For my first time DM'n I created a homebrew game and the players have reached a point where they need to complete three trials (they've finished one already) in order to get three keys that will grant them access to an item they need in order to try to stop a mysterious "weapon" of an old god. They are level 7 and all have +1 weapons and a little more magic.
I wanted to incorporate different aspects...such as wit, strength, etc. -- The first one was wit, I had like 6 riddles, a puzzle, a mirror thing, and a few other things they had to apply their mind to. Mostly just found things from Google.
I'm at a creativity wall right now though. I've been struggling on what to make the second and third challenges. I sort of thought to make the second one a challenge they didn't know they were in...like as they're traveling to the location they see a beggar, or a person in need, or something and that's the first test. Do they help? What do they do? Kind of like a "are you a good person" test?
I also wanted the "strength" part to be a bit more than just straight-up combat..but ALSO, I want it to almost be like an epic gladiator-style situation. Mobs keep coming in waves until they reach the pinnacle.
I would love some help on unique and fun ideas for the trials. It's totally fine to have more "wit" aka puzzles/riddles in these things as well.
Some more backstory: Players were brought together by a member of the king's council in order to investigate why there have been fires engulfing people's homes, yet no bodies are found, and the sky always lit up in the east when it happened. So they do some research and find a group of cloaked figures coming through a hidden door. They dispatch them, enter the door and find some more cloaked figures doing a ritual with fire with a big 'ol symbol under them.
Then they find a mound of bones, burnt clothes, blood burned into the grate on the floor. Aka a burn room where the townspeople had been taken and sacrificed. They find a note and take it back to the council. From there they piece things together from the symbol and the note that these people seem to be worshipping a long-forgotten god, Rogard the flame bringer.
More research uncovers that there's an old tower to the east that was once home to this cult (light in the east). So they're assigned to go check it out by traveling through a town on the river (the only place with a bridge to get there). They head that way, face some trauma along the way (befriended family burned alive), and discover the town has been taken over. They kill the cultist fanatics and continue the journey.
They finally make it to the tower, go through plenty of combat, face some pretty tough "bosses", solve some riddles, and ultimately come to defeat "the gatekeeper" who closes a massive portal as they enter the room, but they glimpse a mountain before he does. They also found notes talking about excavating a weapon.
They go back, and inform the council member who tries to have his scholars research it but to no avail, so he sends them to Eklendia to speak with the elves about their archives. They ask, and get a yes, but since it'll take time they're asked to go help find some missing circus folks. They do that, woo.
Upon returning they discover that a book with information was found, but one of the scholars was apparently a spy, killed some folks and descended into an old underground network beneath the city. They go down after him, fight some baddies that have taken up refuge beneath the city, solve some puzzles, and get the book.
The book informs them about the weapon being some kind of dragon/demon hybrid. Gives some history on it, how it's been locked away, but if it gets out the only chance is to weaken it and use an item that they need to prove they'll use correctly by gaining access to the three keys.
For my first time DM'n I created a homebrew game and the players have reached a point where they need to complete three trials (they've finished one already) in order to get three keys that will grant them access to an item they need in order to try to stop a mysterious "weapon" of an old god. They are level 7 and all have +1 weapons and a little more magic.
I wanted to incorporate different aspects...such as wit, strength, etc. -- The first one was wit, I had like 6 riddles, a puzzle, a mirror thing, and a few other things they had to apply their mind to. Mostly just found things from Google.
I'm at a creativity wall right now though. I've been struggling on what to make the second and third challenges. I sort of thought to make the second one a challenge they didn't know they were in...like as they're traveling to the location they see a beggar, or a person in need, or something and that's the first test. Do they help? What do they do? Kind of like a "are you a good person" test?
I also wanted the "strength" part to be a bit more than just straight-up combat..but ALSO, I want it to almost be like an epic gladiator-style situation. Mobs keep coming in waves until they reach the pinnacle.
I would love some help on unique and fun ideas for the trials. It's totally fine to have more "wit" aka puzzles/riddles in these things as well.
Some more backstory: Players were brought together by a member of the king's council in order to investigate why there have been fires engulfing people's homes, yet no bodies are found, and the sky always lit up in the east when it happened. So they do some research and find a group of cloaked figures coming through a hidden door. They dispatch them, enter the door and find some more cloaked figures doing a ritual with fire with a big 'ol symbol under them.
Then they find a mound of bones, burnt clothes, blood burned into the grate on the floor. Aka a burn room where the townspeople had been taken and sacrificed. They find a note and take it back to the council. From there they piece things together from the symbol and the note that these people seem to be worshipping a long-forgotten god, Rogard the flame bringer.
More research uncovers that there's an old tower to the east that was once home to this cult (light in the east). So they're assigned to go check it out by traveling through a town on the river (the only place with a bridge to get there). They head that way, face some trauma along the way (befriended family burned alive), and discover the town has been taken over. They kill the cultist fanatics and continue the journey.
They finally make it to the tower, go through plenty of combat, face some pretty tough "bosses", solve some riddles, and ultimately come to defeat "the gatekeeper" who closes a massive portal as they enter the room, but they glimpse a mountain before he does. They also found notes talking about excavating a weapon.
They go back, and inform the council member who tries to have his scholars research it but to no avail, so he sends them to Eklendia to speak with the elves about their archives. They ask, and get a yes, but since it'll take time they're asked to go help find some missing circus folks. They do that, woo.
Upon returning they discover that a book with information was found, but one of the scholars was apparently a spy, killed some folks and descended into an old underground network beneath the city. They go down after him, fight some baddies that have taken up refuge beneath the city, solve some puzzles, and get the book.
The book informs them about the weapon being some kind of dragon/demon hybrid. Gives some history on it, how it's been locked away, but if it gets out the only chance is to weaken it and use an item that they need to prove they'll use correctly by gaining access to the three keys.
Welp, my session is tonight and I think I'm just going to have to go with the gladiator part of it tonight haha.