Boss puzzles

[arrowstorm]

In order to stop a ritual, the players must remove the 4 wards barring access to the ritual chamber. To break these wards, they must complete challenges. These can be puzzles or anything else, puzzles was just in the title just because i would like at least 2 to be because my players enjoy them. The cult preforming the ritual are followers of the fallen Lord of Fey. All ideas are welcome and helpful.

[Quertus]

How are the puzzles / challenges connected to the wards? Is there some in-game logic explaining how the wards must be tied to some puzzle / creature? If so, let that guide the type of challenge that would be appropriate.

[arrowstorm]

There are 4 keystones that essentially power the wards. There is no specific "theme" to base the challenges on, the stones are just a vessel for the magic. I am trying to find different ways that I could make the stones difficult to obtain. If you have any ideas for themes, by all means let me know. The only one I can think of is the air-earth-fire-water cliche but then again the party stopping a cultist ritual isn't exactly original.

The current idea I have is having 4 crystals on pedestals suspending the keystone in a force-field like thing, so the party must fight the cultists, climb the pedestals, and "defeat" each crystal (either in just a straight mental stat contest or riddle or solo combat or something), once those 4 mini-keystones are disabled, the main one can be taken.

So anything like that or any theme ideas would be very appreciated

[OldTrees1]

the Great Movement chambers:
Each chamber has several cultists in it defending the mini-keystone. These puzzles center around twisting the resulting combats. The cultists have a safe room they can wait in on the other side of the chamber.

Earth: This is a large square room with the floor recessed 5 to 10ft. Several 10ft wide boulders are rolling around. Each will travel up to the length of the room on its turn. If stopped it will make a 90 degree turn (some always turn left, others always turn right). A character can balance on a moving boulder with a Balance check but failure results in falling off (reflex save to be able to choose a direction to fall, fail means you fall in front of the boulder). There is a reflex save to dodge a boulder but you might need to dodge multiple in a round. Objective:Retrieve the mini keystone located on one of the boulders and escape the room.

Water: Break out a hex grid! This is a large circular room recessed 20ft into the floor and flooded. There are several whirlpools of various strengths(X). Anyone within X hexes of a whirlpool will be rotated around that pool X hexes and then drawn in X/2(round down) hexes. If they are at the center of a whirlpool they are drawn down instead. The mini keystone is bobbing on the surface of the water. If sucked down a whirlpool it resurfaces at a random location. Objective: Retrieve the mini keystone.

Fire: This is a large room with large tiles (the size of a square/hex although hex probably works better). Each time a tile is stepped on it will alter its state and the state of its neighbors (ever played Lights Out?).
State 0 - Nothing special
State 1 - Hot Tile: Minor fire damage if you start your turn on or move onto a Hot Tile.
State 2 - Fire Pillar: Minor fire damage initially and Moderate fire damage if you start your turn in or move into a Fire Pillar. Also obscures vision.
State 0 -> State 1 -> State 2 -> State 0

Air: This large room has a high ceiling and a deep floor both of which are covered in nasty spikes. Air is rushing up from the floor to the ceiling but at different intensities in different areas. Randomly assign every 10ft square with a strength from 1 to 6. At the start of their turn a character will rise 10ft * (air strength - weight penalty). This should result in falling in some areas. I don't know how you would handle the horizontal movement (perhaps a swim check or merely halve their speed?).

[arrowstorm]

Awesome! Thanks that's a huge help.

[OldTrees1]

Awesome! Thanks that's a huge help.

No problem. Please give after session feedback on any that you use. I'm always looking for ways to improve.