I'm trying to design a challenge within an adventure which requires the party to scale a steep mountain face (think rock climbing more than hiking). I'm thinking I'll include branching paths, some easy, some moderate and some hard. Any ideas for challenges/obstacles I could throw in the way of the party's progress? There's a college of mages at the top (students/teachers can of course teleport straight there), so magical protection e.g. runes would be an option. Maybe a rockfall trap...?
I've done something similar before, inspired by TORG dramatic encounters.
I created some setback cards - these were just index cards, with a different situation on each and I put them into two piles: setbacks and opportunities.
Every 40 ft or so, the leader of the climb made a climbing check.
If they failed, they took a card from the setback stack and this would initiate dealing with the setback (my favourite being, "You just disturbed a really large nest that was hidden on a ledge...." followed by dealing with an enraged Roc.
If they succeed, then no draw.
If they beat the difficulty by more than 10, then they draw from the opportunity stack, which had things like a safe ledge where they could rest briefly. Resting was important, as after a while they were getting tired....
I had a look and I don't have these written down anywhere any more (it was many years ago) but thought you might appreciate the idea. :)
Nice idea! I could definitely tie that up nicely with use of the exhaustion rules, e.g. every 100ft take a con check or suffer one additional point of exhaustion...
So here's a possible setback table. Does it look about right for a level 3 party?
The party must rope together in order to climb safely. They can do so as one big group or in smaller teams. Each climbing team has a lead climber who is finding the route, using pitons to act as anchors, then belaying his team mates up from below (they retrieve used pitons as they follow the lead).
Each team climbs the route in sections of about 40ft each. For every pitch, have the lead climber roll a DC 12 athletics or acrobatics check.
On a failure, roll on the setbacks table below, rerolling for any result which has come up already.
On a modified result of 12-22, nothing remarkable happens. The lead climber belays the rest of his team up to his current position.
On a modified result of 22 or more, roll on the opportunities table below.
Climbing is hard work. After every 80ft of climbing (two sections), every member of the party must make a DC 15 Constitution check. On a failure, they gain one point of exhaustion.
d6
Setbacks
1
Rope snap! The lead climber makes it to the end of the section. While belaying the team, the rope snaps, just above the bottom climber. They fall d100 ft to a rock ledge below, taking 1d6 bludegeoning damage for every 10 ft fallen.
2
Rockfall! A large boulder comes tumbling down the cliff face. Any member of the climbing team failing a DC 15 dexterity check takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage.
3
Lightning strike! A mountain storm suddenly brews up. A randomly chosen member of the climbing team is struck by lightning, taking 210 damage.
4
Giant bird! The lead climber disturbs a nest occupied by two giant eagles which attack the climbing team. The lead climber, hanging on to the rock, must attack with disadvantage.
5
Grab my hand! The last climber in the team is struggling. The climber above him/er hauls him up. Both gain one point of exhaustion.
6
Broken fall! The second climber drops 10ft; the lead climber arrests his fall with the rope, which digs under his ribs, dealing 1d6 crushing damage.
Yep. I put the randomly determined fall distance in for that reason. Failing a check then rolling a one then rolling 90 or more on a d100 is pretty unlucky!
Yep. I put the randomly determined fall distance in for that reason. Failing a check then rolling a one then rolling 90 or more on a d100 is pretty unlucky!
11/600 times the chance of failing the check.
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"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Here are some ideas: Instead of just having the last player face a fall for a rope snap, roll a number sided die equal to all the players, i.e. a d6 for 6 players, and have that many players face the fall. Instead of a lightning strike have the players have to ride out the storm on the side of the mountain. Let me make a Survival check with success meaning they found a suitable shelter. The storm could last an hour which would allow the players to rest and regain some lost levels of exhaustion but at the cost of being slowed down. A failed check means they have to spend the storm being battered by the elements, they gain no rest benefits and still lose the hour. Perhaps the characters could cause a small rockslide that opens an old cave complex. What is in the caves? Perhaps it is an old tomb, or an ancient ritual site, or just a hold filled with brown mold! In any case it shouldn't be a difficult encounter but again if they explore it, it will cost them time and they may have to fight a few skeletons or whatever is appropriate.
