Mad King Thorn

General
On October 31st Mad King Thorn appears every three hours in the mushroom circle area in both Lion's Arch and Kamadan. Undead horsemen "Heralds" routinely warned travelers of their master's impending arrival in both cities.

Upon arrival, he begins issuing commands, telling jokes, and playing games of Rock/Paper/Scissors and Mad King Says. If a player performs the correct emote, they receive various Halloween treats. If one fails to emote correctly, they are temporarily killed, but are resurrected before the next command. At the end of the game, the Mad King rewards everyone present with a Festival hat (style dependant on city acquired). The game lasts approximately 30 minutes.

If a player has a character that could access both areas conducting the event, that player can obtain both hats on one character. Additionally, if a player wishes to get each type of hat at the same time of the day, start the event at a lower numbered district. When the event ends there and you receive your hat, map your character to a higher numbered district in the other location where you want the hat. The time delay for the event between districts can exceed even half an hour, allowing plenty of time to get characters to other locations.

Introductory monologue

 * "Come and stand before me, my subjects, and bask in my glory!"


 * "Yes, gather 'round. Don't be intimidated by my regal bearing, I won't harm you, unless you give me good reason to do so."


 * "Is this everyone? Where have all the brave Tyrians gone? COME HERE, NOW!"


 * "Good, good! Seeing all my adoring subjects before me again gives me a WONDERFUL idea. Let's have a CELEBRATION in honor of ME!"


 * "Now, kneel before King Thorn! Kneel before me! KNEEL NOW, I SAY!"


 * (Anyone that fails to kneel is killed.)


 * "In days of old, any who did not show proper respect to the king paid with their lives. Fitting, if you ask me."


 * "I just love to see you all grovel! HA HA!"

Lethal rock-paper-scissors

 * "Now, as you all know, while I lived, my military genius was unsurpassed. I crushed every peasant revolt that rose up against me!"


 * "My army could not be defeated! My fleet was unsurpassed! Most impressive of all, I was the MASTER of that greatest test of strategic aptitude: ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS!"


 * "(character name), you look like a smart one! Now, I am going to count down from three, then you must choose a weapon that will overcome the weapon I choose."

The player can win, lose or tie. If the player wins, he/she gets one of the Halloween Collectors items. If there's a tie, nothing happens. If the king wins, he kills the player (who is quickly resurrected). What he says, depends on the outcome:

King wins: "I'm afraid I'm just too smart for you. You've lost and so you must die. Justice is cruel, ha ha ha!"

Player wins: "I have lost? How can that be? DID YOU CHEAT ME? No, I suppose not. Here is your reward."

A tie: "A tie? Ha ha ha ha ha. Great minds think alike, do they not?"

Killer Jokes
In this sequence, the kings begins by noting the absence of his court jester:


 * "What this celebration needs is a bit of humor. Unfortunately, the court jester couldn't make it tonight."

Then says:


 * "Luckily for you, in addition to being wise and generous, I am very, very witty. Listen up!"

He then tells one of the following jokes:


 * "Why did the Charr cross the Wall?"


 * "To get to the other side!"


 * "Why can't you borrow money from a Dwarf?"


 * "Because they're always a little short. HA HA HA HA HA! Get it? DWARVES are SHORT!


 * "Knock, Knock"


 * (Now you say: "Who's There?")


 * "It's Mad King Thorn, and I command you to laugh! LAUGH NOW OR DIE!"


 * "A Troll, a Tengu and a Dwarf walk into a bar..."


 * "No wait, only the Troll and the Tengu do, the Dwarf walks UNDER the bar!!"


 * "I just flew in from the Underworld ..."


 * "and boy are my arms tired!"

These jokes are new as of the Halloween 2007 event:


 * "How many Asura does it take to screw in a power core?"


 * "None, they force a human to do it for them!"


 * "How are a Paragon and a drunkard alike?"


 * "Both like to shout at strangers and run around without any pants."


 * "This celebration gives me a feeling of deja vu."


 * "This celebration gives me a feeling of deja vu."


 * "This celebration gives me a feeling of deja vu. (That's a joke, you dolts! LAUGH NOW OR DIE!)"


 * "What's the difference between the Great Destroyer and the Great Dwarf?"


 * "One is the harbringer of the apocalypse and the other is an oxymoron."


 * "When I first returned from the Land of the Dead, one of the fine citizens of Lion's Arch let out a cry: "Why King Thorn, you have a pumpkin on your head!"


