My players are fairly creative, and one thing I like to do is come up with a puzzle or obstacle without providing the tools needed to overcome it. It's a special joy to see them comb through their inventory of rituals and items and improvise some way to cross a gorge without a bridge or gain access to the now-waterless towers in the merman prison.
A couple times, though, they didn't rise to the challenge the way I thought they would. I confronted them with an owlbear-- a beast that was obviously too tough for them to take on-- figuring that they'd find some way to distract it or sneak by it. But all of them seemed quite ready to just up and fight the thing, even Irving, who sometimes seems hellbent on talking his way out of physical conflict.
I had them come face-to-face with a ravenous plant with vine tentacles. They just backed up and set it on fire until it burned into ashes.
Recently, I blocked their path with a gelatinous cube. They just backed up until it got stuck in a door and started hammering it with magic missiles and arrows and the like. I had to fudge a bit-- something I don't like doing-- to get them to put on their puzzle-solving hats, and felt lousy about it afterwards.
What's become apparent to me is that while my method of puzzle construction-- here's the challenge, now think of something-- does work most of the time, it does so only when the puzzle doesn't involve a living (and thus killable, combatable) creature.
2.02.2011
+2 Short Sword of Meal Detecting
Sword detects meals-- but not lone food-stuffs-- in the area by glowing and humming.
Water Pressure
In a recent adventure, my players donned primitive diving suits and braved the depths so that they might confront the villainous merman Seldak. D&D has some very simple rules for underwater combat and movement, but on the whole I didn't find those rules particularly dangerous. So, here's what my players had to contend with.
First of all, at the beginning of every turn, they had to make two checks. One was an Equipment Check, to make sure their diving suit and breathing apparatus didn't malfunction. The second was an endurance check against water pressure damage.
The DC for these checks changed depending on what "level" of water their character occupied; at the very bottom, the checks were very tough, while closer to the surface, they were easier.
If the endurance check failed, they took water pressure damage-- said damage, again, increased with the depth of water they occupied, ranging from 1d6 to 2d12. If the first equipment check failed, the endurance checks became harder. If the second failed, they took that level of pressure damage. The third equipment failure gave them no air to breathe; then they started making endurance checks against drowning, as per the standard rules.
If you fail a swim check by a certain amount in the vanilla D&D 4E rules, your character not only forfeits their movement but sinks a square. With my water pressure rules, you also instantly take that level of water pressure damage.
Players can swim freely up or down, but if they move more than one level up or down at a time, they get the bends-- double the water pressure damage followed by ongoing standard water pressure damage each turn, save ends.
This probably all sounds a little extreme, and, well, it was. It made for a much more dangerous and memorable encounter, one they got through just barely.
I wouldn't recommend these sort of rules for everyone-- it slowed the combat down a bit and could be pretty unforgiving.
First of all, at the beginning of every turn, they had to make two checks. One was an Equipment Check, to make sure their diving suit and breathing apparatus didn't malfunction. The second was an endurance check against water pressure damage.
The DC for these checks changed depending on what "level" of water their character occupied; at the very bottom, the checks were very tough, while closer to the surface, they were easier.
If the endurance check failed, they took water pressure damage-- said damage, again, increased with the depth of water they occupied, ranging from 1d6 to 2d12. If the first equipment check failed, the endurance checks became harder. If the second failed, they took that level of pressure damage. The third equipment failure gave them no air to breathe; then they started making endurance checks against drowning, as per the standard rules.
If you fail a swim check by a certain amount in the vanilla D&D 4E rules, your character not only forfeits their movement but sinks a square. With my water pressure rules, you also instantly take that level of water pressure damage.
Players can swim freely up or down, but if they move more than one level up or down at a time, they get the bends-- double the water pressure damage followed by ongoing standard water pressure damage each turn, save ends.
This probably all sounds a little extreme, and, well, it was. It made for a much more dangerous and memorable encounter, one they got through just barely.
