(Again, if your name is James Hernandes, turn back now)

The acolytes of my game will be facing a cultist uprising spanning the entire hive sibellus (it is a long, long story). They will have two different problems to deal with: (1) a menagerie circus, and (2) a nurgle cult that has overtaken the infant/young-child wing of a Schola proginium. My objectives with these two scenarios is to make daemons certifiably terrible so tips, suggestions, and condemnations are all welcome.
Scenario 1 Menagerie Circus:

Acolytes will either enter with fire and brimstone or go undercover, although I will set the scene as being a totally normal carnivora with totally normal people so it will make them less likely to shoot the ticket-master in the face and play along. There is however one clearly strange thing that they discover upon entering the carnival: all the revelers treat them as if they were just like everyone else: an arbite will not have the usual luxury of people just getting out of his way, assassins in bodygloves wont get weird looks, a guardsman armed with a heavy plasma cannon and krack missiles will be entirely ignored, etc.

There is one human sized entrance to the massive carnival building (yes this makes no sense but that’s the point). Inside the acolytes will be assaulted with all the normal sights and sounds one might expect in a 40k fairground. Smaller tents with various games, children and adults running about, amusing and eccentric fortune tellers, food stands with fried grox stomach, actors dressed as Imperial guard viciously clubbing mutants in ork suits, etc.

There is one circus maximus size tent that is not open for entry yet, as well as somewhere between 4-7 smaller tents and an overwhelming array of various stands and consumables. Should the acolytes try to sneak into the larger tent or leave the carnivora the will find themselves walking out of one of the smaller tents rather than entering the big tent or leaving the area.

As the acolytes explore they will find that the vast majority of the carnivora is what it appears to be. However, each of the tents contains a disturbing game that they must play (the acolytes cannot leave the carnivora until they have gone through the big tent, and they cannot enter the big tent until they have played all the games.)These games will change the way the people in the carnivora respond to the PCs and should thus be ordered by degree of severity. Note: should one PC enter a tent without the others s/he will be moved to a kind of parallel illusion where if they exit the tent, her former allies will be 'part of the crowd' and will respond to her actions as if they were just as crazy as everyone else.
These are a few of the ideas I have for menagerie games, suggestions welcome:

1) Smashing Melons: The acolytes enter a contest where if they can make 3/5 easy ballistic tests against a stack of melons they will be rewarded with a bottle of perfume (actually the tears of widows). If they succeed on any one of the rolls the game master (twirls his extreme mustache) and hands them the parts of the melon that they hit (it appears to be a normal melon). Upon exiting the tent they realize that they are holding parts of a recently living human head that they blew to pieces. Before they respond a random passerby (or one of the PCs if someone had the temerity to go it alone) will ask if they are 'going to eat that' and will quickly ****** a chunk of brain matter and eat it before disappearing into the crowd.(Note: no one in the carnivora will be perturbed by what the PCs are holding.)

2) Fortune Teller: This tent contains a small table and a crooked old women who casts some dice and looking up at the acolytes declares that they are saints sent by the god emperor himself. Upon exiting the tent the PCs will be met by a small crowd of some 15 strong civilians who worship them, claim that they are manifestations of his will, and generally claw at them and pray for salvation. The only way to get these people to leave is either by killing them (actions that no matter how brazen will not be noticed by anyone) or by running into another tent.

3) Mutant Performers: The PCs enter this tent and see several mutants engaging in various carnival tricks (juggling, strength tests, etc.). Upon leaving the tent, the crowd responds to them as if they are mutants. All revelers with in 20 meters of wherever the PCs are will throw rocks, spit and insults.

4) Xeno Cages: This tent is full of various xeno beasts of the DM discretion that break out of their bindings and attack the PCs. When they leave the tent someone will scream the "(insert xeno name)s are loose!" Men will try to jump in between the PCs and children, women will produce knives and try to stab them, people will shriek in terror, attack, run away, etc. The PCs should not be able to get to the next tent with out killing at least 15 unarmed citizens.

5) Old man: this tent is empty with the exception of gaunt looking old man with an inhumanly wide smile and crazy eyes that just stares at them while slowly digging his withered fingernails into his chair (sounds like fingernails on chalkboard, or something suitably unpleasant). No matter what the PCs do he will not speak with them or respond in anyway whatsoever other than following them with his eyes. They will probably kill him, in which case he dies just like a normal person.