 * "And I said, "Eh? So he repeated, "Milord, you have a pumpkin on your head!""


 * "And I said, "What? So he yelled, "Milord, you have a pumpkin on your head!""


 * "To which, I replied, "A thousand pardons, fine citizen, I cannot hear you. I HAVE A PUMPKIN ON MY HEAD!" HA HA HA HA HA!"


 * ''"Why do the Norn "Become the Bear?"


 * "Because "Become the Arrogant Loudmouth" was already taken by the Asura."

After each of these jokes, any player that fails to laugh is killed, and the king states that:
 * "One way or another, my jokes always slay the audience."

Players that laugh are given a gift (in the form of one of the Halloween Collectors items) with the words:


 * "Although I know the joke was rewarding in itself, here is a little something for those who laughed."

Music and dancing
Music:
 * "I grow weary of these games. Let us have music! I demand music!


 * "Everyone play and keep playing. Play your hearts out. PLAY OR I WILL RIP YOUR HEARTS OUT!"


 * "Now, play for me! And give it everything you've got!"


 * (Players must do an instrument emote or be killed.)


 * "Such sweet music to my ears. It reminds me of my glory days. You have all done well and will be rewarded."

Dancing:
 * "There is something missing from this celebration...but what could it be?"


 * "I know! This is a party, is it not? Then why is there no dancing?"


 * "Let the dancing begin! dance, I say! DANCE!!!!"


 * (Players must do the /dance emote or be killed.)


 * "If you don't dance, then you're no friends of mine."


 * "Some of you dance well. I am pleased. Here if your reward."

Other emotes
Lion's Arch, bowing:
 * "If only I could relive those glory days, when all would bow before me..."


 * "I remember a time when I would walk through the city and all of my subjects would bow before me."


 * "Ah...it is good to be back in Lion's Arch."


 * "Perhaps I was too subtle in my request for some of you to understand. Too bad for you."


 * "Loyal subjects are always rewarded."

Scaring:
 * "Hmm... things are not nearly scary enough around here."


 * "I think that on a night such as this, the mood should be very scary."


 * "I'd like you all to try and scare me. DO IT NOW!"


 * (Players must perform the /boo or /scare emote or be killed.)


 * "Some of you couldn't scare a moa bird!"


 * "Some of you truly frightened me! I think a reward is in order."

Team spirit:
 * "Let me see your team spirit...GO TEAM!!!"


 * (Players must perform the /goteam emote or be killed.)


 * "This lack of team spirit will not be tolerated! Die!"


 * "Yes! It even smells like team spirit!"

The Mad King Says
The version of Simon Says which is played near the end of his visit:
 * "This last game is very difficult and will take all of your skill and knowledge. Even the greatest heroes of Orr, Kryta, and Ascalon have feared to play this game with Mad King Thorn. We shall now play..."


 * "...Mad King Says!"


 * "All right, this is very simple. You must do only what the Mad King Says. If I give a command preceded by the words "Mad King Says," then you must obey. If you do not hear these words, then you must not undertake the action. Are we ready?"

Flex:

Do: "Let me see your muscles! Mad King Says: FLEX!"

Don't: "Let's see your muscles! FLEX!"

Jump:

Do: "I think I would like you all to jump now. Mad King Says: JUMP!"

Don't: "Now JUMP!"

Roar:

Do: "All right now, I think I would like to hear all of you road like a great beast. Yes, that would be nice. Mad King Says: ROAR!"

Don't: "All right, now roar like a monster! Ready, set, ROAR!"

Yawn:

Do: to be added.

Don't: ''"I know you are not bored, but still, I would like to see you YAWN!"

Exeunt

 * "Sadly, it is time for me to go."


 * "Do not weep, for it has been a glorious night!"


 * "Look for my heralds, mark the signs that fortell my coming, for I will return!"


 * "Farewell, my loyal subjects! Here is a final gift for each of you!"


 * (The Mad King disappears.)

Upon his exit, players are rewarded with a festival hat, the type depending on which city they were in during his visit.

The following hats were awarded for the Halloween 2007 event:
 * Scarecrow (Lion's Arch)
 * ? (Kamadan)

Screenshots of his visits to Lion's Arch
 

Trivia

 * After he orders the players to perform the /goteam emote, he exclaims: "Yes! It even smells like team spirit!" This is a reference to the famous Nirvana song, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."