again.

That's not evil. That's generous.

As it worked out, though, they were actually serving the person they thought they were by joining the other side and going Three Stooges on him! They're actually incredibly clever.

Really.

[EvilElitest]

I am a very evil DM normally,

but worst when i am pissed

I was running a game at hte local gameshop (By logcal i mean an hour's drive away) and i told to be nice to the players

So a few of my good friends and a few people i would like to play show up and make characters
And some kid comes in, sits down to play acting like his seen it all before
After he found out that this game is 12 level, he starts to laugh. He says he will play the wizard, so that he could be a powergaming bastard. All of my other players had already made their characters and he was more powerful than any of them, something he made sure to rub in their faces. After putting up with his rants about how much better wizards are and how none of the other classes had a chance i was pissed
His final straw was when the fighter (played by one of my best friends) tried to make a plan to attack the evil cultists they were up against and the little powergamer yelled at him for making a plan based on the figther's understanding of the situaiton, then proceded to go into a rant about how underpowered fighter's are.
When i told him to shut up, he said that i can't do anything to stop his plan because i had already stated that there were only four enemies they were against (a wizard, a cleric, a rouge, and a monk) and that i don't have time to roll up a new monster. he also said that (none of this was directly to me but to the other players) that because of his such and such build, he could defeat practilly anything i put up against him. When told his build (min maxing) was quite unrealistic, he said that in a world with these rules, why wouldn't a wizard do this?
So i changed the states of the wizard, making them exactly the same as the little powergamer. Suddenly this guy who hated roleplay was up against himself. He lost.
Ever time a player does that, i make another character exactly like that to fight time. Its fun
from,
EE

[Bel_Bel]

I am a very evil DM normally,

but worst when i am pissed

I was running a game at hte local gameshop (By logcal i mean an hour's drive away) and i told to be nice to the players

So a few of my good friends and a few people i would like to play show up and make characters
And some kid comes in, sits down to play acting like his seen it all before
After he found out that this game is 12 level, he starts to laugh. He says he will play the wizard, so that he could be a powergaming bastard. All of my other players had already made their characters and he was more powerful than any of them, something he made sure to rub in their faces. After putting up with his rants about how much better wizards are and how none of the other classes had a chance i was pissed
His final straw was when the fighter (played by one of my best friends) tried to make a plan to attack the evil cultists they were up against and the little powergamer yelled at him for making a plan based on the figther's understanding of the situaiton, then proceded to go into a rant about how underpowered fighter's are.
When i told him to shut up, he said that i can't do anything to stop his plan because i had already stated that there were only four enemies they were against (a wizard, a cleric, a rouge, and a monk) and that i don't have time to roll up a new monster. he also said that (none of this was directly to me but to the other players) that because of his such and such build, he could defeat practilly anything i put up against him. When told his build (min maxing) was quite unrealistic, he said that in a world with these rules, why wouldn't a wizard do this?
So i changed the states of the wizard, making them exactly the same as the little powergamer. Suddenly this guy who hated roleplay was up against himself. He lost.
Ever time a player does that, i make another character exactly like that to fight time. Its fun
from,
EE

NICE! Kinda evil, but I totally understand it with an annoying dude like that. Good work!

[Matthew]

Hah, good work EE.

Back in the days of (A)D&D, I had lain down the Dungeon Master Shield and taken up an Elven Specialist Cleric Character Sheet. We were doing the Menzoberranzen Adventure, mixed in with a few other side adventures, and were completely destroying the encounters through good character builds and tactics. I was in particular lording it over the DM, as my Cleric rained down death upon his foes via his Long Bow and the other Player Characters were happily obeying my orders (as we were winning).
Needless to say, we got ambushed in a tunnel by Undead versions of everything we had so far defeated. Once they had killed my Character, they retreated, leaving the rest of the party intact. I complained about the injustice of it, bemoaned my foolish pride and went home to get my Paladin... (I didn't live far away).

[Deepblue706]

One time I threw an adult red dragon at a group of level 2-3 PCs. That's not evil, right? I mean, I gave them some old walls to hide behind and like..a potion of cure light wounds or two...

[EvilElitest]

NICE! Kinda evil, but I totally understand it with an annoying dude like that. Good work!

Thank you, and best of all, i uses the brat's own logic
"If a caster could do this, why wouldn't he"
I did the same, and lucky me i'm the DM, so i can use mulitiple casters like that
From,
EE

[lacesmcawesome]

One time I threw an adult red dragon at a group of level 2-3 PCs. That's not evil, right? I mean, I gave them some old walls to hide behind and like..a potion of cure light wounds or two...

Imagine if they made it by some feat of luck? Like the dragon rolled natural 1s-5s every time? That would be insane.

