[HELP] Flex your DM muscle and help me out.

[Ashrem Bayle]

Ok, game is Saturday and I've got DMer's block. Can you guys help me come up with some unique encounters to populate this dungeon with? There is a lot of talent on this board, it needs to be put to use.

The characters are 7th level and we have 1 each of the basic classes. (Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, & Rogue) Nothing real unusual. Keep in mind that the players are getting pretty paranoid and have a talent for good tactics in combat. The map is a very small file attached to this post.

Thanks in advance. This is what I have so far, but it's not set in stone. Id like to hear any thought and opinions you might have.

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The Halls of Sorrow

The Halls were built over 300 years ago by an organization of elves who where charged by Correlon Larethion to guard the Scepter of Tora’Gothan, an ancient magical item capable of locating the lost Orbs of Dragonkind.
After his death, the creator of the Scepter, Tora’Gothan himself was entombed in the Halls. Traps were built and guardians created to protect the Scepter from falling into the wrong hands.
Until recently, the Scepter has remained forgotten. That is, until the dark dragon queen, Tia’mat began sending visions to the half-dragon sorcerer and high-ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon, Craesis.
Craesis sent word to one of his followers, Bishimon to obtain the scepter while he made plans to put it and the Orbs to use. Bishimon arrived in the small town of Thunderstone and once there, began using the town as a base of operations while he searched for the scepter. Two days before the Greengrass festival, he discovered its location.
Before departing he got into a scuffle with a few of the Purple Dragons keeping the peace in Thunderstone. The result was a fireball released into a small squad, which instantly killed all six of the Dragons.
A town meeting was quickly called and a reward of 1,000 gold pieces was put on the head of the killer.
The characters have tracked the killer to this point and begin at the steps leading into the second portion of The Halls of Sorrow.


Location A:

Lightning Fence

The center of the halls, where they cross, has a circle inscribed in the floor. Stepping into the circle triggers a lightning bolt to launch from the right end of the hall to the left.

Lightning Bolt Trap: CR 6; magic device; proximity trigger (alarm); automatic reset; spell effect (lightning bolt, lOth-level wizard, Reflex save [DC 14] half damage, 10d6 electrical); Search (DC 28); Disable Device (DC 28).


Location B:

HELP

Location C:

Golden Water basin and portal to room D.

Elven:
“He who seeks the blessing of passage must pay their way with the tears of a celestial.”

The characters must pour the tears of the angel in Floor 1’s Room A to activate the portal.


Location D:

Portal Room

This room has two switches next to the door.

Left Switch: Pull out and rotate. Disables Lightning trap

Right Lever: Push up. Opens door.


Location E:

Devil’s Prison

In the center of the room is a Hamatula chained to each wall by long chains. Its name is Ravesin.

The devil promises to leave them unharmed and will even reward them. It is telling the truth. After being released he will teleport away. After the adventure is over, Ravesin will return with a minor magic item for each of the characters.


Location F:

Location g:

Location h:

Location i:

Location j:

Location k:

Location l:

Location m:

Location n:

Location o:

The final encounter with Bishimon and his Shield Guardian.

Location p:

Portal Room – Portal takes characters to a portal just outside Baldur’s Gate.

 

[Rune]

Take a look at this thread: Compelling Encounters!

Since your players are a paranoid bunch, I suggest that most of your rooms should be pretty mundane and the few that are not should be very memorable.

Piratecat, in particular, has a knack for creating evocative encounters, so I encourage you to take a look at his story hour.

Which brings me to my next point: Steal from the storyhours. There is a virtually unlimited wealth of inspiration there. Take a look (the link is in my sig, if you want to get there quickly).

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Thanks for the link Rune.

Yea, I had wanted a few of the rooms to be mundane, but I still wanted them to make sense. The place hasn't been inhabited in over 300 years until just recently. Nobody really stayed there when it was.

Its like a great big tomb. What's in a tomb besides a corpse?

Oh yea, the corpse is on level 1. This is level 2.

 

[Rune]

Thanks for the link Rune.

Yea, I had wanted a few of the rooms to be mundane, but I still wanted them to make sense. The place hasn't been inhabited in over 300 years until just recently. Nobody really stayed there when it was.

Its like a great big tomb. What's in a tomb besides a corpse?

Oh yea, the corpse is on level 1. This is level 2.

Hmmm. Looks like you could use a plot twist. Perhaps level 2 isn't even part of the tomb, but a cavern complex that has, through the years, opened up to a connection with the tomb. Perhaps it opens up while the PCs are in the tomb, exploring, via an earthquake. Or perhaps something more unusual is going on. Perhaps the person in the tomb never really died, and had to tunnel his/her way out, stumbling upon the cavern complex, or something else...

Anyway, I was suggesting that your paranoid players would be much more paranoid if only two or three of the rooms had encounters in them and all of the rest were suspiciously devoid of them. Nothing breeds paranoia like peace and quiet.

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Unfotunatly, the players are well aware of the nature of this place. Also, they fought the ghost of the man who created the Scepter and the tomb was built for.

Hmm....

Thanks anyway. Keep the ideas coming.

 

[Rune]

Another idea is to give a copy of your map to the players; then baffle them when they discover that there is no second level.

 

[Rune]

Or here's one: Perhaps this man had all of his family and/or friends buried alive with him (on level 2). (Un)Naturally, their souls wouldn't rest peacefully, would they?

 

[Rune]

Oh, I suppose I should mention (with this bump) that I think you should build on your player's paranoia precisely because they are already paranoid. They want to be paranoid. They crave it. Oblige them.

 

[rootbeergnome]

If you are wanting to give a feeling of suspense or horror and they are already paranoid, then one of the best things to do is to isolate single characters from the party. I recall reading something from a (I think) Dragon magazine article about a party of adventurers being stalked by a vampire through a dungeon. The vampire would sneak up behind the party and cast a Wall of Stone spell that would separate the rear party member from the rest of the group. The party could do nothing but listen to the screams of the isolated friend while they tried to break through the wall in futility. And, if the party member ever showed up any time later, they would all be paranoid that he was now a vampire. Well, you might not want to use this exact scenario, but isolation works well
Happy DMing, maybe one day you will be as Eeeevil as Rune is.

 

[CrazyMage]

The article on traps from the latest Dragon might be helpful--have a number of obvious traps combined with nasty, well-hidden ones.

Then have a hallway where the walls have lots and lots of holes--for poisoned arrows? Gas? Water to drown them like rats when walls drop to block them in? What's with the patterns in the stone of the floor (like the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark)? Is it something? Is it nothing?

And lots of freaky noises. Howlings echoing down passageways; the clang of battle; unearthly screams and cries.