Upon exiting the old man tent the carnivora is totally devoid of life, all tents are empty, and everything is deserted. Coming from the large circus tent is the sound of carousel music being played at an extremely high rate of speed. When they enter the big they notice several things at once: everyone from the carnivora is seated around the central circus ring. In the center of the circus there is a sand pit which contains the body of the old man (whether they killed him or not) that is slowly being circled by an unmanned unicycle. The tempo of the carousel music picks up even faster and is almost unbearably loud the closer the PCs get to the sand pit. Every one in the tent is constantly and emotionlessly staring at the Acolytes. Once the PCs enter the central sand pit, all the sand is sucked out leaving them in a kind of maze. The music stops and the only sound they can hear is that of their own breathing. Up above them they can see the audience of a thousand twinkling eyes staring down at them. After stumbling about for some time they turn a corner and see a 7 foot tall emaciated man who is naked and has no genetalia. In the place of where a face is supposed to be the man only has smooth skin and a squid beak. The creature turns his head and regards them for a moment after which he attacks. Treat as a revelator from disciples of the dark gods.

Should the PCs be victorious the carnival fades and they find themselves standing in an enormous abandoned warehouse/manufactorium or some other structure. They gain a boatload of insanity and depending on how many innocents they killed potentially some corruption as well.

Scenario 2: Nurgle orphanage.

This scenario is pretty straigtforward series of encounters and battles. The order of these events is almost entirely incocequential and is strucured around what a Nurgle infestation might do to a seiries of rooms that conform to what one might expect in an orphanage:

Outside: arbites (or some other force) have quardened off the building and are resisiting attempts by deamons to get out. They suspect that there may be survivors inside but lack the manpower to resque them or even conduct a purge. The building seems resistant to attempts to burn it down or blow it up.

Battle outside: as the arbites sargant is giving the PCs details a small swarm of nurglings (and perhaps some other deasease ridden husk as well) storm out the main door. Care should be given to describing how some nurglings swarm over an arbite (or several) while stabbing him/her with desease ridden talons and attempt to climb inside the arbites mouths and/or vomit down their throats.

Kitchen: full of various simmering pots and kettles containing human remains with unidentifiable greenish brown lumps and other muck. One of these pots should contain something the acolytes need (a data slate, key, or some other helpful device).

Playroom: childrens toys iced over with a greenish/blue slime. ceiling seems to be honeycombed with some sort of insectoid dwelling that drips on to the acolytes armor and invariably finds exposed skin.

Mess Hall: Tables lined with the rotting, dessicated corpses of 7-12 year olds. Many of which are leaning into bowls filled with putrecence. At the end of the hall sands the fat veriaty of Nurgle daemon weilding an iron ladle covered in rusty spikes (for a good picture see the fayde strian virus in deciples of dark gods). It gargles something about pudding and meat bifore attacking.

Nursery: full of broken down playpens and cribs. this room is full of nurglings gibbering inanely at eachtoehr while creeping under the covers of the cradles. One nurgling is sitting on the cest of a dead baby and happily plunging a 6 inch long claw into the child's eye socket.

Drill Abott/Senior sister's quarters: the former head of the orphanage is suspended face down naked over his/her desk by large chains half-hazardly forced into the walls. Her back seems to have been eaten out by larvae that crawl around in her organs while extending parts of of themseves out to expel excerment. This person is still very much alive and constanly moans in pain. Should any light source fall upon her, the worms quickly retreat back into her flesh causing her to scream in pain.

Hallway: a half rotted corpse seems to be stuck to the wall with blackish green spider webbing. It reaches for the acolytes and tries to trip them as they walk past.

Larder: various foodstufs crawling with maggots.

Sisters room/staff room: Corpses of sisters/staff there is one (or several) plague bearers here wearing the same outfits as the staff.

Basement: Where the Nurgle sorcerer is. In my game the sorcerer will be a morbidly obese woman who is in the process of eating a greenish rotting baby from the nursery. She will be backed up by plaguebearers and cultists.

Options: depending on your mood or party characteristcs any one of these rooms may contain nurgle devotees that are live and will attack acolytes. They sould be bloated and deseased individuals weilding rusty cleavers or malfunctioning small arms.

In the menagerie, you're first game (smashing melons) is nicely bizzare and grotesque, but the others just seem vaguely odd but not horrifying like the first one is. If I were a player, I would find the other scenarios a let down after the melon business. Sadly I'm not good a this kind of horrifying, so I can't think of any other suggestions. I'll ponder.

