The most paranoia-inducing dungeon

[Bard1cKnowledge]

JAL standing in the middle of a lake

*hint* its not JAL

[DigoDragon]

JAL standing in the middle of a lake
*hint* its not JAL

Is this about you two having the same avatar?

[JAL_1138]

JAL standing in the middle of a lake

*hint* its not JAL

No it most certainly is not

Is this about you two having the same avatar?

No, it's a reference to posts I've made elsewhere about how water is ALWAYS bad in D&D. My characters die a lot in water-related incidents, or otherwise have horrible things happen to them.

...for that matter, yesterday in Adventurer's League, my current character (who has already been cursed with an indelible and un-disguiseable tattoo by an angry sea-goddess) almost got killed by water genasi, almost got killed by I-don't-even-know-what-they-were-but-they-looked-undead-ish in a sewer, almost got killed by a water weird, almost got killed by troglodytes, almost got eaten by quippers, almost got dissolved by green slime, almost got killed by undead kuo-toa, almost drowned on failed swim checks, and got afflicted with a curse that nearly drowned him. Only survived by blowing all my spells on healing, blowing all my hit dice, and there being two other healers in the party who also blew all of their spells on healing (not just on healing me; every character got dropped at least once). The DM's dice were on fire and the entire party's dice seemed cursed, except for a couple crits against the undead kuo-toa.

[Keltest]

No it most certainly is not



No, it's a reference to posts I've made elsewhere about how water is ALWAYS bad in D&D. My characters die a lot in water-related incidents, too.

You would never have survived in my campaign world. The primary region is called "The land of many lakes" and the only real point of major civilization is an island.

[JAL_1138]

You would never have survived in my campaign world. The primary region is called "The land of many lakes" and the only real point of major civilization is an island.

NOPE *runs away*

[JAL_1138]

Back in 2e, I lost fewer characters in actual, literal, in-no-way-metaphorical, where-Asmodeus-lives Hell, or in Ravenloft, or in the Tomb of Horrors than I did to water-related incidents.

[Lord Raziere]

welcome to underwater dungeon?

also, there is a reason why the aquatic subtype and merfolk exists guys.....maybe that should be my next character....

[MrStabby]

Oh yes! Nothing to induce paranoia like a slowly submerging dungeon.

[Strigon]

there is a reason why the aquatic subtype and merfolk exists guys.....maybe that should be my next character....

You'd just get eaten by a bigger fish.

[JAL_1138]

You'd just get eaten by a bigger fish.

Yup. Drowning's not the only issue, it's monsters including, but not limited to, sahuagin, kuo-toa, morkorths, giant squid, giant octopi, brine dragons, dragon turtles, Ixitschacan'tpronounce'em, water weirds, water elementals, crystal oozes, death minnows, water nagas, kelpies, strangleweed, sea lions, sirines, giant sea snakes, giant marine spiders, saltwater trolls, sea hags, silver urchins, whales, sea zombies, reef giants, kapoacinths, topaz dragons, giant crocodiles, crabmen, mudmen, and aboleths.

And as a merfolk? Good luck getting around on land. Where it's safe.

[Bard1cKnowledge]

A voice that continues to whisper to one PC, slowly driving him insane

Each whisper is different depending on the PC

[Bard1cKnowledge]

No it most certainly is not



No, it's a reference to posts I've made elsewhere about how water is ALWAYS bad in D&D. My characters die a lot in water-related incidents, or otherwise have horrible things happen to them.

...for that matter, yesterday in Adventurer's League, my current character (who has already been cursed with an indelible and un-disguiseable tattoo by an angry sea-goddess) almost got killed by water genasi, almost got killed by I-don't-even-know-what-they-were-but-they-looked-undead-ish in a sewer, almost got killed by a water weird, almost got killed by troglodytes, almost got eaten by quippers, almost got dissolved by green slime, almost got killed by undead kuo-toa, almost drowned on failed swim checks, and got afflicted with a curse that nearly drowned him. Only survived by blowing all my spells on healing, blowing all my hit dice, and there being two other healers in the party who also blew all of their spells on healing (not just on healing me; every character got dropped at least once). The DM's dice were on fire and the entire party's dice seemed cursed, except for a couple crits against the undead kuo-toa.

Mulmaster? My character had the same experience, only with lava/fire mephits

Six of them clumped up close, our cleric of light used Radiance of Dawn, dropping my warlock due to exploding mephits around her. She had fire resistance. I saved 1 out of the 6 reflexes to quarter the damage,

Then of course there are those dang fire dwarves

[Lord Raziere]

Each whisper is different depending on the PC

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."

also, a magic item in the middle of the room. but here is the kicker:
each person sees it as a different magic item.

finally:
put up signs all throughout the dungeon. however, what the signs actually say change every few minutes....

