I once had a Ravenloft campaign where the goal was to escape the demiplane. I wanted to give the players a taste of freedom early, so I set up a portal, with a portal keeper. When the players came to the portal gate, they could see their homeland and their loved ones through it. The first player to approach the gate saw his wife and children in a meadow. The Gate Keeper told the player he could pass through, but the price was the the lives of his children. As he spoke lurking wolves appeared on the edge of the meadow. The player casually said "okay" and went through. That he went through surprised me, but I was completely taken aback (and impressed) by his next action. He scooped up the bodies of his children (who had been killed by the wolves), went to a temple and paid to have them resurrected.

Babylon 5 game, all the PCs are quite skilled military pilots, but only one has a small unarmed shuttle, which is landed on a starbase.

Alien fighters attack, strafing the base. Now at the point I expected the PCs to basically either ask if they could borrow a fighter from the base commander they knew, or man the defences or something along those line. But no they all pile into their own unarmed shuttle and take that into space instead. Disappointing, but hardly unreasonable.

They then have an argument and one PC *LOCKS THE OTHERS IN THEIR CABINS* before spending the entire fight flying around the base avoiding raiders for no reason, rather than just flying away...

This one was from me as a player but years ago, we were playing a Dungeon adventure 'A Rose for Talakara' -a one-off adventure with about 12th level characters. We'd fought our way through the adventure with the party being seriously depleted (the cleric and one of the other PCs, I forget what, having decided to kill each other). I was playing the magic-user with amongst other things a Ring of Spell Turning.

We got to the BBEG, -I believe an about 25th level wizard who had used wishes to up her ability scores enormously and who was currently working on become a demigod. She immediately casts a Mass Charm, suggesting we drop our weapons and go lock ourselves in her dungeon...gets 20% of the spell effect reflected on herself by my character's ring....rolls a 1 on her saving throw.
So, she says 'Gee that sounds like a great idea...", drops her Staff of Power, and goes off to lock herself up

Quote from: Settembrini;379781Berlin, actually! And we could cope with another player.

BTW, since then we haven´t played that campaign...because I needed to create/review time-travel rules for D&D. The mage player was so kind to DM a 4e module as a try out.

Now I am all set with the time travel rules (Chronomancer by this Mark-dude, it´s sheer awesome), and more importantly, the history of time travel in Greyhawk (It´s in the fucking Boxed Set, Gary amazes me to no end, Len Lakofka also helps out, via Lendore Isles).

Ah, I don't think I'm going to be able to make that game commute.

I'm in Florida.

In a fantasy RPG game the players were becoming embroiled with the fey, dryads, ents, etc. over an acorn from a oak that could grow golden apples from which ambrosia can be made, etc.  They got it from some dryads whom they rescued from centuries of slavery and on promises to find a good home for it.  (My take on a module many of you may have played) Long story short, the druidic order wanted to grow this tree in the forest to the south of the kingdom, the fey of the forest to the north had their own desires.

The PCs are also in the business of defeating evil creatures that are repopulating said northern forest and have talked some giants into not cutting down so many trees from the forest among many other good deads.  (My take on another module many of you may have played.)

Well the fey of the northern forest, most of them, have taken a liking to these PCs.  Previously helping in small ways, helping them find paths through the woods.  Some pixies giving them a warning of approaching danger, but also pilfering some coin.

After a major defeat of the orcs, werewolves, gargoyles and other nasties that have been destroying the forest the fairie king wants to talk to the party druid.  You know thank him for all the help and try to “persuade” him to plant that acorn in the northern forest.

Well PC meets fairie king.  Listens respectfully and basically says sure no problem, here’s the acorn.  This is certainly against clear druidic corporate policy on said acron, but heck why not.  That’s not the WTF moment.  

Well this is big to the fey, good magic for their forest and a real coup over their oh so important brothers and sisters in the southern forest.  So the fairie king decides to grant the PC a wish.  Now this is the first wish the players have got access to ever in over two years of playing.  I go through a whole monologue about how they wont screw you if you don’t over reach.  If you over reach then they may get very literal about things.  I proceed to give a bunch of examples of overreaching vs. OK types wishes.  You know, all those tales the PCs would grow up hearing of the capricious fey.

Well this is big time for PCs you’d think.  Maybe a magic item?  Ring of invisibility, potion to bring you back to life.  Maybe a good permanent attribute increase?  Maybe a “level/skill” increase?  That kind of stuff.   The fairie king is getting ready for pure human greed here.