I wouldn't recommend these sort of rules for everyone-- it slowed the combat down a bit and could be pretty unforgiving.
13. Sphere of Destiny
Our group returns to Hodam, but just briefly; Sherrif Feer finds a group of eladrin waiting for her, seeking her assistance in arresting Tralamin. Melany supplies them with horses, and the group, including Jarmangle's sister Tyne, sneaks out of town and heads west.
They find the body of their friend Uncle and, after Tralamin has stolen the lint from his pockets, he is cremated.
They arrive at the Merman Prison and stash the dormant sphere of annihilation in Seldak's tower, locking the door.
They head down into the dungeon beneath the prison. This ancient dungeon contains many traps-- some still active, some long-ago-disabled-- and the bodies of many would-be adventurers. They loot freely from the bodies, as well as from secret treasure rooms. Our heroes encounter a group of goblins-- one of whom, Hanoonk, is adopted by Jarmangle as a sort of pet-- and a mummy, which Tralamin insists is just trying to be friends. Tralamin even attacks Robyn when the latter tries to defend herself from the mummy.
Tralamin and Robyn both contract mummy rot, but later manage to overcome it during an extended rest. The group fends off a bullette, discovers an underwater lake, and steals two jeweled eyes from an idol to a dark god.
Barely alive, and feeling they have explored the dungeon thoroughly, they head back up to the surface and make camp at the fort they had freed from the undead curse.
They find the body of their friend Uncle and, after Tralamin has stolen the lint from his pockets, he is cremated.
They arrive at the Merman Prison and stash the dormant sphere of annihilation in Seldak's tower, locking the door.
They head down into the dungeon beneath the prison. This ancient dungeon contains many traps-- some still active, some long-ago-disabled-- and the bodies of many would-be adventurers. They loot freely from the bodies, as well as from secret treasure rooms. Our heroes encounter a group of goblins-- one of whom, Hanoonk, is adopted by Jarmangle as a sort of pet-- and a mummy, which Tralamin insists is just trying to be friends. Tralamin even attacks Robyn when the latter tries to defend herself from the mummy.
Tralamin and Robyn both contract mummy rot, but later manage to overcome it during an extended rest. The group fends off a bullette, discovers an underwater lake, and steals two jeweled eyes from an idol to a dark god.
Barely alive, and feeling they have explored the dungeon thoroughly, they head back up to the surface and make camp at the fort they had freed from the undead curse.
12. The Dark Spire
Tyne explains that she first ventured into the Dark Spire alone after Tallybrooke fled Bloodpurse Isle. There, she met a group of drow, and barely escaped with her life. Tralamin is not eager to meet his dark elf brethren and tries to persuade his friends not to venture within.
Inside, they find many strange and wondrous things, such as a door that gets farther away the closer you come to it and a fountain that transforms those who drink its waters into a skunk. Irving transforms himself into a skunk and seems quite happy about it.
And, of course, they find drow-- drow who recognize Tralamin, and explain to his horrified friends that Tralamin betrayed the eladrin to the drow and the drow to the eladrin, and had become the sworn enemy of both. Perhaps against their better judgment, the group fights off the vicious drow to perserve Tralamin's life.
Jarmangle transforms himself into a skunk, eager to see what happens when his tiefling demonic transformation ability is triggered in skunk form; he gives all his gear into his sister's keeping. Faced with a boobytrapped locked door in a room with a strange portal, it is Tyne who must attempt to pick the lock-- and Tyne who fails. She is blasted into the portal, and the Linked Ring of Telepathy she shares with her brother goes dark. They fear she is dead.
They find Tallybrooke, who has been driven insane by the tower's weird magicks. He had come to seek out a djinn at the top of the spire, who might grant him a wish.
Making their way up the tower and solving its fiendish puzzles, our heroes find the djinn. They carefully parse their words so that they can bring Tyne back to them safely. They forget, however, to specify that she should have her clothes and possessions with her, including Jarmangle's equipment. Everything-- his demonic sword, his money, his tools, his clothing-- is gone.
