Need help crafting interesting mechanics/encounters for the final dungeon of my long running campaign. This is for a high-powered party (6 level 17 players), one of which is a cleric that has access to True Resurrection. Additionally, much to my chagrin they've rallied a group of about 6 CR 3 companions to enter the dungeon with them. While I don't want them to fail, I do want the experience to be deadly enough to feel challenging/rewarding and also give them a chance to shine.
The background: the dungeon takes place in the ruins of an ancient and advanced giant city. The players are going here to stop the BBEG from using the McGuffin - a powerful giant relic - from ascending to godhood. In order to reach said McGuffin, the players will need to clear a series of mandatory six rooms themed after each of the giant tribes - Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud, and Storm. In each of these rooms is an extra-planar space designed to test the players based upon whatever that particular giant tribe values. Fire giants value discipline and forging skill, Cloud giants value wealth and trickery, Storm giants value wisdom and foresight, etc. I also want to have a bonus room with some nice treasure inside the party can choose to tackle.
I've already got the Hill and Stone giant tests figured out: are you able to provide any insight on puzzles, mechanics, encounters, etc that would be thematically appropriate for the other tests? Thanks for any help you're able to provide!
Some final notes:
These giants are long dead & gone so they shouldn't be present, but they were especially proficient in the development of Constructs.
The party will have to face off against the BBEG's lieutenants (a Solar, an Archmage, and an Ashen Rider) together at some point in the dungeon before making it to the BBEG. I'm hoping for this to be a significant drain on their resources before the final boss encounter.
It'd be preferable if not every encounter was combat focussed.
Need help crafting interesting mechanics/encounters for the final dungeon of my long running campaign. This is for a high-powered party (6 level 17 players), one of which is a cleric that has access to True Resurrection. Additionally, much to my chagrin they've rallied a group of about 6 CR 3 companions to enter the dungeon with them. While I don't want them to fail, I do want the experience to be deadly enough to feel challenging/rewarding and also give them a chance to shine.
The background: the dungeon takes place in the ruins of an ancient and advanced giant city. The players are going here to stop the BBEG from using the McGuffin - a powerful giant relic - from ascending to godhood. In order to reach said McGuffin, the players will need to clear a series of mandatory six rooms themed after each of the giant tribes - Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud, and Storm. In each of these rooms is an extra-planar space designed to test the players based upon whatever that particular giant tribe values. Fire giants value discipline and forging skill, Cloud giants value wealth and trickery, Storm giants value wisdom and foresight, etc. I also want to have a bonus room with some nice treasure inside the party can choose to tackle.
I've already got the Hill and Stone giant tests figured out: are you able to provide any insight on puzzles, mechanics, encounters, etc that would be thematically appropriate for the other tests? Thanks for any help you're able to provide!
Some final notes:
These giants are long dead & gone so they shouldn't be present, but they were especially proficient in the development of Constructs.
The party will have to face off against the BBEG's lieutenants (a Solar, an Archmage, and an Ashen Rider) together at some point in the dungeon before making it to the BBEG. I'm hoping for this to be a significant drain on their resources before the final boss encounter.
It'd be preferable if not every encounter was combat focussed.
You could have cloud giant ghosts (their stats are in Candlekeep mysteries) and the party has to give them much wealth to get passed them, or beat them at a game of chance (with consequences if they lose).
You mentioned constructs: Your party could handle two or so Iron golems, perhaps they were made by the fire giants and have been messed up by time and characters need to fix or fight them as the challenge.
Maybe the storm giants challenge is whether the characters free a group of seven robed and chained prisoners who need to be freed. Maybe they are medusas in disguise that the storm giants imprisoned for the challenge and they attack if set free. It is a test of wisdom for the characters, one they might mess up.
PS. The load of NPC's could mess things up, maybe they flee or turn on characters if their in trouble.
PS. If you have it, Storm Kings Thunder has an interesting but deadly puzzle related to each group of giants, and the book does a good job of showing how to use them.
Wait, your BBEG has a Solar as a lieutenant?! Why would a lawful good angel help a villain? And why would it team up with a fallen celestial? Anyway, I can help with balancing the difficulty. According to XGE, a CR 3 monster is equal to a 7th or 8th level character. Since there are six of them, I evenly distributed the levels when calculating the difficulty. With this party of 12 characters averaging level 12.3, the daily budget is 183,000 XP. Should you surpass it with the total number of encounters in adjusted XP, you risk making things way too difficult. Remember that the XP budget only works if the party is allowed three separate short rests. The fight against the lieutenants is worth 84,600 XP, which counts as a deadly encounter (the threshold is 64,200). That leaves 98,400 XP.
