Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

[jaws]

Hi Herodome! I have a general Idea for a an adventure I have been mulling over. However I am feeling stumped for Ideas.

 

The general premise is the characters are returning home from one of their adventures. However on one of their past adventures the were in contact with an artifact containing the nightmares of many (Malus Morphaera, from plague of dreams in Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved). They do not have the sphere, but they have been tainted by it and a great spirit of Dream/Nightmare is looking to obtain it. Believing the characters have it... it is waiting for them before they arrive home to one of the characters lands.

 

The whole Idea is for horror that may freak the characters (and hopefully the players) but not kill anyone. So the spirit is way above their power level, however i is not interested in killing them. All it wants is the sphere and is willing to terrify them in to submission for it, so what if they end up a bit crazy afterward.

 

I plan on using the characters worst fears in nightmare fashion, but I want it to be a layered dream where they are never sure if they are awake or dreaming, where even while awake strange things happen. Where they wake up only to find they are still dreaming... or are they?

 

Please herodome I know you can help. Its a bit short notice, but i thought i could handle it.

 

I have a few cool scenes I know will freak out their characters, but its confusing reality and nightmare that is most important to me so players have to stay on their toes.

 

Power level is unimportant however they are almost super heroic fantasy hero characters for reference. The adventure takes place in Monte Cook's arcana evolved campaign world.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

JAWS

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Personal nightmares are the most riveting. As a starter, maybe the PCs' town was taken over by some rival kingdom or other political faction, or overrun by monsters. Even once this is revealed as an illusion, you can set up an illusion where the town was nearly overrun, but they handled it without the PCs. "It turns out we don't need you here any more!"

 

Make it worse -- the ersatz enemies are some old foe of the PCs, and supposedly attacked this town because of them. It's therefore their fault, and the townspeople want them gone.

 

Anybody have DNPCs? Betrayal by a loved one is always a good thing (for nightmare scenarios, that is). Parents disown them, girlfriend runs off with the guy's chief rival, children turn to an evil (or at least opposing) religion, sister willingly sells herself into slavery as a harem girl, and so forth.

 

Another possibility is a plague brought to the town -- again, possibly by the PCs, possibly on this adventure or possibly on a previous one. Obviously they're to blame.

 

Once it becomes obvious that at least some parts of this is illusion, you can further confuse matters by having more than one version of a person appear at once. If you can pull it off in play, having a "normal" version seem aware of the others' existence but not vice versa would be especially creepy.

 

To really confuse matters, you can perhaps set up interludes where the PCs all seem to be prisoners of an evil sorcerer -- one they've never met, but who claims to be working to erase all memory of himself from their minds. Even when the adventure is over, the PCs (and players) will wonder if this guy is real... somewhere.

[jaws]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Nice... Nothing actually fits as is... but there is plenty of thread i can weave from it.. thank you! I'll see what else comes in and put together something totaly creepy . Then I'll let you all know how it went with the players tomorrow night

 

I love that various versions of the same guy... how bout of the PC's too...

 

I hadn't thought of really defiling the town and turning it against them, I was going more for the personal aproach, but I think that will make it "real" in a very terrifing way...

 

Thanks again.

[Gadodel]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Using EDM, the Spirit has pulled the characters into a demiplane. A series of encounters follows where they are having difficulties at each stage:

1. Missing items.

2. Bad Luck-roll their luck, if they have any and the opposite happens.

3. The party gets separated.

4. Past monsters or villains have returned but in undead form.

5. The feel 'tired': they are being drained of in one or more characteristics.

 

etc.

 

A nightmare at its core is about something frightening or something that the person has no control over. But in this demiplane, they simply can't get away from it. However, offer clues along the way; perhaps subtle reminders that maybe things are really not the way the are perceiving.

[McCoy]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Falling is a very common nightmare.

 

So is naked in public (especally for characters used to armor).

 

Betrayal, maybe have an illusion of one PC turn on the rest of the party. Especally effective if you set it up with the player in advance.

