Test Given Out by Iomedae

[Draco_Lord]

So for my next session I would like to have the Goddess Iomedae, well her representative, give out a Test to certain members of the party. Due to actions they have recently obtained her sword, and while it is stupidly strong, I have made it a little unwieldly. Anyways, I would also like to give them a chance to change that a bit, by giving them a test to see if they are worthy. As members of Iomedae's church it seems fair, and they have met one of her Archons, who will be running the test.

Anyways. I would like some help designing that, as I want the test to be a little challenging, but also shorter, mostly due to other stuff I want to happen. So any advice or ideas would be great! A note on the player I would want to focus on would be the Paladin of the party. She is a head strong farm girl, coming into the church after getting enamored with the image of them. And while a good person, she is kind of... well ignorant and not the brightest. For instance, one ex-party member was Evil (They died due to the character trying to kill the Right Hand of the one of the Big Bads due to in character reasons and the player wanted to be someone else), and they were really good friends thanks to some use of nondection and the Evil player not playing stupid evil. They were found out, which caused some in character tension. Basically she has a good heart, and is generally well intention, but is also kind of dumb, and doesn't always notice what the right thing is.
She has a teacher who is a WarPriest, he is rather standard.
I'm thinking of focusing on the Paladin, as she wields the sword.

Some ideas
An image of the Teacher about to kill some children, and she must act now or risk their deaths. The answer in my mind being kill the teacher, and being able to distinguish between "evil" and "being a good person".

Creating a Hopeless Battle. Having the party go up against a group of demons or monsters, who instantly cast a spell that takes them all down to a 1/10 health. They are offered a chance to run, should they take it they fail. Should they stand and charge forward, they demons are defeated quickly.

I also wouldn't mind some with challenging questions that doesn't have a right answer, so much as how you justify it that matters, creating a more open ended problem.

[Geddy2112]

I would make three small tests; of valor, justice, and honor.

For valor, the demon idea is pretty good. Make sure they pass by simply standing their ground, instead of having to charge to certain death. Now, if the paladin charged alone to buy the others time...maybe. I think Iomedae would prefer they stand together, as her paladin code specifically says they can never abandon a companion, unless the companion freely sacrifices themselves.

For honor, I would design a test that challenges the integrity of the paladin to act ethically. They agree to a deal, and uphold their side of the deal despite less than favorable circumstances or at possible risk. A "I gave my word" test. It can also be fighting an equal enemy in a fair fight.

For justice, the teacher thing is a decent idea, but I don't think killing the teacher is the first priority, saving the children is. It could also be a valor test to risk her life to save innocent life, even from somebody she considers a mentor. Maybe even honor, as she honors goodness and her word to do good over others(particularly if their actions go into the realm of evil)

A good test for justice would be upholding the law to sentence a minor criminal, no matter how sorry they were. Likewise, it could be staying an unjust execution, or some other test of making sure the punishment=the crime.

[Draco_Lord]

I do like the idea of the different titles you gave the tests, and am definitely going to use that.

I think you are right about the Valor Test, having them just stand and be ready to fight should be good enough. Though knowing the Paladin, I am willing to bet that charging forward is exactly what she will do. But that is besides the point.

For Justice, in my mind I was picturing the teacher holding a child, sword to their throat, and basically saying they will do it. Very little time to react, basically a do or die situation. But I would probably accept her tackling the teacher to blow the attack as well, risking herself to save innocents. I just feel that the idea of being able to kill someone you admire to do the right thing can be sort of important.

For Honor I would need to think about it. This one would need to be handled carefully in many ways, as if I was to give the Paladin an alignment they feel more Chaotic Good in many ways. They would probably forgive the minor criminal if they were truly sorry. They would cheat if the enemy made things act in their favor. They have done a couple before. (It doesn't bother me, alignment is hard enough to wrap your head around, and you can pretty much justify anything to be any alignment given enough time, so hasn't been an issue in any shape or form.) I just worry that it will be the one they fail.


