Ideas needed for str & dex tests

[aerus2800]

I'm having the group go through a round of tests which they get to pick from. There are six tests one for each stat. I have ideas for the others but im having trouble thinking of good and creative tests for strength & dexterity.
For example for constitution the PC will have to run a marathon making Con checks while being subjected to poisons and diseases which they will have to make successful Con checks or possibly lose the race. (The tests are all an illusion so they dont really get sick/poisoned but they think it.)
I would like to know any ideas for tests you have that involve strength & dexterity. Since all of this is an illusion death is an option for failing the puzzle/test.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I'm having the group go through a round of tests which they get to pick from. There are six tests one for each stat. I have ideas for the others but im having trouble thinking of good and creative tests for strength & dexterity.
For example for constitution the PC will have to run a marathon making Con checks while being subjected to poisons and diseases which they will have to make successful Con checks or possibly lose the race. (The tests are all an illusion so they dont really get sick/poisoned but they think it.)
I would like to know any ideas for tests you have that involve strength & dexterity. Since all of this is an illusion death is an option for failing the puzzle/test.

For a Strength test, you might consider an arm-wrestling contest with an ogre. Each round, make an opposed strength check, the winner moving the loser one step closer to defeat. There can be between five and ten steps between "center" and "defeat" depending on how long you want the contest to last.

For dexterity, consider a balancing test. Perhaps walking across a maze of beams suspended over a pit of acid, or some such. The more difficult you want it to be, the narrower the beams, possibly with some inclined, others slippery, etc. Of course, this kind of test would allow a Balance check, rather than a pure Dex check, so it may not be what you're looking for...

 

[fba827]

For Strength, arm wrestling comes to mind (as was already mentioned), or any form of wrestling. Also, stuff involving bull-rushes (maybe how far past the line do you bull-rush a particular weighted object/large rock, etc.


For Dexterity, the idea of balancing on stuff also came to mind. but that keeps drawing back to balance skill checks rather than a Dex ability check. I was also thinking of taking aim at something but again that goes to BAB plus dex modifier... The only thing I can think of might be catching something.... say a long stick with measured marks on it (for the sake of this example, call it a ruler). The participant makes an open cup with his hand (like the letter C on it's side) with the ruler dangling above. The ruler is released and the person tries to catch it. The person with the best dexterity (i.e. best dex check roll) is the person who catches it the quicest (i.e. at the lowest measurment mark on the ruler).

I dunno.. best I can think of without going in the realm of skill checks and attack checks...

 

[Felix]

For strength tests, check out a Worlds Strongest Man website. Lifting cars (carts), dragging things, caber tossing...

For dexterity, look at the Great Outdoor Games. The log roll (log in the water, two people run on it at the same time trying to get the other to fall), the log run (logs in a line in the water, the contestant has to run accross them).

Also for dex, a lot of obstacle courses could be dex based: running through tires, 30 foot high balance beam...

Links to the WSM and GOG can be found on the ESPN.com page.

 

[Someone]

Once in the campaing I´m DMing the character had to become members of an orc tribe (don´t ask) Anyway, they had to pass some test of strenght (lift a rock) dexterity (hit a target with a throwing dagger) and resistance (holding a pair of enchated bones that caused excruciating pain)

 

[Terwox]

*laugh*
i almost read this one.
then i saw the name of who posted it!
fear not, i stopped reading after the first line.
oh well. here's to rogue/paladins.
furthermore, before i forget, i remembered deities and demigods, and it'll be there. yupyup.

it's funny, i'm used to ignoring the stuff that's like "my players stay out!" hah.

 

[RangerWickett]

Arm Wrestling
Target Number/DS: 20/Opposed.

Arm wrestling is a simple test of opposed arm strength. Two competitors sit across a table from each other, clasp matching hands (right and right, or left and left), and try to shove the other person’s hand to the surface of the table.

Mechanics: Each round, competitors make opposed Strength checks, making a note of the difference between the two results. The winner gains this amount as his Degree of Success (DS). Once a character's DS equals the competition's target number, that character wins. A competition starts with each character having DS 0.

Repeat this process each subsequent round. If the leading character wins, the difference between the winner’s check result and the loser’s is added to the winner’s DS. If the trailing character wins, the difference is subtracted from the leading character’s DS (this can result in a DS below 0). In this type of competition, a lot of “to-ing and fro-ing ” may take place.

For example, Lydia is arm wrestling with an Ogre. Arm wrestling has a Target Number of 20. In the first round, Lydia’s Strength check beats the Ogre’s by 5, so Lydia’s DS is 5. In the second round, the ogre beats Lydia by 8, pushing her DS down to -3. In the third round, the ogre beats her by 6, giving him a DS of 6. Lydia manages to push back slightly in the fourth round, beating the ogre by 1 and reducing his DS to 5, but in the fifth round, the ogre beats her by 8 again, giving him a DS of 13. If he beats her by 7 or more in the next round, he will have won the arm-wrestle.

If neither competitor reaches the Target Number quickly, they may begin to tire. A character can arm wrestle for a number of rounds equal to her Constitution, but after that, she must succeed a Constitution check (DC 10) to continue to arm wrestle. She must check again each round, and the DC increases by 1 for each check she has made. Characters with the Endurance feat gain a +4 bonus to this Constitution check.

When she fails this check, she can no longer arm wrestle, and automatically loses. If both competitors fail their Constitution checks in the same round, then the winner is whoever had the higher DS (Degree of Success).

A character that fails the above Constitution check incurs a –2 penalty to all Strength-based rolls involving that arm until she can rest for at least one minute.

Variants and Optional Rules: Sometimes an arm wrestle is conducted over a pair of spikes or flames, positioned so that the loser’s hand is injured. If this variant is being played, the loser takes 1d4 points of damage, plus the winner’s strength bonus. In addition, her hand is considered injured, incurring a –2 penalty to skills that require the use of that hand, and to attack rolls with that hand. This lasts until the injury is healed.

Mages occasionally play psychic arm wrestling, using their own mage hand spells (or, in rare cases, Big hand spells) to wrestle. Instead of Strength checks, use opposed caster level checks. Psions can likewise perform battles of wills (this counts as using a talent), using Charisma instead of Strength, and Wisdom instead of Constitution.

 

[Magic Missile]

Here's a crazy idea; have a group of arm wrestling opponents lined up each with a higher STR than the last... so starting off with say a Kobold, and going right up to something like a Hill Giant? Then you wrestle each one in turn (maybe best 2 of 3) and see how far you get...

 

[Norfleet]

The classic dexterity test involves jamming a knife blade between your fingers at decidedly unsafe speeds. The first one to hit one of his fingers loses. There's also the classic one which involves a woman chained to a wall, and the contestants throw knives at her until somebody hits and kills her, thereby losing, or manage to cut off all her clothes.

The strength+con test of choice involves two opponents who grasp each other by the shoulders and repeatedly headbutt each other until one of them passes out.