Blog #12

It was last August or September, so I don't recall what exactly, but the PC's found something that indicated a circle of stones as the next destination.

Looking at the map of Diamond Lake, they scouted out the menhirs on the edge of town, witnessing a creature make for a hidden stone entrance in the middle. The PC's entered, and immediately entered into a maze.

This I modified heavily - because honestly, mazes suck in D&D. I made it a Skill Challenge. I was still new at these, but this is how I did it.

The Skill Challenge required 9 successess overall, but every three they'd stumble across a room where they would have an encounter. Here's my notes for the Skill Challenge itself though.

In retrospect, the idea of an "encounter" check was a bad idea in this Skill Challenge. It looked okay beforehand, but the PC's ended up stumbling about a bit.

NAVIGATING THE MAZE (LEVEL 3 SKILL CHALLENGE - 150 XP/CHARACTER)

Setup:
The PC's must navigate the maze in the tomb below the Menhirs. The PC's can use their knowledge and wits to avoid the traps and hazards down below, but failure means they'll set themselves up for a huge ambush. Success indicates they'll successfully navigate the maze and gain entrance to the last tomb, where the Faceless One resides.

Level: 3
Complexity: 3 (requires 9 successes before 3 failures):
Primary Skills: Dungeoneering, Insight, Perception
NOTE: A skill labeled with Encounter Check means at least one of these skills must be used before moving on to the next encounter.

Arcana (DC 14): The maze is creating some sort of latent illusory and enchantment magic, meant to befuddle creatures.
- DC 14: The whole catacomb is radiating a charm effect that is affecting the PC's (1 Check)

Dungeoneering (DC 14): Using natural underground skills, and simple intuition, the character is able to make some headway in the maze The PC can do a number of things with Dungeoneering:

• Avoid a trap, and assist everyone else with avoiding it (1 Check / Encounter)
• Navigate safely into the maze. (Encounter Check)
• Recognize evidence of unsafe passages, due to mold growth or cobwebs (1 Check / Encounter)

History (DC 14): A character can make a history check to know a bit about the tomb. Its age places it about 1000 years old, and it's definitely hobgoblin make, being very ornate, and built to confuse the enemies of their Empire should they ever be discovered. (1 Check)

Insight (DC 19): A character can make an insight check to negate the magic affecting his senses, and go with his true intuition. (Encounter Check)

Nature (Variable): Once a Perception check has been made to discover the tracks, a Nature check can determine what the creatures are, as per normal monster identification rules (1 Check)

• DC 9: Giant Rats
• DC 14: Rat-men, or Wererats

Perception (DC 14): A PC can do a number of things with Perception:

• Spot tracks in the dust of pawprints, some large and others large and walking upright (1 Check)
• Attempt to follow a trail already built into the maze (Encounter Check)
• To recognize a detail that they've already passed (can be used when a failure has been accomplished) (1 Check / Encounter)

Stealth (DC 19): The Wererats of the maze are constantly alert, but using this skill can help hide the PC's from their rat patrols. (1 Check / Encounter)

Complications:
After the party’s first failure on the skill challenge (or 3 successes), they have the encounter "The First Room - B".
After the party's second failure on the skill challenge (or 6 successes), they have the encounter "The Second Room - B".

Success: The PC's reach the final room before defensive preparations are made, and have the encounter "The Third Room - A"

Failure: The PC's reach the final room but defensive preparations are made, and have the encounter "The Third Room - B"