Speaking of which. How should I handle them failing? The reward would involve powering them up as well to fight the final Boss, a Balor, as they are currently level 14, they really need it.

[Geddy2112]

That is a good idea of justice-doing the right thing in the eyes of right and wrong, eschewing personal bonds.

It could be argued that letting a minor crime go is truly justice-lawful does not mean you blindly uphold laws, and if a minor law is horrible and unjust, it does not serve justice. Justice is making sure the punishment fits the crime.

If a demon cheats in a "fair" fight, does that mean the paladin has to punish them? Yes, yes it does. If an evil monster fights the paladin and it fights dirty, it went against the rules of fair combat, and it has to be punished...the punishment fits the crime. Fight dirty, and have your enemies do the same to punish your transgression.

I would make the right answers pretty open ended, and so long as they acted with valor, justice, and honor, they pass. If they grossly fail(killing the children with their master, run at the first sight of demons, execute Jean Valjean for stealing a loaf of bread) you could make her fall, but it would have to be REALLY bad, and I am sure your paladin/party won't go that route. If they get 2/3, it is still a pass. If they get 1/3, or fail but not a gross fail, just give them another couple quests/sessions to go and do something else. Don't make the campaign fate hinge on them getting everything perfectly right. Honor your party and do the right thing, and show justice in their success or failure with due reward and no undue punishment.

[Kelvarius]

It might be a bit obvious, but you could go with the standard two paths option for the Honor trial.

Something along the lines of:

"Before you are are two open doorways leading into different rooms. In between the doorways is a plaque that simply reads 'Choose your destiny.' The left one contains something easy and innocuous like a kobold. The right one contains a very powerful creature suitable for the party's level."

Again, it's probably obvious to anyone with any bit of intelligence. You could also add in all kinds of fun temptations, like make it obvious that the kobold room has treasure and the hard room doesn't (And indeed, this could very well be a good thing, since even in 'failing' the test, they should still get some minor reward even if not as useful).

But as for the overall thing, I really like the idea. I've considered similar ones before. So some suggestions I have are to make the entire thing an illusion or in their minds, or something else that's not permanent. It does already sound like that's the plan, but the key to it is that the players should not know this. Describe it as them entering a dungeon, or being teleported around via magics, magic mirrors, whatever. Also, with this same idea in mind, be careful with the confronting the mentor idea. OOC, the players will likely know it's not real and have no problem dealing with him. But even IC, a savvy enough character could make the same deduction.

"This guy I love is acting completely out of character? And he's somewhere he's not supposed to be? And considering everything else I'm going through right now? Clearly this is a fake."

Another idea is to play to BOTH the players and characters. Put them in a situation where the only way to cause a Good Things™ outcome is to make personal sacrifices. Remember that scene toward the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, where Indy had to choose between grabbing the biggest most awesomest of artifacts, the literal Holy Grail of items to find, or saving his father? Give them something amazing, then watch as they are forced to give it up.

Depending on how sadistic you want to be about it, you could also make it be about sacrificing things mechanically.

For example, the party has just rescued someone and has now come across a river of acid or something equally treacherous. There is a rickety raft nearby that looks like it might barely survive a crossing. It will succeed, but being so close to all that acid is hazardous to your health, and doing so will permanently hinder your endurance (A -X penalty to Constitution. Make it clear that this is a VERY dangerous option and will have permanent repercussions). This should also be done in an Anti Magic Field to prevent wizarding shenanigans. However, there is also a bridge to cross this river. It is guarded by something clearly beyond their power level. Perhaps a Great Wyrm Red Dragon. He will allow you to pass, if you pay the toll. He only wants that person you just rescued because he's hungry.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, this is all an illusion and these "permanent" choices won't actually be permanent, but the party needs to KNOW that it is real so they can clearly see and understand what they're choosing without using - or in spite of - meta knowledge.