[JAL_1138]

A diary of an adventurer, containing rumors about the dungeon the adventurer collected, many of which are obviously inaccurate. Come up with quite a few.

One of them around the middle of the collection of rumors says something about an invisible monster. The diary says the adventurer brought along spells and items to deal with each of the rumors, as well as possible, including ones that allow one to detect invisibility, some of which are fairly powerful.

The journal details adventure prep, travel, and recounts the adventurer entering the dungeon and examining several rooms, finding only what the players have already seen.

On the last page, written in extremely shaky handwriting and in stark contrast to the previously well-written entries, is this:
If you find this get out get out get out. It's true
Haven't left LTH in days except when spell ends.
Out of food & water. Oh gods I'm thirsty. lost a lot of blood
Scrolls gone, potions gone.
tried throwing flour—out of flour. didn't work.
Worst time is when tiny hut expires. Exposed.

What if its here when Im casting it & I bring it in with me
Cant see it even with spe

[JAL_1138]

Mulmaster? My character had the same experience, only with lava/fire mephits

Six of them clumped up close, our cleric of light used Radiance of Dawn, dropping my warlock due to exploding mephits around her. She had fire resistance. I saved 1 out of the 6 reflexes to quarter the damage,

Then of course there are those dang fire dwarves

Those mephits can go right to the Abyss. Aaargh.

We rolled crazy-well on damage and didn't have much trouble out of the fire cultists. The flameskull, though...a couple points shy of max damage on Fireball and several of us dropped, one died outright.

WotC isn't pulling any punches in the Mulmaster stuff. Little railroady, but otherwise surprisingly old-school and lethal.

[Bard1cKnowledge]

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."

also, a magic item in the middle of the room. but here is the kicker:
each person sees it as a different magic item.

finally:
put up signs all throughout the dungeon. however, what the signs actually say change every few minutes....

I was actually thinking more along the lines of they hear random things until they go mad

Example, the wizard hears the sound of a housecat mewling

[JAL_1138]

the wizard hears the sound of a housecat mewling

You monster.

[AvatarVecna]

1. Have part of your dungeon be a "Hall of Mirrors" style maze. As each character makes their way through, roll a Will save whenever they would see a mirror; on a natural one, tell them they think the last reflection they made eye contact with looked somewhat malevolent. It didn't, that's just their mind playing tricks on them.

2. A small, barren room contains only a table and two chairs, all covered in a thick layer of dust. In the chair farthest from the player lays a human skeleton cloaked in a pitch black robe with its hood pulled up; on the same side of the table, a scythe rests propped against the table. On the table is a complete, ancient, ornate, and dust-free chess set, with the black pieces on the same side as the cloaked skeleton. The board is set up as if a game is about to start. The chess set itself registers as magical, but the skeleton, its cloak, and the scythe do not. If you attempt to play, the chess set appears to move on its own when it's not your turn, and the skeleton never moves...because it's dead.

3. One particularly large room in the dungeon appears to be a full-size modern playground, complete with a pack of children playing around. However, the clothes the children wear are ragged and filthy, as are the children. The children are pale and gaunt, their eyes appear sunken into their skulls, while large bags rest under their eyes. They don't smile, they don't look at you, and they don't talk to you; when they do speak (for those playground games that come with songs), they speak in a dull, world-weary monotone that sounds utterly defeated. There are no monsters here, no traps, no puzzles, no locked doors. Just a room full of children who look like they' went vacationing in The Gray Wastes.

[NowhereMan583]

One door leads to a balcony overlooking a vast hall with a throne at one end. Seated in the throne is a skeletal figure in tattered finery; it wears a black and twisted crown, and clutches a sceptre that seems to be wrought entirely of humanoid teeth supporting a large gem. Its eyes glow with bale-fire, and as the PCs watch, it stands and walks down the hall and out the main door into the rest of the dungeon. Other guys & gals this here is a lich details should be sprinkled liberally throughout the scene. From then on, the PCs will occasionally spot it moving around the dungeon on some unknown errand or fiddling with strange objects, while chuckling and muttering in an unrecognizable language. If they try to follow it, it turns a corner and vanishes. It reappears in far-flung parts of the dungeon, having apparently beaten the PCs there and set up... something. The impression should be given that the lich is just toying with them, watching and setting up traps to mess with them for its own dark amusement.

Spoiler

Show

The "lich" is a dozen identically-clad animated skeletons (up-close-and-personal examination would reveal that the gem on the sceptre is glass, the crown is painted wood, &c.) that each have standing orders to follow a pre-set path around the dungeon and do various meaningless tasks, but avoid all living beings. They are enchanted with a light spell inside their skull and a magic mouth that emits randomized cackling gibberish. Their pre-set path takes them through secret passages (or possibly teleport circles), which is why it's so hard to chase them down. The "program" activated when they stepped onto that balcony -- previously, they were hidden in concealed closets throughout the dungeon.

