Frozen Whispers; or, frightening my players

[Waldo]

Archived from groups: rec.games.frp.dnd (More info?)

I'm guest DMing a session with some newbie players. Not complete
noobs; they've played up to 3rd level with these characters. But
newish.

The session involves a predrafted scenario: James Jacob's "Frozen
Whispers". It's available as a download at wizards.com --

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040529a

This is a short horror scenario. Maybe a bit too short, really. The
PCs trek into woods in winter. They find a dead guy who seems to have
killed himself rather grotesquely. One of them is singled out and
stalked by a wendigo, which makes its presence known but doesn't
attack.

Eventually they reach a hunter's cabin which has one insane guy (he's a
pre-wendigo) and two dead bodies which the insane guy has been snacking
on. There, after dealing with the insane guy -- he simply attacks
them, foaming and screaming -- they find the McGuffin they've come for.

They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The wendigo
continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.

The end.

This isn't a bad scenario, but it's kinda short, and seems to me a
little lacking. I want to scare these players.

Thoughts:

1) Make the insane guy creepier and more dangerous. Not sure how to go
about this. I want him to get in some suggestive ranting before he
goes down.

2) As soon as they reach the lodge, dump a blizzard on them. It's
hokey, but hey. Cut them off from the world; lots of screaming wind
effects.

3) At the height of the blizzard, have a couple of zombies attack.
Even noobs aren't much impressed by zombies, so I'm going to say that
these guys are frozen solid, giving them DR 2, and further that the
blizzard empowers them, giving them 18 Str and +2 turn resistance. For
bonus creep-out points, I think I'll have one try to grapple/pin, and
the other attempt to start eating the helpless victim.

4) The wendigo... I'm not sure what to do about the wendigo. It seems
like a creature that's scary up to the first actual combat, after which
it's just a PITA. (They regenerate normal damage, see, except from
fire.) Suggestions on how to make this scarier are welcome.

More generally: I want to scare, alarm, and freak out a group of decent
but newbie players. I'm not going for the gross-out here; I want to
_frighten_ them.

Thoughts? Scared your players recently, or been scared yourselves?


Waldo

 

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Waldo wrote:


> http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040529a
>
> This is a short horror scenario. Maybe a bit too short, really. The
> PCs trek into woods in winter. They find a dead guy who seems to
have
> killed himself rather grotesquely. One of them is singled out and
> stalked by a wendigo, which makes its presence known but doesn't
> attack.
>
> Eventually they reach a hunter's cabin which has one insane guy (he's
a
> pre-wendigo) and two dead bodies which the insane guy has been
snacking
> on. There, after dealing with the insane guy -- he simply attacks
> them, foaming and screaming -- they find the McGuffin they've come
for.
>
> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The wendigo
> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.
>
> The end.
>
> This isn't a bad scenario, but it's kinda short, and seems to me a
> little lacking. I want to scare these players.
>
> Thoughts:
>
> 1) Make the insane guy creepier and more dangerous. Not sure how to
go
> about this. I want him to get in some suggestive ranting before he
> goes down.

I assume the insane guy is munching on his dead family, correct? You
could generate some backstory as to why these folks were living way out
in the sticks (unless the module already does this). Sure, there are
all manner of mundane reasons, but there might also be some horrible
crime, broken taboo, heresy, or scandal in this guy's or family's past
that drove them way out here. Once the PCs stumble upon the scene and
kill this guy, they might inherit his burden.

So, the PCs kill off the insane guy, but then they hear scratching
under the floorboards, where the guy buried his deformed bastard son
fifteen years ago...THIS VERY NIGHT.

Or, perhaps the guy is a hunter who killed an animal considered sacred,
and has angered the spirits or gods in doing so. Or, perhaps he killed
a person by accident, maybe even a child, and is now paying some
supernatural debt that the PCs will have to take on unless they can fix
things so that the victim can rest in peace.

>
> 2) As soon as they reach the lodge, dump a blizzard on them. It's
> hokey, but hey. Cut them off from the world; lots of screaming wind
> effects.

Nothing wrong with hokey. This would give you a way to force the PCs to
inspect the cabin further; they're not going anywhere for a while.
Here's where you can put some pseudo-informative clues here and there
to deepen the mystery.

