My “How to lose players” post
James Raggi over at LotFP has issued a request: Come up with a devious trick to unleash on your players. One so dirty and evil that it will undoubtedly make them want to quit your game. Here is my idea:
Take a group of players who have invested some time in their characters. Let’s say they started on level 1 and managed to survive for 5 or 6 levels. Start presenting them with really weird events that don’t make lots of sense. For instance, have people they know are dead suddenly show up and have conversations with them. Have the gravity in a room reverse for a few moments for absolutely no reason. Have a trap very clearly wound a character, but don’t apply any damage or effects. (“A spear launches from the wall and sticks into your chest. Oddly enough, you don’t feel any pain and don’t appear to be bleeding.”) Right before you pull off the finale of this trick, make sure you are going full-on Jacob’s Ladder on your players. For the finale, have them encounter some evil spell caster. This evil guy can cast a sleep-like spell at-will each turn. One by one, make the party fall asleep. Once they are all asleep, inform them that they wake up in hospital beds near each other. A nurse is nearby and explains that they are suffering from a plague. Inform your players that they are actually level 1 and the last 5 or 6 levels have all been a fever-induced dream.
Make sure to have the theme to “St. Elsewhere” queued up while your players angrily storm out of the room.