The Nurgle scenario is good for gross, spooky and horrifying. I just have one problem with it... which is the beginning. Daemons have infested the site. There are no survivors. There might still be people alive inside, but there are no survivors. The correct response is not to send more people in. The correct response is to "purify the site" (and the arbites squads surrounding the site, and the surrounding buildings, and possibly the surrounding city) with fire... maybe atomic fire... preferably from orbit.

On the Menagerie one (since the other's got posted while I was typing this): I like the revelator, awesome imagery there!

You have some nice ideas for bizarre and torterous sureal games, but, one thing about the set-up you might want to work on a touch is the fact that the players are regulated more to the role of audience as opposed to participant. What i mean by that is they don't seem to have any opportunity of making decisions that can alter or change the coarse of the story for this bit and being forced to go through it in a certain manner with no alternative for any planing/creative problem solving might be a touch frustrating. You might want to expand on what you have and build it out to be less a series of events that they must experience (but can and more then likely will if they don't have their wits about them) to be more of an encounter that, by them interacting with it, they change it and the coarse of events depending what they do.

A few questions to help...

1. who organized the event? I know, the Menagerie,... but who in it? It was a person and no matter how insane, they still have modivations, a thought process, a reason. So, who and why?
2. How can the PCs find out their identity?
3. How dose the carnival do what it dose? I know, warp, but something more specific so you know what it can and can't do in case the PCs do something unexpected, you'll know how the carnival would responsd and how far it's response will go.
4. Why was it set up where it is and what is it's long term goals? I klnow, madness, change, but why that spot, why that time, why in the why set up the way it is?
5. What do any psykers who come into the area think/feel about the massive warp presence/manipulation?
6. As it's an increadibly powerful warp incursioun, were there any foreshadowings of it's comming and what mark will it leave on the area and the people of the area?
7. Is it merely an illusion for the PC's alone or is it meant for any who go?
8. If any, are the other people there illusions or are they citizens?
9. If the latter, why are they acting the way they are at times?
10. When a PC goes into a "parallel Illusion", where are they going in reality?
11. If for the PCs alone, why them and who set the trap?
12. Is there a way for them to find out who/what did this while inside?
13. How dose this move the story along and, even though an extermely negative event, is there anything positive the players (not necessarily the PCs) can take from it?

Also remember that Corruption points = warp contact. Daemons, direct warp exposure, sorcery. Being morally bankrupt doesn't have any in game effects. After all, it's the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millenium! Purge the Unclean has some of this but that's just an artifact from earlier versions of the game.

Maybe some Insanity Points for killing civilians, especially if it's very much against a character's own nature to do so. But yeah, corruption is meant to be more of a stain left from the visitation of the Warp than any objective Morality indicator IMHO.

Just read over your Nugal cult write up. Now thats some good, beautiful, and twisted fun there! And in it is what is missing in your Menagerie entry. All you did for the Nurgal insurrection is list What Is but didn't in any way dictate player action. They could do anything at all with that and the horror would still be there. No matter what they chose to do, you know what is and what isn't and can respond appropreatly. They are free to deal with it how ever they will. That's what you need for the other unless there's good reason for suc coices and decisions not to exist; just state what is and allow the players to deal with it any way they see fit. As it is, it seems like all you'll do, essentially, is narrate at them. No matter what they chose to do, even if they go in flamers lighting everybody up, it'll have no effect, and they'll have to jump through all the hoops laid out, hell or high-watter, finally ending up in a grand tent to have accusing eyes upon them before facing off to beak monster (which is still a GREAT design for a daemon!) and anything and everything they do or chose has no real value as it will all amount to nothing.

It's kind of ironic that they have the freedom to change what they will about the Nurgal incursion but will never be able to change anything about the Tzeenchian one.

Edit: OK, so i keep coming back to you Menagerie entry- it bothers me and I think I just thought of anouther aspect of it that makes it come off a bit flat and just not all together right or there. It seems like you want the horror of the innocent being plunged into acts of a horrific nature topped off with the cherry of realization. Unfortunately, acolytes are usually anything but innocent. I reckon it it's their first or second mission out, perhaps (unless one of them's an assassin), but innocence is quickly lost on them. However, it doesn't mean you still can't have that, you just need to change the focus, have them bear witness to the corruption of innocence as opposed to be the corrupted innocent. Trust me, that still packs a hell of a punch for most players.