>
> 3) At the height of the blizzard, have a couple of zombies attack.

I wouldn't recommend this route unless you have a clear reason (even if
it isn't clear to the PCs immediately) why these zombies are wandering
around the area. Since you already have a wendigo, you might not want
to overdo the undead, lest you go from horror to camp. Once you cross
that line, it's hard to go back.

That said, it's easy to imagine a small, overgrown, country cemetery in
the area, from which the restless dead might stir given adequate
motivation. Maybe it's part of the curse? Instead of having the
zombies break down the door and actually attack, you could go the
creepy route and have the PCs spot faces staring at them from the
windows, rapping at the shutters, vaguely human voices moaning with the
winds, etc. If the PCs actually go outside to investigate, they
encounter no one and nothing except claw marks around the windowsills.

>
> 4) The wendigo... I'm not sure what to do about the wendigo. It
seems
> like a creature that's scary up to the first actual combat, after
which
> it's just a PITA. (They regenerate normal damage, see, except from
> fire.) Suggestions on how to make this scarier are welcome.

The longer you can keep the players from reducing the wendigo in their
minds to a collection of stats, the further you can take the eerie
feeling you're after. Keep the wendigo present, but on the periphery,
as long as you can. For straight-up fights, you could use standard
critters that are still atmospheric; wolves are always good for this
purpose.

>
> More generally: I want to scare, alarm, and freak out a group of
decent
> but newbie players. I'm not going for the gross-out here; I want to
> _frighten_ them.

Draw them in emotionally. Remove as much of the dry mechanics of the
game as you dare, and that the players will allow for this one
adventure. You might consider making all the die rolls yourself just
for this session, thereby adding to the feeling of unknown. A failed
Knowledge: Local History check could reveal a spine-tingling (yet
incorrect) conclusion that may have a lot more impact if the player
didn't know he blew it.

If you players are willing to oblige you, you might consider taking up
the players' character sheets for this adventure, leaving them only
with their imaginations and no equipment lists or stats to distract
them. This will also let you get away with using dim light, candles,
etc. You can use a reading light or small lamp behind the DM screen.

You could also look for CDs with "howling wind" or storm sounds at a
discount around the Web or in secondhand book/music stores. Not a
necessary touch, but a fun one if you can pull it off.
'
Otherwise, horror tends to be most effective if you leave the juicy
bits to the player's imaginations. The moment you "turn on the lights"
and show them exactly what they're dealing with in terms they can
handle mechanically, you risk losing the mystery and suspense that
builds horror.

--
Jay Knioum
The Mad Afro

 

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Waldo wrote:
> I'm guest DMing a session with some newbie players. Not complete
> noobs; they've played up to 3rd level with these characters. But
> newish.
>
> The session involves a predrafted scenario: James Jacob's "Frozen
> Whispers". It's available as a download at wizards.com --
>
> http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040529a

Maybe I'll get it too...

> This is a short horror scenario. Maybe a bit too short, really. The
> PCs trek into woods in winter. They find a dead guy who seems to
have
> killed himself rather grotesquely. One of them is singled out and
> stalked by a wendigo, which makes its presence known but doesn't
> attack.
>
> Eventually they reach a hunter's cabin which has one insane guy (he's
a
> pre-wendigo) and two dead bodies which the insane guy has been
snacking
> on. There, after dealing with the insane guy -- he simply attacks
> them, foaming and screaming -- they find the McGuffin they've come
for.


The insane guy should seem to be normal at first. Greeting the PCs
in a normal fashion, inviting the group inside, serving them grog etc.
The 2 dead bodies shouldn't be in plain sight, he might have stored
them in the shanty next to the cabin.
He could invite them to eat, talking a bit strange about the two
he had (invited) for dinner yesterday etc.
The PCs will ask him about the dead body they found, or his two former
guests - that's the moment were he gets exited/angry, insists that
any talkings stop until after the meal (and what a very special meal
this will be, he's pointing out).

It's not as easy as the old "open door, kill monster, take stuff" for
both players and DM, but IMO worth it.
Build up tension until either (and preferably) the NPC freaks out
or the PCs do. The madman could insist that they eat his stuff,
refuse answering their questions or find other causes for getting
- ahem - mad at the PCs.

