The Cats
2017-12-04, 09:54 PM
It's mostly done but there's a few finishing touches I wouldn't mind picking the collective creative intelligence of the playground for.
(Gonna start with what I'm asking for then gonna describe the dungeon fully cause I'm kinda proud of it, so you can skip everything after the next paragraph if all you wanna do is slam that advice down at me.)
There will be a classic move-tiles-around-to-make-a-picture puzzle. They have to make a rune that they will have seen throughout the dungeon. The rune will be engraved on a couple weapons, and will be on a wall as a trap trigger. What are some other, not totally obvious but still kiiiinda obvious ways I can work this rune in? Also, an imp is zipping around the rooms through secret passages setting off traps. What are some ways to hide the entrance to these passages in each room that, again, is not totally obvious but not impossible to find?
The dungeon is small, runnable in a single 3-4 hour session if they start the night right at the entrance. Used to be a powerful wizard's hideout. Most of it has collapsed but there are 8 rooms still intact and it has been co-opted by a reckless diabolist (originally just some shmuck who found the place randomly but got all seduced by the wizard's old familiar (an imp) who is stuck in the dungeon because the wizard was more clever with the contract than the imp was.
The rooms: I usually just make up features for rooms as we go so no exhaustive list of what each room is all about. 5 of them sort of circle around the sixth and seventh, which are the 'inner sanctum' where the guy summons devils, and the wizards old office (where most of the cool loot is). The final room is a 'control centre' only accessed through the imp's secret tunnels. 1 of the outer rooms is 'empty' (no encounters) the other four have encounters. There is one encounter in a hallway between two rooms as well.
The inhabitants know the heroes have entered and the imp activated the security system, sealing off any entrance to the inner sanctum. The heroes will just be going in circles until they find the control centre.
Encounters:
1. The guardian. This room has a bunch of skulls in it. One of them is a flaming skull that will attack anyone not wearing the wizard's rune. My player's haven't met a flaming skull before so I imagine it'll revive once or twice. (this is 5E fyi)
2. The pit. Half of this room is a 20 foot deep pit with some zombies shambling around the bottom of it. As the heroes enter, the imp will appear (losing invisibility as it does a thing) in the hall just outside and activate a major trap. Bars will slam down over the two entrances and a section of wall slides away, revealing a narrow hallway. A junk golem charges out of the hallway, into one of the heroes, attempting to push him into the pit. (It's wearing magic 'boots of the bull' that make bull rushing easy peasy). It'll try to knock a hero into the pit on every turn, but it's not that strong so this'll be a quick beatdown if no one falls. Oh then they have to figure out how to open the bars. Won't be hard. I dunno exactly but I'm sure they'll come up with something.
3. Weaklings. A group of five troglodytes (there's a whole storyline for why they're in there don't worry about it) with red glowy eyes try to ambush the party. They'll be cake to beat. They're wielding nasty looking axes with a magic, red glowy rune engraved in them. If any of the players snag an axe (they totally will) they'll have to pass a saving throw or get red glowy eyes and attack the other party members. Knocking the axe out of their hands cures them.
4. A 10' wide hallway with a second junk golem, this one just hovering in the air at the end of the hallway. Except it's not a junk golem, it's just strategically placed junk. And it's not hovering, it's inside a gelatinous cube. Soon as the heroes get close enough, or if they attack at range, the imp activates another trap and a wall slams down behind them, pushing them towards the now advancing cube. Race against the clock to kill the thing (or take the damage and run through it)
5. Prisoners. The poor townsfolk that got kidnapped! The whole reason the heroes are here. Oh except one fella, the important one with plot-relevant info. Guess they gotta keep looking!
6. Control centre. Once the heroes find the secret tunnels and make their way into the control centre, they find the magic tablets the imp used to rearrange the walls and hide the inner sanctum. Once they rearrange them to show the wizard's rune, the way to the inner sanctum opens up.
7. The diabolist has been busy summoning devils to defend himself from the party. As they enter he's already got a couple bad dudes with him and he's just finishing up summoning a super bad dude. (Types of devils I use depend on how many resources the party has left. Gonna be a threat of death, but don't wanna wipe the floor with them.) Soon as combat starts the diabolist smashes an orb of darkness, plunging a chunk of the room into... darkness. He hides in there, the imp passing him potions and poisons they have laid out nearby. He's got a magic item that lets him deliver potions and poisons at range, so he spends the battle popping out of the darkness, buffing the devils (or poisoning a hero) and popping back in.
8. Wizard's office. Cool! Loot! Oh hey that last kidnapped dude is here too! Hooray!
Yup that's it. Any other cool ideas or suggestions you guys have I'm interested in hearing! We're breaking for December so I have a full month to make changes if something cooler comes up.