[JAL_1138]

*A place where someone has scratched something into the wall with a rock near the entrance:
"BIG FISH WEIRD EYES
THEY WENT CRAZY
TURN BACK"

[Bard1cKnowledge]

*A place where someone has scratched something into the wall with a rock near the entrance:
"BIG FISH WEIRD EYES
THEY WENT CRAZY
TURN BACK"

Only you JAL

A small goblin with a clipboard asking the PCs about their experience delving in this dungeon simulation and how they can improve it. Such as have a dragon and its horde at the end waiting

[JAL_1138]

Only you JAL

...or anyone who's ever tangled with an aboleth. Whether or not they share my attitude towards water in D&D (which believe it or not doesn't extend to real life), the suggestion of an aboleth ought to make most players paranoid.

[Gnomish Wanderer]

A room with doors that lock when everyone is inside. There's a button somewhere obvious in the room.

Once the doors lock, start a five minute countdown. Hitting the button resets it.

When the timer runs out... The doors open. :P

The worst thing about twists like these is it just leaves your players frustrated for five minutes until they just give up. It's not generally a fun experience.

[MrStabby]

The worst thing about twists like these is it just leaves your players frustrated for five minutes until they just give up. It's not generally a fun experience.

I quite like it. It isn't long and it sets peoples mind in a good way for the rest of the dungeon. Putting the idea into peoples heads that timing is important or getting people worried about being trapped adds to the tension. Add in a double dose of the other ideas in the thread and I think you have a great atmospheric start.


Other ideas:

A bloodstained throne

A few illusions - someone reaches to open the door and discovers the door is an illusions. Not a big problem but gives the players something more to think about.

A room full of china dolls - including dolls of the party

A picture of the person that sent the NPCs on the quest - only aged 25 years.

An old dusty box, ornately engraved about 4 inches along each side stored behind spell wards and strong locked doors.

An altar with a single gold piece on it. If the gold piece is picked up the altar begins to scream.

A stack of documents including the execution warrants for seven children.

[Ettina]

One door leads to a balcony overlooking a vast hall with a throne at one end. Seated in the throne is a skeletal figure in tattered finery; it wears a black and twisted crown, and clutches a sceptre that seems to be wrought entirely of humanoid teeth supporting a large gem. Its eyes glow with bale-fire, and as the PCs watch, it stands and walks down the hall and out the main door into the rest of the dungeon. Other guys & gals this here is a lich details should be sprinkled liberally throughout the scene. From then on, the PCs will occasionally spot it moving around the dungeon on some unknown errand or fiddling with strange objects, while chuckling and muttering in an unrecognizable language. If they try to follow it, it turns a corner and vanishes. It reappears in far-flung parts of the dungeon, having apparently beaten the PCs there and set up... something. The impression should be given that the lich is just toying with them, watching and setting up traps to mess with them for its own dark amusement.

Spoiler

Show

The "lich" is a dozen identically-clad animated skeletons (up-close-and-personal examination would reveal that the gem on the sceptre is glass, the crown is painted wood, &c.) that each have standing orders to follow a pre-set path around the dungeon and do various meaningless tasks, but avoid all living beings. They are enchanted with a light spell inside their skull and a magic mouth that emits randomized cackling gibberish. Their pre-set path takes them through secret passages (or possibly teleport circles), which is why it's so hard to chase them down. The "program" activated when they stepped onto that balcony -- previously, they were hidden in concealed closets throughout the dungeon.

This is awesome. What kind of perverse spellcaster would set all this up?

[NowhereMan583]

This is awesome. What kind of perverse spellcaster would set all this up?

One with a twisted sense of humor and a good scrying setup.

[JAL_1138]

When the players arrive, they see a powerful intelligent monster, normally extremely evil. Badly injured and crawling away from the dungeon. If they interact with it, it says "Don't go in there..." with a look of pure terror in its eyes, and dies from its wounds. Bonus points if it's normally immune to fear.

[Feddlefew]

This is awesome. What kind of perverse spellcaster would set all this up?

The real lich, who is currently on vacation in some long-dead tropical civilation's most sacred necropolis. Or something like that.

[Algeh]

They find a pair of boots. They detect as magical. No matter how well anyone rolls, all they can find out about them is that they look really, really comfortable and they don't show any signs of wear.

Their entire magical properties are: they are really comfortable and won't wear out. They were commissioned by a noble who was tired of getting blisters on hikes. That's it. No one who wears these boots will get blisters and their feet will never be sore at the end of a long day of walking (this does not actually increase their move rate per day or have any other in-game advantage).

[DigoDragon]

A dungeon with the layout and trap locations seemingly exactly copied from an earlier dungeon far away ago that the PCs cleared. The only difference being that the denizens are all replaced with animated undead versions and the magical loot is all masterwork forgeries. There's a weird feeling that you're being watched too when you pass through certain rooms...