"As he pries the gem out of the eyesocket, gas sprays out and he falls to the floor-kthud-""AAAH! FUCK!"
"...then these black leeches start falling, one by one, out of the eyesocket onto his face. -thhup, thhuupp--the statue must be full of them."
"Aaaaaohmygod! Let's get out of here!"
And then, a few rounds later, the White Octopus...
"OhMyGodI'mSoScared. I'm. So. Scared. I. Don't. Even. Think. I. Can. Keep. Playing."
But, of course, she did.
_________
Do your players still get scared? I hope they do. It's the finest gift a DM could ever get--once they're scared, it's all cake after that, really. They win, it's awesome because they overcame their fear, they lose--well, they felt it.
Jaded, wisecracking nachomunching grognards are all well and good (or they'd better be or we're all in big trouble), but my Christmas wish for each and every DM reading this is that you still have at least one high-strung brave little toaster with an overactive imagination at your table.
Merry Christmas.