Take most of the games you've described and then reverse things a bit. Instead of the PC going through it, what would it be like if the PC saw the truth, the machine behind the curtain as an innocent went through it? What if they were found out and attacked by carnies, subdued and placed in a shooting range with other victims while a pink faces boy joyously and innocently took pot-shots at their head before striking the streaking mother next to them, was handed her head, and went off to show his or her friends, taking a bite as they went? What if they saw the pregnant "xenos" being attacked? What if they thought she was a xenos beast until they scattered her brains, and then saw it happening again to someone else. They just killed one woman because of the illusions and now the crowd of mothers, fathers, and children are about to kill a 9 year old boy; what the hell do they do about that? Perhaps there is some kind of psychic saving throw they make to see reality vs the glitzy lie, to see innocent killing innocent. What the hell do they do about that and how do they stop the horror?

Edit a second time: And if you went the witnessed innocents rout, by golly, the horror wouldn't stop with the end of the carnival. What if, by their position as acolytes, were placed in charge of clean-up? What if they then had to make sure all those innocents who were corrupted in the carnival were "permanently censored"? What if they had to personally pay a visit and permanently censor that joyous pink faced 9 year old boy who killed the woman thinking her head was a melon? What if they had to seek out the elderly woman whom everyone thought was a mutant who started sprouting tendrils and silence her permanently? And then find everyone who had visited her in the past week and make sure they'd be no danger (those kids from Hab Stack 6, her daughter and her 8 kids, her son who's struggling to make ends meat and make his tithe to the manufactorum to insure that his wife gets that lung she needs...)... in the only way the Inquisition knows how to be sure of something like that, with led and flame. Grimdark!

I endorse the above post fully.

.....

Jesus H Christ man, well done.

Wow...

So I've got some good news and bad news. Bad news: I ran the game before I was able to read your post Graver. Good news: the PCs failed to kill the revelator, so he (it) will most certainly be back and tormenting them with your ideas in the future.

Overall, the scenarios went approximately as you guys predicted with only a couple differences.

Menagire Scenario: I inadvertently made the entire thing much more, well, crazy as I described the scenario in to the players in different and mutually exclusive ways: e.g.

P1: I leave the tent carrying my bucket of melons

P2: I'm carrying my melon as I leave the tent

DM to P1: ok so as you, P1, step outside and P2 reaches into your bucket of melons, that you now recognize to be full of cranial parts, and eats someones eyeball.

P2: No I don't!

DM to P2: I know you don't. Furthermore, P1 is asking if you're 'going to eat that?' gesturing to the skull parts you are carrying.

P1: But I'm leaving!

DM to P1: ok, you leave and go far away from P2.

DM to P2: P1 is still standing there and starts to reach for some brain matter.

P1: But I'm on the other side of the tent!

DM: that is correct.

etc.

The effect was that the PCs got confused and freaked out about what they were doing and didn't know who their allies were. On the other hand, the PCs were frustrated about their lack of freedom in the encounter. I think that the next time they run into this revelator they will run around and see things for what they really are as per the Graver Scenario.

Nurgle Scholam: I added a couple rooms off the cuff during the session that you might appreciate.

Staff Room: The staff room contains several ripped up and overturned beds. On the far side of the room there is a woman who looks at you with glazed over eyes and smiles with rotting teeth as a nurgling proceeds to claw its way out of her (yes, that way).

Cleaning room: this room has a tiled floor that is built in such a way that water spilled rolls down toward a drain in the center of the room. The sinks are overflowing with a black liquid that is seeping into the drain. The far side of the room has three washing machines that are running furiously. As the PCs enter the room the central drain begins to bubble up with blackish excrement and hair (the kind of stuff that is found in the S-bend of a sink but worse). After one round of bubbling the drain will begin spewing acidic filth at the players (treat as a flamer with the toxic quality). The only way this can be prevented is by disabling the washing machines, which after taking any damage whatsoever explode in fountains of brownish-yellow puss and human bone.

I extend my gratitude to all of you for your input.

I am hugely impressed by what I've seen, just a great web of ideas to weave into your existing storyline and hopefully scare or unnerve your PC's. Mine are quite hard-bitten at this point, but it's a good tactic to make them become inured to a particular "flavour" of horror, and then suddenly and violently change tack. Any chance of a slaaneshi or Khornate set of ideas anytime soon?

Menagerie 2.0 thanks to Graver.

(apologies for misspellings and other mistakes, I'm in a hurry)

This scenario takes place in a much more conventional type fairground, this time complete with roller coasters, horror house, and typical boardwalk style games. In the previous version, all the people were illusions that tried to unnerve the PCs, however, this time everyone will be real.

