DnD spells/abilities to freak out PCs

[Rick_TWA]

I was planning on running a murder/mystery type game for my players yesterday, but they declared they wanted to go looking for trolls in the mountains instead (so the Druid with the shifter prestige class could shapechange into one).  I called a ten minute break and flipped through the CR lists in the MM, and my eye caught on the line "Mule" under CR1 creatures.  What if, I wondered, there was a ruined city out there populated by intelligent, evil mules indistinguishable from normal mules?  How would they have gotten there?  What would their goals be?  When I started laughing the evil DM laugh*, I knew I had to do it. 

So, the PCs discovered a ruined city in the mountains while seaarching for their trolls, and found it overrun with mules (which they insisted were donkeys).  As the mules began to act weirder and weirder, following them around, staring at them, seeking cover en mass before it rained, etc... they started to get more and more freaked out.  When the druid changed into a mule to "infiltrate them" and they led him off alone and encircled him  and attacked, they were determined to wipe the mules out to the man.  Eventually, the mules stayed clear of the PCs, who finished searching the city and left, only to have bizzarre dream about mules, and to be certain that every mule they met on the trip home was staring at them.... with their giant black souless eyes.....
When they got home, they petitioned the government for several wagonloads of salt and a small division of soldiers (which they had to convince the government to give them through some contacts and diplomacy) and led them back to the ruined city, salting all the vegitation and slaughtering every mule they could find.  In the process they found a cavern shrine to some hideous mule-god with glowing runes that no one understood lineing the walls.  They coppied the runes, destroyed the statue, and went home.  Once there they had the runes translated with comprehend languages and found that the mules were decended from a single mule who was born with a malicious intellegence and who led a herd of mules into the mountains to start their own society and worship an evil god who spoke to him....

Now, I'm thinking it would be fun to have the mules be reoccuring villians now and again.  Suggestions and thoughts on mule villians?  Since the players already had some weird dreams and odd halucinations from their initial mule encounter, I thought perhaps spells that caused the targets to have bad dreams, and some illusions might be in order.  Suggestions on that front?  The players really thought the mules were awesome, both freaky and full of impromptu humor (like when the druid declared the language of donkeys is donkeeze), so I want to have them make a reappearance eventually.



*with more than a little ROFL laughing mixed in

[Scott M]

That sounds like an awesome improvised game-- intelligent, malevolent mules are a unique threat.  Working in the creepy history and meddling of dark gods does make it sounds like a good recurring villain... the dark god, if not the mules.

After all, who will they leap to blame when they run into a fiendish sheep?

[Rust]

That's pretty cool.

Just so you know, Trolls are "Giant class" so Druids can't shapechange into that.

I would suggest you run the Clinton Oracle and incorporate Mule as just one of the elements. 

Note: Mules are from a Male Donkey and Female horse... so maybe it's not the mule that will be upset but mom and dad?? 

[Rick_TWA]

That sounds like an awesome improvised game-- intelligent, malevolent mules are a unique threat.  Working in the creepy history and meddling of dark gods does make it sounds like a good recurring villain... the dark god, if not the mules.

After all, who will they leap to blame when they run into a fiendish sheep?

Hmmmm..... I hadn't thought about an entire barnyard of evil critters.  Look out!  It's the sheep mafia!

That's pretty cool.

Just so you know, Trolls are "Giant class" so Druids can't shapechange into that.

I would suggest you run the Clinton Oracle and incorporate Mule as just one of the elements. 

Note: Mules are from a Male Donkey and Female horse... so maybe it's not the mule that will be upset but mom and dad?? 

Shifter prestige class in ... complete adventurer toploads on wildshape abilities, types, sizes, type of abilities, etc...  So after ten levels in it they can shapeshift into all kinds of broken stuff.  The druid and I have an understanding that he may "decide to retire" any given moment, but I'm trying to be pretty loose cause I trust the player and it's all about fun after all.

Yeah, I have no idea how a single malevolent mule sired a city of mules since mules are sterile.  Fortuneately none of my players noticed.  If they ever do, I'll have to question how they can suspend disbelief for an intellegent evil mule, but not an intellgent evil fertile mule....

That's a neat adventure planning tool.  I'll add it to my list of neat adventure planning tools.

[Telas]

Yeah, I have no idea how a single malevolent mule sired a city of mules since mules are sterile.  Fortuneately none of my players noticed.  If they ever do, I'll have to question how they can suspend disbelief for an intellegent evil mule, but not an intellgent evil fertile mule....

It's funny what we'll suspend disbelief for, and in what context. 

"Crouching Tiger..." was an awesome movie, but wire-fu normally totally destroys my sense of propriety. 

Telas

[Tinkergirl]

Hello (first post here),

Have you considered dropping in quite a few non-intelligent evil mules, just to keep them guessing?  I imagine going to the market and seeing people with mules next to their caravans would have them pause for thought.  I imagine they'd be especially frowned apon if they start killing people's pack animals because they looked at the characters funny.  And who's to say one of them isn't just 'under cover' as a pack mule...

[Rick_TWA]

Hello (first post here),

Have you considered dropping in quite a few non-intelligent evil mules, just to keep them guessing?  I imagine going to the market and seeing people with mules next to their caravans would have them pause for thought.  I imagine they'd be especially frowned apon if they start killing people's pack animals because they looked at the characters funny.  And who's to say one of them isn't just 'under cover' as a pack mule...

