I am writing an adventure for my players and I have run into a plot wall. The adventure takes place in a vast plain where a king's tomb has sat undiscovered and undisturbed for over 1000 years. That players are commissioned by a sage, who presumably has access to enough resources to supply the party with a wand of locate object that could home in on a specific relic that is buried in the tomb.A large hill on the eastern side of the field can possibly narrow the location down to about 100 square miles based on the written description that the sage has access to, but that is still a lot of ground to cover. I have two questions that I could use some thoughts on:
1) How could the players, without any crazy McGuffin like a "King Detector," find the tomb assuming they have access to powerful mages who are willing to expend the resources to find this lost tomb?
2) How would the people who entombed the king, who also had access to powerful magics and buried him in such a way that his grave stood undisturbed for 1000 years, ensure that the tomb would not be disturbed, and yet make the entrance easy enough for the players to find, i.e. it isn't just buried under 15 feet of dirt.
I know it's a tall order and it will inevitably involve some "D&D logic" but I could use some creative ideas from some creative DMs. Thanks in advance for the help!
I would assume that something has changed so it's findable. Normally the way you'd make something unfindable is private sanctum. However, using Xorns to search works pretty well if there's any treasure in the area.
1) How could the players, without any crazy McGuffin like a "King Detector," find the tomb assuming they have access to powerful mages who are willing to expend the resources to find this lost tomb?
A tomb that was hidden for 1000 years doesn't get that way by accident. If the players dont get a tool to discover it, then the tomb itself will have to make its presence known. A few ideas:
A natural event has altered the terrain around the tomb to reveal it.
The tomb was protected/hidden by a spell with a 000 year duration that just expired.
The party may not have the MacGuffin to locate the tomb, but perhaps an NPC does and that brings the tomb to the attention of the party.
Something that has been trapped in the tomb for 1000 years has finally managed to get out.
2) How would the people who entombed the king, who also had access to powerful magics and buried him in such a way that his grave stood undisturbed for 1000 years, ensure that the tomb would not be disturbed, and yet make the entrance easy enough for the players to find, i.e. it isn't just buried under 15 feet of dirt.
The natural event that revealed the tomb also provided access to it. A chasm in the ground, a planetary convergence opened a portal from the ethereal plane, an old inert magic circle sprang to life
The end of a long-duration illusion spell revealed a previously impossible path to get in.
The entrance has always been there in plain sight--it just needed the right key to open it.
Maybe something came smashing its way out of the tomb, producing a way for the adventurers to get in.
There's a really really old movie about some guys who lost an arc. And there's an archeologist looking for it, like Nicolas Cage in National Treasure, except it's old so there are no computers. And some Nazis are digging up the whole area in this massive expedition, so they've done, like 90% of the work for the archeologist, but he has a laser staff or something that shoots a laser at a map that tells him exactly which building.
If one of them is a sorcerer, since their magic is unstable, you could have some sort of magic pull on his/her arms towards the tomb, perhaps some flowing energy. If that seems too much, have their be a party of goblins that run to their hidey hole that branches into the tomb and can be found with a successful perception check
I am writing an adventure for my players and I have run into a plot wall. The adventure takes place in a vast plain where a king's tomb has sat undiscovered and undisturbed for over 1000 years. That players are commissioned by a sage, who presumably has access to enough resources to supply the party with a wand of locate object that could home in on a specific relic that is buried in the tomb.A large hill on the eastern side of the field can possibly narrow the location down to about 100 square miles based on the written description that the sage has access to, but that is still a lot of ground to cover...
True that 100 Sq miles (10 m x 10 m) is a rather lot to explore, but how about going with a theory that it's been previously unexplorable due to "X" prolonged hazard:
a) the area is disputed territory between various Hill Giants tribes, other barbarians, and/or religious sects for numerous centuries, where warfare has never quelled long term enough to allow for archaeological discovery... the party has to contend with sneaking/hiding from war parties of two (or three/four) different factions over several days before they can find/enter the tomb (or forge temporary alliances???)
b) the sage's locate object doo-hickey points out the location, but it's deep within a time or planar warp, where local legend speaks of the Maddening Horror and no one who enters returns (explaining why no one has found the tomb and returned to tell about it)
c) the tomb actually isn't that hard to find (just a few days of successful searching), just "impossible" to breach due do it's planar disorientation labyrinth which has an unforgiving Androsphinx eternally guarding the inner door...
