Im running a dark fantasy campaing and i need scary/creepy encounters for a haunted jungle, i have a couple ideas but not enough, the party is level 4 and im more interested in non combat encounters although i would like combat encounters that have something special about it different from you fight this thing and thats it.
D&D 5E Scary/Creepy encounters
- Thread starter Jv_Stuchi
- Start date
Thanks for the heads up, English is not my native language.You want suggestions for scary thin pancakes?
A lot of scary/horror is in presentation. The beast following that you know is there but you can never see, the thing that makes an ally just disappear, being in a situation that seems far beyond your capability.
It's also the weird, the unknown, threats other than death. In a recent encounter I had fairly standard monsters (well, standard for my campaign) but implemented a heavy fog that limited visibility, had tentacles grabbing people and pulling them off into the mist. Add in "infections" after people were immobilized.
In a jungle campaign that can be a lot of things. There's plenty of dangerous vegetation, quick sand, things that travel via the trees swinging from branches always out of reach.
I'd have to know a few more details (such as PC level) to be more specific.
It's also the weird, the unknown, threats other than death. In a recent encounter I had fairly standard monsters (well, standard for my campaign) but implemented a heavy fog that limited visibility, had tentacles grabbing people and pulling them off into the mist. Add in "infections" after people were immobilized.
In a jungle campaign that can be a lot of things. There's plenty of dangerous vegetation, quick sand, things that travel via the trees swinging from branches always out of reach.
I'd have to know a few more details (such as PC level) to be more specific.
Really cool advice, the PC are all level 4 there are 3, they are searching for a ancient ruin lost in the jungle thats where the haunting of the jungle is coming from.
I've found that "less is more" when running horror. Don't describe too much - or if you do, rely on senses other than overt physical descriptions (such as sounds, smells, textures). If you can keep from it, don't use minis or battle grids (or if you do, really enforce fog of war/line of sight). Bring the jungle to life with mundane hazards (disease, insects, heat, etc.) Jungle foliage can easily break line of sight, causing the party to get lost from each other. Losing equipment/supplies in a flash flood or crossing a river. Bring the jungle to life with animals just out of sight - you can hear them prowling in the distance. Take away their sleep and use exhaustion mechanics.
Laurefindel
Legend
Five doppelgängers take the shape of your ex-girlfriend and resume old arguments!
In more seriousness, visions of the past and semi-hallucinatory reenactments of the player's defeats, or twisting victories into defeats can quite creepy.
As oofta said, the suggestion of a threat can be scarier than the threat itself. A monster that appears much stronger than it really is scarry (or that turns out to be be stronger than it should have been). Presentation is key.
In more seriousness, visions of the past and semi-hallucinatory reenactments of the player's defeats, or twisting victories into defeats can quite creepy.
As oofta said, the suggestion of a threat can be scarier than the threat itself. A monster that appears much stronger than it really is scarry (or that turns out to be be stronger than it should have been). Presentation is key.
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
I was playing an adventure last night and our characters were tromping through the mud and, randomly, small leech-like creatures would attach to us and bite. It was annoying and gross and made the cave feel more claustrophobic.
-A feeling of isolation
-Shadows reaching out and touching the characters. No damage. Just feeling like something brushed your arm.
-Seeing things move but thinking it might be your imagination.
-The feeling of being watched
-Getting chills that run up your back
-Strange sounds in the distance
-Dead bodies with strange wounds you cannot identify or with looks of horror on their faces as if they died seeing something truly horrible.
-Having an NPC start the adventure with a mysterious and creepy story to set the scene.
For actual enemies: shadows make for good undead enemies. They are creepy, suck strength, can escape easily and attack from small spaces and holes. They are tricky to see and can wage a war of attrition on the characters by running in and sapping strength and then running away. When they attack, I sometimes describe it as the character's shadow reaching out to suck out their life force.
-A feeling of isolation
-Shadows reaching out and touching the characters. No damage. Just feeling like something brushed your arm.
-Seeing things move but thinking it might be your imagination.
-The feeling of being watched
-Getting chills that run up your back
-Strange sounds in the distance
-Dead bodies with strange wounds you cannot identify or with looks of horror on their faces as if they died seeing something truly horrible.
-Having an NPC start the adventure with a mysterious and creepy story to set the scene.
For actual enemies: shadows make for good undead enemies. They are creepy, suck strength, can escape easily and attack from small spaces and holes. They are tricky to see and can wage a war of attrition on the characters by running in and sapping strength and then running away. When they attack, I sometimes describe it as the character's shadow reaching out to suck out their life force.
Even things as simple as twig blights can fit the horror theme. They're indistinguishable from regular plants if not moving after all. Although I might make a swarm or them just for simplicity.
Speaking of swarms, have someone come running out of the jungle screaming, covered in ants. As they approach they stumble and are being devoured. Part of the swarm breaks off and is coming your way.
Not sure what books you have access to (I use DndBeyond and just buy the monsters) but Tomb of Annihilation has some fun plant monsters like vine assassin and mantrap.
I also sometimes tweak existing monsters. As an example howler monkeys that have thorns growing out of them become spined devils. Just replace the fly speed with a climb/swing from vines speed. You hear them screeching long before you see them, then they do hit and run tactics. Part of the horror comes from the description - they're howling in agony with blood dripping from the thorns, part of it comes from hearing them in the jungle somewhere sight unseen.
Of course there's also undead of all stripes. One of my favorites that might fit this is a muddy field/swamp that slows the PCs and then have zombies reach up from the muck trying to pull them down into the mud with them. Again, its' more about presentation and usage than the actual monster.
Speaking of swarms, have someone come running out of the jungle screaming, covered in ants. As they approach they stumble and are being devoured. Part of the swarm breaks off and is coming your way.
Not sure what books you have access to (I use DndBeyond and just buy the monsters) but Tomb of Annihilation has some fun plant monsters like vine assassin and mantrap.
I also sometimes tweak existing monsters. As an example howler monkeys that have thorns growing out of them become spined devils. Just replace the fly speed with a climb/swing from vines speed. You hear them screeching long before you see them, then they do hit and run tactics. Part of the horror comes from the description - they're howling in agony with blood dripping from the thorns, part of it comes from hearing them in the jungle somewhere sight unseen.
Of course there's also undead of all stripes. One of my favorites that might fit this is a muddy field/swamp that slows the PCs and then have zombies reach up from the muck trying to pull them down into the mud with them. Again, its' more about presentation and usage than the actual monster.
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