I'm running a solo Sharn (Eberron) campaign for a currently lvl 4 Changeling wizard. He's about to get a quest that requires him to retrieve an artifact from a cult lair in some ruins in the undercity. I'm pretty new to D&D (a little under 2 years) and I've never done anything like this before - the closest I've come is running a large party through the sewers in Dragon Heist.
I'm having some serious writer's block. What sorts of encounters and complications can I throw in the path of one lvl 4 Changeling wizard? Especially, what can I do that really lets his character shine while still challenging him? We've been playing a very RP-heavy campaign and so he has a lot of non-lethal spells like Sleep, Levitate, Web, Silent Image, and Mirror Image. I don't want the infiltration to be trivial, but I don't want him to get captured in the first five minutes either.
Let’s get him in the air ducts to avoid detection and pass guarded areas.
I could also see getting him to use mirror image as a noncombat spell. Groups of four nearly identical soldiers patrol the halls together. He could change into a guard, mirror image, and “patrol”
plop him into a room with cages of dogs that will bark like mad when he’s close enough to smell.
Different rooms could relate to cult life. There’s the series of rooms called the Vows. The vow of silence room has the Silence spell up all the time. There’s a bunch of guys there “praying” that attack if he stumbles in his stealth. Vow of truth=zone of truth. Vow of courage=Phantasmal Force. Vow of Focus=Enthrall (focused on an image of the cult’s god). Vow of Serenity=Calm Emotions. (Could be smart to lure guards into this room for any confrontations)
Room with hypnotic pattern flashing on the wall.
A room of life transference. Some save is required or you dump 4d8 hp into some cult champion they are trying to nurse into service (as with the Life Transference spell)
I'm running a solo Sharn (Eberron) campaign for a currently lvl 4 Changeling wizard. He's about to get a quest that requires him to retrieve an artifact from a cult lair in some ruins in the undercity. I'm pretty new to D&D (a little under 2 years) and I've never done anything like this before - the closest I've come is running a large party through the sewers in Dragon Heist.
I'm having some serious writer's block. What sorts of encounters and complications can I throw in the path of one lvl 4 Changeling wizard? Especially, what can I do that really lets his character shine while still challenging him? We've been playing a very RP-heavy campaign and so he has a lot of non-lethal spells like Sleep, Levitate, Web, Silent Image, and Mirror Image. I don't want the infiltration to be trivial, but I don't want him to get captured in the first five minutes either.
Let’s get him in the air ducts to avoid detection and pass guarded areas.
I could also see getting him to use mirror image as a noncombat spell. Groups of four nearly identical soldiers patrol the halls together. He could change into a guard, mirror image, and “patrol”
plop him into a room with cages of dogs that will bark like mad when he’s close enough to smell.
Different rooms could relate to cult life. There’s the series of rooms called the Vows. The vow of silence room has the Silence spell up all the time. There’s a bunch of guys there “praying” that attack if he stumbles in his stealth. Vow of truth=zone of truth. Vow of courage=Phantasmal Force. Vow of Focus=Enthrall (focused on an image of the cult’s god). Vow of Serenity=Calm Emotions. (Could be smart to lure guards into this room for any confrontations)
Room with hypnotic pattern flashing on the wall.
A room of life transference. Some save is required or you dump 4d8 hp into some cult champion they are trying to nurse into service (as with the Life Transference spell)
Those are some beautiful ideas. And the Deus Ex superfan in me is utterly delighted at the idea of providing some very convenient air ducts.