Testing the resourcefulness and morality of the party

[Eslin]

So, in order to refine their souls for later consumption, Mabel the eldritch abomination has trapped the party in a prison of their own minds. Each party member will wake up naked with the knowledge that they're trapped somewhere they don't want to stay, and will remain so forever if they don't escape soon. Unlike our normal play, this will be done play by post with each individual so they feel genuinely alone and can't share tips.

So, playgrounders, can you help me figure out situations that will test their morality and have multiple solutions (I'm happy to have them 'take a third option' and solve the problems in inventive ways) or will really mess with their heads?

It's a dreamscape, so anything can be fit in, and they're unoptimised level 4's, so their abilities won't interfere too badly. I was thinking of the first room having a bunch of random humanoids, random scrap and a troll blocking the doorway, demanding that ten be fed to him before any can pass (could kill, trick, negotiate, persuade, convince the humanoids to give up some of their number, try to get all the humanoids fighting etc).

Anything could work, doesn't have to be as blatant or as interaction involving as that - anyone got any ideas?

[Frozen_Feet]

They are confronted by a god figure of your choice. The god explains to them that each of their species has made grave sins, and must now atone through their extinction. However, if the characters are willing to step up and be sacrificed for the common good, these extinctions may yet be averted. The god figure proposes the following options:


If a character agrees his species is corrupted to the core, his species will be entirely wiped out.. save for him. He will, instead, be made immortal and infertile and left to wander the world without any kin of blood.
If a character disagrees, his species will be saved... but the character will be slaughtered, and his soul cast into the Far Realm, with no hopes of resurrection.
If the character thinks he has no right to make the aforementioned choices, he can subject the fate of his species to chance - he is given a coin that he must flip. Heads, his species is saved. Tails, his species is annihilated, including him.


The characters have 30 minutes to ponder upon this. If a character fails to decide, the 1st option takes place.

Alternatively, instead of applying this scenario to fate of a species, you can apply it to the party itself.

Bonus points if you have this "Maleb" creature pose the same question to the characters once they are all present.

[Eslin]

That's... a little too direct for my tastes. It only has two options and there's no real way to invent options for themselves

[Frozen_Feet]

Three options. Also, you're forgetting "I don't believe you / you're bluffing!" (Actually correct in this case) and the all time favorite, "I draw my weapon and roll iniative". :smallwink:

Or if there's a diplomacy-inclined character, maybe he would try to talk the god figure out of it. :smallcool:

[Sith_Happens]

I was thinking of the first room having a bunch of random humanoids, random scrap and a troll blocking the doorway, demanding that ten be fed to him before any can pass

If those are the exact words, then I feed him ten of the scraps, because he never said he was talking about the humanoids.:smallwink:

[Azoth]

I would like to play a game...

Have them go through things that their background would make difficult.

Aside that, I like the fun in things like:

Show them someone important to them (friend, family, lover, ect.) in a kill over time trap of your choice. Make direct intervention impossible. The release mechanism is in plain sight, but to activate it will cost the PC. Bodily harm is good here. Whether they stop it or not they can advance, but if they don't stop it the opening mechanism won't trigger until the captive is dead.

Repeate above with a hated individual to test compassion and forgiveness.

Make a door lock weight triggered requiring two people to open it. Put a figure in the room completely bound and who's head is covered. If they free and uncover the creature it starts attacking them. *side note* It didn't say both had to be alive.

Put an object they crave or think they will need on a pedestal in plain sight. When they enter the room to retrieve it, the entire path to it becomes difficult damaging terrain. The damage doesn't have to be high, but enough to feel it. Moving straight forward deals slightly more damage the closer they get, taking an indirect route doesn't. *side note* taking a longer route should run a higher risk of killing them for hesitation and cowardice.

[Frozen_Feet]

Another: there's a room with a pedestal in it. On the pedestal, there are two magic items: valuable chain armor, and a valuable sword. In the room, there is no creatures besides a single, little girl of the character's species.

If the PC does nothing to the items, the girl just stares at him. If he does, the girl feebly grabs him by the leg and says "Please do not take these items."

That's all.