[KoDT69]

Depending on the group's equipment, stats, and builds, the dragon rolling a 5 might still make them sweat! But the dragon would have to be played fairly sub-optimal for 2nd and 3rd level characters to really defeat it.

[Tormsskull]

Let's see, Evil DMs where I was the player:

Back in 2nd edition, I'm playing a samurai. I have to follow whatever my lord tells me too, because if I disobey him I become a ronin and only get 50% exp. Well what do you know, my master is the BBEG and is revealed as so in session 1.

I'm all like "Master, how can I serve you?"
And the master's like "Die!"

Same DM, different campaign:

The party gets introduced to these two old ladies. They are incredibly nice by my spidey-sense is going off like crazy (call it "Somethin's bout to go down' radar.). So the old lady opens this door and tells us to walk on in. The party says ok but I immediately say "I don't go in, I want to put my back to the door to make sure that if she tries to close it I can prevent her."

The DM says "She shoves you into the room and close the door." No roll, no check, nothing.

Same DM different campaign:

The PCs are standing in a throne room, talking to our boss. He has stiffed us and we're about to open a can of whoop ass on him. The DM says "Make a spot check." No one rolls very high. Then he says "The boss pulls a lever and a net falls on you all, securing you to the ground."

I"m like "Uh? Reflex save?" He says "You didn't see it falling so there's no way you could have gotten out of the way."

I don't play with that DM anymore...

Times when I was evil as a DM:

Back in 2nd edition, a player walked to this bookshelf and started examining it. He pulls a book off and starts reading it. So I hand him a sheet of paper. The paper has all this malarky on it that didn't mean didley squat. But at the bottom of the page it says "If you don't notice this within 15 seconds you're sneak-attacked."

So I count the 15 seconds, and then I say "You're sneak-attacked." Yeah, it was kinda evil.

[KoDT69]

I'm so stealing that last one Torm!

[Erom]

A DM I play with frequently gives us limited time to solve certain problems. Like, oh hey, the room you are in bursts into flames (there was a good reason behind this). Actions from everyone in 15 seconds or you take a round of fire damadge.

[SteveMB]

One time while running a Champions game back in the day:

Player: [rams his car at full speed into supervillian] "What effect did that have?"
Me: [rolls a bunch of dice and checks notes] "It made him rather angry."

(This was the same session where another of the players separated from the group to take on a mind-controlling villain... do I really need to spell out the hilarities that ensued? )

[TomTheRat]

Me: "Ok, empty tavern. I search the area while the party stands on guard"
DM: "Hmmk. Roll search"
Me: "wewt, natural 20... thats a 29"
DM: "k. Roll fortitude"
Me: "er... 12"
DM: "You die."

Me: :-(

[Kyace]

Tom, you must have found the beer of annihilation.

[SteveMB]

2nd ed. AD&D, play-by-post games with relatively high-level characters (around 9-11):

The party enrolls in what they believe to be a secret group of elite mercenaries in the king's pay, whose task is to defuse a formenting rebellion through guerilla warfare. Little do they know that their commander is in fact the very one formenting the rebellion and plans to use the mercs to saw chaos, but that's not the point right now.

<snip details of misadventures and unnecessary fights>

What reward did they get from their employer for accomplishing their mission above and beyond the call of duty?

[Ranis]

I was running a game at hte local gameshop (By logcal i mean an hour's drive away) and i told to be nice to the players

See, you know those stickers on the BoVD and BoED? That say: Explicit: Mature Audiences Only?

I think those stickers should be on each book for this very reason. Keep the kids away.

Or, at least set height parameters; "You must be this mentally tall to play."

Oh, and good work, EE.

[Deepblue706]

Imagine if they made it by some feat of luck? Like the dragon rolled natural 1s-5s every time? That would be insane.

Actually....

Not one of the PCs died. I was very disappointed.

[EvilElitest]

See, you know those stickers on the BoVD and BoED? That say: Explicit: Mature Audiences Only?

I think those stickers should be on each book for this very reason. Keep the kids away.

Or, at least set height parameters; "You must be this mentally tall to play."

Oh, and good work, EE.

That is
A very good idea
I can't stand whiny kids, ever

Another evil thing i did
The trap above the door a stone slab falls from above. the fighter rushes in, uses tumble and avoids the stone slab. They look up and see the room above them. As they try to get up, a second slab falls from the room abovethat, making a crude stair case. Players think i'm being nice and they can now see hte sky so no more stone cubes. They want to get up into the room above them so they can save the guys below them (Four flours all together) So they all get on top of the last block, and then it falls though the floor on top of the captive ranger below them. As they try to get back up again, a gelatin cube falls on them.

