my heroes returned from the underdark (they did not encounter the demon, they decided to go for a mad wizard, whom they defeated). Now that they returned, they decided to investigate a long lost castle. It was the original castle of the region from the beginning of this era. In my world, there had been 4 ages: The age of gods (gods and demons lived on the world), the age of dragons (the gods created dragons to defeat the demons, in which they succeeded, but the demons perverted some dragons into chromatic dragons that uprised against their creators and ended the age of gods), the age of elves (which ended by the fall of the drow in a large scale war of brothers) and the age of men (the current era). In the beginning of the age of men, the original castle of the region was constructed as a sign of power of the noble family ruling over the lands. However, the greed of the lady resulted in her knights to hunt an Efreeti. Her arch mage bound the Efreeti to a bottle to force it into her service. She used its wishes, but had to pay the price eventually. She became immortal, powerful and the prettiest woman in the world - but not long that she discovered her hair turn into snakes. As a medusa, she was powerful, immortal and pretty, but no one could look at her without turning into stone. Her noble knights, her lover, her children, all turned into statues that reminded her of her greed ever since, turning her insane over the centuries.
I have some ideas of monsters or even NPCs to encounter, but the castle will be large and I want my players to explore the castle to learn about the history of that time without explicitly telling them the story (I want to show them the story, not tell them).
My thoughts:
- The noble knights turned into sword wraiths, as they turned to stone without the fight they deserved. As wraiths, they could not learn new things, hence they still think that they are alive and have to protect the lady from intruders and thus will be hostile towards the heroes.
- They will see the statues of the staff and knights throughout the castle and that every mirror has been removed.
- I want to have one mirror of life trapping to be sealed in one tower of the castle. The mirror will be full of monsters, so that, if it breaks, they will have to face an army of monsters that the arch mage of the lady imprisoned there. However, they have the opportunity to use her own powers against her.
- Finally, if they defeated the medusa, they will find the Efreeti bottle. If they promise the Efreeti to free him by destroying the bottle, he will grant them one wish. If it is reasonable, it will not be perverted. However, they should know by now (because of the Medusa that obviously used his powers) that excessive wishes can have unforseen consequences.
I would love to hear ideas how to further populate the castle. My party consists of 6 level ~5 players. What monsters could dwell there? What is reasonable? How could I set the feeling of a realistic dungeon ecology? Do you have ideas for combat and social encounters or puzzles they could solve?
Before the noble knights became sword wraiths there was a time of reflection, and regret. During this time, some of the knights took to painting, some to sculpture, as a way of expressing their inner emotions. Consequently there are murals and reliefs covering many of the walls that tell the tale.
Normally, I would say a Medusa lair is empty of other mosters (beyond their statues). In this case I would say you'd have to look to the efreeti for random monsters he has enticed to the castle hoping to free him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one night, while camping nearby, the party is visited by a cloaked person telling a tale of the castle. Once the discussion tapers off, they wander into the darkness and are not seen again. That would be a conjuration from the efreeti.
Traps however.... traps may be very common. In a madness induced rage she instructed the knights/wraiths to construct layers of deadly traps to make sure she never has to see another statue being created again.
Before the noble knights became sword wraiths there was a time of reflection, and regret. During this time, some of the knights took to painting, some to sculpture, as a way of expressing their inner emotions. Consequently there are murals and reliefs covering many of the walls that tell the tale.
I like the idea of paintings, maybe signs of warning before they were turned too. Maybe not all wraiths are hostile, but some try to warn the players to turn around, but they can't express what they have to expect, only rumors (the moment they were turned their memory "froze" thus nobody can tell what turned them to stone).
Normally, I would say a Medusa lair is empty of other mosters (beyond their statues).
I think the Medusa lives secluded in the keep of the castle, so yeah, that area will propably have no living monsters. I will use a real castle as a template, the kenilworth castle. The keep is number 13. Since the castle lays waste for centuries, the other buildings of the castle could be taken over by monsters? The players heard rumors that nobody that went exploring the castle ever returned. Maybe the monsters got the previous adventurers or they made it to the keep only to be turned to stone. Maybe some settled in the area, because they fear of going out into the wilderness again. In the forest nearby I have will'o'wisps hunting lost souls, luring them into the territory of a water weird.
In this case I would say you'd have to look to the efreeti for random monsters he has enticed to the castle hoping to free him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one night, while camping nearby, the party is visited by a cloaked person telling a tale of the castle. Once the discussion tapers off, they wander into the darkness and are not seen again. That would be a conjuration from the efreeti.
I love the idea of a conjuration from the efreeti to lure them to the castle. But how do I keep him from telling "hey, there is a lady that entrapped me, come and rescue me, you just need a mirror"? That would be way too anticlimatic. What creatures did the efreeti attract previously?
Traps however.... traps may be very common. In a madness induced rage she instructed the knights/wraiths to construct layers of deadly traps to make sure she never has to see another statue being created again.
