Nilbogs! In dungeons!

[TigerT20]

I have a one-shot coming up where the players essentially have to check out what the hell is going on with the local goblin tribe.

The reason is that it's now led by a nilbog. I have some stuff planned, but I have come to the conclusion that it is not insane enough.

So playground, give me a few ideas to turn this cave into a carnival. Just some basic puzzles with a clown theme, or ways to spice up combat encounters so it isnt 'he hides behind the rock, then shoots you', but rather 'he hides behind the pink elephant, then shoots you'

[Keltest]

Free drinks. They arent poisoned, theyre just really, really strong. Give positive modifiers (to like Str or something) along with the drunkenness so that players have a reason to keep drinking.

[Zhorn]

give it a magic boost, but a little more rando-crazy-style.
Take the beholder eye-beam template, swap out anything too powerful with something from the wild magic table.
Top of the round, or say as a legendary action, roll on the table, with a second roll to determine random targets.
When the barbarian's a potted plant, the wizard's a sheep, and the ranger's praising "glory to Nilbog!" you've hit the right level of insanity.

[pr4wn]

You could have a goblin boss or two available for the Nilbog to posses to make it a little tougher/more resilient to damage.

You could give it a Wand of Conducting, Wand of Smiles, Deck of Illusions, etc to add to the insanity. If you use the Deck of Illusions, try to burn through it before the characters have a chance to defeat the Nilbog.

Nolzur's Marvelous Pigments could also be used for mad-cap fun if there is some interaction besides "murderhobo"-ing.

Try to find wacky things that can be consumed during any fray.


-pr4wn

[TigerT20]

These are some great ideas, and I'll definitely use a few, but... what about non-combat challenges? I've planned for some social interaction/stealth to get in, but what about once they've entered the cave Mighty Circus of CHAOS and REVELRY!

[pr4wn]

These are some great ideas, and I'll definitely use a few, but... what about non-combat challenges? I've planned for some social interaction/stealth to get in, but what about once they've entered the cave Mighty Circus of CHAOS and REVELRY!

Carnie games of course!

https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-07-2012/rigged-carnival-games.html

But they are rigged for someone goblin sized...

Set a fairly high DC, small characters make the check with disadvantage, medium characters with a straight roll or advantage...

For the balloon dart throw, word it with an out for the players... "Pop a balloon with a dart, win a prize!" If they use their own dart, they have to hit an AC 15, if they use a goblin provided dart, they have to hit an AC 20 with disadvantage.

Keep the prizes in line for most of them as well. If they win, they get a stuffed animal made from a burlap sack, filled with manure... The gold coin they thought they were going to win is brass... Stuff like that.

Oh, and don't forget to have pick pockets working the crowd (both the other goblins and the PCs) while they are playing the games.


-pr4wn

[DaFlipp]

These are some great ideas, and I'll definitely use a few, but... what about non-combat challenges? I've planned for some social interaction/stealth to get in, but what about once they've entered the cave Mighty Circus of CHAOS and REVELRY!

General guideline: Don't plan the challenges around what will be a fair challenge to the PCs, or even a logical challenge. Plan it around what will most amuse the Nilbog - which, in turn, probably means pissing off the PCs as much as humanly (goblinly?) possible.

Off the top of my head:

1.) The Quiz Show. The Nilbog promises an incredible prize for the PCs if they answer a set of questions correctly! Failure results in PAIN AND TORMENT! (Which is actually just, a single arrow fired by a hidden goblin). Make the questions utterly absurd, offer multiple choice answers with one obviously right answer and be prepared to explain how *every* answer is, in fact, incorrect. After several rounds, he takes pity and lets the PCs claim their prize - which, of course, is fake (for example, a promised +3 sword is either an illusion or a roughly sword-shaped piece of plywood with "x3 SOWRD" painted on it)

2.) The Leap of Faith: The pathway forward has collapsed. It seems an impossible jump will be needed to pass. A magical voice rings out that the bridge is simply invisible but only carries those who believe in themselves. There is no bridge. See if any PCs fall (don't make it fatal, just several d6s of pointy rocks damage). Lay on the "can't believe you fell for that"s if it works.

3.) A room of what seem to be goblins wearing ornate masks, each styled after a different animal. A voice rings out challenging the PCs to identify which one is the real Nilbog. A nonsensical riddle ensues. The answer doesn't matter - the three "goblins" are actually goblin-styled Scarecrows that attack when their faces are removed. If the PCs are high enough level to survive it, paint a Glyph of Warding (Explosive Runes) on each one's forehead for extra hilarity. Bonus points if they assume they got the Scarecrow/Glyph because they answered "wrong" and try the others.