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Post by kaitoujuliet on Mar 17, 2012 10:28:58 GMT -8
As I mentioned on a previous thread, I'm realizing that I need to work on designing puzzles and obstacles that will challenge my group. Since the usual type of ground-based traps can be easily bypassed either by the wall-walking thief or by the flying mage, I need to find different types of challenges. First, some background on the current campaign. I'll try to keep this as brief as I can. If any of my players have stumbled across this thread by some weird chance, PLEASE STOP READING NOW. ;D 1. Big arc: Drow are secretly infiltrating the country of Eborlan and have stirred up skirmishes between it and three of its neighbors. They plan to swoop in and loot the place when it's weakened enough. 2. Secondary arc: Eborlan is in the grip of a political struggle. I'm hoping the PCs will choose a faction to support. I am also trying to create subplots for the individual PCs involving the different factions. 3. Location: The PCs are currently staying at a wizard's tower in the country while the ambassador they're escorting is cured of being turned into a squirrel. I expect they will head to the capital city soon. 4. Population: Eborlan and its neighbors are overwhelmingly human; gnomes to the east (at war with Eborlan) and some half-elves to the west. Dwarves, Orcs, or for that matter Drow, are very rare sights in this part of the game world. 5. Likely PC activity: Mostly gathering of information at this point in the campaign. They might have to take out some Drow cells soon or fight a renegade power-seeking group once they reach the capital. I don't foresee a lot of actual dungeon-crawling at this stage. So, with that background, I need to think up challenges that will use the party's skills and can't be bypassed simply by wall-walking or flight. Here are some of the skills that don't get much use. Starred skills are some that I would particularly love to find a way to work into the game. *Cultural Arts: Poetry *Biological Sciences Read/speak Archaic (world equivalent of Latin) *Performing Arts: Singing Domestic Arts Stealth Swimming *Artisan: Woodworking *Etiquette (scholar, church) Theology Navigation Weapon: sling Writing Cryptology Spell: Fire Spell: Dehydration Spell: Ice Wildnerness Survival Riding Does anyone have any suggestions--either obstacles that occur to you based on the skill list, or advice on how to design challenges around a particular skill?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2012 11:54:24 GMT -8
Just out of curiosity, what system are you running in? It sounds like Pathfinder but I am not sure.
Well something I would go along with is in the capital a social cast and rules system. Not all information is in a tome and thus make them interact with a PC or sub-group of PCs that they would prefer not to interact with. You may have some smart characters/PC in the group so in a fancy ball put them to the test and have them talk about religious theology to impress others so them may gain access to some hidden area. You mentioned the flier is a half-dragon, not everyone see's dragons as a "good" creature to deal with so if he is rocking visible wings make him forced to hide it in town. If he just mystically levitates then it might be a bit harder.
I find normally when PCs deal with every situation the same way they forget how to think of interesting solutions. So use a coded message that they would get by paying attention to PC's lore and do the Indiana Jones room where they step on the wrong tile something bad happens. Instead of falling use a lightning bolt and if they try to fly just bolt them for flying over the wrong letters. Same with the wall walker.
You can implement harsh weather conditions to hinder the flying person and take his strength and max carrying load into consideration. Make the chasms longer and have him getting fatigued for carrying people since it will be a physically draining task. You can also set up an ambush on the other side as they fly one by one. Don't be scared to punish them for using the same tactics every time, Drow are smart and will counter their tactics if they keep it static.
Force them out at seas and have them navigate a boat to their correct location. The tides can toss and turn the boat around forcing them to figure out with this lost isle is. The directions are in a code of a dead language and they need to make a cipher or be lost at sea and rely on their own wits to catch food because if you kill a sea creature, like a blow-fish, the wrong way it becomes poisonous. Also, how do you prepare a displace shark for a meal? If they just fireball a creature it isn't instantly ready to eat, it is probably ruined and turned into severely charred jerky.