If you were planning on making the final boss harder than the penultimate fight against the lieutenants, it doesn't leave much room for the rest of the encounters in the dungeon. I personally don't think it makes sense for the BBEG to be stronger than all three together, though. I'll assume you think the same. Assuming all six companions survive all the way to the final fight (highly unlikely), a CR 28 or 29 monster (there are no official CR 29 ones) would work against that huge party if fought alone. The adjusted XP is 60,000, which makes it a hard encounter, but at this point the party should be very low on resources. With only 38,400 XP left for the non boss encounters, they're going to be very easy if you rely too much on combat encounters. If none of the companions survive, a CR 26 monster should be equivalent.
It's so complicated that I'd like to suggest a solution to get rid of those six companions without upsetting your players. You have six rooms and six companions. There should be something in each of these rooms that forces someone to stay behind in order to open the way to the final chamber. Something like a device that requires someone's presence to remain active. Only once those six devices are active should the final door be opened. You might even task your players into choosing who gets to stay behind each time. When the party first enters a room, the entrance should close behind them. The only way to open it is to activate the device at the end of the challenge. This means that the party gets progressively smaller. This works best if the rooms can be completed in any order.
As for how the companions may be freed, the dungeon must first be completed. That way, the players get to face the bosses without the companions. The daily budget is reduced to 150,000 XP, which leaves 65,400. A single CR 27 monster acting as the final boss is worth 52,500 adjusted XP, which is just below the deadly threshold of 52,800. While it doesn't leave much for the mooks, you still have those companions to help. Besides, the mooks should be easy enough to make sure each companion isn't easily killed, as they're needed for the devices.
As for ideas for the rooms themselves, the first thing that comes to mind is a chess challenge with every piece being a medium sized construct. It doesn't have to follow real chess rules, but could be similar. Each piece advances differently and has different attacks. Each construct resembles a specific chess piece. Pawns are spear wielding infantry, bishops are magicians, knights are swordsmen in platemail, rooks are large shieldbearers, queens are sword wielding magicians, and kings are rapier wielding nobles.
Pawn (10 hp)
Movement: 1 forward, 2 forward if first move, or 1 diagonally-forward after destroying enemy there
Melee Attack: 5 dmg forward, or 10 dmg diagonally-forward
Special: Becomes a Queen, Knight, or Rook (player's choice) when reaching the last enemy line
Bishop (5 hp)
Movement: 3 diagonally in any direction
Ranged Attack: 5 dmg to closest unit in any diagonal direction, becomes 10 dmg if right next to it
Knight (10 hp)
Movement: 3 in any non diagonal direction, can change direction during movement but can't pass through the same space twice, can move through allies, must perform the full movement
Melee Attack: 10 dmg in any direction but only after moving
Rook (15 hp)
Movement: 3 in any non diagonal direction, can move through allies
Melee Attack: 5 dmg in any non diagonal direction, can't use special if attacking
Special: Protect single ally (player's choice) from damage, ally must be right next to it in a non diagonal direction, effect lasts until Rook or ally move or attack
Queen (10 hp)
Movement: 3 in any direction
Ranged Attack: 5 dmg to closest unit in any direction, becomes 10 dmg if right next to it
King (10 hp)
Movement: 1 in any direction
Melee Attack: 10 dmg in any direction
Special: Lose if destroyed
I think the Storm Trial fits this best. The giant chess board could be at the top of a mountain with thunder and rain storms all over the night sky.
I have zero experience with either giants or high level play. However, if the Cloud Giants value both wealth and trickery, maybe a puzzle that is meant for taking the wealth of the players? Put a riddle on the door about how greed is an honest person's doom, then have the room filled with statues that cast high level spells or high level traps. The statues always target the person with the most wealth in the room and become animated if the players dismiss their wealth, however, they also have some bags or bowls in which you can put gold and if a statue becomes the one with the most gold in the room then the other ones attack it. The real trick though is that a destroyed statue takes the gold with it: the whole room was built as a scam by the ome that designed it so that they can take people's money.
Edit: ok, the riddle would need some work though. Something about envying those better off? How greed is your doom? Misused money is worse than not used money? I dunno.
Edit2: Maybe there is a spirit of a different giant in each room that gives a hint about what lies ahead as they test the visitors. The cloud giant one is just an ******* that tells them the riddle at the begining and at the end gloats about how it scammed them of their wealth and it added to its treasury. That way you can make the optional room said treasury with the wealth of all previous challengers.
Kill the companions as soon as possible. You don't want to need to run another 6 NPC turns during combats that are already going to be very long because of the number of characters and the amount of options they have available at level 17.
Stick in some really freaking deadly stuff early on and feed the NPCs to it. Otherwise, put in some massive breath weapon type damage that's going to just one-shot them in combat encounters. This will emphasise the deadliness of the encounters and give them some extra emotional oomph to go with.
I love Farenas's idea for the Cloud Trial and how spirits of giants guide you. Make sure you roll wealth for each of the six companions as well. Use the Individual Treasure: Challenge 0-4 table from the DMG. It's highly unlikely that the companions will have more wealth than the players, so they should be safe while still being useful in combat. Don't forget to check the number of coins and gems each of your players have on their character before running the dungeon. As for the bonus room with all the treasure, use the Treasure Hoard: Challenge 17+ table from the DMG. Don't forget to add whatever was lost during the Cloud Trial.
