90sMusic
2018-09-05, 02:13 AM
So, i'm running a game and basically there is an air genasi player who wanted to be a noble in this homebrew kingdom of mine that only has human nobles. So we worked together to come up with a solution during character creation and we ultimately decided that her *true* father was a Djinn. Basically her mother was barren and couldn't have kids, but they really needed an heir, etc etc she found this Djinn and made a wish for a child, boom. Anyway, all that isn't really important I guess.
She wants to go meet her father who lives on the summit of a large mountain.
I saw this as a good opportunity to turn the climb into a bunch of challenges and so on so I wanted some thoughts.
Here are a few things to consider:
This is D&D. The player characters are super human by realistic standards.
Climbing a real mountain (like Everest) takes like 2 months.
This is D&D. I didn't want it to take 2 months of in game time.
Each player has a Climbing Kit which has a non-failing ability to prevent them from falling to their deaths.
Each player bought cold weather gear to protect them from the cold, some had Boots of the Winterlands crafted as well.
So here was my plan. Originally cold weather was going to be a thing they'd have to contend with, but since they spent the money to get boots of the winterlands and cold weather gear, it doesn't really feel right to include that anymore. Boots of the Winterlands protect you to up to -50 degrees, while even the peak of Everest only hits -65 and thats at its absolute coldest, these guys are making their climb in spring, so I figure it won't/can't get cold enough to beat the boots, so that is one challenge already I can't use.
So I decided to handle it like this.
First, 3 DC 10 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 11 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 10 survival checks made by a SINGLE player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
This represents the first leg of the journey up the mountain. The "cliff" is mostly just a steep slope at this point with lots of rocky handholds and footholds, so it isn't too overwhelmingly difficult. I'm also giving them advantage on their athletics checks because they're using climbing gear and climbing picks. At the end of each 3 climb checks, I put them as having climbed up about 3,000 feet and having it taken 6 hours to do. That is slow compared to PBH rules for climbing. However, as anyone who has ever got up from their gaming table and tried to climb anything can tell you, climbing is very exhausting and a lot of physical exertion. It is much harder than just walking all day long, so there are a lot of exhaustion checks which can of course make subsequent checks even harder once you start getting it.
The survival bit represents reaching the top of a cliff onto a more gradual incline and having to navigate it safely. It represents finding a good path, not falling into a crevice or onto rocks and other obstacles hidden underneath the 3 feet of snow. At the end of the 3 survival check period, they will have gone up another 1,000 feet.
This brings their first day of the climb to 7,000 feet off the ground and having taken about 18 hours. Just before they go to sleep, surprise! They are attacked in the night by undead. Other fools who tried to survive this harsh climb and failed. Armed with climbing picks, some with cold weather gear, and some even with ropes tied to their waist and dragging behind them as they lumber around. They kill the undead, then goto sleep, reducing all exhaustion levels by 1.
They wake up, hopefully fully rested with no exhaustion, then begin the next leg of the journey. This one plays out largely like the first but the DCs have gone up.
First, 3 DC 12 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 13 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 11 survival checks made by a SINGLE player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
The cliff face they're climbing now is a bit steeper and covered in a sheet of ice, it's harder to make it up without trouble.
3 more exhaustion checks, one after each set of "events"
This time before they goto sleep, they are attacked by air elementals. Do they just live up here or did Djinn dad send them? If so, does he want to kill you or does he want to test your mettle? Who knows!
3,000 feet per climb phase, then another 1,000 feet for walking phase, totaling 14,000 feet high now at the end of this day
Then sleep.
Now at this point, with the increasing DCs, I fully expect at least one player to wake up still with a level of exhaustion. At this point they will have to decide whether to press on with one of their comrades exhausted, or to stay camped for an additional 8 hours of rest (or maybe more) to try to remove that exhaustion before pressing on.
Choices like this will be important, because they're going to be limited (by weight) on the amount of food they can carry. I told them they aren't going to climb up a mountain with hundreds of pounds of crap hanging from them like they're strolling down the road, they're having to go light weight and carry limited gear and supplies to spend all day climbing, so if they spend too much time resting, they'll have to worry about things like starvation and dehydration.
After they wake up, the final leg of the journey begins...