I don't think I built anything direct as you truely asked but I am trying to give you some ideas to build off of.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Mar 17, 2012 19:12:22 GMT -8
The world setting has a somewhat complicated origin. I'm playing in a campaign world originally developed by a friend of mine for games she ran in D&D 2nd Edition back in the day. When I decided I wanted to try GM'ing, she lent me all her adventure notes and I re-statted everything for BESM (3rd edition), which was our group's game of choice at the time. Now the other regular GMs in the group have switched to other systems, but I'm still working in BESM, which actually suits me just fine. I've also moved out of running my friend's adventures and am now running my own. This is the first time I've tried running a self-written multi-part adventure for my group, so I'm kind of nervous.
The half-dragon does have visible wings, and he's probably had the least discrimination directed at him, so maybe it's his turn...but three out of four members of my party have taken the defect "ism," meaning they're going to be discriminated against. I try to actually bring that into the game, but sometimes it's frustrating to decide whether a given NPC is going to be more scared of/prejudiced against the half-dragon, the half-Drow, or the plague priest.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2012 20:26:46 GMT -8
Force them to get around all the hindrances they took to minmax themselves. They've got some social skills so give them a social situation in which they HAVE to get something done despite prejudices. You could combine that with some science and investigation.
They're going a city. There's gotta be some powerful guilds, merchant groups, royal families, whatever. What if that group is suffering a plague or curse from the evil drow? The family/guild is suffering and may die, throwing the city/region into chaos but they want to solve the problem on their own. They're too proud or private to accept help. Admitting weakness would make them prey for the other groups in the city who want to pounce on them and steal their wealth or position.
So you get some third party who recognizes the danger and hires the party to intercede. The party has to infiltrate the family/guild by any means they can and investigate the problem subtly and quietly. Make it a problem they can deal with, like a biological contagion. They use all that cultural and arty stuff just to get in the door.
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Post by daeglan on Mar 17, 2012 20:46:07 GMT -8
Put them in a small impenetrable magic jar. that way they can't screw up your story...Oh wait that is a douchebag move..don't do that. What kind of PCs do you have? What are their skills? What are their weaknesses? What are the wholes in their group skills sets?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2012 1:05:51 GMT -8
A few ideas that jumped out at me based on the list of skills. Biological sciences - Traps involving poison gasses that they need to devise antidotes to in order to get past. As a gas it can easily fill a room / area such that flying or walking on the ceiling isn't an advantage. If its coming out of vents on the ceiling being up there is actually a disadvantage as the gas will be more concentrated.
Cryptology and writing - With all the secrets / espionage that is occurring these would be rather valuable skills if they start intercepting messages and want to decipher them / need to work out who is sending particular messages based on the handwriting / want to start sending their own encoded messages.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Mar 18, 2012 14:19:57 GMT -8
There's gotta be some powerful guilds, merchant groups, royal families, whatever. What if that group is suffering a plague or curse from the evil drow? The cleric would call upon his patron, the goddess of disease, and cure them! ... Hmm, but if he had to get in first ... that has some possibilities. I've also planted a story seed about the Drow filling the city with, well, magically addictive drugs. Might be able to use that somehow .... Put them in a small impenetrable magic jar. that way they can't screw up your story...Oh wait that is a douchebag move..don't do that. Here, now! Are you implying I'm planning to railroad them? Because I assure you, I'm not. I don't even know whether they'll stop the Drow through combat, trickery, diplomacy, or a combination of all three. That's what makes the whole thing so scary, really. I'll have to look over the character sheets and post in more detail about that later. The quick overview: I've got a cleric, paladin, mage, and thief. Each of them also has a sidekick (war dog, squire, sentient staff, and mini-dragon, respectively). The cleric and the paladin both have healing. The cleric, paladin, and thief all have area of effect attacks. Biological sciences - Traps involving poison gasses that they need to devise antidotes to in order to get past. As a gas it can easily fill a room / area such that flying or walking on the ceiling isn't an advantage. If its coming out of vents on the ceiling being up there is actually a disadvantage as the gas will be more concentrated. Niiiiiiiiiiiice! *makes a note* They did find an encrypted letter in the bandits' lair. I love the idea of having them intercept and/or forge messages, but that's the kind of thing that I, as GM, can't really impose on the players; they'll have to decide on it for themselves, I think.
