Every year around this time DMs are inspired by Halloween and PCs find themselves facing off against skeletons, zombies, vampires and werewolves. Campaigns become darker as the DM taps into the fear associated with Halloween. But creating something original can be more challenging than many DMs realize. In order to help, we’ve combed through our archives and found 7 articles that we think will help DMs add that Halloween flavour to their campaign without just rehashing the same things you’ve done year in and year out.
The Zombie Apocalypse
Whether you’re a die hard, long-term, hard-core fan of the zombie genre or AMC’s Walking Dead is your first real introduction to the awesomeness of zombies, a D&D adventure featuring a zombie apocalypse has tremendous potential. Whether you make it a one-night affair where the PCs have to help a town overrun with zombies, or the world is in the midst of the Zombie Apocalypse, we’ve got tips and suggestions to make the adventure more exciting.
On the lighter side of things we’ve got the Zombie Survival Flowchart. Would you be ready if the zombie apocalypse happened tomorrow? Go through the steps presented in this flow chart and judge for yourself if you’re adequately prepared. It works for your characters or for the real-life you.
The Power of Fear
Now that you’ve managed to scare the players take it to the next level. One reason undead are so scary is because they often take the form of the familiar. Fighting a creature that it inherently different from a human makes the decision to kill it easier. But what about a monster that was once the PC’s friend, family member or lover? Get players to tap into the emotional part of the PC that once felt love and friendship towards the zombie or vampire that’s trying to kill them.
Undead Does Not Always Mean Mindless
Zombies and skeletons may be the most common forms of undead, but they far from the only stock monsters in the undead catalogue. Most of the really powerful undead possess superior intelligence and have survived for decades or even centuries. A Mummy, Lich or Vampire can be a particular deadly foe under any circumstances. Don’t assume that all undead are mindless and driven by an instinct to feed. With an intelligent undead in control of a vast army of walkers it’s entirely possible that PCs will underestimate their foes and make assumptions that will quickly prove to be false.
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I loved the zombie flowchart. I'm glad you re-linked to that piece. It was from before I started reading your blog religiously. ;-D