I want to add to my Storm Trial idea. What happens if the players lose the chess game? If the players' King is destroyed, all other pieces controlled by the players are destroyed. Suddenly, the remaining pieces controlled by your opponent (the Storm Giant spirit) animate and break free from the confines of the rules of the game. Roll initiative and have the players fight them all. If the King is destroyed, all other pieces are destroyed. The battle map should be bigger than the standard 8x8 chess board, as it includes the rest of the plateau at the top of the mountain. If a character falls off of the plateau, it's the full 20d6 fall damage and all the way down the mountain (good luck climbing back up if still alive). Give disadvantage to Perception checks relying on sight and hearing due to the heavy rain (lightly obscured) and thunder. When a chess piece is destroyed, it crumbles into small rocks (difficult terrain). Don't forget to keep track of the pieces that were destroyed during the chess game. From now on, I'll be calling the chess pieces statues.
Each statue has the following statistics mostly based on the stone golem:
Immutable Form. The statue is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The statue has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The statue's weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack (Pawn, Bishop, Knight, Queen and King Only). The statue makes two melee attacks.
Spear (Pawn Only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage, or 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Shortsword (Bishop Only). Melee Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage.
Greatsword (Knight Only). Melee Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Rapier (Queen and King Only). Melee Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.
Slam (Rook Only).Melee Weapon Attack:+9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is Large or smaller, it is knocked prone.
Lightning Ray (Bishop and Queen Only). Ranged Spell Attack:+5 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (3d6 + 1) lightning damage.
Reactions
Intercept Attack (Rook Only). In response to another creature within 5 feet of it being hit by an attack roll, the stone defender gives that creature a +5 bonus to its AC against that attack, potentially causing a miss. To use this ability, the statue must be able to see the creature and the attacker.
Parry (Knight, Queen and King Only). The statue adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the statue must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon.
Any damage received during the chess game carries over. All you have to do is calculate the percentage of health left. 5/10 hp becomes 72/144, 10/15 hp becomes 92/144, and 5/15 hp becomes 48/144. The rules of the chess game don't follow the same rules of combat. Lightning Ray uses Dexterity. The rook's action and reaction comes from the stone defender.
Also, roll initiative for the sky but keep it hidden from your players until it actually does something. The sky can only attack flying characters and always targets the highest one. The sky obviously isn't a creature and cannot be targeted by attacks. Think of it like a permanent trap for when the players are fighting the statues. The sky has only one action (adapted from the storm giant):
Lightning Strike. The sky hurls a magical lightning bolt at a point it can see. Each creature within 10 feet of that point must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Yes, this means that an invisible creature can't be targeted by the sky. Should the players figure that one out, they can easily cheese the encounter.
Frost Giants appreciate brute strength, the cold and animal taming, right? I am not sure about animal taming but their adversity to heat makes me think a player versus environment situation.
The objective would be to either get from one side of the room to another or catch the spirit/construct of an animal tamed by the giants while withstanding weather effects. Admitedly, that has the issue that if one of your casters knows a teleporting spell they might cheese the challenge but the best solution I can think to that, an antimagic field, would be while thematically appropriate to them looking down on magic, it would also be a tad unfair to the casters.
Anyways, have the room either be a long frozen bridge or a cliff that must be climbed, littered with the bones of fallen foes/challengers. Add a snowstorm that forces the players to do both strength checks not to be forced off the cliff or bridge and constitution saving throws to resist cold damage every turn. Then make a table of events as if it were a chase, with stuff like:
The next rock you climb or ground you step on is frozen, check to see if you slip. Alternatively, it is difficult terrain / The bones around you rise and try to grab you. / Snow hits your face, roll to see if you are blinded or have to slow down. / You are hit by hail, roll to see how much damage you take or if you are moved. / The next rock you grab is sharper than expected, suffer X slashing and check if you drop. / there is a rockslide /etc.
The point is making sure that they are mostly physical challenges and play up how harsh the environtment is. Since Frost Giants like physical might, something that tests the players on that is what they would go for. A snow storm is just the most obvious one but there could be magical effects like increased gravity or a place that if touched causes ice to cover you to either stop you or cause cold damage or a magic wind that picks you up and hurls you across the room.
Thanks so much to everyone for the replies! I wasn't expecting to get this much feedback this quickly. I'm working on parsing through the suggestions, but so far it looks like there are a ton of great suggestions here.
Just in case you weren't aware, Farenas is referring to the DMG rules on Chases in post #7. I also forgot to mention that the chess game doesn't involve initiative. Instead, each player moves one statue each turn just like in real chess. As for who gets to move first, it's up to you. Perhaps you can let the players decide, have it be randomly determined, players have to answer a riddle correctly to choose who goes first, etc. Since you have six players controlling the same side, there's a risk that some of them might stay quiet and not get a chance to do something while only the most talkative and proactive players do everything. I see a few solutions to this problem. Feel free to pick the one you prefer, combine some of them, or think of one yourself.