Hey, it said Kobalds made good traps in the MM, what can i say
from,
EE

[SMDVogrin]

Me: "Ok, empty tavern. I search the area while the party stands on guard"
DM: "Hmmk. Roll search"
Me: "wewt, natural 20... thats a 29"
DM: "k. Roll fortitude"
Me: "er... 12"
DM: "You die."

Me: :-(

Bu-huh?

OK, what exactly is the rest of this story, or does your DM just actually hate you?

[Talanic]

Bu-huh?

OK, what exactly is the rest of this story, or does your DM just actually hate you?

My bet? Symbol of Death.

[Kyace]

Seems like some sort of contact poison against a rogue with low con. Sassone leaf residue maybe? (DC 16;does 2d12 hp init and 1d6 Con secondary; only costs 300 gp)

[Silkenfist]

Yeah, but shouldn't a natural 20 (total 29) on your search check enable you to find the poison, especially since even lowlevel rogues are likely to be trained in the use of it? Maybe the DC to find the poison time was 30, but my bet is rather that the DM broke the unwritten rule of "Good roll = good outcome"

If I put contact poison somewhere, I'd let the players roll fortitude as soon as they fumble...or fail a check. No way that the stupid Barbarian randomly patting around has a lower chance to do something harmful than the highly skilled trap monkey.

[JackMage666]

I once had two brown bears rip off the face of a player. Not really evil, I suppose.

Ooh, one time, I had two scorpions litterally rip apart one player who annoyed me.
The same player earlier tried to steal and run from a desert camp and was run down by Lamias. Then, sold to the slave market. That one was necessary. He was blatantly trying to steal and trick people, while he was a LN Monk. Poor people, nontheless. The slavery was just an added bonus, for him being stupid enough to try to escape the Lamias when they imprisoned him.

[TomTheRat]

Bu-huh?

OK, what exactly is the rest of this story, or does your DM just actually hate you?

A ghost with 5 levels of rogue, 1 level of assassin, and a Ghost Touch Shortsword +1. He crit me with the Death Attack he pumped up while I was searching. The sneak attack damage alone killed me, never mind my failed Fort save.

QQ.

[Serenity]

So basically it is that your DM hates you. Less egregiously asshatish than the Cutscene McGee DM detailed above, I suppose...

[karmuno]

I like to think of myself as a generous, if a little strict, GM. I have one story from another DM though:

We were playing in Ebberon, and I was a level 5 cleric of Kord (or the Ebberon equivalent, I don't remember his name). I go into this bar in the slums (I think I was looking for an assassin by the name of Iazalian. That name brings back fond memories, but that's another story). I take a swig of their local specialty, but I can't swallow it (literally, I failed my Fort save). The bartender ridicules me, so I call him out. Anything goes. I hit him with my magic greatsword (I don't remember the specifics, but it was at least +2 and I think it was spell-storing), thinking that'd be enough to take him down. It merely shakes him, he pulls out a short sword, and promptly hits me for thirty-some damage. I cast sanctuary, but his next strike gets through it. Next thing I know, I'm lying unconcious in an orphanage with all my possessions gone (including my Citadel identification that basically gave me liscense to do anything) and my bag smelling strangely of urine. Long story short, he was the leader of the assassins' guild, and his short sword was ridiculously magical (I never found out the specifics, as the campaign ended prematurely when the DM and a couple of the players had a falling out. It's a pity, I liked that campaign). I had to borrow the paladin's money for the next few weeks (thank God paladins have to serve the clergy).

The closest I've come to that is forcing encumbrance penalties on my players after they robbed a bank. I need to evil up a bit.

[Laesin]

The Party. A Drizzt clone, A Human Wizard and an Elven Cleric. The Situation. Due to them bypassing a huge chunk of content they each receive a Wish a few levels before they were meant to and before encountering the situation the wishes were supposed to resolve.
The Results. The Wizard wishes to become the God of Magic Result? Congratulations you are now a god of magic, you have no followers, you vanish in a puff of logic. The Cleric "I wish to be able to speak, read and write Common, Elven and Undercommon." (the other two had been using undercommon to speak as the drow couldn't speak common. They had also schemed a LOT) Result Okay you can now speak Common (and only common), read Elven (and only Elven) and write undercommon (and only undercommon). The drow wisely decided to save his wish for an emergency. Oh the fun I had with the cleric for the next few sessions. Especially since his God would only accept his prayers in Elven.

[kamikasei]

The Cleric "I wish to be able to speak, read and write Common, Elven and Undercommon." (the other two had been using undercommon to speak as the drow couldn't speak common. They had also schemed a LOT) Result Okay you can now speak Common (and only common), read Elven (and only Elven) and write undercommon (and only undercommon).

Man, that's pretty evil, considering the humble nature of the wish.