Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 yusakuasano Dec 29, 2014 7:26:18	The site: A cursed-ruined temple of the now forgotten sun god lies upon a rocky hill. In the crypt below was buried a hero-paladin of the god now turned into wight. There lies his warhammer, “the nightbreaker” (a version of sun-blade). The temple is burned with its collapsed walls and columns covered with a thick layer of ash.   When the heroes (2nd lvl) enter the temple (which has no ceiling) everything get dark as a sun eclipse taking place. They face a group of shadows and zombies (from the previous adventures who tried to loot the temple). When they win, the sun reappears but is not what it seems. It is a will o wisp which has taken the form of an illusionary sun and lead the characters deeper. There they encounter a specter (the former arch-priest of the temple) with the will o wisp. If they defeat the undead they can proceed to the crypt where the undead paladin lies.   I want to make the temple encounter a bit more interesting. I want to make a riddle/puzzle/trap/hazard during or after the second encounter. Unfortunately I suck at riddles and puzzles. Can anyone please help me on this?   Thank you
#2 pauldanielj2 Dec 29, 2014 8:12:18	The will o wisp thing is problematic. You're assuming the PCs will just blindly follow it headlong into the next encounter, but that would be railroading them. Think about what you'll do if they just attack it (most player's default reaction is to attack something). As far as a puzzle/riddle goes, I'd recommend doing a search on the Internet; there's a lot of resources out there you can plunder.
#3 BRJN Dec 29, 2014 9:43:02	Drop the will-o-wisp. While the eclipse is total, a dark obviously-magical cloud appears at just the right place in the sky to keep the ruined temple in extra-dark shadow, and the surrounding landscape in thunderstorm-cloud-dim light levels.  A gust of wind blows some ash off the walls; revealed is a prophecy carved into the walls which states that whoever reads it during "an unending eclipse" is destined "to bring renewed light out of the deep rock".  Stairs heading downward, just off to the PCs' right.  By coincidence (or Divine Intervention), when Nightbreaker returns to ground level, the clouds start breaking up and a narrow brilliant shaft of light lands directly on the weapon (this IS a Sign).  By the time the PCs get off the hill the sky is daytime-normal.
(Reply to #3) 7he_professor	BRJN wrote:
#5 Imaculata Dec 31, 2014 5:26:49	Here's an idea: I like the idea of the hammer giving off light. But what if you some how made this part of the encounter? Maybe the players have to stay inside the light during the encounter. They can of course bring light sources of their own, but whoever carries the hammer will always have an aura of light surrounding him/her.   So here is what I would do:   The battle room - Smashing stone coffins Create a large room for a big fight, with multiple levels. There could be some broken staircases, balconies, different platforms, all inside the same room. On various levels there are stone coffins, which leak these shadows. These coffins will keep spawning new shadows, unless their lid is smashed with the hammer. To make this even more clear, put a purple mark on the lid, that glows with a pitch black light. To introduce this concept earlier on, confront the players with a heavy stone door that has this symbol on it as the entrance to this room, and tell the player that the symbol reacts whenever the hammer is near. Once the players have smashed the door with the hammer, they will understand that they also need to smash the coffins.   Stay in the light The shadows should be really strong, and have level drain abilities. But they should not be allowed to walk into any area that is eluminated. This means that as long as the players stay in the light, they only need to fight their way past the zombies to destroy the stone coffins, and the shadows won't be an issue. There could be large heavy metal brasiers that the players can light along the way, to create a safe area in the otherwise dark room. Strategically place these brasiers, so that the players can't just rely on only these light sources, and make sure that the hammer remains important throughout the encounter.   The zombies These zombies, while pretty dumb, are perfectly capable of climbing. As the players make their way across crumbling stone staircases, they can see large groups of zombies crawling their way up the stone. This increases the chances for these zombies to surround the players, which you want. The players will have to carefully make their way from coffin to coffin, while trying to avoid getting surrounded, or leaving the light.   Of course you want the players to not wander through this encounter unscatched, so set up some unexpected twists that keep them on their toes.   Ghoul ambush / Gust of wind A wall could collapse, with a large groups of ghouls coming in. The hole in the wall releases a powerful gust of wind, that extinguishes any unprotected source of normal fire, including lanterns (that are not hooded), torches, and of course the brasiers.   Collapsing staircase One of the walkways or stairs could be really old, and collapse as soon as more than one person is standing on it. Make the players perform a jump check to leap to safety, or a tumble check if they fail. Any players beneath it must make a reflex save or be buried by rubble. At the DM's discretion, you could pose the players with the choice to drop one of the items in their hand, so that they can quickly grab on to something. Will they drop their weapon, or their light source? The idea here is to take the players out of their lit area, and drop them into a dark area where they can be ambushed by the shadows. Or to otherwise rob them of their light source.   Flooded tomb The room has an area that is flooded with water, forcing the players to swim through, without extinguishing their light source. Collapsing structures could also be used as a trap to drop the players into the water, thus extinguishing their light source.   Waterfall Maybe one of the coffins is beyond a cascade of water. If the players step through, they will extinguish what ever light source they have on them, unless it is covered.   Coffins in difficult places The coffins should not all be easy to reach. One coffin could be at the top of a long staircase, requiring balance checks, and fighting lots of zombies to get to it. One could be on a remote platform, requiring a jump check. One could bebeyond a collapsed staircase, and require a climb check. And one could be underwater, which is problematic in regards to light sources to keep those darn shadows at bay.   Boss monster To top it all off, you could introduce a large boss monster as soon as the last coffin is destroyed. Maybe this monster must be struck with the hammer to shatter its armor. However, it's weak spot is on its back. The players may need to throw the hammer from player to player, in order to attack the boss in the back. You could also play with the idea that the terrain is destructable here, and have the boss charge into the stone structures, and cause them to collapse. Maybe the collapsing structures can also be used against the boss by clever players.