They vote which statue will act this turn.
They alternate on who gets to decide.
The spirit of the storm giant (the opponent) forces a quiet player to decide for a turn. Explained in-game that he wants everyone to be involved.
For obvious reasons, it's best if the six companions sit this one out. Explained in-game that they believe the players to be smarter (which is mechanically true). They'll get to help if the players lose the game and are forced to destroy the remaining statues themselves.
Honestly, Farenas proposed two really compelling ideas for the Cloud and Frost Trials, while I took care of the Storm one. I've been thinking for a while and I may have figured out the only one left: the Fire Trial. I actually took inspiration from BoringBard's suggestion. How about a one on one Iron Golem arena fight? The spirit of the fire giant controls his own iron golem (note: there's an error in the stat block; it should be +12 to hit, not +13), while the players get to build their very own. They have access to a huge forge with plenty of machines capable of processing everything when given proper instructions. But first, the players need to determine what they know about iron golems. Have all the players and companions present perform the following checks, but as a twist you add them all up for one big total. Below is the list of features they know about iron golems according to those check totals:
Arcana Check Total
DC 100: Immutable Form
DC 120: Magic Resistance, Magic Weapons
DC 150: Fire Absorption
Nature Check Total
DC 100: Condition Immunities
DC 120: Elemental Damage Immunities
DC 150: Physical Damage Immunities
History Check Total
DC 100: Languages
DC 120: Poison Breath
DC 150: Description
The Description is the text below the stat block. Everything else, they don't have to know. For Poison Breath, you don't have to give the numbers, just explain what it does. Hide blueprints around the forge with various Investigation checks. They should be written in Giant. If they can't read them, they can attempt a DC 25 Intelligence check per blueprint to try and figure them out based on the images. If they speak Giant, the DC is 15. Each character can perform the checks individually. Characters proficient in Smith's Tools can add their proficiency bonus to their INT check. If a character speaks Giant or is proficient in smith's tools, but not both of them, they can use the Help action to help someone who has the other skill, thus giving advantage. Forging a golem should take at least one hour of in-game time, which doesn't allow for a short rest if the characters are actively working.
List of Blueprints
Head
Torso
Arms
Legs
Sword
They don't get to see what the spirit's golem looks like until they're done forging their own. For each body part they have the blueprint but don't understand, they have to make a DC 25 Strength (Smith's Tools) check. If they don't even have the blueprint, the checks are done with disadvantage. If they have and understand the blueprint, the DC is 15. If they succeed, the body part is perfect, otherwise defects are present. An iron golem has 20 hit dice and each body part represents a fraction of it. A golem with 0 hit die is a complete failure, i.e. the challenge is failed.
Head
DC Passed: 11 Wisdom
-1 Wisdom for each point below DC
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the head rolled a 9. The golem has a Wisdom score of 5. At 0 Wisdom, it is blinded and automatically fails all Wisdom saving throws.
Torso
DC Passed: 6 AC, 10 hit dice, 20 Constitution
-1 Constitution for each point below DC
-1 hit die for each two points below DC, up to a maximum of -10
Example: The DC was 25 and and the character chosen to forge the torso rolled a 20. The golem loses 2 hit dice and has a Constitution score of 15. At 0 Constitution, it automatically fails all Constitution saving throws.
Arms
DC Passed: 2 AC, 5 hit dice, 24 Strength
-1 Strength for each point below DC
-1 hit die for each two points below DC, up to a maximum of -5
Example: The DC was 25 and the character chosen to forge the arms rolled a 22. The golem loses 1 hit die and has a Strength score of 21. At 0 Strength, it automatically fails all Strength saving throws.
Legs
DC Passed: 2 AC, 5 hit dice, 9 Dexterity, Speed of 30 ft.
-1 Dexterity for each point below DC
-1 hit die for each two points below DC, up to a maximum of -5
-5 Speed for each two points below DC
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the legs rolled a 7. The golem loses 4 hit dice, has a Dexterity score of 1, and a Speed of 10 ft. At 0 Dexterity, it automatically fails all Dexterity saving throws.
Sword
DC Passed: Damage 3d10
Damage becomes 3d8 at one point below DC
Damage becomes 3d6 at three points below DC
Damage becomes 3d4 at six points below DC
Damage becomes 2d4 at nine points below DC
Damage becomes 1d4 at twelve points below DC
Damage becomes 1d1 at fifteen points below DC
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the sword rolled a 14. The golem's sword deals 3d8 + Strength modifier damage. It still has Slam no matter what, but its reach is more limited.
Below is what the golem's statistics with all the examples combined.
Iron Golem
Large Construct, Unaligned
Armor Class20 (natural armor)
Hit Points 97(13d10 + 26)
Speed 10 ft.