Last time the PCs figured out that the previous fair/illusion was constructed by putting various runes on the doors of a manufactorum that caused all those who entered the rune portals (look like canvas doors) to enter a kind of parallel reality. This time the acolytes will be wise to this scheme and try to gain enter through other sneakier means. If they arn't clever enough to figure it out their inquisitor might demand they be sneaky, or they can make rolls to come up with the brilliant idea not to charge through the main door.

This being the case, they will be in the reality that all others find themselves in. That said, this fair is actually real. The roller coaster actually exists, along with all the other games, but the nature of these games will be apparent to the acolytes but not the general populace who are all under the illusionary warp hex.

I have several ideas for twisted boardwalk games/amusements that are presented here:

Saint Dursus' Great Crusade: this roller coaster is shaped like an imperial navy vessel that rides across a track that is supposed to represent the calaxis sector. Tied down on the tracks of the coaster are effigies of orks, mutants, and other unsavory things that the roller coaster crushes as it moves. The PCs recognize that these effigies are, in fact, live people who are getting run over and messily dismembered. Most of them scream/yell to the others in the carnival to save them and are summarily ignored.

Smashing Melons 2.0: This is a shooting gallery where the participent has a rifle and tries to shoot at melons. The reward being that the customer gets to keep what he hits. Of course, these melons are the heads of people who are gagged and crying. Their heads being presented through holes in a board with a guillotine like mechanism that severs the necks of any who are hit. These heads fall off the board and roll down a gore streaked slide into a bucket that is presented to the winner who often begins to consume his prize immediately.

Beat the Mutant: This game takes the appearance of a strength test where the player is supplied with a maul with an impact measure. The objective is to hit a tied-down mutant with as much force as possible. The mutant is, you guessed it, a regular imperial citizen who begs for mercy before getting hit. Note: these 'mutants' are presented as redicivists who have broken the emperor's laws. A big neon sign reads "Bring the Emperor's JUSTICE upon those of little Faith".

Kissing booth: Customers see themselves as paying money for a kiss on the cheek by an attractive member of the opposite gender. In fact, these 'attractive people' are actually terrible mutant/warp monstrosities. In my game, they are a line up of multiple limbed, fanged, tentacle creatures who, more often than not, maul their victims.

Dart Game: the objective here is to throw needle like darts into the 'bulls-eye'. These are real eye-balls that are glued/tacked to the center of dart boards. Option: real people are standing behind the dart boards and are looking at what they believe to be a peep-show or some other kind of game where you have to look through a hole.

Questionable food stands: pretty self explanatory. Located near smashing melons or Great Crusade.

Mind Bender: this ride appears to be in the theme of a horror house but is actually the main component of the fairground. People (including PCs if they fail WP tests) will go in and then exit the ride without any memory of what transpired. What actually happens is that the people on the ride are subjected to super warp hypno-suggestions by the chaos symbols on the wall (this may have an interesting effect on the PCs later in the game should they fail their tests). Also, those whom the Menagerie deem unworthy of their schemes are taken out and and distributed through the underworks of the fairground to supply the other rides/games with the bodies that are readily consumed.

Underworks: this is a maze of nightmarish tunnels that connect all the rides/games and supply them with fresh bodies provided by the Mind Bender. Within these tunnels resides the brainwashed cultists that run the fair, the revelator (see previous entry), and various other monstrosities (see the menagerie entry in DotDG).

Tips: emphasize the dissonance between what is going on and what people see/hear. Innocents are screaming and dying while totally normal people stride through entrails as if nothing was the matter. Boys applaud as dads smash the skull of mutants, and girls skip around while munching on human fingers. Acolytes who have had previous encounters with the Menagerie might snap and play the games as if the people who are dying arn't real. Acolytes who fail the WP test in the Mind Bender might fall under the spell and become convinced that nothing is wrong. Acolytes who visibly respond to the situation with violence and revulsion are treated as crazy or ignored as would be appropriate.

Options: The fairgound is an area permeated with the warp. Should psykers use their powers they add a +20 to perils rolls. Furthermore, PCs might be subject to hallucinations: catching glimpses of dead allies/enemies, their inquisitor might be visible in the crowd for one second, etc. If you use this portion make sure you detail the hallucinations on notes that you pass out. Hence when the acolytes react, all the other PCs get confused/disturbed. Randomly roll dice and give players funny looks. Cater to the PCs personalities/phobias when creating hallucinations. Notes should be written like this:

"You have succeded at a secrete awareness test, you spot (name) in the crowd." Or something to allay the suspicion that they are hallucinating.