Everything save the strange orb he found within the paperweight they stole from Firepalm. It is discovered that the orb is a dormant sphere of annihilation. Wishing to stash it somewhere where it will not do any harm, our heroes resolve to return to the Merman Prison and put it there. Perhaps, also, they will explore the dungeon beneath it, and Jarmangle might start to replace some of his lost possessions.
Inside, they find many strange and wondrous things, such as a door that gets farther away the closer you come to it and a fountain that transforms those who drink its waters into a skunk. Irving transforms himself into a skunk and seems quite happy about it.
And, of course, they find drow-- drow who recognize Tralamin, and explain to his horrified friends that Tralamin betrayed the eladrin to the drow and the drow to the eladrin, and had become the sworn enemy of both. Perhaps against their better judgment, the group fights off the vicious drow to perserve Tralamin's life.
Jarmangle transforms himself into a skunk, eager to see what happens when his tiefling demonic transformation ability is triggered in skunk form; he gives all his gear into his sister's keeping. Faced with a boobytrapped locked door in a room with a strange portal, it is Tyne who must attempt to pick the lock-- and Tyne who fails. She is blasted into the portal, and the Linked Ring of Telepathy she shares with her brother goes dark. They fear she is dead.
They find Tallybrooke, who has been driven insane by the tower's weird magicks. He had come to seek out a djinn at the top of the spire, who might grant him a wish.
Making their way up the tower and solving its fiendish puzzles, our heroes find the djinn. They carefully parse their words so that they can bring Tyne back to them safely. They forget, however, to specify that she should have her clothes and possessions with her, including Jarmangle's equipment. Everything-- his demonic sword, his money, his tools, his clothing-- is gone.
Everything save the strange orb he found within the paperweight they stole from Firepalm. It is discovered that the orb is a dormant sphere of annihilation. Wishing to stash it somewhere where it will not do any harm, our heroes resolve to return to the Merman Prison and put it there. Perhaps, also, they will explore the dungeon beneath it, and Jarmangle might start to replace some of his lost possessions.
11. The Fury of Seldak
Our quintet stops by Hodam en route to their ship, The Eve of Destruction, which they will use to travel to Bloodpurse Isle and the neighboring Merman City, so that they might stop Seldak from wreaking havok there. In town, Irving and Jarmangle consult a private detective, Vernjack, to try and dig up some dirt on Tralamin. It turns out Tralamin is wanted by the eladrin, and is considered to be a notorious criminal. Unaware of this, Tralamin talks with Melany and establishes a formal business partnership, giving both of them shared ownership of the brewery, as well as all the inns, pubs, and brothels in town. Hearing that they'll be travelling to Bloodpurse Isle, Melany suggests they try to firm up a trade agreement with Jarmangle's father, Captain Bergris.
They sail down the river, and as their ship approaches Bloodpurse Isle, they rescue a young merman. He is the Prince of the Merman City, and he is fleeing for his life; his parents have already been murdered by Seldak. They head to Bergris's palace, hoping he'll provide much needed aid, in keeping with his treaty with the mermen.
Bergris is not alone; Seldak is with him, and the pirate lord has agreed not to interfere, acting he feels in the best interest of his island. The discussion that follows soon leads to blows; Seldak animates the owlbear rug that Tralamin has been wearing and manages to escape. Bergris crosses swords with his son but lets him live; he warns them not to interfere, or else the trade agreement between Bloodpurse and Hodam will be forfeit. He also intimates that Tyne's life will be in danger.
But our heroes have no intention of being cowed. They agree to help the merman prince reclaim his kingdom, and he mentions a strange "metal whale" that a surface-man once used to visit them. The whale is kept in a small pond deep within the Gnollish Woods.