I wasn't able to make traps fun yet. I like the idea of traps, but either they are a mere nuisance (the party feels obligated to make perception checks every room) or flatout unfair (if a trap only draws a few hp, why was it there in the first place, if it kills a player outright, they may feel they got an undeserved death). How do you make traps fun AND convincing?
... the party feels obligated to make perception checks every room... How do you make traps fun AND convincing?
Fun is largely in the presentation. Could have a wraith make it his personal duty to maintain the traps and make sure they function properly. Every time the party disables one they might hear cursing, or other type of angry outburst from some disembodied voice. Alternately, gleeful laughter, joy, and mocking calls can be heard when a trap goes off.
A layered trap system incorporates traps designed to whittle down the party....and not always with direct damage. Think curses that apply certain conditions that make the party more susceptible to other traps, or damage. Traps that make it easier for monsters to attack them (faerie fire, something that stuns them - and monsters have learned is the "dinner bell," etc). Enfeeblement, exhaustion, create a few random conditions (have anyone who fails their save age 40 years for the next 30 minutes). Be aware, this does create more of an old school dungeon crawler feel.
A being with the ability to grant wishes can tease/trick/manipulate/etc almost any creature given enough time. Give the efreeti a personality, a background, and from that you should get some ideas.
The party should not be deciding when they need to make perception checks. If a party is entering a dungeon and is not actively looking for traps, then they are going to set some off. Have the first one they set off be a glow-in-the-dark paint bomb. Any light source recharges the glow effect (essentially a faerie fire effect) for ...x rounds until their clothing is laundered. Even prestidigitation will take several minutes to clean all party members... time that allows monsters to assemble! It just isn't about what damage a trap does, but also what does the trap set in motion? What creatures are aware the trap was set off? If a trap closes the door ahead of them, do they trigger the one behind them trying to open the door? Does a pressure plate do nothing in that room, but change something elsewhere?
Have kobolds taken over parts of the castle buildings? They are infamous trap setters.
If the Knights/wraiths created the traps, then their personalities and individual mischievousness natures will also flavor things encountered in the castle.
edit: Am browsing through a DMSGuild item: The Malady Workshop (create diseases!). Now am imagining a trap that gives them a disease, symptoms of which might take a while to appear. Of course, should the approach to the keep prove difficult enough for the party to retreat, or take a long rest, well... Muahahahaha! ;)
If you want additional monsters that fit the theme and that would be unlikely to be turned to stone by the medusa, think of creature that have immunity to paralysis and creatures beneath the notice of a medusa who used to be a queen. Vermin for instance: giant wasps, giant spiders and the like. Oozes, gelatinous cubes, etc. have no eyes and therefore would not be affected by a medusa. You might also consider having a garden of buried objects from chambermaids and other servants who could not escape, but who were smart enough to avoid looking at the queen until they died of starvation or disease.
Did this queen have any allies prior to becoming a medusa? How did they react to this change? Thinking about this will further help you flesh out the surroundings and the NPCs involved.
Hey there,
my heroes returned from the underdark (they did not encounter the demon, they decided to go for a mad wizard, whom they defeated). Now that they returned, they decided to investigate a long lost castle. It was the original castle of the region from the beginning of this era. In my world, there had been 4 ages: The age of gods (gods and demons lived on the world), the age of dragons (the gods created dragons to defeat the demons, in which they succeeded, but the demons perverted some dragons into chromatic dragons that uprised against their creators and ended the age of gods), the age of elves (which ended by the fall of the drow in a large scale war of brothers) and the age of men (the current era). In the beginning of the age of men, the original castle of the region was constructed as a sign of power of the noble family ruling over the lands. However, the greed of the lady resulted in her knights to hunt an Efreeti. Her arch mage bound the Efreeti to a bottle to force it into her service. She used its wishes, but had to pay the price eventually. She became immortal, powerful and the prettiest woman in the world - but not long that she discovered her hair turn into snakes. As a medusa, she was powerful, immortal and pretty, but no one could look at her without turning into stone. Her noble knights, her lover, her children, all turned into statues that reminded her of her greed ever since, turning her insane over the centuries.
I have some ideas of monsters or even NPCs to encounter, but the castle will be large and I want my players to explore the castle to learn about the history of that time without explicitly telling them the story (I want to show them the story, not tell them).
My thoughts:
- The noble knights turned into sword wraiths, as they turned to stone without the fight they deserved. As wraiths, they could not learn new things, hence they still think that they are alive and have to protect the lady from intruders and thus will be hostile towards the heroes.
- They will see the statues of the staff and knights throughout the castle and that every mirror has been removed.
- I want to have one mirror of life trapping to be sealed in one tower of the castle. The mirror will be full of monsters, so that, if it breaks, they will have to face an army of monsters that the arch mage of the lady imprisoned there. However, they have the opportunity to use her own powers against her.
- Finally, if they defeated the medusa, they will find the Efreeti bottle. If they promise the Efreeti to free him by destroying the bottle, he will grant them one wish. If it is reasonable, it will not be perverted. However, they should know by now (because of the Medusa that obviously used his powers) that excessive wishes can have unforseen consequences.