 

Abandoment, when each character faces the big nasty they will be unable to see or hear each other, each will think they are taking it on alone.

[Blue Jogger]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Personal Loss is another good component of nightmares.

 

I managed to scare my players for a brief time with "proof" that their wonderful powerful characters were nothing more than summoned creatures that could be dissipated into nothingness.

 

In more concrete terms, losing teeth, hair, and/or body parts (and more to the point the FEAR of losing them by being too rough) is a good one.

 

 

There was horrible snapping sound and pain in his jaw. He reached into his mouth and pull out a dislocated tooth. A quick check showed all his teeth were loose, as if the missing tooth was the keystone keeping from all the teeth from falling out. He noticed blood on his hand as well as the coppery taste in his mouth.

[jaws]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Nice Ideas Guys.. retiring for the night will be back in the morning for a last check to terrorize my group

 

Take care! Thanks.

 

Ran out of Rep Blue, Ill get you tomorrow

gnight!

[Sketchpad]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

I usually start these kind of adventures like a normal quest ... don't let on that they're dreaming, let them slowly figure that out. Incorporate ideas like those loved betraying them or being placed in dread, exploit their occupational fears (temple being destroyed, getting caught by the town guard, etc.) or even bring them face to face with a different nightmare creature that actually exists in dreams and, though the spirit doesn't want to harm them, it does. Maybe have the spirit show up as a reoccurring person that urges the heroes to give up the sphere or, better yet, encourages them to sell the sphere for more wealth/karma/weapons than they can imagine.

[Gadodel]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Falling is a very common nightmare.

 

So is naked in public (especally for characters used to armor).

 

Betrayal, maybe have an illusion of one PC turn on the rest of the party. Especally effective if you set it up with the player in advance.

 

Abandoment, when each character faces the big nasty they will be unable to see or hear each other, each will think they are taking it on alone.

 

Excellent list!

 

I'll add another: being lost. Imagine each of the characters trying to find their way back to one other or just out of maze of some sort. Maybe eat up a half hour of real time.

[McCoy]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Personal Loss is another good component of nightmares.

 

I managed to scare my players for a brief time with "proof" that their wonderful powerful characters were nothing more than summoned creatures that could be dissipated into nothingness.

 

In more concrete terms, losing teeth, hair, and/or body parts (and more to the point the FEAR of losing them by being too rough) is a good one.

 

 

There was horrible snapping sound and pain in his jaw. He reached into his mouth and pull out a dislocated tooth. A quick check showed all his teeth were loose, as if the missing tooth was the keystone keeping from all the teeth from falling out. He noticed blood on his hand as well as the coppery taste in his mouth.

D'ho! Knew I was missing one! Thank you!

[BobGreenwade]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

I probably should mention the reason I threw in the sorcerer idea above... you said you wanted to obscure when they were awake and when they were dreaming. Obscuring the source of the confusion is always good for this. The mystical dream freak could try to shift blame by pointing to this sorcerer in one sequence of "events." Or is the sorcerer trying to blame the dream freak? Or are they being tortured for information by psychic horrors from another dimension? Or did something they did on their last adventure carry with it a curse of madness?

[jaws]

Re: Stumped for Nightmare adventure Ideas

 

Guys

 

thank you the Ideas were great. The players were all freaked out. I ran them all through their worst fears, they were mutilated just enough to make them feel powerless, they were totally confused and still are.

 

One of them actually thinks he is awake because he caught on to it being a dream and was able to wake up in to another dream where thins are probably just as screwed up. Sort of like matrix when neo awakens and sees he is a copper top.

 

Though tempted I didn't actually have them running naked through town, however it felt that way since every time the would reach for something in need it would be missing some how.

 

RP got so intense that we were unable to finish the adventure and will have tot take it up next week. I hope I can pick up on the mood again though.

 

Thanks for all your awesome Ideas Herodome!