I am planning to have my party have some ongoing encounters with an energy vampire. these will typically involve long, drawn out and often boring encounters as the vampire "feeds" off the party. Think Colin Robinson from what We Do in the Shadows. These encounters are not meant to be dangerous or deadly, just more of a comedic annoyance to pop up every once in a while. They will be mostly roleplaying opportunities.
The vampire will feed off of the players by basically wasting their time and being extremely boring. It may eventually, after a few encounters, lead to the party suffering a level of exhaustion as the vampire gets stronger. It is not likely to ever be more than a single level of exhaustion which is easily remedied by a long rest. But I'm not sure how to give my players this level of exhaustion without them immediately being suspicious of what is happening or who they are with. My first thought was to drag the players through this long and seemingly unnecessary encounter and then describe how their characters keep feeling worn out through the next few bits. Then have them suffer their exhaustion, maybe even giving them the option of a saving throw. This may throw them off the scent as there will be other events to cloud their judgement.
So I guess I am looking for suggestions on how to "bore" my players without it being too obvious.
As a huge fan of WWDITS, this is a very interesting idea and for the DM, knowing what is happening will surely be funny for you.
Think of being a player during that session though... What is funny and entertaining for you, might be one of the most boring and uneventful sessions for them.
Trust me, I see the appeal, and think this is a great idea, but purposefully boring your players might bring gameplay to a standstill and kill momentum...
Maybe if you had the Energy Vampire (EV) be an NPC in a city they spend a lot of time in, he might see them and start following them around telling them crazy long stories. The townsfolk all know him and just ignore him making it hard to feed, but new adventurers in town are prime to feed on. Maybe later in the campaign, they have to go talk to him because he knows some piece of information they need, and this is when the big drain happens (CON Saves or 1 level of Exhaustion kicks in), etc.
Hope you can make it work...
Cheers!
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Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
I think this is a workable idea overall. There are elements here that could engage the players (even though your desired goal is to "bore" them).
From the clips I’ve seen of Colin Robinson, the goal seems to be the comedy of contrasting his ordinary demeanor and his supernatural nature (or at least his draining presence). You can definitely play around with that concept in your game.
Ideally, the energy vampirism of this NPC should impact other NPCs more than the PCs themselves. This dynamic could work especially well in a mystery-themed adventure, which is one of the most accessible formats for this kind of narrative.
That being said, if you want the it to directly affect the PCs, you could introduce this NPC in a crowded setting. For instance, you might have the PCs make a Charisma saving throw (because it will take all the willpower not be affected by his energy) upon encountering the crowd (failure results in gaining a point of exhaustion).
Another potential structure for such an adventure could involve an escort quest: the PCs must accompany a group of commoners (including the emotional vampire) to another location. During travel, the PCs would need to roll a Charisma saving throw after each long rest; failure would result in a point of exhaustion. If the PCs distance themselves from the emotional vampire (because of some encounter), they recover from exhaustion (it immidiatly disappears), but whenever they reenter the NPC’s proximity, they must make another saving throw.
You can build suspense by portraying the NPC as unsettlingly ordinary and providing clues about their true nature. This approach allows you to create a sense of dread through the uncanny. Additionally, you could make this NPC a recurring character, giving the players the satisfaction of knowing how to handle them in future encounters.
I am planning to have my party have some ongoing encounters with an energy vampire. these will typically involve long, drawn out and often boring encounters as the vampire "feeds" off the party. Think Colin Robinson from what We Do in the Shadows. These encounters are not meant to be dangerous or deadly, just more of a comedic annoyance to pop up every once in a while. They will be mostly roleplaying opportunities.
The vampire will feed off of the players by basically wasting their time and being extremely boring. It may eventually, after a few encounters, lead to the party suffering a level of exhaustion as the vampire gets stronger. It is not likely to ever be more than a single level of exhaustion which is easily remedied by a long rest. But I'm not sure how to give my players this level of exhaustion without them immediately being suspicious of what is happening or who they are with. My first thought was to drag the players through this long and seemingly unnecessary encounter and then describe how their characters keep feeling worn out through the next few bits. Then have them suffer their exhaustion, maybe even giving them the option of a saving throw. This may throw them off the scent as there will be other events to cloud their judgement.
So I guess I am looking for suggestions on how to "bore" my players without it being too obvious.