They sail up to the mouth of the woods in their ship, and then travel on foot. Jarmangle finds some berries and feeds them to his dire falcon; the falcon nearly dies, for they are poisonous. Feer saves it, but Jarmangle-- for reasons never quite made clear-- kills it with his sword. He tosses it in the air, and Irving sets it on fire.
They find the metal whale, and use it to travel to the Merman City. Wanting to avoid a direct confrontation, they bake some of the poisonous berries into a Merman delicacy, and send Tralamin to present it to Seldak as a peace offering. Seldak is suspicious, and Tralamin basically admits that it is a transparent attempt to poison him.
Seldak suggests that Tralamin join forces with him, and gives the eladrin an explosive device to take back to his friends. Tralamin takes the bomb back to the metal whale, and then tells his friends precisely what happened. They jettison the explosive, and engage Seldak in a final, climactic battle. Jarmangle nearly perishes from the crushing water pressure, but our heroes manage to triumph, ending Seldak's reign of terror and restoring the Merman Prince to the throne.
Our heroes discover that Bergris has destroyed The Eve of Destruction, and that Tyne has escaped his clutches, heading to the Dark Spire on the nearby penninsula-- the last place where Tallybrooke was seen alive. The group agrees to join her on her exploration of the bizarre tower.
They sail down the river, and as their ship approaches Bloodpurse Isle, they rescue a young merman. He is the Prince of the Merman City, and he is fleeing for his life; his parents have already been murdered by Seldak. They head to Bergris's palace, hoping he'll provide much needed aid, in keeping with his treaty with the mermen.
Bergris is not alone; Seldak is with him, and the pirate lord has agreed not to interfere, acting he feels in the best interest of his island. The discussion that follows soon leads to blows; Seldak animates the owlbear rug that Tralamin has been wearing and manages to escape. Bergris crosses swords with his son but lets him live; he warns them not to interfere, or else the trade agreement between Bloodpurse and Hodam will be forfeit. He also intimates that Tyne's life will be in danger.
But our heroes have no intention of being cowed. They agree to help the merman prince reclaim his kingdom, and he mentions a strange "metal whale" that a surface-man once used to visit them. The whale is kept in a small pond deep within the Gnollish Woods.
They sail up to the mouth of the woods in their ship, and then travel on foot. Jarmangle finds some berries and feeds them to his dire falcon; the falcon nearly dies, for they are poisonous. Feer saves it, but Jarmangle-- for reasons never quite made clear-- kills it with his sword. He tosses it in the air, and Irving sets it on fire.
They find the metal whale, and use it to travel to the Merman City. Wanting to avoid a direct confrontation, they bake some of the poisonous berries into a Merman delicacy, and send Tralamin to present it to Seldak as a peace offering. Seldak is suspicious, and Tralamin basically admits that it is a transparent attempt to poison him.
Seldak suggests that Tralamin join forces with him, and gives the eladrin an explosive device to take back to his friends. Tralamin takes the bomb back to the metal whale, and then tells his friends precisely what happened. They jettison the explosive, and engage Seldak in a final, climactic battle. Jarmangle nearly perishes from the crushing water pressure, but our heroes manage to triumph, ending Seldak's reign of terror and restoring the Merman Prince to the throne.
Our heroes discover that Bergris has destroyed The Eve of Destruction, and that Tyne has escaped his clutches, heading to the Dark Spire on the nearby penninsula-- the last place where Tallybrooke was seen alive. The group agrees to join her on her exploration of the bizarre tower.
10. Two-In-One
Our remaining heroes-- Jarmangle, Tralamin, Feer, Robyn, and Irving-- blockade the fort's entrance and reinstall a couple of traps they had disarmed. The zombie gnolls rush in and, after a long and tense battle, they are defeated and the curse on the fort lifted. Exhausted, our heroes make camp for the night.
As they slumber, they each of them have a strange dream, which imparts to each a different, cryptic message. (Tralamin, who does not sleep, recieves his message jumbled-up during his meditations.) Our heroes share their experiences with one another, but cannot quite make sense of it.
