I'm building a major encounter for a group of 5 level 5's and i wanted some advice on how to make it challenging and interesting.
The party are trying to join a guild, and the guild require them to pass a test before hand. the test has several components to it to make sure the party are good for the guild, that will be monitored by a NPC belonging the guild. these tests include:
How well they work as a group
How they handle being unprepared
How they handle dwindling resources
How they handle any captives
How they make assumptions based on other NPC's they meet
i was wondering what else they could possibly monitor, and what kind of test they would do
The guild is a rebellion - they need people who are willing to fight against the ideals of the King Thorne (The eventual BBEG) who is supposed to be "evil incarnate" (Endorses Racism, Slavery, Out to wipe out any race that isn't human off the face of the earth. the usual)
And the challenge is going to take part in the mountains. The NPC will monitor how well they work as a group as they make their way up to the mountain as there will be a lot of difficult terrain that the not so strong party members will struggling to climb, and if they will use their logic or if the stronger party members will assist them in climbing.
Another method they would employ is introducing them to less savory races for the NPC's (Such as an ice giant or a drider) as allies, and to see how the party handle the NPC's, if they attack blindly or if they treat them negatively.
what other things would they test, and what other activities could happen to test them?
This is a very systematic - and very modern approach to evaluating potential members.
That doesn't mean it's wrong :) Who knows what era the "pseudo-medieval" cultures that inhabit your game world might emulate, other than you?
But you might consider other more historical approaches to evaluation, as well.
Some sort of mystical selection - " The omens are good about these ones " , " They pulled the sword from the stone ", " they have the mystical birthmarks "
Some soft of quest - " Return to us with the lost McGuffin of Irrelevance to prove you are worthy! "
On the job training: have them run through a series of missions of increasing complexity and touching on the aspects the Guild thinks are important - to be fair this appears to be what you're trying to do :)
As for monitoring - that's not an issue.
You can have a guild member give them their "quest", and debrief them when they get back.
You can give them a NPC to go with them - although make sure the NPC doesn't overshadow the party, or accomplish parts of the task for the party. A healing/support Cleric would be good for that.
Typically rebellions or political resistances don't have the luxury of tons of recruits, and don't need advanced modern HR programs. What the Guild might be trying to evaluate is where they are willing to trust the PCs ( " These are an elite, integrated team of highly skilled specialists who embrace our core principles! We can trust them with the most crucial of missions! " ... all the way down to " I wouldn't trust these guys to wash dishes, and they'd probably betray us while they did it - cannon fodder " ) rather than if they are willing to have the PCs join or not.
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I'm building a major encounter for a group of 5 level 5's and i wanted some advice on how to make it challenging and interesting.
The party are trying to join a guild, and the guild require them to pass a test before hand. the test has several components to it to make sure the party are good for the guild, that will be monitored by a NPC belonging the guild. these tests include:
i was wondering what else they could possibly monitor, and what kind of test they would do
The guild is a rebellion - they need people who are willing to fight against the ideals of the King Thorne (The eventual BBEG) who is supposed to be "evil incarnate" (Endorses Racism, Slavery, Out to wipe out any race that isn't human off the face of the earth. the usual)
And the challenge is going to take part in the mountains. The NPC will monitor how well they work as a group as they make their way up to the mountain as there will be a lot of difficult terrain that the not so strong party members will struggling to climb, and if they will use their logic or if the stronger party members will assist them in climbing.
Another method they would employ is introducing them to less savory races for the NPC's (Such as an ice giant or a drider) as allies, and to see how the party handle the NPC's, if they attack blindly or if they treat them negatively.
what other things would they test, and what other activities could happen to test them?
This is a very systematic - and very modern approach to evaluating potential members.
That doesn't mean it's wrong :) Who knows what era the "pseudo-medieval" cultures that inhabit your game world might emulate, other than you?
But you might consider other more historical approaches to evaluation, as well.
As for monitoring - that's not an issue.
You can have a guild member give them their "quest", and debrief them when they get back.
You can give them a NPC to go with them - although make sure the NPC doesn't overshadow the party, or accomplish parts of the task for the party. A healing/support Cleric would be good for that.
Typically rebellions or political resistances don't have the luxury of tons of recruits, and don't need advanced modern HR programs. What the Guild might be trying to evaluate is where they are willing to trust the PCs ( " These are an elite, integrated team of highly skilled specialists who embrace our core principles! We can trust them with the most crucial of missions! " ... all the way down to " I wouldn't trust these guys to wash dishes, and they'd probably betray us while they did it - cannon fodder " ) rather than if they are willing to have the PCs join or not.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.