Tricks & Traps: how to think like a Villain

Yeep!  Sorry!  

This post has been sent back to Draft, hopefully in the nick of time before any of my players notice it out here!  We have not quiiiiite finished the campaign yet, and due to some last minute changes there is now information in this post that they definitely should not see yet.

Very many apologies, but this post will be Re-Posted again, intact (with a few minor edits that I just made) as soon as the Campaign is completed!   Promise!

I will post a note indicating when this post has been re-posted.   :p  

Plz forgive me....

Death anyone?

I like this GMs treatment of death in his game. NO bones about it, and no mincing during the chopping.  Just ... you made a big mistake - you're dead.

Nice.

Tomb of Horrors Session

I have to admire a GM who is perfectly willing to let the PCs get mowed down like so many blades of grass.  Of course there's a lot of angsty Players out there who will feel horribly crushed if their Characters die.  I know.  But there's another side to the argument which is that ever-present-possibility-of-dying-stupidly makes for smarter better players over time.   Sure, you lose a few while you get the hang of how to Be Careful.  But that's part of the fun of the game.   Somehow, in my experience, those games where we all knew we stood a good chance of getting chopped into tiny bits if we didn't pay attention to what we were doing, and plan carefully, were the more exciting (and oddly educational) experiences.

Most GMs I've played with were too wimpy to let PCs die. So whenever we made a mistake the GM would one way or another find a way to save us from our stupidity.   A hint here, a fudged die roll there, a modified result over there, etc.   After a while we got the idea we were not going to get killed because the Great GM in the Sky was looking out for us.   So we just kept playing stupid.   And in some cases we even played stupider, just because we knew we could. After a while we got bored and those worlds shriveled up and died the death of wimpy worlds.

On the other hand were those Worlds where the GM did not pull punches or save us from ourselves.  And those, as it turns out, were the most exciting, and memorable experiences of all.

So I admire the GM who has the balls to let the Player Characters get themselves killed. Its fun.

A Few Deadly Traps

I was watching some old and wonderful kung fu movies from the Shaw Brothers, and stumbled on The Five Venoms series. And now, introducing, a few deadly traps from The Kid with the Golden Arm.

The Poison Needles - Having come to a logical resting place in the wilderness midway or so between the two towns our hero's men have a seat. Only to die. The wooden logs are invested with scores of poison needles that cause instant death. No crying out, just sit and die. Mean. Stepping forward on the path to get away from that spot was a bad idea however. Two more die. The ground itself is also peppered with poison needles. Very mean.

The Poison Water Bucket - Having made it to the next town our heroes find it quite empty of citizens. They've been chased away by the rival gang. And the entire town has been booby-trapped. After a long journey over rough terrain it's time to quench your thirst at the town inn. But only if you want to die. The water in the buckets has been poisoned. Damn. Two more henchmen lost.

The Poison Torch Holders - In the town's main inn our heroes think that all is well since they are going to eat only their own food, and drink only their own water... and even use only their own torches. Little do they realize but the torch holders themselves are the trap. The metal of the holders has a bi-thermal element which heats up and expands - releasing the holder's hollow tube and the deadly red-gas sprays into the room. A nasty and repulsive death for those who can not leap out through the windows fast enough.

The Poison Chests - It's not what you think. The chests do not have poison needle locks. That would be too obvious. The entire chests themselves are poisoned and anyone who touches them dies a horrible agonizing death. Mwahahahaha.

Now I'm not saying that Gamesmasters should flood their worlds with deadly poison traps. But having a few available for special occasions such as when the government gold supply is being brought to the famine wracked town, can be a very handy way of weeding out the henchmen from the Heroes. Arch-villains can be ruthless, you know.