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Message: <blockquote data-quote="nogray" data-source="post: 5963720" data-attributes="member: 28028">For some scene-framing details, how many PCs are there, and is this room, with its trap/activity, part of the normal way the cult leaders access the following chambers?The reason I ask is that if it is part of the normal way that the cult travels, it needs to be something that can happen quickly with the (nine?) cult leaders. I wouldn't want to be the main leader (who, I would assume, takes the role of Asmodeus in this activity) and weaken myself habitually in the presence of my underlings.Following is a complete set, some modified from what you originally have, others left as-is (pretty much). Suggestions have been made for those missing in your post. Sblocked for your convenience. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />[sblock="Suggestions for quotes and activities"]The King: I don't see Asmodeus (or a leader of his cult) sacrificing his own life. I might alter the quote to be something like this, "The King must rule with a steady grip, holding tight the lives of his subjects. If his grip falters, all may be lost." Replace the mechanic with a fortitude attack against everyone else in the room, costing them a healing surge. That sounds more like, "I am the boss, and I will crush your spirits under my rule." Maybe give a bonus to defense if they are performing the correct actions to move the puzzle along.The Destroyer: They must heat their orb in a fire, then smash their orb against the King's orb or podium. Give hints about it by virtue of scorch marks or residual magic from the mending ritual that restores its form once the trap is overcome. The quote could be along the lines of, "The Destroyer seeks power enough to bring the King low. Bring forth hellfire and attack with all you can."The Betrayer: "The Betrayer knows the power of deceit. When forced aside, cunningly replace the attacker's strength with your own." When the person at the Heir pushes them aside, they carry their orb to the Heirs' podium.The Princess: Yours looks good, though the quote seems wordy. You could leave it at, "The Princess must pay homage to The King. Respect and allegiance must be given," possibly adding, "for he shields you from attack." Perhaps add the caveat that she does this after being pushed aside by one of the heirs, as indicated by the addition to the quote above.The Prisoner: Again, looks just fine. It also is a second PC that must stand in place, though, so whatever your normal number of PCs, you are down by two in the number of "active" participants. Going again for brevity, I might chop that last sentence off the quote. Perhaps add some manacles to the podium, making so that the Prisoner must be locked into them to complete his challenge.The Heirs: Perhaps a more specific chain of events: The Heirs must take their orb to the podium of one of the higher ranking ones, specifically the Princess or the Betrayer, pushing them out of the way. Playing on the cyclical nature of the ouroboros (self-eating-snake), maybe work it in such that the Betrayer orb and the Heirs orb must take each others' places. Or, since there are classically two leaders (Belial and Fernia), they must have their orbs in the place of both the Betrayer's and the Princess's, while the Betrayer's orb goes to the podium of the Heirs.The Lover: Shorter phrasing with, "The Lover is a thief, reveling in the power stolen from others." I might even add, "Power taken from the helpless is sweeter, still." Just as you have it for the challenge, though with some of the other restrictions in place and with the added part of the quote, that means pretty much that the Lover steals the Prisoner's orb.The Duke: "The Duke in his iron tower stands strong against the attacks of his lessers and the scheming of his betters." The Lover and the Pretender must both touch the Duke's orb, but it must remain in place.The Pretender: "The Pretender rises to power when others fall. With the favor of the King, the Pretender's star rises to fill the void." The Pretender must place his orb into the empty slot of either the Destroyer or the Prisoner.[/sblock]In actual play, that would lead to something like this for the action sequence. It's pretty orderly, which fits the regimented nature of Hell.[sblock="In play, I see it this way:"]Starting positions: Each podium has one orb (or, alternatively, the Heirs podium has two). The Destroyer podium also has a brazier, unlit. The cultists know the rules, and with nine or ten of them, they could get through everything pretty quickly, only needing one (or maybe zero) attacks from the King podium.One PC grasps the lever in the King podium. When he does that, the brazier on the Destroyer's lights up. with enough folks, a lot of things then happen all at once:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Someone heats the Destroyer orb in the fire, then smashes it against the King's orb or podium.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Someone takes the Heirs' orbs to the Princess podium and the Betrayer podium. They replace the orbs native to those podiums with their own.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Once that happens, someone carries the Princess orb to the King podium, handing it to the PC holding the lever.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Also, someone carries the Betrayer orb to the Heirs' podium.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Someone carries the Lover orb to first the Duke podium, touching the Duke's orb, then to the Prisoner podium, taking that orb and carrying it back to the Lover podium.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Someone takes the Pretender orb, touches the Duke orb, then places it into the empty slot of either the Prisoner or the Destroyer.</li> </ul>The PCs would have to prioritize, based on how many are present. It would likely take them longer, making themselves subject to more attacks from the King podium.[/sblock]With all that playing out, that leaves the following as an end state.[sblock="End State:"] <ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Person at the King podium, holding the the lever in one hand and the Princess orb in the other.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Destroyer podium has the Pretender orb in it or is empty. (Person optional.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Betrayer podium has one of the Heir orbs in it. (Person optional.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Princess podium has the other Heir orb in it. (Person optional.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Person at the Prisoner podium, shackled to the podium. May have the Pretender orb, or not.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Heirs podium has the Betrayer orb in it. (Person optional.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Person at the Lover podium, holding Prisoner orb. Lover podium has its own orb on it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Duke podium has its own orb in place, but someone carrying the Lover orb and the Pretender orb must have touched the orb/podium. (Person optional.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Pretender podium empty. (Person optional.)</li> </ol>Once the End State is reached, the door/portal opens up, the shackles on the prisoner open up, the Destroyer orb reforms, and the party can proceed.[/sblock]The scheme in sblocks sets a minimum of three PCs, which seems reasonable. With four or five PCs, you are likely dealing with at least a couple attacks from the King podium, costing some surges. More if the PCs don't know what they are doing.Given the complexity of the puzzle, be sure to provide hints or some way around it.</blockquote>

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