Wilderness Bridge Challenge

[Palanan]

I need ideas for an encounter that will take place on a stone bridge across a deep, narrow ravine. This will be in forested hills in a craggy wilderness region, with the weather turning from crisp fall to the early onset of a fierce northern winter.

The party will be second level, and they’re chronically low on magic: a rogue, a magus, a TWF ranger and an inquisitor. The rogue and the inquisitor have crossbows, but there isn’t much ranged specialization going on, and the party suffered badly the last time they were ambushed by ranged opponents.

I’d like this to be an encounter which requires cleverness as well as brute force, and I’d like to avoid the well-known basics like goblins, kobolds, orcs, etc. We’re using the Pathfinder rules, but I’m open to suggestions using official 3.5 as well as Paizo material. Peculiar, quirky or bizarre concepts are especially welcome. How can I make this a tough, involving, memorable challenge?

[Pleh]

The bridge is a mimic.

[DrMotives]

A troll under the bridge, except trolls are too high level for your players. I suggest the bridge is an ambush spot for chokers.

[ComaVision]

A troll under the bridge, cuz it's classic. Telegraph that the troll is much too powerful for them to fight so they can either:

a) trick the troll, as the troll is dimwitted

b) get a snack for the troll and he will let them pass. Naturally, the troll has VERY specific tastes.

[Amphetryon]

Have an ooze/slime/mold eating away at the center section of the bridge. The party gets harried onto the bridge by a few bandits with limited ammo, and has to get across without taking too much damage from the ooze OR letting the bridge collapse under them entirely.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Anybody seem like they're getting tired of their character? You could hit 'em with a griffin.

[Afgncaap5]

If you're familiar with "Zeno's Arrow" or, alternatively, with the Zork universe, you could always crib the idea for Zeno's Bridge. Basically, Zeno's Bridge is a bridge that, when crossed, you only get halfway to your destination. It'd probably not work to do this with the entire bridge, but possibly between two sets of posts during particular portions of the bridge. When the players march from post to post they realize they've only gone halfway, then only three-fourths of the way, then seven-eighths of the way, etc. It's the kind of challenge that, with knowledge checks, the magus and the ranger will have probably heard about before in the wilderness, and the rogue should be able to disable it if he or she can just get immeasurably close to the posts on the other end to make a check to disarm the magical trap (though then the rogue'll have to go back to disable the trap on the other end, or possibly make it so that one of the other players will be able to do something easily on their end at the same time that the rogue does the complicated thing.)

It's basically a magical trap for waylaying people, and one that might not be carefully guarded by whatever magical bandits put it up since they'll probably think "Eh, we can just check the bridge every night, it's not like they're goin' nowhere. Unless they go down, and good luck with that."




A troll under the bridge, cuz it's classic. Telegraph that the troll is much too powerful for them to fight so they can either:

a) trick the troll, as the troll is dimwitted

b) get a snack for the troll and he will let them pass. Naturally, the troll has VERY specific tastes.


Alternatively, it might also be an unnaturally weak and wimpy troll (never forget that in Final Fantasy 1, Imps count as Giants despite their small stature). The troll might think that its racially assumed method of seeking prey through territoriality is viable, but rather than overpowering enemies it engages in outsmarting them. For that, there'd have to be some sort of other trap or hazard that it presents.

[Vizzerdrix]

Either a family of trolls own and mantain the toll bridge and need nelp dealing with the local dire goats that pluage them, or a giant wasp nest under the bridge is attacking anything that comes close to build up food for the winter.

[dhasenan]

"I cross the bridge."

"No, you don't cross the bridge! You cross Orcus!"

[Kelb_Panthera]

I've just come into the knowledge that there's such a thing as a bridge haunt; MMV pg 78. It's not a straight combat challenge at their current level though. They'd be butchered. Gotta either convince it to let them pass or sneak by it.

[Pleh]

You can always pull the old "illusion encounter" trick. The local Fey creatures wanted to keep foreigners out, so there is a bewitchment on the bridge that when you get halfway across, you stop moving, but the illusion makes you believe you are still moving and the bridge is stretching away from you to prevent you from reaching the other side. The "wall of infinite space" trick.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by DrMotives
A troll under the bridge….


Originally Posted by ComaVision
A troll under the bridge….


Originally Posted by Afgncaap5
…an unnaturally weak and wimpy troll….


Originally Posted by Vizzerdrix
…a family of trolls….

Given all this, I should probably put an old troll skull on a stake nearby, just as a nod to tradition.

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Kelb_Panthera
I've just come into the knowledge that there's such a thing as a bridge haunt; MMV pg 78. It's not a straight combat challenge at their current level though. They'd be butchered. Gotta either convince it to let them pass or sneak by it.

I’ve been wanting to use a bridge haunt for years, but you’re right, they’d be steamrolled in a combat encounter.

Sneaking is also not ideal, because one bad roll and it becomes a combat encounter. But the convincing is an option. What would a bridge haunt want to bargain for?


Originally Posted by DrMotives
I suggest the bridge is an ambush spot for chokers.

Another interesting idea, but I have some experienced players and they’d probably figure it out quickly. Any suggestions for something a little more exotic?

[ComaVision]

I’ve been wanting to use a bridge haunt for years, but you’re right, they’d be steamrolled in a combat encounter.

Sneaking is also not ideal, because one bad roll and it becomes a combat encounter. But the convincing is an option. What would a bridge haunt want to bargain for?


It may just want to be put to rest. The party would have to recover the haunt's body and give it a proper burial or somesuch.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Given all this, I should probably put an old troll skull on a stake nearby, just as a nod to tradition.

:smalltongue:

Seems appropriate.




I’ve been wanting to use a bridge haunt for years, but you’re right, they’d be steamrolled in a combat encounter.

Sneaking is also not ideal, because one bad roll and it becomes a combat encounter. But the convincing is an option. What would a bridge haunt want to bargain for?

A bridge haunt is, in essence, an NPC. It's just one who's died (on or near the bridge) and needs to be laid to rest. Just gotta get creative.

Perhaps it was slain by a troll, just not the one on the post. It demands the skull of the -right- troll (already dead) and the party needs to fetch it from some ruins nearby.


But, on the sneak thing, it doesn't become a combat encounter, it becomes a chase accross the bridge. :smalltongue:

[Pleh]

Did I hear someone say "skeletal troll"? No? Maybe I should have.

How about a crazy wizard who killed the troll and thinks the bridge is his mighty wizards tower.

[arkangel111]

OR combining ideas, the troll is the haunt and it wishes to have the goats slain?

[Incorrect]

A troll dressed as a ghost, complete with white sheet with holes for eyes.
This scary, scary ghost demands that 3 murderous goats are brought to justice and buried placed under the bridge.

[Tiri]

If the bridge haunt is too powerful for your party's level, you can improvise one with a low-CR NPC and the Ghost template class with the Telekinesis ability.

[ExLibrisMortis]

The troll is trying to drive a bridge haunt out of their lovelingly hand-crafted stone bridge? The PCs can join either side in the ensuing fight, earning a special reward from the surviving party.

[Jay R]

You can always pull the old "illusion encounter" trick. The local Fey creatures wanted to keep foreigners out, so there is a bewitchment on the bridge that when you get halfway across, you stop moving, but the illusion makes you believe you are still moving and the bridge is stretching away from you to prevent you from reaching the other side. The "wall of infinite space" trick.

If illusion spells are used to keep foreigners out, then the bridge is an illusion. There's an invisible bridge ten feet over.

[It might be spotted by footprints leading to it, or some such.]