STR
21(+5)
DEX
1 (-5)
CON
15 (+2)
INT
3(-4)
WIS
5 (-3)
CHA
1(-5)
Damage ImmunitiesFire, Poison, Psychic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks that aren't Adamantine
LanguagesUnderstands the languages of its creator but can't speak
Proficiency Bonus+5
Fire Absorption. Whenever the golem is subjected to fire damage, it takes no damage and instead regains a number of hit points equal to the fire damage dealt.
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem's weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack. The golem makes two melee attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack:+10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Sword. Melee Weapon Attack:+10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) slashing damage.
The formula to calculate hit points is XdN + Constitution modifier multiplied by X. In this case, X equals 13. The number on the left, which is 97 in this case, is the average. The formula is much more complicated, so I recommend a calculator instead, like this one here. Try inputting 13d10+26 and you'll get 97.5, which you have to round down. Aside from that, notice that I removed the poison breath. Considering iron golems are immune to poison, there's no point in it.
Once the golem is complete, the spirit of the fire giant does the last step for the players: it infuses it with a fire spirit. If the players' golem loses the fight, they'll have to fight the enemy golem, and its remaining hit points, themselves. The arena should be 60x60 feet. Lava sometimes flows in some areas, which can be used for healing. The faster the golem, the easier it is to heal. The lava instead becomes an obstacle when the players have to fight by themselves.
In order to make things more interesting and not make the duel dependent on checks, allow the players to add modifications to the golem. By spending spell slots, you can add magical properties to it. If gaining the effect of a certain spell makes sense, allow it to be cast on it in this way. If they want to forge a shield, allow it but remember that there are no blueprints for it. I would lower the sword's damage by one tier (d10 > d8) since it would be held by one hand to accommodate the shield. They may even want to make a different melee weapon altogether, or add projectiles. If they don't mind melting a magic item they own, they can reforge it to add to the golem. Let them have fun, but keep things balanced and make sure there are drawbacks such as spending resources or losing a feature.
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Kill the companions as soon as possible. You don't want to need to run another 6 NPC turns during combats that are already going to be very long because of the number of characters and the amount of options they have available at level 17.
Stick in some really freaking deadly stuff early on and feed the NPCs to it. Otherwise, put in some massive breath weapon type damage that's going to just one-shot them in combat encounters. This will emphasise the deadliness of the encounters and give them some extra emotional oomph to go with.
Even easier option: it seems likely that any tests for 'worthiness' will take into account the size of the group, because giants aren't going to consider a half dozen peons worthy even if they happen to all be in a group. So, no more than 6 people can enter the test at a time...
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Need help crafting interesting mechanics/encounters for the final dungeon of my long running campaign. This is for a high-powered party (6 level 17 players), one of which is a cleric that has access to True Resurrection. Additionally, much to my chagrin they've rallied a group of about 6 CR 3 companions to enter the dungeon with them. While I don't want them to fail, I do want the experience to be deadly enough to feel challenging/rewarding and also give them a chance to shine.
The background: the dungeon takes place in the ruins of an ancient and advanced giant city. The players are going here to stop the BBEG from using the McGuffin - a powerful giant relic - from ascending to godhood. In order to reach said McGuffin, the players will need to clear a series of mandatory six rooms themed after each of the giant tribes - Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud, and Storm. In each of these rooms is an extra-planar space designed to test the players based upon whatever that particular giant tribe values. Fire giants value discipline and forging skill, Cloud giants value wealth and trickery, Storm giants value wisdom and foresight, etc. I also want to have a bonus room with some nice treasure inside the party can choose to tackle.
I've already got the Hill and Stone giant tests figured out: are you able to provide any insight on puzzles, mechanics, encounters, etc that would be thematically appropriate for the other tests? Thanks for any help you're able to provide!
Some final notes:
You could have cloud giant ghosts (their stats are in Candlekeep mysteries) and the party has to give them much wealth to get passed them, or beat them at a game of chance (with consequences if they lose).
You mentioned constructs: Your party could handle two or so Iron golems, perhaps they were made by the fire giants and have been messed up by time and characters need to fix or fight them as the challenge.
Maybe the storm giants challenge is whether the characters free a group of seven robed and chained prisoners who need to be freed. Maybe they are medusas in disguise that the storm giants imprisoned for the challenge and they attack if set free. It is a test of wisdom for the characters, one they might mess up.
PS. The load of NPC's could mess things up, maybe they flee or turn on characters if their in trouble.
PS. If you have it, Storm Kings Thunder has an interesting but deadly puzzle related to each group of giants, and the book does a good job of showing how to use them.
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HERE.Wait, your BBEG has a Solar as a lieutenant?! Why would a lawful good angel help a villain? And why would it team up with a fallen celestial? Anyway, I can help with balancing the difficulty. According to XGE, a CR 3 monster is equal to a 7th or 8th level character. Since there are six of them, I evenly distributed the levels when calculating the difficulty. With this party of 12 characters averaging level 12.3, the daily budget is 183,000 XP. Should you surpass it with the total number of encounters in adjusted XP, you risk making things way too difficult. Remember that the XP budget only works if the party is allowed three separate short rests. The fight against the lieutenants is worth 84,600 XP, which counts as a deadly encounter (the threshold is 64,200). That leaves 98,400 XP.
