Idea: Surprise Titans

Idea: Surprise Titans

a.k.a. the Murderhobo’s Natural Predator.

You know what’s fun? Setting up powerful enemies to destroy your party of murderhobos. You know what’s even more fun? Hiding these powerful enemies in plain sight.

This idea has probably been done repeatedly, but I just want to bring in a few of my own ideas for a few different Murderhobo situations.

Option 1: Hiding amongst the weak.

a.k.a. Marble Bunny application

Does your game have a “Beginner’s Mook” like Dragon Quest slimes, Goombas in the Mario series, or Kingdom Hearts’ basic Shadow Heartless? The most basic enemies that are meant to be the first encounter for the players? Do your murderhobos enjoy slaughtering these monsters - or any monster for that matter - in genocidal abundance?

An old friend of mine once introduced me to what he called the Marble Bunny application: essentially, take these two sprites:

The White Bunny

and the Marble Bunny. Now I added some animation and color differences, but the point of the application is that a weak, beginner mook and an extremely powerful monster are virtually indistinguishable… until someone tries taking a swing at it. Then they watch in horror as what looks like just a White Bunny takes zero damage, hunts them down like a dragon, and hits like a train.

This application can be taken in cross-species or cross-animation paths as well: imagine the party sees what appears to be a farmer out in the field.

What ought to happen: PC: I go say hi! :D DM: On closer inspection, it is not a farmer but rather a golem fashioned to look like a Scarecrow. What happens to Murderhobos: PC: I shoot the farmer with an arrow. DM: Instead of dying, the being simply lifts its arrow-pierced head to stare right at at you. It is a golem, and it has just found its master’s next threat. Roll for initiative!

Side note: this can also be a nice incentive/perk for your players who just like to make pets out of monstrous enemies. It’s like adding Shiny- or IV-Hunting to your game for them!

Option 2: Logical Arguments

a.k.a. “What else did you expect to happen?”

Obviously, sometimes the roleplay itself can give reason to certain advantages. Paladins are effective against the undead, magic and ranged attacks are superior to melee combat, etc. But don’t forget: such lore can give advantage to special monster or NPC cases against murderhobos.

Some examples:

Murderhobo attacks a blacksmith? Congrats, they just pissed off Will Turner. He’s trained with the swords every day to figure out what needs cleaning, repairs, etc. and now has advantage with (and against) every weapon type in his shop.

They attacked X students at a school for magic? Great, the only reason they were off-campus to begin with is because they’re the X best students of the top class, and will quickly reduce the murderhobos into smoking ash.

Your murderhobos want to assassinate the king for rule over the entire kingdom, instead of negotiating a piece for a quest reward? Congrats, one of the townspeople loyal to the king ratted the party out, the assassination turns into an ambush, and either the party pays with their lives, or run for what remains of their lives. Negotiation was too challenging for the players, so now it’ll never be on the table again.

Your combo- and DPS-loving murderhobo wants to test their combos on an innocent traveling group? Such pilgrims are usually guided by the magical and religious… like diviners. At some point, the combo artist swings their sword and has the blade caught by the future-seer. Your precious combos mean nothing to one who can see your every move.

Final word: Sorry I’ve been gone for a while, you guys. Emotionally bad times recently, plus nearing the end of college and worrying about internships and/or jobs.

Happy gaming, good luck murdering the murderhobos!