D&D 5E Cryptex

[Plaguescarred]

I want to drop a cryptex in my campaign, for those who ignore what it is, it's a portable vault used to hide secret messages, scroll etc. I'm not too sure on the method to open it. A Skill challenge seems like a natural fit, a serie of Intelligence (Investigation) checks where success unlock it and failure breaks the vial of vinegar and destoy the content? Or may be Thievery, since it's normally used for open lock? A mix of both? How would you go about it?

 

[Umbran]

Well, ask yourself the question - WHY do you want to use this? What is the end result you want to see?

"Just because it is cool," doesn't really answer the question. Why is it cool? What do you think should be fun about this for the players?

 

[Plaguescarred]

For the challenge. I want to use this as a mean to offer, through some challenge, either a treasure in the form of magic scroll, or a plot hook in the form of a map or letter leading to a future quest. A simple scrollcase would be open without risk and effort. A Cryptex offers both.

 

[aco175]

The more times you have the players roll, the greater the chance of failing, but challenges tend to have a couple fails built in to build tension. The question is how to make it cool and fun for the players and what is the reward for the effort.

Maybe they are given one to deliver and told not to open it. This now becomes irresistible to some who must know the what is in it. It might be better when there are other clues to lead them to an answer and they need to carry it around for a couple quests while searching for leads on the name of the ship the Duke served on when in the military. Breaking into the graveyard to find out the Duke's dogs name on the collar buried in the family crypt. If the players know up front that it is extremely difficult to open, they may go along, but also just break and cast mend. See the speak with dead murder mystery thread and other real world vs. game play threads.

 

[Plaguescarred]

I wonder if 4E style Skill Challenge would not be best way to do so.

 

[Oofta]

Depends on how they want to solve it. Investigation if they're trying to solve the puzzle, thieves tools if they just want to disable it. I'd make the former a lower DC than the latter. I'd also give them options to find clues on how to solve the puzzle, either through hints in the current setting or perhaps something they have to do other tasks for. Lots of options there, everything from capturing someone who might know the code to looking for the equivalent of a sticky note with the password on it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

There are two ways to open a cryptex - the way it is meant to be opened, with the combination, or by bypassing it in some way. It's quite easy to get inside without the combination - the hard bit is doing so in such a way so as not to release the acid and destroy the document inside.

If the PCs want to try the second method, I would ask for a DC 30 thieves tools check. If they fail by 5 or more the acid breaks. Otherwise they can try again.

If they want to try guessing the combination, you need to decide if the character's have a better chance of guessing than the players. You might just pick a password and let the players guess. If there is some reason why the character might have a better chance of guessing - e.g. it's the name of the First Emperor of Puzzleopolis, you might allow an appropriate skill check - history in this instance. But if it's just a matter of blind guessing, then no amount of Investigation skill is going to help.

I guess another way would be to blindfold a halfling and let them punch keys randomly. If they roll a 1 on the D20 the lucky trait triggers and it opens.

Divination magic might also be used.

You might allow them to try and look for fingerprints on the keys - don't prompt the players, they need to come up with this on their own. In which case a DC 15 Investigation check gives them an anagram of the password.

 

[Plaguescarred]

I'm also looking at ways to have the party to take part of the action rather than a single character. Perhaps some secondary skill checks can be attemped to assist primary checks where success give them advantage, and failure disadvantage.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm also looking at ways to have the party to take part of the action rather than a single character. Perhaps some secondary skill checks can be attemped to assist primary checks where success give them advantage, and failure disadvantage.

It's not really something multiple people can work on, but you can involve everyone in discussing how they are going to try an open it, rather than just saying "make a skill check to open it".

 

[Umbran]

For the challenge. I want to use this as a mean to offer, through some challenge...

Okay, so when you are putting together a combat challenge, you think of what kind of challenge you want it to be, right? Like - is it against one big boss, or a horde? Is it a challenge to kill off widely spaced ranged attackers, or melee opponents who get in the party's midst? And so on.

Same idea goes here - what kind of challenge do you want? What kinds of things do you want them to do? Is it a widget hunt for clues to the combination spread around town? Is it a social challenge to extract key information about the combination from the one person left alive who knew the previous owner? Is it a purely technical challenge of fiddling with a physical object? Is it a full-room challenge where the party must piece together the action of the mechanism by interacting with a large space (Fifth Element style)?