If you were planning on making the final boss harder than the penultimate fight against the lieutenants, it doesn't leave much room for the rest of the encounters in the dungeon. I personally don't think it makes sense for the BBEG to be stronger than all three together, though. I'll assume you think the same. Assuming all six companions survive all the way to the final fight (highly unlikely), a CR 28
or 29monster (there are no official CR 29 ones) would work against that huge party if fought alone. The adjusted XP is 60,000, which makes it a hard encounter, but at this point the party should be very low on resources. With only 38,400 XP left for the non boss encounters, they're going to be very easy if you rely too much on combat encounters. If none of the companions survive, a CR 26 monster should be equivalent.It's so complicated that I'd like to suggest a solution to get rid of those six companions without upsetting your players. You have six rooms and six companions. There should be something in each of these rooms that forces someone to stay behind in order to open the way to the final chamber. Something like a device that requires someone's presence to remain active. Only once those six devices are active should the final door be opened. You might even task your players into choosing who gets to stay behind each time. When the party first enters a room, the entrance should close behind them. The only way to open it is to activate the device at the end of the challenge. This means that the party gets progressively smaller. This works best if the rooms can be completed in any order.
As for how the companions may be freed, the dungeon must first be completed. That way, the players get to face the bosses without the companions. The daily budget is reduced to 150,000 XP, which leaves 65,400. A single CR 27 monster acting as the final boss is worth 52,500 adjusted XP, which is just below the deadly threshold of 52,800. While it doesn't leave much for the mooks, you still have those companions to help. Besides, the mooks should be easy enough to make sure each companion isn't easily killed, as they're needed for the devices.
As for ideas for the rooms themselves, the first thing that comes to mind is a chess challenge with every piece being a medium sized construct. It doesn't have to follow real chess rules, but could be similar. Each piece advances differently and has different attacks. Each construct resembles a specific chess piece. Pawns are spear wielding infantry, bishops are magicians, knights are swordsmen in platemail, rooks are large shieldbearers, queens are sword wielding magicians, and kings are rapier wielding nobles.
Pawn (10 hp)
Bishop (5 hp)
Knight (10 hp)
Rook (15 hp)
Queen (10 hp)
King (10 hp)
I think the Storm Trial fits this best. The giant chess board could be at the top of a mountain with thunder and rain storms all over the night sky.
Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
I have zero experience with either giants or high level play. However, if the Cloud Giants value both wealth and trickery, maybe a puzzle that is meant for taking the wealth of the players? Put a riddle on the door about how greed is an honest person's doom, then have the room filled with statues that cast high level spells or high level traps. The statues always target the person with the most wealth in the room and become animated if the players dismiss their wealth, however, they also have some bags or bowls in which you can put gold and if a statue becomes the one with the most gold in the room then the other ones attack it. The real trick though is that a destroyed statue takes the gold with it: the whole room was built as a scam by the ome that designed it so that they can take people's money.
Edit: ok, the riddle would need some work though. Something about envying those better off? How greed is your doom? Misused money is worse than not used money? I dunno.
Edit2: Maybe there is a spirit of a different giant in each room that gives a hint about what lies ahead as they test the visitors. The cloud giant one is just an ******* that tells them the riddle at the begining and at the end gloats about how it scammed them of their wealth and it added to its treasury. That way you can make the optional room said treasury with the wealth of all previous challengers.
Kill the companions as soon as possible. You don't want to need to run another 6 NPC turns during combats that are already going to be very long because of the number of characters and the amount of options they have available at level 17.
Stick in some really freaking deadly stuff early on and feed the NPCs to it. Otherwise, put in some massive breath weapon type damage that's going to just one-shot them in combat encounters. This will emphasise the deadliness of the encounters and give them some extra emotional oomph to go with.
I love Farenas's idea for the Cloud Trial and how spirits of giants guide you. Make sure you roll wealth for each of the six companions as well. Use the Individual Treasure: Challenge 0-4 table from the DMG. It's highly unlikely that the companions will have more wealth than the players, so they should be safe while still being useful in combat. Don't forget to check the number of coins and gems each of your players have on their character before running the dungeon. As for the bonus room with all the treasure, use the Treasure Hoard: Challenge 17+ table from the DMG. Don't forget to add whatever was lost during the Cloud Trial.