He would first try to throw the PCs out into the blizzard - he should
command them to leave his house foaming and spitting, then take a
kitchen knife or his axe (for chopping trees) and threaten them,
finally attacking if they stay. If they leave or kill him, they'll
search the area and eventually find the dead bodies in the shanty.

This is the exact moment the zombies should attack (together with the
madman
if he's still alive or undead already

>
> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The wendigo
> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.

The stalking should build up tension too, the wendigo could only be
heard at first, then his tracks found, then his ghoulish reek could
be smelled in a cold breeze, before he is seen for the first
time as a shadowy outline in the distance.

> The end.
>
> This isn't a bad scenario, but it's kinda short, and seems to me a
> little lacking. I want to scare these players.
>
> Thoughts:
>
> 1) Make the insane guy creepier and more dangerous. Not sure how to
go
> about this. I want him to get in some suggestive ranting before he
> goes down.

See above...
Hope you like my suggestions.

> 2) As soon as they reach the lodge, dump a blizzard on them. It's
> hokey, but hey. Cut them off from the world; lots of screaming wind
> effects.

Nice. Cliche, but nice.

> 3) At the height of the blizzard, have a couple of zombies attack.
> Even noobs aren't much impressed by zombies, so I'm going to say that
> these guys are frozen solid, giving them DR 2, and further that the
> blizzard empowers them, giving them 18 Str and +2 turn resistance.
For
> bonus creep-out points, I think I'll have one try to grapple/pin, and
> the other attempt to start eating the helpless victim.

Don't say "Zombies", just describe them and let the players figure it
out.
Describe that the weapons don't cut/pierce well into their frozen
flesh,
to hint at their unusual features.

> 4) The wendigo... I'm not sure what to do about the wendigo. It
seems
> like a creature that's scary up to the first actual combat, after
which
> it's just a PITA. (They regenerate normal damage, see, except from
> fire.) Suggestions on how to make this scarier are welcome.

See above for stalking.
Another nice cliche is the red herring.
After some sightings or attacks by the wendigo, they are again stalked,

they hear something or someone following them,
but it's only a mountain lion or a bear or lone lumberjack or whatever.
When the PCs take the lumberjack with them, he is killed by the wendigo
the next or second night...
....maybe to return later as an undead under the wendigo's control.

> More generally: I want to scare, alarm, and freak out a group of
decent
> but newbie players. I'm not going for the gross-out here; I want to
> _frighten_ them.

The wendigo could always try to kill one PC, ignoring the others.
He knows or assumes they won't regenerate, after all.
He could spare one PC and sneak into camp at night repeatetly to put
some
gifts into this PCs backpack (meat of ...?).
But I don't know if he could do this,
how good he is at Move Silently and Hide.

LL

 

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In article <1115488649.606729.138170@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>,
madafro@sbcglobal.net <madafro@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>Waldo wrote:
>> http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20040529a
>> Thoughts:
>>
>> 1) Make the insane guy creepier and more dangerous. Not sure how to
>go
>> about this. I want him to get in some suggestive ranting before he
>> goes down.
>
>I assume the insane guy is munching on his dead family, correct? You
>could generate some backstory as to why these folks were living way out
>in the sticks (unless the module already does this).

This would be a standard part of the Algonquin Wendigo myth -- cannibals
become Wendigos. See the wikipedia entry. So for some reason they got stuck
out here in the woods, and eventually two of them ate the other two and became
(or are becoming) wendigos.

>> 3) At the height of the blizzard, have a couple of zombies attack.
>
>I wouldn't recommend this route unless you have a clear reason (even if
>it isn't clear to the PCs immediately) why these zombies are wandering
>around the area. Since you already have a wendigo, you might not want
>to overdo the undead, lest you go from horror to camp. Once you cross
>that line, it's hard to go back.

According to Wikipedia, King's Pet Sematary introduced the idea that anything
buried near a Wendigo grave is raised as a carnivorous zombie.

>> 4) The wendigo... I'm not sure what to do about the wendigo. It
>seems
>> like a creature that's scary up to the first actual combat, after
>which
>> it's just a PITA. (They regenerate normal damage, see, except from
>> fire.) Suggestions on how to make this scarier are welcome.

The first horror story about a Wendigo introduced the idea that seeing one
eventually turned you into one. A scary variant on lycanthropy, I guess.