First, 3 DC 14 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 15 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 16 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
This final bit is nothing but climb checks. There are no more slopes to maneuver around to reach another cliff to climb, it's going to be all climbing all day, and naturally getting more and more difficult.
Then finally, they arrive at the summit, where their just rewards await to make it all worth it. 23,000 feet up (which I calculated at you being able to see somewhere around 180 miles from this height because science and that is really high)
Now some things to consider...
Technically, the climbing kit locks them to the mountain and doesn't let them fall to their death, but I think falling the 25 feet, being snatched by the harness, and slamming into the side of the mountain would still hurt, so i'm thinking every failed climbing check is 2d6 or 3d6 damage, but otherwise doesn't impede their progress. This damage could add up really quickly if they're unlucky and be threatening.
For the survival check, I made a table. If you fail the DC, you roll a d10 and then use the results below:
1: Avalanche. Everyone takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage + 3d6 cold damage and becomes restrained as a wave of snow flows over and buries the party. While restrained, you are suffocating and have to hold your breath. You can use an action to make an athletics check (DC 15) to dig yourself out, and you can use an action (dc 10) to help dig out someone else.
2-4: Falling into a crevice, taking 5d6 damage, must be climbed back out of
5-9: Tripping on and falling on jagged rocks hidden in the snow, 3d6 bludgeoning damage
10: Party falls into a crevice, taking 3d6 fall damage and end up in a cave. They can climb out or explore the cave, which has its own challenges, rewards, risks, and benefits which I wont bother including here
The party has no ranger, so natural explorer stuff isn't something we have to worry about.
The DC's are fairly forgiving because none of them are proficient in ANY of this stuff. No athletics, no survival, and no con saves.
The general idea is it will take 3 days to climb all the way to the top assuming everything goes perfectly (which it wont) but if they camp for extended periods to get rid of fatigue, it'll increase the time it takes which also subtracts from their food supply and starvation could potentially become a thing.
So I just wanted some general feedback if you think this would be fun, if you like the idea, etc etc.
Also, they can try to prevent bad things from happening if they fail skill checks. For example, the air genasi could use their Levitation ability on someone who failed a climb check to prevent them from falling and taking damage. The healer can restore HP so people don't die from repeated damage they're taking. Stuff like that.
Currently no one has anything like fly or polymorph or druid shapeshifting so I don't imagine they can do anything to completely circumvent challenges.
She wants to go meet her father who lives on the summit of a large mountain.
I saw this as a good opportunity to turn the climb into a bunch of challenges and so on so I wanted some thoughts.
Here are a few things to consider:
This is D&D. The player characters are super human by realistic standards.
Climbing a real mountain (like Everest) takes like 2 months.
This is D&D. I didn't want it to take 2 months of in game time.
Each player has a Climbing Kit which has a non-failing ability to prevent them from falling to their deaths.
Each player bought cold weather gear to protect them from the cold, some had Boots of the Winterlands crafted as well.
So here was my plan. Originally cold weather was going to be a thing they'd have to contend with, but since they spent the money to get boots of the winterlands and cold weather gear, it doesn't really feel right to include that anymore. Boots of the Winterlands protect you to up to -50 degrees, while even the peak of Everest only hits -65 and thats at its absolute coldest, these guys are making their climb in spring, so I figure it won't/can't get cold enough to beat the boots, so that is one challenge already I can't use.
So I decided to handle it like this.
First, 3 DC 10 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 11 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 10 survival checks made by a SINGLE player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
This represents the first leg of the journey up the mountain. The "cliff" is mostly just a steep slope at this point with lots of rocky handholds and footholds, so it isn't too overwhelmingly difficult. I'm also giving them advantage on their athletics checks because they're using climbing gear and climbing picks. At the end of each 3 climb checks, I put them as having climbed up about 3,000 feet and having it taken 6 hours to do. That is slow compared to PBH rules for climbing. However, as anyone who has ever got up from their gaming table and tried to climb anything can tell you, climbing is very exhausting and a lot of physical exertion. It is much harder than just walking all day long, so there are a lot of exhaustion checks which can of course make subsequent checks even harder once you start getting it.
The survival bit represents reaching the top of a cliff onto a more gradual incline and having to navigate it safely. It represents finding a good path, not falling into a crevice or onto rocks and other obstacles hidden underneath the 3 feet of snow. At the end of the 3 survival check period, they will have gone up another 1,000 feet.
