I need a lil help if possible. I just had a great thought come up w/ something to add to my campaign, but since my game is tomorrow, I’m not going to have time to flesh out the details as much as I’d like. So some help please!
Okay, my campaign truthfully belongs in the heretic’s bin, but I’m generally sticking with the gist of Greyhawk. The campaign is set in Kalinstren, specifically one of its county’s north of Crockport along lake Whyestil, about midway between Izlen & Crockport.
The campaign has progressed for some 2 game years & 1 real year, and it’s now 582 and the Greyhawk Wars have just kicked off. The Shieldlands have fallen, Grabford is besieged, and Crockport has fallen (amphibious landing after faking out the Furyondians in the north). The reason for the war is a bit different though. Iuz is not yet a demi-god, he’s just a _REALLY_ powerful Wizard whose power’s been boosted thanks to various deals. He is however looking to ascend and that is why the Greyhawk Wars are happening. He thinks if he can have enough people killed in his name and do some other things, then he will ascend as a new deity of strife, pain, etc… (All the things we know and love of Iuz). Another part of what Iuz needs are relics with divine energy, i.e. things that have been charged with faith power that he can use to draw in more of that power released by the killing in his name.
Well, a central part of my campaign for a long time now has been this church of St. Cuthbert (St. Bartholomew’s the Martyred). The PC’s think its name & history dates back 300 years or so when St. Bartholomew, a cleric of St. Cuthbert, single handedly held off a group of Bakluni raiders (to the cost of his own life) until the villagers could gather themselves and fight back. But, like most of the history in my campaign, this isn’t totally true.
Yes there was a real St. Bartholomew, and he did singlehandedly hold off raiders, but there wasn’t a village at the time. Instead, at the time the Church was just an out of the way monastery that housed numerous relics of St. Cuthbert, including his mortal remains. Well over the years, the other relics have been moved to other sites, but the mortal remains are still there, and this is what I need help with!
I need 5-6 Tests that deal w/ the tenants of St. Cuthbert.
Common Sense
Wisdom
Zeal
Honesty
Truth
Discipline
The tests should be things that a believer of St. Cuthbert could pass at personal cost and with intense desire.
Finally, the group is all level 8.
Thank you all VERY much for the help!
Wright
I can see you took from his portfolio, but I'm not sure how truth and honesty are exactly different, but if you think back to sort of mythos and legend, there are lots of trials that deal with honesty. Off hand, I can think of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a test of honesty. Conversely, you could push a strong sort of self-examination as a test of honesty without being too unCuthberty I'd think
Part of it depends on how much this is put forward by the clerics of the temple and how much an extraplanar influence is presiding over them.
I mean, for this it could be sort of like the Mirror of Erised in Harry Potter, thought I'm not entirely sure how you'd swing that, or perhaps a magical guardian with zone of truth/discern lies (hell, pattern it off that new lie detector reality TV show).
I think the self examination thing would really fall in line with the Cuthbertine ideal, St. Cuthbert has an entire order of knights and clerics devoted to keeping his own flock pure, and I know my paladin of St. Cuthbert has always been her own critic, even to the point of self-chastisement. The guy has seriously high standards.
You could have a large room, cylindrical, perhaps with solid, if simple columns, with a large stone statue either against some wall or central to the room. Along the top of the room you could carve something like "Unflinching knowledge of the self is the first step in conquering disorder and evil" or "We are our own first enemy" or something you know.. lawful, vigilant, chastising (all the cuddly features we love in St. C ).
I'm not entirely sure how it could swing, but you could either have the statue detecting chaos and/or evil (I know St. Cuthbert's citadel or whatevs in complete divine has a statue that does that), perhaps demand that characters answer for their sins. And, using a bit of DM magic, bring things up.
It probably shouldn't attack unless characters lie or there's some crime that's not forgiveable. I might make there be some sort of owning up for things (like confession ...to a giant rock), either a donation in scale with sin, or I dunno. But then, if they pass by suitably analysing themselves, let them pass?
Barring that, something like the trial of Sir Gawain would be fairly simple to do, the PCs are up against a terrifying odds, present an easy, though unscrupulous way out. A powerful magic item unguarded very likely, and then make it later clear that it's not to be used and directly ask them. If they lie, maybe even let them have the item (which isn't of course as amazing as it might appear, or be limited use), but they've forfeited their chance at the treasures of St. Bartholomew.
For the Mirror of Erised like thing, you could have the mirror present the PCs as they see themselves, in most cases, vastly distorted from how they truly are and the challenge could be seeing who you really are, I dunno :/ It seems like it could be a cool idea, but I'm at a loss.
After the honesty statue, you could almost run this like a miniature dungeon. A maze could provide a wisdom trial, survival and tracking use wis, and those would be in line enough with St. Cuthbert's ideals too. I mean, those are requirements for Justicars, right?
Plus, you could use a maze as a common sense puzzle. You could feature a guardian asking a riddle, either a sphinx (cr 8), or perhaps to be more memorable, a young gold or juvenile bronze dragon (both cr 9, lg). I'd also populate the maze with several large golems or automatons, to your fancy.
