Help me work this out -- my Players stay away

[Quasqueton]

You should probably have some way to explain why the PCs fight their doubles. You might start things out with some sort of charm or phantasm effect (with Will save) that essentially forces them to attack their doubles.

Or "What happens if the PCs decide not to fight back at all?"

(My players did this after 2 rounds of combat with their doubles, so it can happen.)

Yeah, that's something I've considered (though not necessarily solved). Being as the only way out of the room is through death (real or reflection). . . whether the death comes through combat or not is irrelevant.

Quasqueton

 

[Artoomis]

Yeah, that's something I've considered (though not necessarily solved). Being as the only way out of the room is through death (real or reflection). . . whether the death comes through combat or not is irrelevant.

Quasqueton

But how would they know that?

The whole thing sounds a bit too contrived to me.

 

[MarkB]

But how would they know that?

The whole thing sounds a bit too contrived to me.

That's the bit that puts me off as I read the original description. There needs to be some logical reason behind this, something that you can be aware of and your players can gather clues about, so that they can feel like there's a logic to their actions. An arbitrary puzzle whose solution is to kill yourself (literally or figuratively) is ultimately unsatisfying.

 

[Quasqueton]

Please help me come up with good logic and reasoning for this. The game is tomorrow night -- hopefully I can have it workable by then.

Quasqueton

 

[IamTheTest]

Since death seems to be the only way out the artifact room may be in homage to whichever god of death/magic you like. Itd be sort of a neverending sacrifice. Maybe as your party advances they may find that all the death they dealt by repeatedly farming XP (this is only a possibility) from the room is really begining to bite them in the keister.

 

[Imruphel]

Well, I'm not looking to stick it to my Players.

Also, what would be a good name for this chamber? My working name so far is simply "The Dark Room".

Quasqueton

How about "antiroom" as a play on "anteroom"?

 

[moritheil]

No, no. I don't think this is "sticking it to the players". It's a cool (if somewhat cliche) idea. It's fine.

I did something similar to my group of 6th level PCs. Worked fine.

Well, my point is that they are "stuck" in terms of not being able to do anything about egress, then. Anyhow, the railroading is inherent in the scenario itself, not just in the details that prevent escape.

I still don't exactly understand what the fuss about rules needing to be clarified is. Make the thing a minor artifact, toss in the AMF and hardness, and you're totally good to go.

As for the difficulty of explaining, insert a monologue that explains that only one may survive; the heroes must "overcome themselves" or some other cheese. The monologue-giver can either be a BBEG (in which case, go over the top with the speech) or a well-meaning individual.

 

[Nail]

Please help me come up with good logic and reasoning for this. The game is tomorrow night -- hopefully I can have it workable by then.

The questions to be answered, as I see it, are:

• Are there other ways to escape the room, besides killing your double? If not, why not?
• How do the PCs get forced into the room without having to make a save or check against SR?
• What is the purpose of the room? or Who built this room?
• Why is the only entrance to this room beneath some yahoo's house?

And, most importantly:

• What kind of clues can the DM leave in the room to help the players answer the above questions?

....and please, I beg you: no silly monologues!

 

[MarkB]

What I think doesn't work at the moment for the main fight is that the performance of the PCs in that combat is utterly irrelevant to their ultimate success. Basically, giving the fight of your life and winning through both tactical genius and a string of fortunate dice rolls provides no better result than kneeling down, baring your neck and saying "plant your axe here, please." Thus, the entire combat is literally a waste of time.

Personally, I'd consider raising the stakes a little. Have each character confront two mirror images - one obviously better equipped than he is, the other obviously with inferior equipment. Whichever image he approaches is the one that appears when the mirror fades.

Whenever a character dies, the mirror-duplicate who survives finds himself equipped with the dead character's equipment instead of his own. So if the player chooses to face the beefier opponent and wins, his equipment improves, whilst his equipment is downgraded if he defeats the ill-equipped version. Whichever version he faces, if he is the one defeated then he ends up keeping his own equipment.

If you make sure the players know the rules beforehand, this will likely result in them facing off against their tougher duplicates. Most of them will be defeated, and neither gain nor lose, whilst a couple will win, and get an upgrade. Only those whose characters lack the courage to face a greater opponent will face a potential downgrade.

 

[Festivus]

Since it's a reflection, why would they be of the same? Just a thought, but wouldn't they be similar but not precise duplicates. For example, they might speak backwards, any written objects would be backwards, their handedness opposite, and their alignment might be the polar opposite.

I had done something like this before in my Neverwinter Nights campaign and the players thought it was great fun... your setup sounds really fun too, I would love to play a situation like that.