(Gonna start with what I'm asking for then gonna describe the dungeon fully cause I'm kinda proud of it, so you can skip everything after the next paragraph if all you wanna do is slam that advice down at me.)
There will be a classic move-tiles-around-to-make-a-picture puzzle. They have to make a rune that they will have seen throughout the dungeon. The rune will be engraved on a couple weapons, and will be on a wall as a trap trigger. What are some other, not totally obvious but still kiiiinda obvious ways I can work this rune in? Also, an imp is zipping around the rooms through secret passages setting off traps. What are some ways to hide the entrance to these passages in each room that, again, is not totally obvious but not impossible to find?
The dungeon is small, runnable in a single 3-4 hour session if they start the night right at the entrance. Used to be a powerful wizard's hideout. Most of it has collapsed but there are 8 rooms still intact and it has been co-opted by a reckless diabolist (originally just some shmuck who found the place randomly but got all seduced by the wizard's old familiar (an imp) who is stuck in the dungeon because the wizard was more clever with the contract than the imp was.
The rooms: I usually just make up features for rooms as we go so no exhaustive list of what each room is all about. 5 of them sort of circle around the sixth and seventh, which are the 'inner sanctum' where the guy summons devils, and the wizards old office (where most of the cool loot is). The final room is a 'control centre' only accessed through the imp's secret tunnels. 1 of the outer rooms is 'empty' (no encounters) the other four have encounters. There is one encounter in a hallway between two rooms as well.
The inhabitants know the heroes have entered and the imp activated the security system, sealing off any entrance to the inner sanctum. The heroes will just be going in circles until they find the control centre.
Encounters:
1. The guardian. This room has a bunch of skulls in it. One of them is a flaming skull that will attack anyone not wearing the wizard's rune. My player's haven't met a flaming skull before so I imagine it'll revive once or twice. (this is 5E fyi)
2. The pit. Half of this room is a 20 foot deep pit with some zombies shambling around the bottom of it. As the heroes enter, the imp will appear (losing invisibility as it does a thing) in the hall just outside and activate a major trap. Bars will slam down over the two entrances and a section of wall slides away, revealing a narrow hallway. A junk golem charges out of the hallway, into one of the heroes, attempting to push him into the pit. (It's wearing magic 'boots of the bull' that make bull rushing easy peasy). It'll try to knock a hero into the pit on every turn, but it's not that strong so this'll be a quick beatdown if no one falls. Oh then they have to figure out how to open the bars. Won't be hard. I dunno exactly but I'm sure they'll come up with something.
3. Weaklings. A group of five troglodytes (there's a whole storyline for why they're in there don't worry about it) with red glowy eyes try to ambush the party. They'll be cake to beat. They're wielding nasty looking axes with a magic, red glowy rune engraved in them. If any of the players snag an axe (they totally will) they'll have to pass a saving throw or get red glowy eyes and attack the other party members. Knocking the axe out of their hands cures them.
4. A 10' wide hallway with a second junk golem, this one just hovering in the air at the end of the hallway. Except it's not a junk golem, it's just strategically placed junk. And it's not hovering, it's inside a gelatinous cube. Soon as the heroes get close enough, or if they attack at range, the imp activates another trap and a wall slams down behind them, pushing them towards the now advancing cube. Race against the clock to kill the thing (or take the damage and run through it)
5. Prisoners. The poor townsfolk that got kidnapped! The whole reason the heroes are here. Oh except one fella, the important one with plot-relevant info. Guess they gotta keep looking!
6. Control centre. Once the heroes find the secret tunnels and make their way into the control centre, they find the magic tablets the imp used to rearrange the walls and hide the inner sanctum. Once they rearrange them to show the wizard's rune, the way to the inner sanctum opens up.
7. The diabolist has been busy summoning devils to defend himself from the party. As they enter he's already got a couple bad dudes with him and he's just finishing up summoning a super bad dude. (Types of devils I use depend on how many resources the party has left. Gonna be a threat of death, but don't wanna wipe the floor with them.) Soon as combat starts the diabolist smashes an orb of darkness, plunging a chunk of the room into... darkness. He hides in there, the imp passing him potions and poisons they have laid out nearby. He's got a magic item that lets him deliver potions and poisons at range, so he spends the battle popping out of the darkness, buffing the devils (or poisoning a hero) and popping back in.
8. Wizard's office. Cool! Loot! Oh hey that last kidnapped dude is here too! Hooray!
Yup that's it. Any other cool ideas or suggestions you guys have I'm interested in hearing! We're breaking for December so I have a full month to make changes if something cooler comes up.