[CaladanMoonblad]

One option could be... Deserted Island in the middle of a passive ocean, deadly heat, little shelter, and a "monster" that shares the island. If you have ever seen "Enemy Mine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089092/)" then this is a classic morality dilemma- in order to survive, you must share resources with a mortal enemy. Perhaps later in the situation, the hero has an opportunity to leave if they sacrifice their new ally. Doing so dooms the hero, but staying true to their new bond is the only real way of escape.

[Musco]

Why exactly do you want to test their resourcefullness and/or morality? Is it an in-game issue, like having a higher being observing them so they can possibly be recruited, or is it an out-of-game issue, like: a) you are wicked and think it will be fun; b) you want to make a point; c) you can't get together to play so the play-by-post was the alternative, and you chose to do a) our b) through it?

Because knowing this helps creating the tests.

Also, info on the party, the backgrounds and the PLAYERS (and THEIR backgrounds) can help with designing more twisted stuff.

[Tengu_temp]

Another: there's a room with a pedestal in it. On the pedestal, there are two magic items: valuable chain armor, and a valuable sword. In the room, there is no creatures besides a single, little girl of the character's species.

If the PC does nothing to the items, the girl just stares at him. If he does, the girl feebly grabs him by the leg and says "Please do not take these items."

That's all.

I see what you did there.

[Story]

I see what you did there.

I don't get it.

[Callin]

Have them hear a woman scream. When they rush over to see whats goin on its a disheveled looking Pretty young lass about to have the master stroke of death put upon her by a few brigands.

The young lass is actually a very evil "insert whatever here". The brigands are good brave adventurers.

Drop subtle hints in your description that all might not be as it seems.

[Tengu_temp]

I don't get it.

Google "1d4chan noh".

[Shining Wrath]

They are in a room with a floating sphere of annihilation which responds to their mental commands, and the commands of others in the room. The sphere moves quickly but randomly if not controlled by thoughts, representing a menace to all.

Do they choose to destroy one of the others in the room? Who? Or call the sphere to themselves to spare the others (which should be one way out of the room)?

Or try to cooperate to hold the sphere still while searching for an exit or a place to force the sphere out of the room?

The degree of control over the sphere should be proportional to the Wisdom of the entity attempting control, and the sphere will move 1d10 squares per round in a random direction if not controlled.

[Story]

Why don't they just use the sphere to tunnel out?

[PersonMan]

Why don't they just use the sphere to tunnel out?

This is an entirely valid answer.

In-game I'd imagine the test would be "can you overcome a moment of panic to communicate with others to get out of dangerous situation?" or similar.

[The Trickster]

You could always do the famous future evil guy scenario.

You are in a place where an evil lich (other kinda bad guy) has completely taken over. He is the complete embodiment of evil, and has been far to powerful for far too long. In a last ditch effort to free themselves from the Lich's tyranny, the world's last good aligned wizard casts a powerful spell that sends your character back in time, in order to deal with the lich when he is vulnerable.

However, something goes wrong. The spell is too much for the wizard to contain for long. It will only keep you in that time period for a short period of time, and the exact place in time cannot be chosen. It is your job to kill the lich before the spell fades.

When you arrive in the past, you find the lich, but he is a child, and completely innocent, and he has no way to know what he will become.

Do you kill the child, saving millions of lives in the future, even if it means killing a person who is technically innocent?

[Eslin]

These are good! Having had the 'feed me ten' bit pointed out to me, I think I'll keep it - using their intelligence to figure out a loophole is fine by me.

And remember, they're not together - it's six people in six identical (or maybe not identical, probably going to tailor them a little to individual phobias) areas, I'm looking forward to the players comparing actions afterwards.

I'm thinking of starting the whole thing off by them waking up in a dark room where there's a dimly lit path forwards and they can vaguely make out moving shapes everywhere except the path, and let them hear screams of fear and cries for help behind them.

The sphere idea is great, I'll definitely use it - regarding the lich thing though, while it's cool and I think I'll use it as some other point, part of what will need to work is the players not realising that its set up as a test of morality and ingenuity - several of the suggestions are a bit too obvious, probably including my initial one. If I include a direct test like the first one proposed, I'll have to convince them that they've managed to find a secret area like a control room for part of the balance of the universe or something, and I can only play that card once.