Now before I go much further, we’re a loose bunch always joking. We make jokes of RPG stereotypes, we make jokes out of mispronouncing PC names, call cautious characters pansies reversing gender pronouns, etc.  We’ll the last session prior to this one we had slipped up a couple of times and called the druid a her (when the PC was a he) and it became a bit of a running joke for that session.  I’m sure a lumber jack reference got thrown in there somewhere.

Needless to say, the druid PC did not wish for magic, or gold, or power, or knowledge.  No the druid wanted to be a girl.  You see he had lately become gender confused.  No really, that's what he had the PC wished for.  Now the player, who is male, had always played male PCs as far back as day one (or 1976 or so).  He did it for the shear WTF of it.

I can honestly say I was prepared as a GM for pretty much anything but this.  Well likewise the faries.  This was just too mischievous, too good of a joke, and just blew their jaded minds that they certainly complied.  This will live in fairy tales for generations. Heck they reversed almost everything.  The druid had fire dragon armor, they made it ice dragon.  His lynx animal companion Hermes, changed gender and name to Mercury. Etc.  

They even let him (her) keep the acorn.  The northern forest was still beset by evil.  The fey were not sure they could protect it.  Best to say the old male druid had left the party to travel into the forest to find a safe place for it.  You know throw the bad guys off the scent.  The new female druid was just one that had been caught/held in the land of fairy for many, many decades.  This stuff happens.  Who was released at the male druids request as a reward.

There was some explaining to do back at druidic corporate headquarters, but oddly enough the head druids did find a mention of just such a lost female druid in their records and even produce an elf that vouched safe the tale.

OK I forgot there was another one with the PCs prior to this.
We are running through G1, modified to fit my campaign.  The only relevant modification, if you can call it that, is alignment doesn’t exist.  Giants are no more evil than humans, but they can still do pretty bad things, like humans, and often do.  One big question in this modified G1 is: Are the giants in the fort all in on attacking the kingdom or is it a few bad apples.

So the PCs after a week of cautious travel approach the fort.  They have two familiars and a good scout/thief.  They send them in to take a look around.  A raven catches a sleeping guard in a tower, the fox finds a rat hole near the kitchen.  The PCs sneak up.  They climb up the tower and slit the sleeping giants throat.  

The mage gets up on the roof, the thief prepares to drink an invisibility potion and sneak in the big hall where the giant’s are feasting.  Everyone is there including the giants guest of honor (who I made an emissary).  The raven familiar is looking down through the feast hall roof vents.  The fox familiar is in the kitchen.  The rest of PCs are huddled up in the tower.

Now I love role play details.  I know my players love to scout.  So I made up a gossip table.  Bits of conversation the PCs might overhear if they listen to small talk.  He said, she said stuff.  Now the fox in the kitchen gets the ear full. She loves him but he won’t give here the time of day, the chief and his wife are fighting, those dirty orcs, if x only knew y was cheating on him, a certain giant better get with the program (new regime) or its off with his head, like the old chief and shaman. etc.  

Now the thief gets the great idea (which is pretty good) of using up the several lust, love and greed potions he has acquired over time.  He’s going to go invisible, sneak in to the feast hall, pour the potions in various drinks and let chaos reign.

I tend to hand out a fair amount of magic that is non-combat, that requires a certain flair to use.  Such as the lust and greed potions, scrolls like magic mouth and simple illusion (one sense only) scrolls.

Well the theif gets in no problem.  Spikes some greed potions into the gambling giants, and goes up to the head table with chief et al to really get it going.  There’s the chiefs wife, the chief, guest of honor, and a few other.  Lust in the chief, his wife and guest of honors drink = recipe for a fight.  Drinks are deftly spiked.

But this is not the WTF moment oh no.  This I can handle.  Unbeknownst to the PCs and giants at large one of my modifications placed a spy of the guest of honor at the head table.  This spy could not see invisible objects but could see into the “ether.”  Which is where I rule bags of holding hold there stuff.  Well poor thief had a small bag of holding so the spy sees a bunch of potions (and crap) go waking by.  Every once in a while one disappears and then catches the splash of something going into the drinks.

Now the guest of honor gets up to make a speech and toast.  You see there has been a regime change amongst the normally peaceable hill giants that was instigated by the guest of honor.  The waxed heads of the former chief and shaman are on the wall behind him to remind the people.

But before the guest of honor can finish his speech and toast the spy (who looks like a giant) gets up and yells wait.  He proceeds to make a massive scene (to get his masters attention and stop him from drinking), when this doesn’t work strikes the cup out of the guest of honors (let’s call him GOH) and storms off.  

