The most paranoia-inducing dungeon

[EtuBrutus]

Then once they reach their most recent meal, it continues: "...The last of their provisions. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Moderate portions of (list of races the party consists of) meat, raw but extremely fresh. Nothing. Nothing. No blood. No blood."

This is refreshingly sinister

[illyahr]

I am totally using some of these.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

Putting on creepy music in the background is always good. Putting in creepy music in the background, then casually mentioning that the characters start hearing it is even better. I recommend 'She Moved Through the Fair' - perfect accompaniment for a banshee attack.

And if you're willing to go to the effort, texting JAL's creepy messages could work. Bonus points for doing it from a phone they don't have a number for, or borrowing the phone of another player who's still in the room.

And there's always the classic Meaningless Spot Check Accompanied By Ominous Hmmming.

[Lord Torath]

Use the Random Dungeon Generator in the 1st Edition DMG. All that dice rolling is all but guaranteed to worry your players, combined with the nonsensical dungeon layout.

[infinitum3d]

I remember one important NPC librarian who was very helpful to the party for several adventures. One day the NPC was out on lunch and the party went throuh her desk looking for something. Scratched on the back of the name plate was the phrase 'I never returned'.

But the NPC did come back and continued being helpful as ever. Made the players real paranoid. :3

I absolutely LOVE this one!

[infinitum3d]

The whispers all tell them not to trust any of the others.
"Your a paladin"
one says
"Why trust the self-admitted thief?"
another asks:
"Your a thief. why trust the paladin?"
they both say:
"you don't know them. not really. they could betray you at any moment."

..

This works best if you wrote it on slips of paper and pass it out individually/secretly.

;-)

[BootStrapTommy]

Use the Random Dungeon Generator in the 1st Edition DMG. All that dice rolling is all but guaranteed to worry your players, combined with the nonsensical dungeon layout.

One of the greatest methods to make players paranoid is to randomly roll dice. Even if they serve no purpose.

[Strigon]

One of the greatest methods to make players paranoid is to randomly roll dice. Even if they serve no purpose.

Works even better if you can grin like the Cheshire Cat afterwards.

Also, sudden changes in flooring. Especially if it changes to tiled flooring; "tile", as everyone knows, actually loosely translates from Elvish to "trap hiding place".

[JAL_1138]

And if you're willing to go to the effort, texting JAL's creepy messages could work. Bonus points for doing it from a phone they don't have a number for, or borrowing the phone of another player who's still in the room.

That might be going a bit far...there's being paranoid about what could happen to your character, and then there's existential horror about whether your own life is the delusion of a coma patient.

[JoeJ]

One of the greatest methods to make players paranoid is to randomly roll dice. Even if they serve no purpose.

And once in a while have a player roll a d20. If the roll is anything except a 20, say, "Okay. You don't notice anything out of the ordinary." If the roll is a 20, just nod and don't say anything.

[Segev]

This one only works for some parties, and is best for mid-to-high level.

Within the dungeon, every divination, whether from spell, item, ritual, feat, skill check, or any other source, no matter what it should be even capable of giving as an answer, returns only, "The monster is here."

[ZxxZ]

Describing the ceiling at all tends to freak out my players, for the same reason that describing cobwebs does.

Describe the ceiling in deep detail and talk about the numerous webs and chandeliers or nooks in the area. Just fill an area with tons of hiding places and a single tiny creature with a strong venom. Every room after describe the room in similar detail, and watch as they worry about Min-Maxed spider dropping on their head

[BootStrapTommy]

Describing the ceiling at all tends to freak out my players, for the same reason that describing cobwebs does.

Describe the ceiling in deep detail and talk about the numerous webs and chandeliers or nooks in the area. Just fill an area with tons of hiding places and a single tiny creature with a strong venom. Every room after describe the room in similar detail, and watch as they worry about Min-Maxed spider dropping on their head

Phase spiders.

[JoeJ]

Have a corridor filled with cobwebs that don't burn; if you put a torch to them they melt away right where the torch is, but they don't catch fire.

When a player says they're opening a door (or chest or whatever), ask them which hand they're using. And ask the other players where they're standing.

[braveheart]

My friend and I ran a One off where in I was masquerading as a PC with 3 other PC's, the party was supposed to undo a ritual then kill a demon, but the undoing ritual was a fake and they didn't know the real one. as they went forward they saw prophesies of the chosen 3, and all of the enemies commented on how there was a traitor in their midst. I actually got them to fight between themselves until they were all around 1/2 hp before they began to attack me as well.

[CombatBunny]

Let your players spot a monster in a faraway corridor. The monster isn’t interested in the PCs, it just walks, crawls, levitates or goes round slowly and vanishes into the deeper darkness of the corridors beyond, not to be seen ever again for the rest of the adventure.

Describe the monster in the most vaguely way possible due to the corridors's overwhelming darkness.

[Strigon]

Let your players spot a monster in a faraway corridor. The monster isn’t interested in the PCs, it just walks, crawls, levitates or goes round slowly and vanishes into the deeper darkness of the corridors beyond, not to be seen ever again for the rest of the adventure.

Describe the monster in the most vaguely way possible due to the corridors's overwhelming darkness.

Awful. Simply awful.
That knowledge being with you throughout a whole dungeon? Knowing that, even if they've killed dozens of creatures, there's still something else lurking in the shadows? That's evil.

[TeChameleon]

Awful. Simply awful.
That knowledge being with you throughout a whole dungeon? Knowing that, even if they've killed dozens of creatures, there's still something else lurking in the shadows? That's evil.

