# Anyone tried a Dungeons & Dragons themed haunt?



## DarkTiki (Oct 11, 2011)

Hello Fellow Fiends,

I'm wondering if any of you have ever tried a Dungeons & Dragons-esque theme? I did some forum searches, and found some awesome dragons people have built, but I couldn't find any haunts with a total D&D / Medieval / WOW theme. Anybody know of one? Just trying to get some inspiration for a future Halloween.


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## Grimm Pickins (Nov 4, 2013)

I've been thinking about this a lot for the previous year or so, having been an avid roleplayer for much of my life. There is a lot of wealth contained within those pages that helps to increase the phantasmagorical in traditional haunts. 

We're mining this in our non-traditional monster builds - we're currently working on goblins, dark fae and a large 'zombie' mermaid. Our swamp area will undoubtedly have some Froghemoth type tentacles (hello, shiatsu) that pay homage to our love of HP Lovecraft as well. 

If you consider settings like Ravenloft to be core 'D&D', then I suppose our Haunt is pretty much just that. Our time setting, at least at the core, is American Colonial - which gives you a late Renaissance vibe in many ways. This is our first year not being being a "Haunts 57", and I do admit that there is a significant challenge trying any sort of Reenactment style haunt, whether it be our setting or medieval. 

JB Corn, whose work you can find elsewhere on the net, worked extensively with a Ren Faire approved modular castle setting. I certainly found some sincere inspiration in those books and VHS transfers - but much of it is beyond me for the time being, I don't have the space for that level of infrastructure. 

I would love to see where this leads you, and we'll certainly have photos and videos to share once we're actually putting the parts together. It certainly makes for some fun façade work and some boundary stretching props. 

Best witches on your endeavor!

Grimm


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## Bone Dancer (Oct 7, 2005)

I agree that the game provides a host of ideas for theme and subjects, but don't expect non-gamers to understand the finer points or references as it relates to the game. To them it will be just fantasy and monsters. But still it is an interesting idea and worth checking out.


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

+10 to the first person who works a gelatinous cube into his or her haunt...


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## DrUnK3n_PaNdA (Sep 17, 2009)

Depending on how it's done I think you could do something pretty awesome on that theme. There are a lot of great themes even within D&D that you could use... A creepy Underdark themed haunt with all kinds of spider-beasts Drow priestesses and occult rituals, brain sucking Mindflayers, etc. I feel like a beholder would be a prop that could be a ton of fun to make. Or a gibbering mouther! How much fun would that be to make?

Undead are really common already, but medieval undead not so much, skeletons, zombies, etc and ghouls and ghasts. It's all really a matter of the backdrop you use and the framing to create that D&D sort of feel. 

Goblins, Orcs, Trolls, Gnolls(!) or Hobgoblins could create some really freaky tribal sorts of scenes that could be tremendously unsettling if done right. Really, again, it's all a matter of framing it right so that people 'get' the theme.

I think the biggest hurdle would be conveyance. Unless things are done really well, it will be hard for most people to really 'get' what you're going for, so you need to make sure that anything D&D themed is really on point as far as realistic and convincing set design. The audience needs to be able to see whatever is being displayed as creepy/scary/realistic no matter if a person understands the significance of the creatures you're showing or not.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

I see a great deal of potential, but if a story line needs to be understood for the guests/tots to understand and appreciate the haunt you will have a very limited crowd of fans. You cAn explain a fair bit in signage leading into the haunt but you run into the issues of very limited time for reading, compression, retention, and a actual time within the haunt to witness all of the mayhem.
I think you'd have an easier time just picking out a single room or scene and build that out as a haunt with some signage and or a guide who explains what they are witnessing or are about to witness.


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

I haven't played D&D in a while. I had a gallery online of my original collection so I might as well show it :xbones:

https://collectibles420.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Cedar Point's HalloWekeends had a medieval themed outdoor haunt called Fear Faire. I have vids in a playlist. One is animatronic dragon I shot in IR.






And here's the massive playlist you can find Fear Faire in.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gpXvdY_KNjwWUYH_pyV91mHTyxTDPCu

I think most people would think a D&D haunt is in fact a medivel-themed or Or Lord of the Rings haunt - depending on if Orcus is invited :devil:

And yeah a gelatinous cube would be sweet :googly:


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## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

I've heard a lot of talk in previous threads (some mine) over the years about the necessity for your guests to understand the story or "get it" for the scares to be effective. I've especially seen this in discussions I've had about doing a Lovecraftian themed haunt. A lot of traditional haunters feel if you venture too far from traditional tropes the scares will fail. Much like Hollywood with their incessant reboots and remakes, some haunters let these thoughts lock them into a cycle of doing only whats known instead of allowing themselves to open up their creativity. I think the community in general has been kinda stagnating because of this - but that's my opinion and could be its own thread.