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maxinstuff
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Post by maxinstuff on Mar 18, 2012 16:00:54 GMT -8
As for traps of the physical kind - watch the movie 'Cube'. It's all about a structure full of trapped rooms and some of them are amazing. There is a lot of use of wire etc. to cut people up..... alot of which would not be avoided by wall walking or flight (in fact any enclosed space is going to take flight right out of the equation). For the skills - I think a good McGuffin for one of your adventures could be an ancient religious tome written in Archaic (not sure if you're Archaic speaker is also the Theology guy but if not that's even better ). Perhaps the Drow stole it from the Church archive and the Church wants it back. One thing in magical worlds is that the 'ancient tome' McGuffin doesn't have to contain the cliche world ending meteor strike spell (or equivalent). It could contain powerful healing spells? Or it could be something mundane - like financial records showing corruption within the Church - written in Archaic to keep the information hidden. Or maybe it has nothing important in it at all - but the Church isn't quite sure exactly what volumes were stolen - just that there was a break-in and the Drow are suspected.
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Post by daeglan on Mar 18, 2012 21:56:01 GMT -8
Why are the paladin, cleric, thief and mage working together? Is there something you can do to reinforce that relationship while tweaking them? Like the Cleric and paladin need the thief to accomplish their gods goals while the thief needs the paladin and cleric. etc.
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Post by Forresst on Mar 23, 2012 11:19:24 GMT -8
Ok, so I'm reading your list and I see you'd really like to work poetry into a trap/puzzle.... I got a great idea for that! 1. Put a random book somewhere in the party's travels. Maybe make it nicely bound with shiny stuff on the cover or something to entice the thief to grab it. Or else just hint there's something interesting about it. 2. Compose about 12 stanzas of epic poetry that's florid enough to be applicable to many things, but here's what you're really doing: describe your puzzle room in metaphors. 3. The first stanza will be throwaway, but maybe describe where the door to the puzzle is. Then, the second stanza will have a fragment of phrase that talking to the door opens it 4. As the party goes through the puzzles, there should be hints in the poem to guide them to hidden switches, or words to break the spell, etc. 5. The final stanza is the trap part! By that point in the puzzle they'll probably have learned to say the words out loud to see if it does anything, and that LETS THE GIANT MUMMY OUT OF ITS CAGE. You may substitute mummy for any other random monster of your choosing. If you would like help designing this trap I am available at any time except wednesday evenings and sunday afternoons.
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Post by daeglan on Mar 23, 2012 14:08:52 GMT -8
That is a great trap idea and I love haw you set the hook.
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Post by tappy on Apr 7, 2012 13:56:52 GMT -8
BESM 3rd Ed!?! Oh shit, son, I love that system! It's like Hero without out all that mucking about in hyperspace!
Am I alone in having to remind myself that the second letter in the acronym is an "E" and not a "D"?
anyway, on to the nefarious Drow.
The Drow are attempting to set the stage for war between Eborian and it's neighbors. Eborian is attempting to fix the suddenly strained diplomatic situation, and so invites diplomats for a state dinner. Perhaps the PCs are recognized at this point as a group who can deal with strange or oblique situations, so when the Stewards that are supposed to take care of each of the diplomats all contract ebola, and start shooting blood out their eye-sockets, the PCs are contracted to take care of the diplomats, acting as bodyguards, valets, and assistants to the diplomatic envoys.
They must make sure that one of the envoys is not offended by the use of blackberries in the souffle during the holy month of Duranga; that there is not an incident when a certain dress is frayed, but the diplomat refuses to appear in anything else, which may offend the royalty of Eborian; they must know that another diplomat will not ride on a tuesday, nor another sail on a thursday, and plan accordingly, so they may all join in the foxhunt on the sacred isle of finnebar; They must be able to sing the holy chants of Matrikas, the maiden of hard work and longevity, so that the diplomats can be conviced that Eborian cares about the cultural heritage of their nation; and though out all of this, they must also stop the Drow from making things worse, assassinating a diplomat, or one of the PCs.