I want to add to my Storm Trial idea. What happens if the players lose the chess game? If the players' King is destroyed, all other pieces controlled by the players are destroyed. Suddenly, the remaining pieces controlled by your opponent (the Storm Giant spirit) animate and break free from the confines of the rules of the game. Roll initiative and have the players fight them all. If the King is destroyed, all other pieces are destroyed. The battle map should be bigger than the standard 8x8 chess board, as it includes the rest of the plateau at the top of the mountain. If a character falls off of the plateau, it's the full 20d6 fall damage and all the way down the mountain (good luck climbing back up if still alive). Give disadvantage to Perception checks relying on sight and hearing due to the heavy rain (lightly obscured) and thunder. When a chess piece is destroyed, it crumbles into small rocks (difficult terrain). Don't forget to keep track of the pieces that were destroyed during the chess game. From now on, I'll be calling the chess pieces statues.
Each statue has the following statistics mostly based on the stone golem:
Immutable Form. The statue is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The statue has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The statue's weapon attacks are magical.
Multiattack (Pawn, Bishop, Knight, Queen and King Only). The statue makes two melee attacks.
Spear (Pawn Only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage, or 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.
Shortsword (Bishop Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage.
Greatsword (Knight Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Rapier (Queen and King Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8 + 5) piercing damage.
Slam (Rook Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage, and if the target is Large or smaller, it is knocked prone.
Lightning Ray (Bishop and Queen Only). Ranged Spell Attack: +5 to hit, range 120 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (3d6 + 1) lightning damage.
Intercept Attack (Rook Only). In response to another creature within 5 feet of it being hit by an attack roll, the stone defender gives that creature a +5 bonus to its AC against that attack, potentially causing a miss. To use this ability, the statue must be able to see the creature and the attacker.
Parry (Knight, Queen and King Only). The statue adds 2 to its AC against one melee attack that would hit it. To do so, the statue must see the attacker and be wielding a melee weapon.
Any damage received during the chess game carries over. All you have to do is calculate the percentage of health left. 5/10 hp becomes 72/144, 10/15 hp becomes 92/144, and 5/15 hp becomes 48/144. The rules of the chess game don't follow the same rules of combat. Lightning Ray uses Dexterity. The rook's action and reaction comes from the stone defender.
Also, roll initiative for the sky but keep it hidden from your players until it actually does something. The sky can only attack flying characters and always targets the highest one. The sky obviously isn't a creature and cannot be targeted by attacks. Think of it like a permanent trap for when the players are fighting the statues. The sky has only one action (adapted from the storm giant):
Lightning Strike. The sky hurls a magical lightning bolt at a point it can see. Each creature within 10 feet of that point must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 54 (12d8) lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Yes, this means that an invisible creature can't be targeted by the sky. Should the players figure that one out, they can easily cheese the encounter.
Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
Frost Giants appreciate brute strength, the cold and animal taming, right? I am not sure about animal taming but their adversity to heat makes me think a player versus environment situation.
The objective would be to either get from one side of the room to another or catch the spirit/construct of an animal tamed by the giants while withstanding weather effects. Admitedly, that has the issue that if one of your casters knows a teleporting spell they might cheese the challenge but the best solution I can think to that, an antimagic field, would be while thematically appropriate to them looking down on magic, it would also be a tad unfair to the casters.
Anyways, have the room either be a long frozen bridge or a cliff that must be climbed, littered with the bones of fallen foes/challengers. Add a snowstorm that forces the players to do both strength checks not to be forced off the cliff or bridge and constitution saving throws to resist cold damage every turn. Then make a table of events as if it were a chase, with stuff like:
The next rock you climb or ground you step on is frozen, check to see if you slip. Alternatively, it is difficult terrain / The bones around you rise and try to grab you. / Snow hits your face, roll to see if you are blinded or have to slow down. / You are hit by hail, roll to see how much damage you take or if you are moved. / The next rock you grab is sharper than expected, suffer X slashing and check if you drop. / there is a rockslide /etc.
The point is making sure that they are mostly physical challenges and play up how harsh the environtment is. Since Frost Giants like physical might, something that tests the players on that is what they would go for. A snow storm is just the most obvious one but there could be magical effects like increased gravity or a place that if touched causes ice to cover you to either stop you or cause cold damage or a magic wind that picks you up and hurls you across the room.
Thanks so much to everyone for the replies! I wasn't expecting to get this much feedback this quickly. I'm working on parsing through the suggestions, but so far it looks like there are a ton of great suggestions here.
Just in case you weren't aware, Farenas is referring to the DMG rules on Chases in post #7. I also forgot to mention that the chess game doesn't involve initiative. Instead, each player moves one statue each turn just like in real chess. As for who gets to move first, it's up to you. Perhaps you can let the players decide, have it be randomly determined, players have to answer a riddle correctly to choose who goes first, etc. Since you have six players controlling the same side, there's a risk that some of them might stay quiet and not get a chance to do something while only the most talkative and proactive players do everything. I see a few solutions to this problem. Feel free to pick the one you prefer, combine some of them, or think of one yourself.
For obvious reasons, it's best if the six companions sit this one out. Explained in-game that they believe the players to be smarter (which is mechanically true). They'll get to help if the players lose the game and are forced to destroy the remaining statues themselves.