I would love to hear ideas how to further populate the castle. My party consists of 6 level ~5 players. What monsters could dwell there? What is reasonable? How could I set the feeling of a realistic dungeon ecology? Do you have ideas for combat and social encounters or puzzles they could solve?
TY :)
Before the noble knights became sword wraiths there was a time of reflection, and regret. During this time, some of the knights took to painting, some to sculpture, as a way of expressing their inner emotions. Consequently there are murals and reliefs covering many of the walls that tell the tale.
Normally, I would say a Medusa lair is empty of other mosters (beyond their statues). In this case I would say you'd have to look to the efreeti for random monsters he has enticed to the castle hoping to free him. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if one night, while camping nearby, the party is visited by a cloaked person telling a tale of the castle. Once the discussion tapers off, they wander into the darkness and are not seen again. That would be a conjuration from the efreeti.
Traps however.... traps may be very common. In a madness induced rage she instructed the knights/wraiths to construct layers of deadly traps to make sure she never has to see another statue being created again.
I like the idea of paintings, maybe signs of warning before they were turned too. Maybe not all wraiths are hostile, but some try to warn the players to turn around, but they can't express what they have to expect, only rumors (the moment they were turned their memory "froze" thus nobody can tell what turned them to stone).
I think the Medusa lives secluded in the keep of the castle, so yeah, that area will propably have no living monsters. I will use a real castle as a template, the kenilworth castle. The keep is number 13. Since the castle lays waste for centuries, the other buildings of the castle could be taken over by monsters? The players heard rumors that nobody that went exploring the castle ever returned. Maybe the monsters got the previous adventurers or they made it to the keep only to be turned to stone. Maybe some settled in the area, because they fear of going out into the wilderness again. In the forest nearby I have will'o'wisps hunting lost souls, luring them into the territory of a water weird.
I love the idea of a conjuration from the efreeti to lure them to the castle. But how do I keep him from telling "hey, there is a lady that entrapped me, come and rescue me, you just need a mirror"? That would be way too anticlimatic. What creatures did the efreeti attract previously?
I wasn't able to make traps fun yet. I like the idea of traps, but either they are a mere nuisance (the party feels obligated to make perception checks every room) or flatout unfair (if a trap only draws a few hp, why was it there in the first place, if it kills a player outright, they may feel they got an undeserved death). How do you make traps fun AND convincing?
TY so far :)
Fun is largely in the presentation. Could have a wraith make it his personal duty to maintain the traps and make sure they function properly. Every time the party disables one they might hear cursing, or other type of angry outburst from some disembodied voice. Alternately, gleeful laughter, joy, and mocking calls can be heard when a trap goes off.
A layered trap system incorporates traps designed to whittle down the party....and not always with direct damage. Think curses that apply certain conditions that make the party more susceptible to other traps, or damage. Traps that make it easier for monsters to attack them (faerie fire, something that stuns them - and monsters have learned is the "dinner bell," etc). Enfeeblement, exhaustion, create a few random conditions (have anyone who fails their save age 40 years for the next 30 minutes). Be aware, this does create more of an old school dungeon crawler feel.
A being with the ability to grant wishes can tease/trick/manipulate/etc almost any creature given enough time. Give the efreeti a personality, a background, and from that you should get some ideas.
The party should not be deciding when they need to make perception checks. If a party is entering a dungeon and is not actively looking for traps, then they are going to set some off. Have the first one they set off be a glow-in-the-dark paint bomb. Any light source recharges the glow effect (essentially a faerie fire effect) for ...x rounds until their clothing is laundered. Even prestidigitation will take several minutes to clean all party members... time that allows monsters to assemble! It just isn't about what damage a trap does, but also what does the trap set in motion? What creatures are aware the trap was set off? If a trap closes the door ahead of them, do they trigger the one behind them trying to open the door? Does a pressure plate do nothing in that room, but change something elsewhere?
Have kobolds taken over parts of the castle buildings? They are infamous trap setters.
If the Knights/wraiths created the traps, then their personalities and individual mischievousness natures will also flavor things encountered in the castle.
edit: Am browsing through a DMSGuild item: The Malady Workshop (create diseases!). Now am imagining a trap that gives them a disease, symptoms of which might take a while to appear. Of course, should the approach to the keep prove difficult enough for the party to retreat, or take a long rest, well... Muahahahaha! ;)
If you want additional monsters that fit the theme and that would be unlikely to be turned to stone by the medusa, think of creature that have immunity to paralysis and creatures beneath the notice of a medusa who used to be a queen. Vermin for instance: giant wasps, giant spiders and the like. Oozes, gelatinous cubes, etc. have no eyes and therefore would not be affected by a medusa. You might also consider having a garden of buried objects from chambermaids and other servants who could not escape, but who were smart enough to avoid looking at the queen until they died of starvation or disease.
Did this queen have any allies prior to becoming a medusa? How did they react to this change? Thinking about this will further help you flesh out the surroundings and the NPCs involved.
You could also look at animated armour and rug of smothering as options that could reasonably exist in a castle and are immune to a Medusa's gaze.