Come morning, they head for the coral palace in the dried up lake just southwest of the fort. They discover that, when the lake was filled with water, it served as a prison for the most notorious of mermen.
They learn that merman culture prizes mathematics above all else-- for them it is magic, religion, culture, and law. Mermen are also biologically immortal-- the gift of Seldak, who is also considered their greatest criminal because he solved "the forbidden proof". There are several towers that, in the past, one could have swimmed up. Irving possesses Feer's battleferret, and uses his magehand to float himself up the various towers, taking note of the corpses of the various mer-criminals, who died without water to breathe.
One tower, which houses Seldak, is inaccessible: a door, armed with powerful and deadly magic, blocks its path. But examining the door, our heroes soon realize that their strange dreams provided each of them with a key to the puzzle. Putting their information together, they are able to open the door without incurring its wrath.
The tower on the other side is still filled with water; indeed, the water does not rush out of now-opened door but stays there by some strange sort of magic. Jarmangle swims up the tower, but runs afoul of several explosive balls that were placed there decades ago. His life is saved thanks to the intervention of Seldak-- still alive, and desperate for vengeance against the mermen who branded him a heretic.
Jarmangle is quickly dominated by the psionic merman, and Tralamin seems eager to help him achieve his goal, much to Irving's chagrin. The wizard is hesitant to interfere in the mermen's affairs, but he, Feer, and Robyn decide that it is best to stop him.
Seldak, infuriated, uses his forbidden proof to create living beings out of thin air, and battle is soon joined. He proves a formidable opponent, opening portals to redirect their attacks and place himself out of harm's way. He manages to escape, using linked portals and his personal water-bubble.
During the battle, the floor collapses, revealing a sprawling ancient dungeon beneath the prison. It will, however, have to wait; they must stop Seldak!
As they slumber, they each of them have a strange dream, which imparts to each a different, cryptic message. (Tralamin, who does not sleep, recieves his message jumbled-up during his meditations.) Our heroes share their experiences with one another, but cannot quite make sense of it.
Come morning, they head for the coral palace in the dried up lake just southwest of the fort. They discover that, when the lake was filled with water, it served as a prison for the most notorious of mermen.
They learn that merman culture prizes mathematics above all else-- for them it is magic, religion, culture, and law. Mermen are also biologically immortal-- the gift of Seldak, who is also considered their greatest criminal because he solved "the forbidden proof". There are several towers that, in the past, one could have swimmed up. Irving possesses Feer's battleferret, and uses his magehand to float himself up the various towers, taking note of the corpses of the various mer-criminals, who died without water to breathe.
One tower, which houses Seldak, is inaccessible: a door, armed with powerful and deadly magic, blocks its path. But examining the door, our heroes soon realize that their strange dreams provided each of them with a key to the puzzle. Putting their information together, they are able to open the door without incurring its wrath.
The tower on the other side is still filled with water; indeed, the water does not rush out of now-opened door but stays there by some strange sort of magic. Jarmangle swims up the tower, but runs afoul of several explosive balls that were placed there decades ago. His life is saved thanks to the intervention of Seldak-- still alive, and desperate for vengeance against the mermen who branded him a heretic.
Jarmangle is quickly dominated by the psionic merman, and Tralamin seems eager to help him achieve his goal, much to Irving's chagrin. The wizard is hesitant to interfere in the mermen's affairs, but he, Feer, and Robyn decide that it is best to stop him.
Seldak, infuriated, uses his forbidden proof to create living beings out of thin air, and battle is soon joined. He proves a formidable opponent, opening portals to redirect their attacks and place himself out of harm's way. He manages to escape, using linked portals and his personal water-bubble.
During the battle, the floor collapses, revealing a sprawling ancient dungeon beneath the prison. It will, however, have to wait; they must stop Seldak!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)