GOH knows something is up and follows his spy.  The spy tells GOH what he saw.  Not being fools they figure its an invisible PC type, probably the dwarves they have been raiding.  No need to alarm the giants.  Since they might have some explaining to do.  They'll take care of this themselves.  They get the plethora of orc slaves (see G1) and arm and organize them to look for the invisible guy they think is in the entry store room (the PCs are right upstairs).

Meanwhile the chief and his wife drank their drinks and are rediscovering their marriage in private.  Fights are breaking out amongst the gamblers and everyone is talking about the scene between spy and GOH.

Now the PCs are a bit at a lost.  The GOH is smart, he palces guards at exits and is getting flour from the kitchen.  Then the PCs get their flash of brilliance.  Some of the gossip has been about the old regime. That a certain giant better get with the program or its off with his head, like the old chief and shaman.  They put 2 and 2 together and correctly identify the waxed heads in the hall.

The PCs proceed to use the illusion scroll and magic mouth like scroll to bring the shaman head to “life”  Rule point, this magic mouth like scroll allowed you to speak in real time if close enough and in line of sight.  So the mage, after making a few rolls not to fall off the roof, is looking through the roof vents pretending to be the spirit of the shaman.

The shaman proceeds to tell the giants the GOH has betrayed them.  He has armed the troublesome orcs (see G1) and he is going to kill them all.  After a little banter, the shaman head tells the skeptical giants to look.  Sure enough they open the door to the entry area (off the main hall) and they see a couple dozen armed and armored orcs! Of course the orcs are searching for the PCs but the giants don't know that.

Sure enough it’s true!  The slaves have been armed we are betrayed!  All the proof a drunken, simple giant needs.  Meanwhile the smart one (the chief) is with his wife in their chambers.

Needless to say a battle with the GOH and his spy ensues and the orcs.  The shaman head says he will provide help…after a respectable delay cue the PCs.

My first (and thus far, only ) session of Carcosa was full of these moments.

I was running Fungoid Gardens of the Bone Sorcerer by Geoffrey McKinney, using a maship of AD&D and RC OD&D with some homebrewed classes.

After exploring some ruins and helping the Dinosaur Riders decimate the People of the Consumed God, the PCs were asked by the red man who leads the dino riders to go and slay the bone sorcerer.  They agree.

They trek out to the dungeon, go inside, figure out marching order, and run into a pack of white lotus zombies.  The fight goes badly, with only a single character, a bone (clear skinned) thief, surviving.  The thief's player informs me that he is gathering up his fallen companion's possessions, which included an amber idol of a wolf demon and a ray gun, and "running off into the night screaming 'I'm rich! I'm rich!' and cackling maniacally."  

Meanwhile, the rest of the PCs have already rolled up new characters.  I place them outside the entrance to the dungeon and tell them that they are adventurers from the north who have come to raid the bone sorcerer's lair for treasure and sorcerous lore.  Then a puckish urge came upon me, and I told them that they saw a bone man with a horrid idol and a ray gun comes running out of the cave, gesticulating wildly and yelling incoherently- "Oh my god!" says I, "It's THE BONE SORCERER!"

Well, you can imagine what happened.  The formerly fortunate thief was swiftly butchered and looted and another new PC was rolled up.

Later, one PC waded out into a lake of green slime because he thought it might mutate him.  It dissolved him, but he seemed cautiously optimistic.

At one point, the party encountered a robot.  One player told it that another PC was to be made a sacrifice.  The robot began chasing said "sacrifice," who himself began chasing the first PC.  On it went, until I got tired of the instigater (who was also the fellow who had played the bone thief earlier) not being able to come up with anything more creative than "I keep running," so I told him I was tired of this scooby doo crap and told him the robot tore him apart after his torch went out.

The "sacrifice" I let roll out his fight with the robot, but he didn't stand a chance.  He passed his save against death when he hit zero, so I let him live...

Eventually, the last surviving PC, a black fighter, found the bone sorcerer and, after a very unfavorable reaction roll, engaged him in combat.  After 5 rounds of whiffing on both sides, I had the bone sorcerer offer the fighter the chance to work for him, as he had a task which would require such talent.  The fighter accepted.  Then the robot showed up with the "sacrifice" alive but unconscious in his arms.  The sorcerer brought him around and made him his new apprentice, since the PCs had killed his earlier apprentices.

And thus my PCs went from being guests of the People of the Consumed God to helping the Dinosaur Riders massacre them, to becoming minions of the bone sorcerer, who will use them against the Dinosaur Riders, and all in a single session.  Everyone went through two characters, and 8 PCs died in all.  It was a great beginning.