Need a Short Dungeon for a Ranger's Tomb

[LordEntrails]

Sounds good. But don't be surprised if the players see things like I did

 

[Quartz]

DC 10 Dexterity saving throw

I'm not a fan of all-or-nothing die rolls. Players can always roll a 1 and then they're stuffed.

 

[pukunui]

I'm not a fan of all-or-nothing die rolls. Players can always roll a 1 and then they're stuffed.

What would you suggest as an alternative?

 

[Quartz]

For starters, since this is a Ranger's tomb, I'd make the first obstacle - likely the entrance - only passable without brute force (and perhaps only detectable) by someone using Primeval Awareness (q.v. alternate uses of Channel Divinity). For each test / obstacle there should be a hard - brute force - way that the Zhents will likely use and an easy thematically appropriate way if the players are clever. This is an opportunity to showcase the ranger's abilities, so go for it.

Along the way there should be tests of character which if failed will involve expenditure of resources if failed - perhaps a fight. Mirrors of Opposition are always good here. Fail the test and fight yourselves. And who says the Mirror has to be glass? It could be silver or even a pool of quicksilver - bonus points for the latter in that if the PCs fail the test their doubles form from the pool and the PCs will have to check their weapons and armour afterwards for damage.

Perhaps the final test could be the Zhents arriving just as they get to the sarcophagus: if the PCs have previously passed the tests of character and say something like, "We will not let you defile this tomb!" then the ghost of the ranger fights alongside them and pronounces them worthy inheritors after; otherwise the ghost does not and the new possessor of the blade is cursed until she proves her worth.

 

[pukunui]

As it turns out, it was a good thing I didn’t put any real effort into this, as my players opted *not* to interfere with the Zhents and just left town the next day.

As agents of the Lords’ Alliance, they filed a report on the situation in Mornbryn’s Shield when they got back to Yartar and then moved on to the next quest: heading into the High Forest in search of Shadowtop Cathedral. (Although they got sidetracked in Calling Horns and are now heading into the Evermoors to hunt trolls.)

That said, I do appreciate all the help everyone gave me in this thread, and I will keep the suggestions in my back pocket in case they prove useful down the track.