So, I have a shrine where a mythical hammer is being stored but it was placed there by (for lack of a long explanation) aliens. The hammer is protected by "walls of light" (a.k.a. laser walls) and the like. Unfortunately for me, I'm not good at taking futuristic stuff and dumbing it to a fantasy analog. What type of things would you all do in this situation? What kind things would you add? Throw some ideas at me. Thanks in advance!
Add a few laser autoturrets for good measure. Describe them as things that look like rods, staffs or wands which can move as if by gnomish clockwork. They shoot beams of radiant damage. A sufficiently high Investigation check might let players clue into a concept of a power source, and maybe they could disable things, but nothing much can be salvaged and used elsewhere. Perhaps a holographic projection of an alien appears and delivers an incomprehensible warning message - it appears like an illusion or ghostly apparition.
When the artefact is removed the whole shrine can vibrate alarmingly like an earthquake, and just as the party escape the doors slam shut and the thing jets off into the sky and disappears, presumably by powerful flight magic. Perhaps fill the shrine with carvings and such - incomprehensible stuff mostly, but then a recognisable image of some Aberration like an illithid elder brain, with the hammer shown as a weapon against it.
Clark's 3rd Law. Any sufficiently advanced technology is synonymous with magic. D&D itself has laser pistols and antimatter rifles available for use if the DM okay's them.
But if you want to really go sci-fi fantasy, trying looking in to Spelljammer. A quick google search may bring you loads of inspiration.
You could have automated messages when characters enter certain regions, with spellcasters feeling like they are a different version of a magic mouth spell. If you aliens had advanced translation technology these messages could even still be spoken in Common or another language of your choice.
If you are looking for creatures to guard the 'shrine', and if the aliens left it there some time ago, then constructs are your best friends. Depending on the level of your characters you can use Animated Armour, Helmed Horrors, or a variety of golems, and thanks to Modenkkainen's Tome of Foes you could also use the various Clockworks, or Steel Predators. To add to the futuristic air to them you can describe their appearances as being incredibly smooth surfaces, no visible joints, or nearly soundless in their movement and operations. That, and you can arm them with laser weapons for melee and ranged, as RegentCorreon mentioned above having them inflict Radiant Damage. They can also be teleported in in response to damage or trespassing to the surrounding area.
That, and magical effects that cannot be suppressed by Dispel Magic or Antimagic Fields, but that require the characters to interact with "a strange box filled with crystals and connected by strands of valuable metals" to replicate an advanced circuit breaker or control panel (dealing with a bunch of magical traps means that people proficient in thieves tools can probably guess their way through solving an advanced technology equivalent).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So, I have a shrine where a mythical hammer is being stored but it was placed there by (for lack of a long explanation) aliens. The hammer is protected by "walls of light" (a.k.a. laser walls) and the like. Unfortunately for me, I'm not good at taking futuristic stuff and dumbing it to a fantasy analog. What type of things would you all do in this situation? What kind things would you add? Throw some ideas at me. Thanks in advance!
Add a few laser autoturrets for good measure. Describe them as things that look like rods, staffs or wands which can move as if by gnomish clockwork. They shoot beams of radiant damage. A sufficiently high Investigation check might let players clue into a concept of a power source, and maybe they could disable things, but nothing much can be salvaged and used elsewhere. Perhaps a holographic projection of an alien appears and delivers an incomprehensible warning message - it appears like an illusion or ghostly apparition.
When the artefact is removed the whole shrine can vibrate alarmingly like an earthquake, and just as the party escape the doors slam shut and the thing jets off into the sky and disappears, presumably by powerful flight magic. Perhaps fill the shrine with carvings and such - incomprehensible stuff mostly, but then a recognisable image of some Aberration like an illithid elder brain, with the hammer shown as a weapon against it.
Clark's 3rd Law. Any sufficiently advanced technology is synonymous with magic. D&D itself has laser pistols and antimatter rifles available for use if the DM okay's them.
But if you want to really go sci-fi fantasy, trying looking in to Spelljammer. A quick google search may bring you loads of inspiration.
Ongoing Projects: The Mimic Book of Mimics :: SHARK WEEK
Completed Projects: The Trick-or-Treat Table
My Homebrews: Races :: Classes :: Spells :: Items :: Monsters
Look at prismatic wall for some ideas, plus other things like wall of force and flavor to taste
You could have automated messages when characters enter certain regions, with spellcasters feeling like they are a different version of a magic mouth spell. If you aliens had advanced translation technology these messages could even still be spoken in Common or another language of your choice.
If you are looking for creatures to guard the 'shrine', and if the aliens left it there some time ago, then constructs are your best friends. Depending on the level of your characters you can use Animated Armour, Helmed Horrors, or a variety of golems, and thanks to Modenkkainen's Tome of Foes you could also use the various Clockworks, or Steel Predators. To add to the futuristic air to them you can describe their appearances as being incredibly smooth surfaces, no visible joints, or nearly soundless in their movement and operations. That, and you can arm them with laser weapons for melee and ranged, as RegentCorreon mentioned above having them inflict Radiant Damage. They can also be teleported in in response to damage or trespassing to the surrounding area.
That, and magical effects that cannot be suppressed by Dispel Magic or Antimagic Fields, but that require the characters to interact with "a strange box filled with crystals and connected by strands of valuable metals" to replicate an advanced circuit breaker or control panel (dealing with a bunch of magical traps means that people proficient in thieves tools can probably guess their way through solving an advanced technology equivalent).