Given that Colin has an office job, the best way to adapt that to D&D might be some form of mind-numbing, Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare
The party is given a commission by the king to undertake some quest, but before they can undertake it, they need to get a questing license. To get a questing license, they need permits for all their weapons and arcane focuses. To get the permits, they need... before they know it, they're lost in a maze of rooms deep beneath the castle, trying to find where they can get a 4F-33 Fey Familiar form rather than the 4F-66 Fiend Familiar form they somehow ended up with, and they are firmly in the clutches of the energy vampire who is the Undersecretary to the Minister of the Interior and has been feeding off adventurers for decades
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I do love the idea of them having to get various "permits" for their gear, and even better that they may have to repeat themselves due to having the wrong form or filling a form out incorrectly.
Thanks for the ideas!
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I am planning to have my party have some ongoing encounters with an energy vampire. these will typically involve long, drawn out and often boring encounters as the vampire "feeds" off the party. Think Colin Robinson from what We Do in the Shadows. These encounters are not meant to be dangerous or deadly, just more of a comedic annoyance to pop up every once in a while. They will be mostly roleplaying opportunities.
The vampire will feed off of the players by basically wasting their time and being extremely boring. It may eventually, after a few encounters, lead to the party suffering a level of exhaustion as the vampire gets stronger. It is not likely to ever be more than a single level of exhaustion which is easily remedied by a long rest. But I'm not sure how to give my players this level of exhaustion without them immediately being suspicious of what is happening or who they are with. My first thought was to drag the players through this long and seemingly unnecessary encounter and then describe how their characters keep feeling worn out through the next few bits. Then have them suffer their exhaustion, maybe even giving them the option of a saving throw. This may throw them off the scent as there will be other events to cloud their judgement.
So I guess I am looking for suggestions on how to "bore" my players without it being too obvious.
Greetings KrysAllokard,
As a huge fan of WWDITS, this is a very interesting idea and for the DM, knowing what is happening will surely be funny for you.
Think of being a player during that session though... What is funny and entertaining for you, might be one of the most boring and uneventful sessions for them.
Trust me, I see the appeal, and think this is a great idea, but purposefully boring your players might bring gameplay to a standstill and kill momentum...
Maybe if you had the Energy Vampire (EV) be an NPC in a city they spend a lot of time in, he might see them and start following them around telling them crazy long stories.
The townsfolk all know him and just ignore him making it hard to feed, but new adventurers in town are prime to feed on.
Maybe later in the campaign, they have to go talk to him because he knows some piece of information they need, and this is when the big drain happens (CON Saves or 1 level of Exhaustion kicks in), etc.
Hope you can make it work...
Cheers!
Breathe, dragons; sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty.
Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers;
Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas.
Partnered, they woke in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
I think this is a workable idea overall. There are elements here that could engage the players (even though your desired goal is to "bore" them).
From the clips I’ve seen of Colin Robinson, the goal seems to be the comedy of contrasting his ordinary demeanor and his supernatural nature (or at least his draining presence). You can definitely play around with that concept in your game.
Ideally, the energy vampirism of this NPC should impact other NPCs more than the PCs themselves. This dynamic could work especially well in a mystery-themed adventure, which is one of the most accessible formats for this kind of narrative.
That being said, if you want the it to directly affect the PCs, you could introduce this NPC in a crowded setting. For instance, you might have the PCs make a Charisma saving throw (because it will take all the willpower not be affected by his energy) upon encountering the crowd (failure results in gaining a point of exhaustion).
Another potential structure for such an adventure could involve an escort quest: the PCs must accompany a group of commoners (including the emotional vampire) to another location. During travel, the PCs would need to roll a Charisma saving throw after each long rest; failure would result in a point of exhaustion. If the PCs distance themselves from the emotional vampire (because of some encounter), they recover from exhaustion (it immidiatly disappears), but whenever they reenter the NPC’s proximity, they must make another saving throw.
You can build suspense by portraying the NPC as unsettlingly ordinary and providing clues about their true nature. This approach allows you to create a sense of dread through the uncanny. Additionally, you could make this NPC a recurring character, giving the players the satisfaction of knowing how to handle them in future encounters.
I wish you luck with this concept!
Given that Colin has an office job, the best way to adapt that to D&D might be some form of mind-numbing, Kafka-esque bureaucratic nightmare
The party is given a commission by the king to undertake some quest, but before they can undertake it, they need to get a questing license. To get a questing license, they need permits for all their weapons and arcane focuses. To get the permits, they need... before they know it, they're lost in a maze of rooms deep beneath the castle, trying to find where they can get a 4F-33 Fey Familiar form rather than the 4F-66 Fiend Familiar form they somehow ended up with, and they are firmly in the clutches of the energy vampire who is the Undersecretary to the Minister of the Interior and has been feeding off adventurers for decades
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I do love the idea of them having to get various "permits" for their gear, and even better that they may have to repeat themselves due to having the wrong form or filling a form out incorrectly.
Thanks for the ideas!