A Kings Challenge

[TheFateless]

So I'm DMing for a group of 5 level 7-8s. They stumbled upon the heir to the throne of an ancient (thought to be extinct) species. They have been tasked with escorting her to her throne so she can claim her kingdom.
They have fought through a tower to her thrown.

Now she must pick her court, her council members and they must go through challenges for a king. Challenges to test a kings honor, might, compassion, wit, endurance, cunning, ect ect.

I'd like to do timed challenges that require the players to think hard about the decisions and work as a group.

Any suggestions on what these challenges could involve? I'm at a loss here.
Thanks guys,
A desperate DM.

[Metamorph]

Puzzles with spawning enemys or Riddles with timer. For her kindness things like she must decide to punish or or forgive thivery of a poor family father etc

[Lunali]

Make sure you have a good reason for the players to be doing these challenges, from the sound of it, the king is the one that should be solving the challenges with the characters taking orders at most.

Timed challenges encourage quick decision making not hard thinking and cooperation.

For the test of honor, you might want to do a test that offers a choice between the king's honor and the honor of the kingdom as a whole, possibly with both solutions being treated as a success. (though don't tell the players that)

For most of the tests, I would keep it secret what attribute(s) is being tested.

[Unoriginal]

A "Test of Strength" where the goal is to "go through a maze with invisible walls while carrying the heaviest burden possible".

it opens with a a room full of bags and weights, with a stair leading to a balcony. You can only see the walls if you stand on the balcony. However, if you goes up the stair, you can't get down until everyone else has moved through the maze, but you can communicate with anyone who's in the maze (all this is indicated before the challenge start). While in the maze, everyone is also blinded, and the maze would take at least a day to cross if you take the right path, basically infinite if you get lost.

The actual "heaviest burden possible" is to get on the balcony and lead everyone to the other side (upon which they're instantly teleported to the other side too), giving up their chance to personal victory to allow all the others to at least achieve the challenge. So the strength of the king is being able to do something that is not good for them for the good of everyone.

[Honest Tiefling]

Why not rig the challenges? Even if someone passed them, they could be extremely evil or otherwise unsuited to rule. A wise ruler ensures that her people are never ruled by anyone less than the best. Why set up a test where you could dislike the results?

It could double as the challenge of cunning. If they can't figure it out, maybe a life of intrigue isn't for them. And if they object, find out WHY they object. Having a few lawful types to hide behind never hurts, as the late and great Lord Shojo can attest to.

I think the tests shouldn't have an attribute named, but associated with them. For instance, the Test of Honor that pits personal honor against the honor of a nation is a test involving honor...But the attribute associated with it is wisdom to make a choice and to be able to defend it.

Also consider some fake rivals. Maybe they are agents of the queen posing as rivals to see and hear what the people are like when they are not interacting with Queenypants. Never be quick to judge!

[Unoriginal]

Coups also do a test where the winner is arbitrarily refused the reward. To see their reaction.

[smcmike]

It depends what sort of message you want the tests to send. Nothing wrong with straight-ahead tests of honor and bravery and whatnot, but it’s fun to put counterintuitive or even evil correct answers in sometimes. Maybe the designers read their Machiavelli. Maybe they were straight-up evil, and this is a method for testing the viciousness of potential tyrants.

I do have a question about the set-up, though: if this species was thought to be extinct, did the characters find an entire lost kingdom, or what?

[TheFateless]

I do have a question about the set-up, though: if this species was thought to be extinct, did the characters find an entire lost kingdom, or what?[/QUOTE]


They did. In the middle of the dessert they found ruins being kept up by wraiths. One of them wanted to go inside a tomb and they had to fight off a bunch of sentinals and undead guardians and a mummy lord.
They got to the sealed room and unlocked the door and solved some puzzles and woke up the Hier. She looks like a young elf girl with golden skin, orange eyes, and hair the reflects light like fire. She explained to them that her kingdom was under attack by a race she described at sentiant bear people (beast kin). Her father, The king, had his advisors take her to his tomb and put her in a form of stasis. Before they got there she saw her father torn apart. The advisors took her to the tomb then they performed necromantic rituals and turned themselves all into undead to guard the heir until she awakens. But she stayed asleep for tens of thousands of years.

[Honest Tiefling]

Are...Are the characters repopulating this race? Because if you're a queen, having nobles weak to assassination can either be a plus or a minus, depending on your hiring ability. Of course, this is going to lead to a lot of disappointment if you intend to wed one or more.

[TheFateless]

Are...Are the characters repopulating this race? Because if you're a queen, having nobles weak to assassination can either be a plus or a minus, depending on your hiring ability. Of course, this is going to lead to a lot of disappointment if you intend to wed one or more.

Haha The hier has no intention of marrying the players xD they found another of her race trapped in a mirror as well.

[Maelynn]

In the middle of the dessert they found ruins being kept up by wraiths. One of them wanted to go inside a tomb and they had to fight off a bunch of sentinals and undead guardians and a mummy lord.
They got to the sealed room and unlocked the door and solved some puzzles and woke up the Hier. She looks like a young elf girl with golden skin, orange eyes, and hair the reflects light like fire. She explained to them that her kingdom was under attack by a race she described at sentiant bear people (beast kin). Her father, The king, had his advisors take her to his tomb and put her in a form of stasis. Before they got there she saw her father torn apart. The advisors took her to the tomb then they performed necromantic rituals and turned themselves all into undead to guard the heir until she awakens. But she stayed asleep for tens of thousands of years.


The hier has no intention of marrying the players xD they found another of her race trapped in a mirror as well.

Wait... so after tens of thousands of years, only she and this bloke trapped in a mirror are alive? You stated the species was thought to be extinct, so they're the only ones left.

Just what kingdom does she want to claim then? She doesn't even have any subjects. Well, at least not for a few generations.

[Honest Tiefling]

Wait... so after tens of thousands of years, only she and this bloke trapped in a mirror are alive? You stated the species was thought to be extinct, so they're the only ones left.

Just what kingdom does she want to claim then? She doesn't even have any subjects. Well, at least not for a few generations.

This is a pretty good question, because what the hell resources is Sleeping Beauty going to have? I mean, she can't really make elaborate traps or puzzles, can she?

[TheFateless]

This is a pretty good question, because what the hell resources is Sleeping Beauty going to have? I mean, she can't really make elaborate traps or puzzles, can she?

The wealth, the armada, the magic items that are sealed tight. The civilization was a great magically advanced kingdom. All of its seacrets were locked up and lost for thousands of years. Only the king has access to the resources of the kingdom. The players plan on taking in refugees fleeing from a neighboring kingdoms wars as well (wasn't expecting them to do that at all)

[Honest Tiefling]

The wealth, the armada, the magic items that are sealed tight. The civilization was a great magically advanced kingdom. All of its seacrets were locked up and lost for thousands of years. Only the king has access to the resources of the kingdom. The players plan on taking in refugees fleeing from a neighboring kingdoms wars as well (wasn't expecting them to do that at all)

Question, HOW are the resources only accessible by the king? If you have a bunch of refugees to take care of, the temptation is high to punch royalty in the face and take their things for the poor. Your players may not do it, but I would certainly plan for the instance that they try.

Also, is this ancient civilization a magocracy? Perhaps one one to approach this isn't to think of what A kingdom would consider good traits for their king, but what THIS kingdom would have. What did they value and how would they have tested for it?