Honestly, Farenas proposed two really compelling ideas for the Cloud and Frost Trials, while I took care of the Storm one. I've been thinking for a while and I may have figured out the only one left: the Fire Trial. I actually took inspiration from BoringBard's suggestion. How about a one on one Iron Golem arena fight? The spirit of the fire giant controls his own iron golem (note: there's an error in the stat block; it should be +12 to hit, not +13), while the players get to build their very own. They have access to a huge forge with plenty of machines capable of processing everything when given proper instructions. But first, the players need to determine what they know about iron golems. Have all the players and companions present perform the following checks, but as a twist you add them all up for one big total. Below is the list of features they know about iron golems according to those check totals:
Arcana Check Total
Nature Check Total
History Check Total
The Description is the text below the stat block. Everything else, they don't have to know. For Poison Breath, you don't have to give the numbers, just explain what it does. Hide blueprints around the forge with various Investigation checks. They should be written in Giant. If they can't read them, they can attempt a DC 25 Intelligence check per blueprint to try and figure them out based on the images. If they speak Giant, the DC is 15. Each character can perform the checks individually. Characters proficient in Smith's Tools can add their proficiency bonus to their INT check. If a character speaks Giant or is proficient in smith's tools, but not both of them, they can use the Help action to help someone who has the other skill, thus giving advantage. Forging a golem should take at least one hour of in-game time, which doesn't allow for a short rest if the characters are actively working.
List of Blueprints
They don't get to see what the spirit's golem looks like until they're done forging their own. For each body part they have the blueprint but don't understand, they have to make a DC 25 Strength (Smith's Tools) check. If they don't even have the blueprint, the checks are done with disadvantage. If they have and understand the blueprint, the DC is 15. If they succeed, the body part is perfect, otherwise defects are present. An iron golem has 20 hit dice and each body part represents a fraction of it. A golem with 0 hit die is a complete failure, i.e. the challenge is failed.
Head
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the head rolled a 9. The golem has a Wisdom score of 5. At 0 Wisdom, it is blinded and automatically fails all Wisdom saving throws.
Torso
Example: The DC was 25 and and the character chosen to forge the torso rolled a 20. The golem loses 2 hit dice and has a Constitution score of 15. At 0 Constitution, it automatically fails all Constitution saving throws.
Arms
Example: The DC was 25 and the character chosen to forge the arms rolled a 22. The golem loses 1 hit die and has a Strength score of 21. At 0 Strength, it automatically fails all Strength saving throws.
Legs
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the legs rolled a 7. The golem loses 4 hit dice, has a Dexterity score of 1, and a Speed of 10 ft. At 0 Dexterity, it automatically fails all Dexterity saving throws.
Sword
Example: The DC was 15 and the character chosen to forge the sword rolled a 14. The golem's sword deals 3d8 + Strength modifier damage. It still has Slam no matter what, but its reach is more limited.
Below is what the golem's statistics with all the examples combined.
Fire Absorption. Whenever the golem is subjected to fire damage, it takes no damage and instead regains a number of hit points equal to the fire damage dealt.
Immutable Form. The golem is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance. The golem has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. The golem's weapon attacks are magical.
Multiattack. The golem makes two melee attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 18 (3d8 + 5) slashing damage.
The formula to calculate hit points is XdN + Constitution modifier multiplied by X. In this case, X equals 13. The number on the left, which is 97 in this case, is the average. The formula is much more complicated, so I recommend a calculator instead, like this one here. Try inputting 13d10+26 and you'll get 97.5, which you have to round down. Aside from that, notice that I removed the poison breath. Considering iron golems are immune to poison, there's no point in it.
Once the golem is complete, the spirit of the fire giant does the last step for the players: it infuses it with a fire spirit. If the players' golem loses the fight, they'll have to fight the enemy golem, and its remaining hit points, themselves. The arena should be 60x60 feet. Lava sometimes flows in some areas, which can be used for healing. The faster the golem, the easier it is to heal. The lava instead becomes an obstacle when the players have to fight by themselves.
In order to make things more interesting and not make the duel dependent on checks, allow the players to add modifications to the golem. By spending spell slots, you can add magical properties to it. If gaining the effect of a certain spell makes sense, allow it to be cast on it in this way. If they want to forge a shield, allow it but remember that there are no blueprints for it. I would lower the sword's damage by one tier (d10 > d8) since it would be held by one hand to accommodate the shield. They may even want to make a different melee weapon altogether, or add projectiles. If they don't mind melting a magic item they own, they can reforge it to add to the golem. Let them have fun, but keep things balanced and make sure there are drawbacks such as spending resources or losing a feature.
Age: 33 | Sex: Male | Languages: French and English | Roles: DM and Player
Even easier option: it seems likely that any tests for 'worthiness' will take into account the size of the group, because giants aren't going to consider a half dozen peons worthy even if they happen to all be in a group. So, no more than 6 people can enter the test at a time...