Excellent idea!  On their trips home from the ruined city, the PCs did indeed encounter several mules which weren't anything but normal mules.  Of course I played up how the mules seemed to stare at them and their "giant dead black eyes..." and in fact, when there was a disturbance in the middle of the night in the stables of an inn where they were spending the night, the jumpy rogue ended up sneak attacking and killing a mule...

[Martin Ralya]

Hello (first post here),

Have you considered dropping in quite a few non-intelligent evil mules, just to keep them guessing?  I imagine going to the market and seeing people with mules next to their caravans would have them pause for thought.  I imagine they'd be especially frowned apon if they start killing people's pack animals because they looked at the characters funny.  And who's to say one of them isn't just 'under cover' as a pack mule...

Welcome to the boards, Tinkergirl!

I like the idea of the devil-mule herd being composed of frighteningly intelligent uber-mules and their cannon fodder, the non-intelligent mules. Because all evil forces need cannon fodder.

The staring is good -- that's the creepiest thing I can think of about mules, at least offhand. Don't forget how sure-footed they are, either -- if the PCs took up high ground and thought they were safe from the mules, they might be in for a nasty shock.

[Ashy]

*That* is tres tres awesome. 

I'm seeing all sorts of cool variations: fiendish/hellish mules, weremules, shadowmules - just think of the fun you could have with templates! Not to mention a perverted race of half-man/half-mule spawn!!   

[cedrictheblack]

The Were-mule and/or Half-mule (Didn't you start out saying Donkey and get corrupted by the player's insistance on the term mule?) are absolutely required elements.

Some percentage of the evil quadrapeds need mental powers that allows them to dominate the lower races with their opposable thumbs.  They need slaves to build things for them, harvest the fields, etc.

How about the seemingly normal village that is actually being run by an evil quadraped?  Think the classic Mind Flayer 'power behind the throne' adventure featuring your evil Donkey.  What would a town run by a beast of burden be like?  I'd guess no animal labor is used, certain animals (brought to higher intelligence by the Donkey's rituals) act as enforcers, spies and even assassins!

The local horses become scouts and city guards.  Rats can be spies and assassins.  What if some of the animals want to rebel against the Donkey?  What if the field mice form an underground resistance?  It could be ridiculous or really cool.  Depends on if you go Animal Farm or Watership down with it.

The Druid could inflitrate and find out about the politics, etc.  And with the local human populous eith cowed by fear or actively controlled by the Donkey, fighting the forces of Animal Oppression could be very challenging.  Especially if survivors can spread the 'plague' of intelligent animals.

[Telas]

The Were-mule and/or Half-mule (Didn't you start out saying Donkey and get corrupted by the player's insistance on the term mule?) are absolutely required elements.

"Lookout!  It's a Half-Ass Barbarian!!"

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Rick, I am so stealing this idea.  Just hearing you talk about it, I can already see the looks on some of the players in our group. 

[Rick_TWA]

Rick, I am so stealing this idea.  Just hearing you talk about it, I can already see the looks on some of the players in our group. 

Seems the plauge of evil mules have managed to spread across worlds!  How will our intrepid heros stop them now?

[Rust]

If you stat up these mules w/templates please post them!!

[Ashy]

The Were-mule and/or Half-mule (Didn't you start out saying Donkey and get corrupted by the player's insistance on the term mule?) are absolutely required elements.

"Lookout!  It's a Half-Ass Barbarian!!"

 

ROTFL!!!!  That is hilarious!!!!  This sooo needs to be an adventure written by somebody like Keith Baker (a.k.a. the creator of the Hellcow, and the lesser known CS, Eberron! )!

[crashmurdoch]

I suddenly have this image of the PCs travelling down a narrow ravine.  Suddenly there is a rockslide and when the dust clears the rim on either side of the chasm is lines with mules. 

[Aramax]

The mules could pull the pcs into a comon dream world and kill them there over and over.On waking they cant memorize spells are fatigued w/penalties.You could also run out the battles,and maybee this causes reduced hit points.

On a side note I have a race of philosopher-King turnips.Sometimes there wizards will adventure w/the party,casting spells that allow them to see and hear outside the turnip realm.

[longcoat000]

Thanks for making me snot my yogurt.  I assume that this was what you were referring to in the comments from the "Making Little Bugs Scary" post a while back.  I always wondered about it...

Like many others, I'm TOTALLY stealing this idea for my own nefarious purposes.

Ever think of creating an opposing group of donkeys who are totally opposed to the mules evil plans?

[Knight of Roses]

How many other people know about these evil mules?  Just the PCs and the soldiers?  Do the soldier really believe or do they think the PC have gone round the bend?

Is there a wondering madman preaching?  "The end will come on four feet!  Beware the dark-eyed bringers of terror!  The mules are coming for us!" 

If so, anything the PCs say about the evil mules might be ignored or at least discounted by most people ("Evil genius mules?  Yeah, sure.").

[longcoat000]

Is there a wondering madman preaching?  "The end will come on four feet!  Beware the dark-eyed bringers of terror!  The mules are coming for us!"

 

Wagon of salt: Diplomacy DC 15
Skeptical Detachment of the King's Finest: A bit of groveling, strong-arming, and Diplomacy DC 25
The world ending not with a bang, but the plaintive braying of the Six-Tell Amlah's earthly servants?  Priceless