Are stories important to a haunt? I believe so yes. Is it necessary for guests to know it or "get it"? Heck no. I think the story is more important for the creators of the haunt versus the guests. It helps guide us in creating consistent scenes, sets, and props. But as long as the scare are creepy and effective it doesn't matter. Otherwise clowns wouldn't be scary at all. It's all how it's presented.

Personally I think a D&D theme would be awesome. Fantasy does pose its own challenges. But choose the right creatures and scenes and put them in a nice creepy context and effectively setup your scares and you'll have a winner. I definitely agree on the nods for a Drow theme - there's just so much to work there I can't even thing of where to begin.

-TM


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

I probably don't have time to do it this year but I was thinking about making a Beholder Eye Tyrant out of a beach ball like a Pumpkin Rot scarecrow head is made. I'd put it on a black PVC pole behind a tombstone to keep it simple. If I could get the eye stalks to light up or glow that wold be cool.


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

Fright Zone said:


> I probably don't have time to do it this year but I was thinking about making a Beholder Eye Tyrant out of a beach ball like a Pumpkin Rot scarecrow head is made. I'd put it on a black PVC pole behind a tombstone to keep it simple. If I could get the eye stalks to light up or glow that wold be cool.


If I were to do a D&D haunt, this would be my first pick for monster. Gelatinous cube jokes aside, I think it'd be the easiest to make scary for people who don't identify it. (Have you seen the stuff coming out of Google's Electric Sheep software? I recommend that as an excellent source of inspiration.) I think that's kind of where I'd lean: things like Ravenloft and the Underdark are sort of the low-hanging fruit (and there's nothing wrong with that), but I think there's a lot of potential for nontraditional scares in the less obviously horror stuff.


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

I hadn't seen that. that's cool. I googled minis. I have a Gauth mini. but there was a round purple one that a beachball is the shape of I think those were 2nd edition. D&D's site has illustrations of each edition. 5th looks awful. the 4pack minis and the illo. were cool. but yeah I agree I can easily picture a beholder fitting into any yard haunt. shoot maybe even a priate themed haunt lol I love to accessorize to personalize props. could easily have a pirate hat, ghost white beholder and eye patch next to a treasure chest and still make it work imho. in that case you're taking something you know what it is but repurposing it into something else just flat out unique and scary to someone else. and the D&D players would get a chuckle. 

I could make my emperor of evil pvc build look like a LotR Nazgul becasue I have a sword and darh vader gloves I could dress up a bit. it's like my jeepers creepers style scarecrow. not meant to be literal & detailed just get the gestalt of it as they call it n art ie. the overall quick glance recognition. 

and then there's the props you want to be one thing and people thinks it's completely something else lol. one screamster at cedar point's halloweekends was dressed as some sort of medieval plague doctor BUT he looked like the garindan spy in star wars. and he hated hearing that lol but it was unique and cool regardless. and who knows maybe that's where the design came from. (sorry for the lower case I'm min a hurry) lol

point is I agree something familiar to 'insider's could be cool to the 'layman' if done properly. lets face it. it is called the monster manual after all lol (I hate 'monstrous manual or compendium or bestiary - sounds like a zoo). monster vault was cool product name though.

I haven't done paper mache since I was kid in school with a balloon but I guess the easiest way is flour and H20 to make a glue substance not too thick like paste.

I do have a beach ball. I'm tempted to do a down and dirty paper mache beholder then do it right in the future. for quick eyestalks I have rebar tie wire. I'd probably put vacuum cleaner hose over it (a bit pricey $24 for 20ft) but I like stalks that are thick. but again it's the general look and feel and ease of construction. ping pong balls for eyes are a bit small but practical. and frankly just flat inkjet printouts for the teeth and large eye for now. and LED light-up eyes later on. this go around would be more like a comprehensive layout or protoype.

I like purple but brown is more appropriate for a general monster look but green is even more halloween-ish imho. or ghost grey shades of white and grey.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Keep in mind that he dim lighting that is common for most haunts reduces most colors to shades of gray, so details and such that are dependent on color are typically lost, and viewing time is usually only a few seconds at best.


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

I'm thinking UV paint because I have several black light bolts. I use one for a sheet ghost. difficult to say what color (s) maybe green or blue. don't want a beholder to look like an outer space alien though. and clear or white would look like the ghost. greens are usually pretty bright while blue uv is relatively dark. I'll have to go to the day-glo putt-putt at the mall lol


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## Fright Zone (Sep 28, 2006)

Update: I took a look around Joann Crafts and got some ideas. I'm going to use some 30-40-50% off coupons in the next few days and build a 12" Beholder for around $17. I'll make a video. And of course the look of it will be in the Eye of the Beholder lol I have the Sega Genesis version of the game which ironically does not have a beholder on the cover. I guess he didn't want to suffer the Madden Curse ;


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## ryschwith (Oct 27, 2014)

Random thought, probably too late to implement: spells gone horribly wrong. All of us nerds know what happens when a teleport spell fails, but have you ever stopped to think how utterly horrifying that would be? Someone half-embedded in a wall, quivering and silently mouthing for help...


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