Part 2:

The PC's inquisitor will demand that the acolytes purge anyone/everyone who was associated/corrupted by the fair. This is, of course, very difficult to do since the Menagerie didnt exactly check everyone's idents before allowing entry. As a result the Acolytes have to personally execute (or oversee the execution of) totally normal imperial citizens most of which didn't go to the carnival or weren't corrupted when they went. This should be a brutal affair citizens should ask what they have done wrong or profess their faithfulness to the God Emperor. Resistance should be token but not serious: mothers should use their bodies to try to shield their children from bullets, fathers will jump infront of flamers or grapple executioners before getting messily hacked down by chain blades, etc.

The irony that the PCs are willfully engaging in the activities they found so repulsive should not be lost on them.

Locque said:

Thank you very much.

Slannesh cult is coming up, but I don't have any Korn ideas (he is tricky since its mostly just gore, and thats not very scary).

What about a Khorne Cult that is manipulating others to do the gory things?

imagine a murderer who cant remember commiting that brutal murder, and being very normal. Or a Khorne cult that is leading the PDF forces?

it will be a different kind of horror, but still just as scary.

Khorne has many aspects to him, the diluted, dumbed down version most WH40K players are familiar with is fairly much- Bloodshed, Death and Fighting. However, Khorne also favours Murder, Warriors, Battlefields and Honour in Warfare (aka Chivalry) he may kill you but in some sense it will be a warriors death rather than let old age, misfortune and disease claim you. He detests cowardice or underhanded (psychic) methods in combat because it is by will, strength and passion that men kill others. It is why he was so vehemently opposed to Tzeench because he's a sneaky bastard and a bit of a cheat, didn't like Nurgle much because his diseases claim warriors instead of combat and thinks Slaanesh is a complete ***** that likes humping and hurting more than a good old fashioned punch up.

Quite a few sanctioned cults, assassins and warriors of the Imperium skirt a fine line between their duty to the Emperor and also attracting the eye of Khorne to their struggles because he sees the conflict, the blood, the hatred, fury and bravery. It doesn't take much for the bravest and most skilled of the Emperors champions to slip over the edge and gain Khorne's favour simply by doing the things they do best (generally killing people)... of course, he likes it more when they're killing in his name. But should a warrior be faced with his back against the wall, surrounded by insurmountable opposition with steel in his veins and bold of heart, all he has to do is call out that name and be favoured by Khorne. Of course, he might die in the process but should he survive and split the skulls and spill the blood of many in the struggle of combat, he will indeed be truly favoured...

That is the tragedy of many who end up succumbing to chaos and following Khorne, the "Hero" aspect should be emphasised of the greatest of Khorne's warriors, any other day and any other side they would be peers and admired by the Player Characters, a guy you could rely on to get the job done regardless of the cost to himself and in his passing a sense of sadness that they've killed someone who was truly a great warrior.

Of course, that sometimes gets diminished when people are getting cut up earhole to arsehole and getting limbs lopped off by a chainsword, but hey don't start something you can't finish.

To mirror to an extent what Bassemandrh said, there is a lot of horror to be had in Khorne without it being a simple 80's slasher shock-fest which, in 40k, wouldn't be all that shocking to begin with. Going with some themes set up in your previous incursion examples, perhaps focus on the corruption of the innocent again with a leaning towards a viscus and terrible death coming from an unexpected and unlikely corner.

As there seems to be a thread horrors visited upon children running through your examples, keep it up, but empower them this time as opposed to victimizing them. Nothings quite as f'ed up and freaky as eight-year old butcherers who kill you as a part of their fun game if done right and can be incredibly messed up to even fight back against them if done right (to see it done right, watch a little indi movie called The Children... if you don't have kids, you'll never want to have them after that movie). Perhaps all the children of a remote habstack, district, or village on a less developed world somehow fall into Khorne's hands, rise up and slaughter those that trust and love them to feed their blood to the blood god... out in the field maybe... you could call it...

Children of the Khorne!

Now, someone should shoot me in the face for that one.

Graver said:

The last campaign I ran was 20% the entire party getting entirely screwed over by a daemon that took the form of a little girl and possessed one of the PCs. She made him do interesting things like murder innocent librarians, play hopscotch with his own blood, and draw pentagramic symbols all over his room with a red crayon (plas-sticks). While she wasn't strictly human, I think the players are tired of getting screwed by kids. Also, children may seem to be pretty prevalent in these scenarios but these are diversions from the real storyline that is much closer to a murder-mystery than anything else.