Elemental Challenges - Help!

[Eccles]

As part of a campaign I'm about to start, the party needs to undergo 4 elemental challenges. One of each, as you

They'll probably be about 8th level when they get there.

Their situation is this: In an effort to escape from the Isle of Dread, they've fought their way to the top of an extinct volcano. There's a lake in the volcano crater, and an island in the centre of the lake.

On one shore, there are a small number of indestructible madmen. This is a foreboding thing, since at the centre of the island each member of the party gets one wish. The wish they *ought* to make is to go home. If they wish for immortality, they're stuck here like these other guys.

Anyway, between the shore and the nasty volcanic challenge on the island, I want them to have these 4 elemental challenges. I don't want anything along the lines of 'defeat an elemental of water then air, then earth, then fire', as they're going to have had quite a few fights to get here.

Can anyone help me?

(P.S. a number of my players are avid Dragon readers, so they'll catch me if I try to re-use stuff).

 

[RangerWickett]

My party in my game is currently at a elemental-themed Druid grove. They had a few 'tests,' so let me give you a few ideas. Instead of having them fight elements, maybe they have to show that they can use elemental power.

There was a sort of steam vent in the ground, out of which a thin lick of flame wafted up, about 6 feet tall. The area around it was permeated with magic, and with a successful spellcraft check (DC 15), they can fire bursts of flame at a range of 50 feet, dealing 1d6 damage. For every 3 points they beat DC 15, they deal an extra 1d6.

For water, there is a river that leads to a waterfall, but right before the waterfall is a hollow stone spire. The only way into the spire is a hole in it's bottom, so you have to jump in the river, ride the current, then pop up in the bottom of the spire before the current sweeps you away. Have some sort of special object that they need inside.

For air, there is a high mountain peak (you could just use a hillside, or a forested grove) filled with stone pillars, kinda like stonehenge. All the pillars have narrow holes in them, so when the wind blows, different notes play. The party has to play an octave scale to summon an air wraith, which provides them with guidance/information.

Stone was a bit of a geology exam. It started off with fragments of four different types of stone, sitting on a plaque. The plaque says that they must move four stone pillars into the proper position, without scratching the ground. The floor is a sorta patchwork of the different types of stones, tiled with interesting patterns. The types of stone of the pillars is the same as the types of stone of the fragments. So, the party has to experiment with the small fragments to see which stone scratches which, and then they have to move the huge pillars into position, sending them across the 'gameboard.'


Also, you might want to make sure that the players realize that they need to wish to go home. And what if all the PCs except one wish for immortality, and then the last PC wishes for them all to go home? Be wary of wishes.

 

[Eccles]

Thanks for that. For some reason the possibility of them having to get 4 keys from the elements hadn't occurred to me. What sort of sad DM am I?

I'm not afraid of the wish thing. The person making the wish is going to be tightly restricted in time, and my players know me better than to wish for off things. I tend to twist their words enough as it is...

OK. This has got my brain going in a totally different direction. Thanks!

Anyone else got any elemental challenges or riddles?

 

[alsih2o]

dig a hole, reroute a river, quench a fire, catch a cloud

 

[Crothian]

Here's a really tough water challenge

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18921