The traditional Algonquin territory starts a bit north of here. ISTR stories
as a kid about some supernatural creature that would follow you but you could
never see -- it always managed to hide before you could turn around. I
*thought* that was a legend about the Wendigo, but it isn't mentioned in
Wikipedia.
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)

 

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David Alex Lamb wrote:
> This would be a standard part of the Algonquin Wendigo myth --
> cannibals become Wendigos.

FWIW, the wendigo is the creepiest of all horror critters, in my
opinion. I don't know what it is about the wendigo, but just thinking
about it bugs me.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

 

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In article <slrnd8235c.sij.bradd+news@szonye.com>,
Bradd W. Szonye <bradd+news@szonye.com> wrote:
>David Alex Lamb wrote:
>> This would be a standard part of the Algonquin Wendigo myth --
>> cannibals become Wendigos.
>
>FWIW, the wendigo is the creepiest of all horror critters, in my
>opinion. I don't know what it is about the wendigo, but just thinking
>about it bugs me.

Maybe not *the* creepiest for me, but definitely Up There. I was disappointed
in the Wikipedia entry only in that it made the creature seem too ordinary.
--
"Yo' ideas need to be thinked befo' they are say'd" - Ian Lamb, age 3.5
http://www.cs.queensu.ca/~dalamb/ qucis->cs to reply (it's a long story...)

 

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Phil Turner schrieb:
> In <1115766083.184846.146040@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>
Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de writes:
>
> >Waldo wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> >> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The
wendigo
> >> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
> >> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.
>
> >The stalking should build up tension too, the wendigo could only be
> >heard at first, then his tracks found,
>
> Tracks? from a creature whose only mode of movement is flight?

Tracks, traces of it's presence, ash from it's favourite type of cigar,
stuff like that.

> Unless... it continually drips blood (or something more caustic)
> from the stumps where its feet used to be...

Sorry, my mistake - I don't know the current design of the
wendigo for DnD. It hasn't got any feet left? How weird's that?

LL

 

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In <1115766083.184846.146040@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com> Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de writes:

>Waldo wrote:

<snip>

>> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The wendigo
>> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
>> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.

>The stalking should build up tension too, the wendigo could only be
>heard at first, then his tracks found,

Tracks? from a creature whose only mode of movement is flight?
Unless... it continually drips blood (or something more caustic)
from the stumps where its feet used to be...

>then his ghoulish reek could
>be smelled in a cold breeze, before he is seen for the first
>time as a shadowy outline in the distance.

<snip>
--
Remove any bits of tatt after the at in my address to reply

 

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On 11 May 2005 14:50:20 -0700, Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de wrote:

>
>Phil Turner schrieb:
>> In <1115766083.184846.146040@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>
>Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de writes:
>>
>> >Waldo wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> >> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The
>wendigo
>> >> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard to
>> >> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.
>>
>> >The stalking should build up tension too, the wendigo could only be
>> >heard at first, then his tracks found,
>>
>> Tracks? from a creature whose only mode of movement is flight?
>
>Tracks, traces of it's presence, ash from it's favourite type of cigar,
>stuff like that.
>
>> Unless... it continually drips blood (or something more caustic)
>> from the stumps where its feet used to be...
>
>Sorry, my mistake - I don't know the current design of the
>wendigo for DnD. It hasn't got any feet left? How weird's that?

It's accurate. The wendigo of legend had no feet (believed to be
because cannibalism goes hand in hand with frostbite in the far north)

 

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David Alex Lamb wrote:
>
<snip Wendigo>
>
> The traditional Algonquin territory starts a bit north of here.
> ISTR stories as a kid about some supernatural creature that
> would follow you but you could never see -- it always managed
> to hide before you could turn around. I *thought* that was a
> legend about the Wendigo, but it isn't mentioned in Wikipedia.

That's another creature called (logically enough) the Hide-Behind.

http://www.thehappytutor.com/archives/2004/12/the_wealth_bond_1.html

"...the loggers of the Great North had an ethnic carryover from the Old
Country called the Hide-behind. The simple premise that it was faster
and more secretive than anybody else, up to mischief but unseeable, it
was always behind a tree or a rock when you looked."

