A little challenge on the way [Archive] - Wizards Community

A little challenge on the way [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Cthulhu-LQ
05-30-06, 11:08 AM Well this is it, the game starts today. This will be the first time I DM a game in maybe 10 years, and I have not played that much since then. But I revised the rules and I planned this first game well enough, it should all go smoothly.

I have thought of one more challenge for this quest, to test their skills some more. I'd like your comments to make it challenging enough but not impossible.
There are 2 players, they start level 2, one is a barbarian/druid, the other a wilderness rogue. Basically, their quest is to bring back buds of a special flower found in a marsh. At some point, they will most certainly get a kobold guide.
Here comes this new challenge I thought of. While resting, the PCs suddenly see the kobold move up very fast. What happened is a giant chameleon just ate him, and the PCs will have to rescue him in less than 8 rounds or he will die. They will need to :
1- See where it is (Spot 20). Can try every round untill success
2- Climb the tree (Climb 15). Takes 2 round to climb but only 1 check, can try every round untill success
3- Kill the chameleon. It will not attack, but it is on a branch and relatively hard to get to. It will require a (Balance 14) to get there and to be able to attack. A failure by 5 or move means the PC falls (20 feet). Then each round the chameleon will move farther into thinner branches, adding 2 to the balance check DC for someone who follows.

If they try to atack it with ranged weapons, the chameleon has concealment, and will move out of sight if hit forcing the PCs to climb to continue attacking. Even if they do kill it with range, the chameleon will get stuck in branches and the PCs will need to climb to get the kobold free.

The chameleon has 22hp and AC 16

If they succeed, the kobold will be able to lead them to a place where they will find more flower buds, worth about 400gp more then they would have otherwise at the end of the mission.
This will be worth 200xp, or 75 if they kill the chameleon but not in time to same the kobold.

What do you think?
Arganis
05-30-06, 12:42 PM Seems like a decent decision-tree. I like that you've made the stakes 400gp worth of extra bulbs instead of leaving the PCs empty-handed and left to their own devices.
d3f4ult
05-30-06, 01:29 PM What if they get someone to chop the tree down?
Arganis
05-30-06, 02:06 PM What if they get someone to chop the tree down?

Hyperbolic, but poignant. The OP would be well-encouraged to be prepared for, and generally accepting of, alternative solutions.
Cthulhu-LQ
05-30-06, 02:19 PM Of course, if they find a way to chop down the tree, I won't stop them. But I dont see how that would possible. It's a jungle with huge trees and it could easily take a couple of days to chop one down. And since they are only level 2 the're not much they can do to speed up the process.

But I'm sure they will surprise me with other challenges, they will come up with solutions I would never hav thought of!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cthulhu-LQ 05-30-06, 11:08 AM	Well this is it, the game starts today. This will be the first time I DM a game in maybe 10 years, and I have not played that much since then. But I revised the rules and I planned this first game well enough, it should all go smoothly. I have thought of one more challenge for this quest, to test their skills some more. I'd like your comments to make it challenging enough but not impossible. There are 2 players, they start level 2, one is a barbarian/druid, the other a wilderness rogue. Basically, their quest is to bring back buds of a special flower found in a marsh. At some point, they will most certainly get a kobold guide. Here comes this new challenge I thought of. While resting, the PCs suddenly see the kobold move up very fast. What happened is a giant chameleon just ate him, and the PCs will have to rescue him in less than 8 rounds or he will die. They will need to : 1- See where it is (Spot 20). Can try every round untill success 2- Climb the tree (Climb 15). Takes 2 round to climb but only 1 check, can try every round untill success 3- Kill the chameleon. It will not attack, but it is on a branch and relatively hard to get to. It will require a (Balance 14) to get there and to be able to attack. A failure by 5 or move means the PC falls (20 feet). Then each round the chameleon will move farther into thinner branches, adding 2 to the balance check DC for someone who follows. If they try to atack it with ranged weapons, the chameleon has concealment, and will move out of sight if hit forcing the PCs to climb to continue attacking. Even if they do kill it with range, the chameleon will get stuck in branches and the PCs will need to climb to get the kobold free. The chameleon has 22hp and AC 16 If they succeed, the kobold will be able to lead them to a place where they will find more flower buds, worth about 400gp more then they would have otherwise at the end of the mission. This will be worth 200xp, or 75 if they kill the chameleon but not in time to same the kobold. What do you think?
Arganis 05-30-06, 12:42 PM	Seems like a decent decision-tree. I like that you've made the stakes 400gp worth of extra bulbs instead of leaving the PCs empty-handed and left to their own devices.
d3f4ult 05-30-06, 01:29 PM	What if they get someone to chop the tree down?
Arganis 05-30-06, 02:06 PM	What if they get someone to chop the tree down? Hyperbolic, but poignant. The OP would be well-encouraged to be prepared for, and generally accepting of, alternative solutions.
Cthulhu-LQ 05-30-06, 02:19 PM	Of course, if they find a way to chop down the tree, I won't stop them. But I dont see how that would possible. It's a jungle with huge trees and it could easily take a couple of days to chop one down. And since they are only level 2 the're not much they can do to speed up the process. But I'm sure they will surprise me with other challenges, they will come up with solutions I would never hav thought of!