It's been a while now, I was thinking to use a demon-like

No one?

>>54119274
This seems stupid-hard to pull off in an RPG

You could have them do sanity rolls. First time when they see him those who fail get a higher chance to "think" of him whn they roll next time. If they fail just sumon him. Ask them if they are okay with you being able to call him once every session and you should be good to go.

>>54121671

It is hard, that's why I'm asking for help

>>54121730

I like the hints with the sanity rolls; for asking them, I don't know.

I'd like to use this as a "stealth" threat, so that when they understand the mechanism I can propose it again suddently, perhaps with many sessions between the encounters.

What I need is a way to make understandable this process without telling them directly with a NPC\Book and not to incur too many times in situations as:

>"Well guys, we were lucky surviving X!"

Summoning the demon immediatly

This is a bad idea.

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I'd put a pin in this idea until you have a better handle with your group and the style of your game.

You'll need a rule set that is very clear cut and understood by the players. As a GM you need to follow these rules to set up credibility. The rules themselves should leave some room for house rulings, that is it shouldn't be a totally simulations system with a mechanic for all situations.

Use rolls only when needed, if a description can lead to reasonable success that should be enough. Roll social stats only when the character makes brash or bizzarre move, stealth when they have to leap from one bit of cover to another or jump in the closet before the guard walks in (once in the closet they should be safe so long as they don't do anything loud.)
You want challenges based on actions as well as mechanics so you need to set a president for that sort of thing. This also gives players a bit more control over their outcomes and lead s to more trust in the GM.

Next you'll need to develop a consistent way of communicating with players. Time limits on how long they can plan, keep track of when and how they communicate plans to each-other. Make in game and out of game clear, double check with them for the first few sessions so they know. This is probably the most important part.

Introduce some earlier enemy that uses a similar trick. Maybe a creature with super hearing that can find the players whenever they talk amongst themselves. It wouldn't be invincible like the above but it would be a warning to players of what they could go up against.
After that you might give them a psychic who can hear thoughts. When the players plan out load, take knowledge or social actions or take extra time on their turn there is a chance the psychic will hear them. they might feel a tingle or something when he becomes aware of them giving them a slight warning. He wouldn't be very strong but his trick would be enough to put player on edge.

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>>54123322
Cont...

By the time the demon shows up they should have enough experience with low-impact-psycho-violence that they can trust that this isn't curveball GM-wank but a proper part of this world. They should also have just enough knowledge that they can have reasonable paranoia. Since they will be confident that there is right path to survive this scenario they will also have a degree of tension and angst over what to do. This all makes for a dramatic and VERY enjoyable session.

But all this is can be very hard and requires constant diligence on the part of the GM as well as dedication on the part of the players.
I personally strive for this but usually fall short in one way or another which is to be expected. Shit usually works out but then again I don't aim quite as high in terms of meta stuff.

You can always not do all the stuff I just said. If you have a group that just wants to lay back and enjoy a gimmick that's fine. If they already have a high degree of trust in you, congratulations you are blessed enough you probably don't have to ask.

But if you want to pull off kooky bullshit and do it in a reasonable way in game environment you will need a really strong backbone too your game.

>>54123322
>>54123450

These are all good advices.

The psychic in particular is something that can really work well.

For the earlier enemies, well I don't particularly like the idea, it is good, but I fear that it would make the demon less frightening, I will consider it anyway.

My player know how I manage things and they generally trust me, I'm lucky from this perspective; this is why I don't want to waste this concept and use it in the right way.

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>>54123873
>My player know how I manage things and they generally trust me, I'm lucky from this perspective; this is why I don't want to waste this concept and use it in the right way.
Well you have half the battle right there. I'd mostly work on developing the scenario itself, thoroughly stating the demon, writing up maps, creating events and figuring how they intersect.

Personally I'm not into writing plots or purely invincible creatures or writing to evoke particular reactions from players. I think plots and reactions are too easily broken by play or overwhelm play if to heavily forced.
A scenario should be built around neat things to do or overcome having a story intertwine with it is a plus, so is a player reaction but both those things are earned though good gameplay. In a sense they are a destination, not a journey.
I also find "invincible" creatures to be a little too fiat for my tastes. There should be some logic or mechanics behind it's state. It can be effectively invincible by way of monstrous stats or some particular condition but there should be some kind of explanation behind it or some bigger fish. Otherwise it feels to floaty, too much like a contrived plot device rather than a organic, breathing part of the world.
>Organic is consistently scarier than inorganic. Even Cthulhu is made of some kind of flesh and it is that raw, physical realness that makes him terrifying. He is primal and present.
That's my thoughts on the subject anyway. It's ultimately your call and your style, you know what works for you better than I do.

Ultimately do what comes naturally to the game, is my advice. Ideas are great and planning is very helpful but don't let ether get in the way of what happens moment to moment at the table.

I guess what I'm saying is that in spite of my or anyone's advice, the crazy thought monster was inside you all along.

OK so, probably just they read a demonomicon or some other big book o' demons that mentions the demon, at the end the entry say "don't think about him": immediately Wisdom save to resist thinking about it, might help to hint there's something mimetic about it like it's an invasive thought. Bonus if there's something in the surrounding area that sounds like it could be related to him, something reminiscent of an illustration. If any of the characters try to investigate to see if he's linked to a scene then manifest him and lay some smackdown.

Maybe have him gain abilities based on the conscious party members, if you're a britbong think 'Legion' from Red Dwarf, as party members are knocked out the demon loses capabilities and strength, until if there's only one alive it turns into a warped mirror of the party member, maybe with a warped obsession with that character.

Getting rid of him, either get a friendly NPC able to cast modify memory into the game, or have the demon suppressed if there's someone observing the party who hasn't heard of him, so the party has to stay in crowded places or get a hireling to watch them until the party is asleep.

ALTERNATIVELY, start your adventure to start in the medias res, all the characters with amnesia facing a wall and told not to turn around under any circumstances, whilst a wizard is battling something they can't see. If they turn around it locks onto their mind and the above shenanigans happen (again), and the wizard has to send everyone on the quest to get the reagents to try again and not fuck it up the next time (requires your PCs to not metagame though).

Hope all this makes sense and help inspire.