And a Native American connection:
http://www.averyhillarts.com/Tenlittle.html


Arivne

 

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David Johnston wrote:
> On 11 May 2005 14:50:20 -0700, Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de wrote:
>
> >
> >Phil Turner schrieb:
> >> In <1115766083.184846.146040@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>
> >Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de writes:
> >>
> >> >Waldo wrote:
> >>
> >> <snip>
> >>
> >> >> They leave the cabin and head back towards civilization. The
> >wendigo
> >> >> continues to stalk them and eventually attacks. It's damn hard
to
> >> >> kill, so they may have to fight it more than once.
> >>
> >> >The stalking should build up tension too, the wendigo could only
be
> >> >heard at first, then his tracks found,
> >>
> >> Tracks? from a creature whose only mode of movement is flight?
> >
> >Tracks, traces of it's presence, ash from it's favourite type of
cigar,
> >stuff like that.
> >
> >> Unless... it continually drips blood (or something more caustic)
> >> from the stumps where its feet used to be...
> >
> >Sorry, my mistake - I don't know the current design of the
> >wendigo for DnD. It hasn't got any feet left? How weird's that?
>
> It's accurate. The wendigo of legend had no feet (believed to be

I half-remember a Wendigo picture from an old dragon magazine,
I think it had feet - those of a goat? Not sure...
And I read one or two Shadowrun novels with Wendigos as
undead or mutated Trolls IIRC, who had feet.
I blame popculture for my lacking knowledge

> because cannibalism goes hand in hand with frostbite in the far
north)

Some predatory animals bite of a foot or paw, if it is trapped.
Couldn't that be another reason for the Wendigo's footlessness?

LL

 

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>>> Unless... it continually drips blood (or something more caustic)
>>> from the stumps where its feet used to be...
>>
>>Sorry, my mistake - I don't know the current design of the
>>wendigo for DnD. It hasn't got any feet left? How weird's that?
>
> It's accurate. The wendigo of legend had no feet (believed to be
> because cannibalism goes hand in hand with frostbite in the far north)

Interesting. My olny exposure to anything Wendigo related is the Marvel
version...

 

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Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de <Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de> wrote:
> Some predatory animals bite of a foot or paw, if it is trapped.
> Couldn't that be another reason for the Wendigo's footlessness?

OK, you're just making the wendigo creepier. Knock it off!
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

 

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David Alex Lamb wrote:
>> The traditional Algonquin territory starts a bit north of here.
>> ISTR stories as a kid about some supernatural creature that
>> would follow you but you could never see -- it always managed
>> to hide before you could turn around. I *thought* that was a
>> legend about the Wendigo, but it isn't mentioned in Wikipedia.

arivne@cox.net wrote:
> That's another creature called (logically enough) the Hide-Behind.
>
> http://www.thehappytutor.com/archives/2004/12/the_wealth_bond_1.html
>
> "...the loggers of the Great North had an ethnic carryover from the Old
> Country called the Hide-behind. The simple premise that it was faster
> and more secretive than anybody else, up to mischief but unseeable, it
> was always behind a tree or a rock when you looked."

It would be pretty nasty to combine the wendigo with the hide-behind.
Hey, now I'm creeping myself out.
--
Bradd W. Szonye
http://www.szonye.com/bradd

 

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On Thu, 12 May 2005 16:16:31 GMT, "Bradd W. Szonye"
<bradd+news@szonye.com> wrote:

>Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de <Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de> wrote:
>> Some predatory animals bite of a foot or paw, if it is trapped.
>> Couldn't that be another reason for the Wendigo's footlessness?
>
>OK, you're just making the wendigo creepier. Knock it off!

Incidentally, the best way to use the wendigo's lack of tracks is to
have a single set of tracks in freshly fallen snow leading to a mostly
eaten body.

 

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David Johnston wrote:
> On 11 May 2005 14:50:20 -0700, Lorenz.Lang@gmx.de wrote:
>>Sorry, my mistake - I don't know the current design of the
>>wendigo for DnD. It hasn't got any feet left? How weird's that?

And how can it dance!?!?

> It's accurate. The wendigo of legend had no feet (believed to be
> because cannibalism goes hand in hand with frostbite in the far north)

That is a freaking awesome detail to the legend. I like IT!
--
"... respect, all good works are not done by only good folk ..."
--till next time, Jameson Stalanthas Yu -x- <<poetry.dolphins-cove.com>>