D&D 5E Gnome Clockwork Foundry Dungeon help!!!

WindirSkyfire · Jul 1, 2019

Howdy Adventurers! So im putting together my first dungeon. A tad newish but feel pretty comfortable behind the screen and am not afraid to try wild stuff, hence this dungeon. So im digging the revised Artificer and decided i want a dungeon filled with them and it will be a foundry of sorts with them mining rare crystals, ill use sorta like enchantment gems in Skyrim, enhancing weapons or themselves with a slight bonus but a chance for some permanent changes XD

The place has clockwork machines roaming around doing various tasks and im struggling with some kind of puzzle to incorporate with this theme. Id like to use puzzle maybe early on and when they fight the big bad boss at the end maybe i can reintrodude the puzzle mechanic but use it in a way, if they are successful, to help destroy the boss. If not then i really love the idea of the boss being really tough but there is a way in the room to help destroy him faster. He will be a Gnome decked out with a good deal of utility and possibly using a large iron golem as a pet or even one he rides or can jump into something badass like Ripley in Alien. Like i said im not afraid to go nuts. The Gnome is crazy paranoid and has had years to prep his last room.
Any help or ideas would be great. Cant wait to run them through this place!

Shadowdweller · Jul 1, 2019

Random assortment of ideas:
* Maybe puzzles are used to bypass vault-like security doors to reach the final boss
* Maybe the boss uses a golem as a sort of tank. And can attack from it while being personally invulnerable unless the PCs can figure out how to disassemble part of the outer shell. Blueprints that provide clues as to how to do this might be found throughout the facility.

General interior ideas:
* Furnaces, slag pits, crucibles, and other containers filled with molten metal. Might affect some combats or provide heat issues to those forced to wander nearby.
* Acid vats
* Containers of toxic chemicals used in construction...possibly causing poisoning, impairment, or simply limit visibility in some cases. ("The caustic fumes sting your eyes, making it hard to see").
* A summoning area where elementals or demons/devils/angels/extraplanar beings are summoned and bound to be used in artifact construction.

aco175 · Jul 1, 2019

An iron golem does not need to be shaped like a person. It can be a shark or gorilla or something more wild. A gnome encased in a t-rex that shoots firebolts from its eyes. Throw in a secret escape hatch that shoots him to a landing above the main fight level. Throw in a identical twin who is the one actually inside the t-rex while the real bad guy went invisible just before switching placed with the twin. Make that Perception check rather high to spot.

jayoungr · Jul 1, 2019

I've found some great puzzle ideas on this YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYBD31KkjZhT8wcpVXcZh7w/videos

Something like the Prismatic Owl puzzle (#8) might work well for this--you could use the rare crystals from the foundry to control it. Puzzle #48 is a variation.

WindirSkyfire · Jul 2, 2019

Man you guys have some awesome ideas! Thinking i will go for the T-Rex as one of the group members back story involved his family being eaten by one in Chult haha Ill definitely be looking at the video for the puzzles, not just for this but for future stuff. Not sure why i never considered puzzles when it comes to D&D lol. The idea of having blueprints somewhere that eludes to a way to destroy the golem is great as the main reason for coming here is for blueprints on how to use the crystals for a certain machine, anyway. Definitely gonna use the Fire Elementals. Reminds me of the forge in Gauntlegrym in the Drizzt series. Should be fun! Thanks everyone!

Paul Farquhar · Jul 2, 2019

Gnomes! Why did it have to be gnomes?

Shadowdweller · Jul 2, 2019

Paul Farquhar said:
Gnomes! Why did it have to be gnomes?

One of my more pitiful attempts at graphic design:

Imaculata · Jul 2, 2019

A simple puzzle is one where a door mechanism has broken down, and the players must acquire a replacement gear to fix it. They must visit a forge where they must craft one for themselves. A forge is also a great place for a battle.

jayoungr · Jul 2, 2019

WindirSkyfire said:
Not sure why i never considered puzzles when it comes to D&D lol.

Just be aware that not all players enjoy solving puzzles! But if your group does, then the channel I recommended has some great ones, of varying degrees of difficulty. I recommend watching the "How to Use Puzzles" video along with the ones detailing specific puzzles. It does a good job of laying out the reasons to use puzzles and things to consider when you put a puzzle into your game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVYv27sN2mc

Good luck!