In my opinion, spending a session of getting to/finding the tomb could be well worth it (finding the tomb is inevitable), especially if you're a DM who's a fan of random tables and complications, because you deserve the fun of giving them the problem to solve without any real specific pre designed way of accomplishing it
Or the once in a 1000 years cosmic event that reveals the tomb when viewed from a specific location. An ancient stone monument that while both moons are eclipsed and each aligned between specific sets of pillars reveals the path to the entrance.
In practice, I think a way to do this is to riff off what the players suggest. Give them the problem - they've found the 10x10 mile area, but now they need to find the tomb - and see where they go with it. Do it improv-style - respond to their suggestions, with Yes-and.
Possible ways could be:
Use Fly to get a big aerial view, look for patterns - maybe they'll see the ruins left by ancient walls or roads or something (I'm thinking of those aerial photos where you can see an ancient Roman fort outline in crop growth patterns or something.)
Find whichever sentient monsters might be living in that area (like, the local giants) and find a way to interrogate them to find which nearby area has something suspicious. Maybe it's the place they'd come to do rituals, or the place they'd avoid because it's got magical defenses? Or ask the squirrels or something with Speak with Animals. Surely there's somewhere in this 10x10 mile area which has something weird going on.
Spells:
Maybe a few castings of [spell]Commune with Nature[/spells], spread out on a grid? It covers a radius of three miles, so roughly nine castings of it, spread out evenly, would cover it. Up it to sixteen castings if you want to cover the area more densely.
Maybe you need to trigger the tomb's anti-magic defenses. Cast Control Weather and see if there's a part of this 10x10-mile area that Control Weather can't seem to affect, or where it triggers some sort of antimagic defensive response.
Find the Path seems like it could do it pretty directly, I think that's what that spell is for.
Divination or Legend Lore could also just give the answer, with as much or as little vagueness as the DM wants. Maybe Scrying.
If you know anything about the guardians inside this tomb, and the guardians include plants or beasts, Locate Animals or Plants.
Forget spells. if spells did it, someone else should have found it some time in the past.
There are only 3 basic ways to make it reasonable that someone found something like that.
They get incredibly lucky, i.e. stumble upon it by chance or by using a McGuffin which they stumble upon by chance.
Somebody else got incredibly UNLUCKY, finds it but gets in danger from it. Maybe a trap curses them, or a big bad guy chases them off.. They need help and the players run into them, probably not the first people that runs into them. The player tries to make a deal/hunt down the victim. And make a deal, giving them the edge that eventually leads to the location. Maybe a map, or some kind of instructions.
Strahd it out. I.e. the person that lives there is actively arranging for them to come to him because he thinks they can do something for him/her and is not scared of them.
I would start by considering why their employer suddenly got the notion to go after this item. There was probably an event, which also accounts for being the clue which will point to a more detailed location.
There's a really really old movie about some guys who lost an arc. And there's an archeologist looking for it, like Nicolas Cage in National Treasure, except it's old so there are no computers. And some Nazis are digging up the whole area in this massive expedition, so they've done, like 90% of the work for the archeologist, but he has a laser staff or something that shoots a laser at a map that tells him exactly which building.
Something like that might work.
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Arc. I am only 57 but this post made me feel ancient!
I am writing an adventure for my players and I have run into a plot wall. The adventure takes place in a vast plain where a king's tomb has sat undiscovered and undisturbed for over 1000 years. That players are commissioned by a sage, who presumably has access to enough resources to supply the party with a wand of locate object that could home in on a specific relic that is buried in the tomb. A large hill on the eastern side of the field can possibly narrow the location down to about 100 square miles based on the written description that the sage has access to, but that is still a lot of ground to cover. I have two questions that I could use some thoughts on:
1) How could the players, without any crazy McGuffin like a "King Detector," find the tomb assuming they have access to powerful mages who are willing to expend the resources to find this lost tomb?
2) How would the people who entombed the king, who also had access to powerful magics and buried him in such a way that his grave stood undisturbed for 1000 years, ensure that the tomb would not be disturbed, and yet make the entrance easy enough for the players to find, i.e. it isn't just buried under 15 feet of dirt.
I know it's a tall order and it will inevitably involve some "D&D logic" but I could use some creative ideas from some creative DMs. Thanks in advance for the help!
Edit: clarity
I would assume that something has changed so it's findable. Normally the way you'd make something unfindable is private sanctum. However, using Xorns to search works pretty well if there's any treasure in the area.