This brings their first day of the climb to 7,000 feet off the ground and having taken about 18 hours. Just before they go to sleep, surprise! They are attacked in the night by undead. Other fools who tried to survive this harsh climb and failed. Armed with climbing picks, some with cold weather gear, and some even with ropes tied to their waist and dragging behind them as they lumber around. They kill the undead, then goto sleep, reducing all exhaustion levels by 1.
They wake up, hopefully fully rested with no exhaustion, then begin the next leg of the journey. This one plays out largely like the first but the DCs have gone up.
First, 3 DC 12 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 13 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 11 survival checks made by a SINGLE player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
The cliff face they're climbing now is a bit steeper and covered in a sheet of ice, it's harder to make it up without trouble.
3 more exhaustion checks, one after each set of "events"
This time before they goto sleep, they are attacked by air elementals. Do they just live up here or did Djinn dad send them? If so, does he want to kill you or does he want to test your mettle? Who knows!
3,000 feet per climb phase, then another 1,000 feet for walking phase, totaling 14,000 feet high now at the end of this day
Then sleep.
Now at this point, with the increasing DCs, I fully expect at least one player to wake up still with a level of exhaustion. At this point they will have to decide whether to press on with one of their comrades exhausted, or to stay camped for an additional 8 hours of rest (or maybe more) to try to remove that exhaustion before pressing on.
Choices like this will be important, because they're going to be limited (by weight) on the amount of food they can carry. I told them they aren't going to climb up a mountain with hundreds of pounds of crap hanging from them like they're strolling down the road, they're having to go light weight and carry limited gear and supplies to spend all day climbing, so if they spend too much time resting, they'll have to worry about things like starvation and dehydration.
After they wake up, the final leg of the journey begins...
First, 3 DC 14 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 15 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
Then, 3 DC 16 athletics (climb) checks for each player.
Then, 1 DC 10 exhaustion check (con save) for each player.
This final bit is nothing but climb checks. There are no more slopes to maneuver around to reach another cliff to climb, it's going to be all climbing all day, and naturally getting more and more difficult.
Then finally, they arrive at the summit, where their just rewards await to make it all worth it. 23,000 feet up (which I calculated at you being able to see somewhere around 180 miles from this height because science and that is really high)
Now some things to consider...
Technically, the climbing kit locks them to the mountain and doesn't let them fall to their death, but I think falling the 25 feet, being snatched by the harness, and slamming into the side of the mountain would still hurt, so i'm thinking every failed climbing check is 2d6 or 3d6 damage, but otherwise doesn't impede their progress. This damage could add up really quickly if they're unlucky and be threatening.
For the survival check, I made a table. If you fail the DC, you roll a d10 and then use the results below:
1: Avalanche. Everyone takes 3d6 bludgeoning damage + 3d6 cold damage and becomes restrained as a wave of snow flows over and buries the party. While restrained, you are suffocating and have to hold your breath. You can use an action to make an athletics check (DC 15) to dig yourself out, and you can use an action (dc 10) to help dig out someone else.
2-4: Falling into a crevice, taking 5d6 damage, must be climbed back out of
5-9: Tripping on and falling on jagged rocks hidden in the snow, 3d6 bludgeoning damage
10: Party falls into a crevice, taking 3d6 fall damage and end up in a cave. They can climb out or explore the cave, which has its own challenges, rewards, risks, and benefits which I wont bother including here
The party has no ranger, so natural explorer stuff isn't something we have to worry about.
The DC's are fairly forgiving because none of them are proficient in ANY of this stuff. No athletics, no survival, and no con saves.
The general idea is it will take 3 days to climb all the way to the top assuming everything goes perfectly (which it wont) but if they camp for extended periods to get rid of fatigue, it'll increase the time it takes which also subtracts from their food supply and starvation could potentially become a thing.
So I just wanted some general feedback if you think this would be fun, if you like the idea, etc etc.
Also, they can try to prevent bad things from happening if they fail skill checks. For example, the air genasi could use their Levitation ability on someone who failed a climb check to prevent them from falling and taking damage. The healer can restore HP so people don't die from repeated damage they're taking. Stuff like that.
Currently no one has anything like fly or polymorph or druid shapeshifting so I don't imagine they can do anything to completely circumvent challenges.