I thought that was pretty standard, honestly

I've had my players refuse to stop doing perception checks at the end of a dungeon because they were convinced that there was something else lurking. After about the third time that they found nothing and checked AGAIN, I gave up and let them 'find' one last critter >.<

[Keltest]

And once in a while have a player roll a d20. If the roll is anything except a 20, say, "Okay. You don't notice anything out of the ordinary." If the roll is a 20, just nod and don't say anything.

Running gag in our game: You feel like youre being watched.

All the time, everywhere. We have yet to positively identify who or what is watching us.

[illyahr]

Let your players spot a monster in a faraway corridor. The monster isn’t interested in the PCs, it just walks, crawls, levitates or goes round slowly and vanishes into the deeper darkness of the corridors beyond, not to be seen ever again for the rest of the adventure.

Describe the monster in the most vaguely way possible due to the corridors's overwhelming darkness.

You are a terrible person.

[Lacco]

The adventurers hear about a black water - somewhere in the mountains is a cave. It's said to be a small basin filled with black water that shows you your future. A mage promises them riches if they bring him a bucket of this water.

The adventurers come to the village at the foot of the mountains. They hear about the cave - it's said to give you strange dreams when you sleep there. But it's just a small cave and puddle of black water. Ok, Joe the local shepherd will show you the way, but he will not go near the cave. He already has nightmares. Oh and there was some expedition - few pointy ears went that way two weeks ago.

The adventurers travel to the cave. Joe is silent most of the time. As soon as the cave is in view, he just points a shaking hand and leaves.

The adventurers enter the cave. It's wider than expected. After 5-10 meters they find a small puddle, into which the black water drips - and it flows further down the cave. The puddle is too small to get enough water - they either have to wait for few weeks to fill the bucket or...

The cave goes on, with the small string of black water going down. They come to a large door, around 12 feet high, made of strange metal. Behind it there is a room of titanic proportions, reminding you of graveyard or resting place...

Spoiler: ...

Show

There is a lake of black water on the mountain. It shows you the future, the past, the worst future that will not happen if you sleep near. But if you stay for longer, it takes your dreams and starts to make them real. The leader of the expedition was a mage - and he has shaped the dungeon according to his mind...
...good luck going in.

[BootStrapTommy]

This entire thread reminds me of the Dread Gazebo.

[Strigon]

This entire thread reminds me of the Dread Gazebo.

In truth, a gazebo would be the perfect place to ambush an unsuspecting party. They're almost exclusively pleasant, happy places - and also with enough blind spots to hide more than a few critters.

[Elandris Kajar]

And if you're willing to go to the effort, texting JAL's creepy messages could work. Bonus points for doing it from a phone they don't have a number for, or borrowing the phone of another player who's still in the room.

This sounds fun, what exactly are they?

[JAL_1138]

This sounds fun, what exactly are they?

Reference to this, I assume:

Numerous small_{wake up}clues that the PCs are_{please wake up}under the thrall of a lich_{this isn't real}or aboleth_{WAKE UP}and are really just_{this isn't real} moldering away instead of_{WAKE UP} adventuring, and have been for years...

[Elandris Kajar]

Reference to this, I assume:

Good point. I had forgotten about that excellent work.

[MrStabby]

So for my group's next dungeon I am thinking of putting a clock a few rooms in from the entrance, slowly ticking down the seconds to midnight - irrespective of what the current time is outside.

A few rooms further in there is another clock, closer to midnight. A lovingly crafted timepiece, made from mahogany and with fine intricate carvings inlayed with ivory and gold. There are carvings of other time pieces - sundials, hourglasses, watches etc.. on the surfaces. The clock will have a very slow but clear tick.

The time taken for any action in this dungeon will come as part of the description: "you search through the drawers in the desk. There are four stacks of paper in there. After five minutes you find the diagram you are looking for in the third stack."

I wonder if I can get the PCs to worry about time. The architect just liked clocks.

[Jaxter Gronaldi]

A Duck. In a Dungeon

[LadyFoxfire]

One of the funniest traps my DM ever pulled on us was the countdown room. As soon as the party enters the room, the doors slam shut and a magic mouth spell begins counting down from 10. There is a button in the room that resets the countdown, and can be pressed as many times as you want. The only way to escape the room is to let the countdown finish without pressing the button. His record for keeping a party trapped in the room was two hours of in-game time.

[FreddyNoNose]

The purpose of this thread is simple: make a list of innocent things which could be put in a dungeon, which would unnerve PC's.
The general idea is that, in real life, some things are completely harmless. Those same things have been used time and again to trap unwary PC's, and most have learned never to trust these items for they are Very Bad.

So, what harmless decorations could you put in a dungeon that would make players turn tail and run? I'll start with some obvious ones.

1) Statues. Statues are never statues; rather, they are slumbering guardians just waiting to be awoken. Everyone knows this.
2) Unguarded treasure chests. If it's not at the end of your dungeon, there are one of two options. Either there's a monster lurking nearby that you can't see, or the chest is the monster.
3) A lever by a door. Levers are never good. Levers are especially never good when their purpose seems obvious.

Imagine you are on a lower level of a dungeon when you notice at the back of a large room an opening to a cavern. It is dark inside and is a bit moist inside. As you wander around in side you see many small side passages and you can't be certain which way is the best to proceed. In fact, you aren't sure that you are not lost as some of passageways might have changed. Could there be shifting cavern features? What treasure might they be protecting? It now seems as if the walls are closing in on you. I give you the Massive Mimic which you have been wandering inside.....