A tomb that was hidden for 1000 years doesn't get that way by accident. If the players dont get a tool to discover it, then the tomb itself will have to make its presence known. A few ideas:
"Not all those who wander are lost"
I don’t know but I find it is better to make something too easy than too hard. Last thing I want is my players sitting around not knowing what to do.
There's a really really old movie about some guys who lost an arc. And there's an archeologist looking for it, like Nicolas Cage in National Treasure, except it's old so there are no computers. And some Nazis are digging up the whole area in this massive expedition, so they've done, like 90% of the work for the archeologist, but he has a laser staff or something that shoots a laser at a map that tells him exactly which building.
Something like that might work.
If one of them is a sorcerer, since their magic is unstable, you could have some sort of magic pull on his/her arms towards the tomb, perhaps some flowing energy. If that seems too much, have their be a party of goblins that run to their hidey hole that branches into the tomb and can be found with a successful perception check
you mean Indiana Jones TimCurtin?
How about an old diary from one of the masons gives them a more specific location.
"We traveled 3 days until we saw the sun come up over a the whatever mountains. The hill was the highest around."
Something like that gets them close.
I think this is the key to keep in mind. They will find the tomb, or else there's no session.
True that 100 Sq miles (10 m x 10 m) is a rather lot to explore, but how about going with a theory that it's been previously unexplorable due to "X" prolonged hazard:
a) the area is disputed territory between various Hill Giants tribes, other barbarians, and/or religious sects for numerous centuries, where warfare has never quelled long term enough to allow for archaeological discovery... the party has to contend with sneaking/hiding from war parties of two (or three/four) different factions over several days before they can find/enter the tomb (or forge temporary alliances???)
b) the sage's locate object doo-hickey points out the location, but it's deep within a time or planar warp, where local legend speaks of the Maddening Horror and no one who enters returns (explaining why no one has found the tomb and returned to tell about it)
c) the tomb actually isn't that hard to find (just a few days of successful searching), just "impossible" to breach due do it's planar disorientation labyrinth which has an unforgiving Androsphinx eternally guarding the inner door...
In my opinion, spending a session of getting to/finding the tomb could be well worth it (finding the tomb is inevitable), especially if you're a DM who's a fan of random tables and complications, because you deserve the fun of giving them the problem to solve without any real specific pre designed way of accomplishing it
Boldly go
Or the once in a 1000 years cosmic event that reveals the tomb when viewed from a specific location. An ancient stone monument that while both moons are eclipsed and each aligned between specific sets of pillars reveals the path to the entrance.
In practice, I think a way to do this is to riff off what the players suggest. Give them the problem - they've found the 10x10 mile area, but now they need to find the tomb - and see where they go with it. Do it improv-style - respond to their suggestions, with Yes-and.
Possible ways could be:
Use Fly to get a big aerial view, look for patterns - maybe they'll see the ruins left by ancient walls or roads or something (I'm thinking of those aerial photos where you can see an ancient Roman fort outline in crop growth patterns or something.)
Find whichever sentient monsters might be living in that area (like, the local giants) and find a way to interrogate them to find which nearby area has something suspicious. Maybe it's the place they'd come to do rituals, or the place they'd avoid because it's got magical defenses? Or ask the squirrels or something with Speak with Animals. Surely there's somewhere in this 10x10 mile area which has something weird going on.
Spells:
Maybe a few castings of [spell]Commune with Nature[/spells], spread out on a grid? It covers a radius of three miles, so roughly nine castings of it, spread out evenly, would cover it. Up it to sixteen castings if you want to cover the area more densely.
Maybe you need to trigger the tomb's anti-magic defenses. Cast Control Weather and see if there's a part of this 10x10-mile area that Control Weather can't seem to affect, or where it triggers some sort of antimagic defensive response.
Find the Path seems like it could do it pretty directly, I think that's what that spell is for.
Divination or Legend Lore could also just give the answer, with as much or as little vagueness as the DM wants. Maybe Scrying.
If you know anything about the guardians inside this tomb, and the guardians include plants or beasts, Locate Animals or Plants.
Forget spells. if spells did it, someone else should have found it some time in the past.
There are only 3 basic ways to make it reasonable that someone found something like that.
I would start by considering why their employer suddenly got the notion to go after this item. There was probably an event, which also accounts for being the clue which will point to a more detailed location.
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Arc. I am only 57 but this post made me feel ancient!
The scene of opening the end (somewhere around here) is my mental image of Spirit Guardians.
No, I think they were in Egypt or something.
(I have to remember my irony emojis, next time. Old age catching up with me...) 🙂