Anyways those are just some ideas that popped in my head.
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As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!
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I'm trying to design a challenge within an adventure which requires the party to scale a steep mountain face (think rock climbing more than hiking). I'm thinking I'll include branching paths, some easy, some moderate and some hard. Any ideas for challenges/obstacles I could throw in the way of the party's progress? There's a college of mages at the top (students/teachers can of course teleport straight there), so magical protection e.g. runes would be an option. Maybe a rockfall trap...?
I've done something similar before, inspired by TORG dramatic encounters.
I created some setback cards - these were just index cards, with a different situation on each and I put them into two piles: setbacks and opportunities.
Every 40 ft or so, the leader of the climb made a climbing check.
If they failed, they took a card from the setback stack and this would initiate dealing with the setback (my favourite being, "You just disturbed a really large nest that was hidden on a ledge...." followed by dealing with an enraged Roc.
If they succeed, then no draw.
If they beat the difficulty by more than 10, then they draw from the opportunity stack, which had things like a safe ledge where they could rest briefly. Resting was important, as after a while they were getting tired....
I had a look and I don't have these written down anywhere any more (it was many years ago) but thought you might appreciate the idea. :)
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Nice idea! I could definitely tie that up nicely with use of the exhaustion rules, e.g. every 100ft take a con check or suffer one additional point of exhaustion...
So here's a possible setback table. Does it look about right for a level 3 party?
The party must rope together in order to climb safely. They can do so as one big group or in smaller teams. Each climbing team has a lead climber who is finding the route, using pitons to act as anchors, then belaying his team mates up from below (they retrieve used pitons as they follow the lead).
Each team climbs the route in sections of about 40ft each. For every pitch, have the lead climber roll a DC 12 athletics or acrobatics check.
Climbing is hard work. After every 80ft of climbing (two sections), every member of the party must make a DC 15 Constitution check. On a failure, they gain one point of exhaustion.
d6
Setbacks
1
Rope snap! The lead climber makes it to the end of the section. While belaying the team, the rope snaps, just above the bottom climber. They fall d100 ft to a rock ledge below, taking 1d6 bludegeoning damage for every 10 ft fallen.
2
Rockfall! A large boulder comes tumbling down the cliff face. Any member of the climbing team failing a DC 15 dexterity check takes 1d10 bludgeoning damage.
3
Lightning strike! A mountain storm suddenly brews up. A randomly chosen member of the climbing team is struck by lightning, taking 210 damage.
4
Giant bird! The lead climber disturbs a nest occupied by two giant eagles which attack the climbing team. The lead climber, hanging on to the rock, must attack with disadvantage.
5
Grab my hand! The last climber in the team is struggling. The climber above him/er hauls him up. Both gain one point of exhaustion.
6
Broken fall! The second climber drops 10ft; the lead climber arrests his fall with the rope, which digs under his ribs, dealing 1d6 crushing damage.
10d6 will probably kill a 3rd-level character.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Yep. I put the randomly determined fall distance in for that reason. Failing a check then rolling a one then rolling 90 or more on a d100 is pretty unlucky!
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Here are some ideas: Instead of just having the last player face a fall for a rope snap, roll a number sided die equal to all the players, i.e. a d6 for 6 players, and have that many players face the fall. Instead of a lightning strike have the players have to ride out the storm on the side of the mountain. Let me make a Survival check with success meaning they found a suitable shelter. The storm could last an hour which would allow the players to rest and regain some lost levels of exhaustion but at the cost of being slowed down. A failed check means they have to spend the storm being battered by the elements, they gain no rest benefits and still lose the hour. Perhaps the characters could cause a small rockslide that opens an old cave complex. What is in the caves? Perhaps it is an old tomb, or an ancient ritual site, or just a hold filled with brown mold! In any case it shouldn't be a difficult encounter but again if they explore it, it will cost them time and they may have to fight a few skeletons or whatever is appropriate.
Anyways those are just some ideas that popped in my head.
As for me, I choose to believe that an extinct thunder lizard is running a game of Dungeons & Dragons via Twitter!