The golems might serve as sort of a test of common sense, guardians, but not ones that will pursue PCs if they don't try to pass them. Sure, they COULD fight all the golems, but if they find an alternate path, it would be easier and likely a lot less fatal.
I'd maybe make the sentient creatures in the maze not-neccessarily hostile, but suspicious. Ward the entire place with pro-evil, and pro-chaos, and traps, but not in the like, pit trap sort, but more in the sort of logical puzzle type to test their intuitiveness. Creatures you could put in should probably be LG if not LN, I'd make fairly liberal use of Celestials and Inevitables. Nothing too arcane, probably nothing too mortal either if it's a guardian situation.
You could probably make some variant of the LG elven liches (baelnorn I think?) if you wanted to keep going in. I don't think St. Cuthbert really has a problem with undead, just with chaos and evil ;). It could be so cool though! they could be like semi-animated Saints. I think you could milk a lot out of a Cuthbertine dungeon.
It'd be so painfully logical, and orderly, and probably gorgeous, but the PC's probably wouldn't want to loot from it.
On puzzles, you need to stay away from the application of intelligence, and go more for wisdom tests. Though, that's kind of hard to differentiate. I guess, like, if it's building something, or recalling something, it's INT, if it's so simple no one would think of it if they tried to rationalise it, it's wisdom.
St. Cuthbert has this book called the teaching of the Wise Fool that they mentioned in DRG 358 (I think?) that did core beliefs St. C, it's sort of emphasizing piety and common sense over conventional wisdom and stuff. So go with sort of that?
I would actually have Zeal be a challenge with a SIGNIFICANT personal cost.
These tests are not only designed for true believers of Saint Cuthbert but should also be designed to keep non-believers out. And I mean, it's St. Cuthbert, he's not the lovey cuddly god of cupcakes and sunshine, he's the one who turned LN and moved to Arcadia because he sided with Asmodeus that crime demands punishment. This is also a man who has been known to interfere with the Prime Material plane in order to interfere with Iuz or Vecna's plans.
I'd make Zeal something where one of the characters has to sacrifice something permanent, real, and game effecting. His or her life, maybe even, in order to accomplish it. It doesn't have to actually kill them, but there has to be the strong illusion of peril.
I think zeal kind of puts forth a total commitment and submission to the cause, and St. Cuthbert totally expects his followers to die for the cause of righteousness, and face their death unphased. It would certainly show a commitment and a selflessness on the part of the character sacrificing him and herself.
You could put it in the center of the maze, or the end, or wherever, But when they get to wherever the end of this test is, present an exit, maybe present a celestial--a deva perhaps. I know St. Cuthbert has one who works with him and masquerades as a little old lady in a cloak lined with feather on the inside. It's Granny something I believe
Let everyone else leave, or hang around if it would be better, providing they're not taking something they shouldn't be and take the one sacrificing himself off into another door that appears.
Here I'd maybe make up some sort of awesome sacrifice sequence, that actually does kill the character, or chop off whatever limb or whatnot you're deciding to sacrifice. However, I'd not make this a carte blanche, but actually a judgement of the character. If they meet the standards set forth by St. Cuthbert and have proven themselves through the tests you've given, let them have the token they're questing for. If they don't, they're dead and they've been judged.
It would serve as a realistic control I'd imagine, Even if an entity of evil were to make it through all the tests, none can avoid judgment in death and thus only the worthy really would make it and be entrusted with the relics all these f'ing rad good creatures and St. Cuthbert's army are protecting.
That or a battle cry off ;). We all know he who screams the loudest loves Cuthbert the most
I know obedience wasn't mentioned, but I think it fits along with. I'm not entirely sure if there are ways I can think offhand to test this, but they should be an underlying current in the adventure.
I mean, if you go with the maze, I'd make it fantastic and glorious and filled with treasure and creatures ripe for the pillaging and all sorts of things adventurers love! But I'd also make it clear that the point of this dungeon is to take only that for which you came.
While any of the creatures here, if provoked will attack, and could potentially kill PCs, thus ending their adventures, I'd also make certain behaviors such as stealing, or attacking unprovoked guardian creatures summon a zelekhut (MM1, an inevitable) CR 9 to subdue and remove the offending PC. But not the others unless they attack.
It kind of goes against the adventurer code and all, you know, stick with your buddies, they fight you fight; loot everything that's not nailed down... pull out a hammer, take the nails, take everything that was nailed down.
So it might be wise to let something like a lantern archon give them the rules when they get past the statue. If you want to emphasize wisdom, again, you could do it as a riddle.
If you wanted to test obedience, you could start giving the PCs strong compulsions to turn around and leave, not requiring a will save, just a strong compulsion, and make it actually a command. If they fail to follow, they keep wandering and eventually find an exit, leaving without their prize.
I think, all in all, this could be an awesome dungeon. I kinda want to run it now.
If your PCs are likely to complain about there being no real monetary prize, you could always give them some token for making it to the end ^_^ but really the benefits should outweigh the trouble spent, right?
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sorry this has been so long, I really hope this is kinda what you were looking for and not like tasks given by clerics to prove they're serious, but good luck on your game :D!
Thank you! I'm gonna totally use this! Fortunately they didn't get to the tests yet, so I have time to work this in!
GREAT stuff though, thank you!
Report back! :D