this situation can make the PCs use domestic skills, Singing, Riding, Wilderness skills, and just about anything else you want... oh AND the PCs need to go out adventuring as well, but every time they come back, there has been some horrible political fuckup!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2012 21:07:40 GMT -8
*Cultural Arts: Poetry An eccentric nobleman, who the players need to convince of something, only allows his court to speak in meter and/or rhyme *Performing Arts: Singing A magical lock which opens in response to a specific set of notes/tones Domestic Arts The players have to take care of a wizard's mage-bred pet while he does research in a restricted library for them and it only eats pan-seared tuna in a curried truffle sauce. *Artisan: Woodworking Finding the hidden latch in a chest or wall-paneling. *Etiquette (scholar, church) Any interaction with a scholar (such as a wizard with access to restricted libraries) or church official who the players want a favor from. Spell: Ice Freezing a body of water in order to cross.
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Post by kaitoujuliet on Apr 19, 2012 18:52:24 GMT -8
As for traps of the physical kind - watch the movie 'Cube'. It's all about a structure full of trapped rooms and some of them are amazing. There is a lot of use of wire etc. to cut people up..... alot of which would not be avoided by wall walking or flight (in fact any enclosed space is going to take flight right out of the equation). Do you have any suggestion as to how to spring traps on players who aren't used to finding them? I always feel kind of guilty, like I'm being a real jerk or just out to ruin their fun by targeting some of their favorite moves. Excellent idea, especially since the mage took the defect "Easily distracted: books." And the entire party speaks Archaic, oddly enough. It came in handy when they were in a country where they didn't speak the language, but could communicate with the local clergy in Archaic... Why are the paladin, cleric, thief and mage working together? Is there something you can do to reinforce that relationship while tweaking them? Like the Cleric and paladin need the thief to accomplish their gods goals while the thief needs the paladin and cleric. etc. Their relationship is pretty loose. They bonded when a ship they were traveling on was attacked by pirates, they were set adrift, and they had to do a service for the god of the sea in exchange for safe passage back to land. Since then, they've been hanging out together because they get along well, and all have a certain amount of freedom as to what they can do. Ok, so I'm reading your list and I see you'd really like to work poetry into a trap/puzzle.... I got a great idea for that! Nifty idea! It could, for instance, be a trap set by one hostile faction for another. I can definitely see possibilities for ways to work this into the story down the road, so thanks! The poetry skill that I really wanted to use was for composing poetry, though. Any inspiration on how I could use that? BESM 3rd Ed!?! Oh shit, son, I love that system! It's like Hero without out all that mucking about in hyperspace! *sniffle* You have no idea how nice it is to find that somebody around here not only knows BESM but has nice things to say about it. Yes. Yes, I think you are. ;D (I pronounce it "bezzum," personally.) Oh man, my players would, pardon the pun, eat that scenario up with a spoon. Thanks for the idea! *Cultural Arts: PoetryAn eccentric nobleman, who the players need to convince of something, only allows his court to speak in meter and/or rhyme *Performing Arts: SingingA magical lock which opens in response to a specific set of notes/tones Domestic ArtsThe players have to take care of a wizard's mage-bred pet while he does research in a restricted library for them and it only eats pan-seared tuna in a curried truffle sauce. *Artisan: WoodworkingFinding the hidden latch in a chest or wall-paneling. *Etiquette (scholar, church)Any interaction with a scholar (such as a wizard with access to restricted libraries) or church official who the players want a favor from. Spell: IceFreezing a body of water in order to cross. All fantastic, just the sort of ideas I was hoping for! Thank you so much!
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Post by Forresst on Apr 20, 2012 12:20:49 GMT -8
Composing poetry as part of a situation.... how about this!
As the drow campaign of terror escalates, tehy release moer and more terrifying monsters into the kingdom your guys work for, culminating in the demonic general, who hasa geas on him to obey commands spoken to him in iambic pentameter (also known as heroic couplets). Now, your party can either fight the big scary gonna-kill-them demon.... OR compose a poem in heroic couplets about how the demon has to go away.
How's THAT?!
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