A Dungeon Master proudly reports a hidden subplot of his campaign in Dungeons & Dragons that shocked even a longtime friend but provided a skilled plot twist. The community celebrates this creative yet slightly grotesque story.
What was the first hint the DM offered his players? The Dungeon Master Infinite-Series-9493 on Reddit tells the DnD community about the moment he revealed a dark secret of his campaign.
But first, the beginning:
The DM reports that his group made it to the dwarven capital of his world, which they created themselves, and wanted to catch their breath in a tavern, where they all ordered the local mead (also known as honey wine). This was not only incredibly delicious, but also had a slightly metallic aftertaste, which most of the group didn’t mind… except for one. A player who has known the DM for 13 years and immediately became suspicious.
But no matter what he thought at that moment about the taste, the ultimate extent of it managed to blow even the experienced player in the group away.
“I might take inspiration from this” – Other Dungeon Masters are welcome to borrow the idea
How did the players figure out what was really going on? During their stay in the city, the players noticed that some of the townsfolk were disappearing without a trace and one night they witnessed those townsfolk being abducted by enormous bee-like creatures.
As is customary for a group of adventurers, they followed the bees to a cave entrance, which was covered in a dark, gelatinous layer. After one player cut into it, according to the DM, it began to smell incredibly bad of decay and fermented meat.
Despite the stench, they pushed deeper into the den, took down some of the monstrous bees, and entered an area whose walls were covered with a thick, reddish waxy substance, where several cocoons were found, and that’s where the session ended.
And that was the moment when the suspicious player could draw clear parallels to a real natural phenomenon.
What is the Dungeon Master’s secret plot? In a one-on-one conversation, the player told the DM that the bees reminded him of a certain bee species that builds its nests out of decaying flesh, known as “vulture bees.” When the Dungeon Master responded with a sly grin, the player immediately knew what was going on.
In the next session, he reminded the other players of the delicious mead they had drunk and the somewhat strange aftertaste – and then it dawned on them, too. Someone had used the bees’ honey to make the mead, and the metallic aftertaste came from the remains of the missing individuals, which absolutely horrified the entire group.
Less horrified, but far more enthusiastic are the readers of the DnD community, who celebrate the creativity and inspiration of the DM. He explicitly states that they are welcome to take the idea for their own campaigns, as he himself has found a lot of inspiration for his stories in the subreddit and wants to give something back with his contribution.
- “That is so disturbing that it’s brilliant” (Substantial-Camel13 on Reddit).
- “Great. I might take inspiration from this” (RamblingManUK on Reddit).
- “I immediately realized something was off because I also use ‘a strange metallic aftertaste’ when I imply that something is related to blood. The rest? Holy shit, that’s great. I love this horror genre” (DankepusVulgaris on Reddit)
Other players and Dungeon Masters also love to share their stories and experiences in Dungeons & Dragons with the community. One player reports a similar situation, where he was the only one in his group to notice where the DM could have gotten his inspiration for the campaign: Player discovers that his campaign in Dungeons & Dragons is secretly inspired by a gaming classic, and dozens of Dungeon Masters feel called out
