Rickenbacker
First Post
Thanks, all! Definitely a few ideas up there I'll use. What I was looking for was not so much plot movers than "dungeon-dressing"-type encounters. Mundane objects, natural phenomena, etc.
Non-combat encounter ideas?
- Thread starter Rickenbacker
- Start date
Dark Dragon
Explorer
Some ideas for natural phenomena in an old mine:
- old bridges likely to break => need some ideas to cross a chasm. Players get some fine ideas unless they simply use Dim.Door, Fly, et al. Depends on your PC levels.
- release of toxic, possibly inflammable gas. Roll saves secretly. Maybe give some hints: strange smell, hissing noise. PCs need to find a way to deal with the situation.
- party is separated by a collapsing tunnel, maybe one PC is half-buried and needs to be saved while monsters attack. BUT: splitting the party may be quite a headache for the DM!
- tunnels are flooded with ice cold water (clear, or full of particles) => maybe poor sight, danger from cold water, length of tunnels unkonwn (but maybe there are some bubbles with air)
- large groups of foes need to passed without getting noticed, or guard posts must be avoided because foes there are obviously tough!
- old equipment can be reactivated to solve a problem (like old lorries or so).
Watch some movies for ideas:
- Indiana Jones movies (nice traps and obstacles, especially in Temple of Doom, and the Last Crusade)
- The 13th warrior (party makes the way through the caves)
- Sanctum (divers locked in caves due to flooding)
- The Cave (horror movie)
- Lord of the Rings (Mines of Moria)
...
- old bridges likely to break => need some ideas to cross a chasm. Players get some fine ideas unless they simply use Dim.Door, Fly, et al. Depends on your PC levels.
- release of toxic, possibly inflammable gas. Roll saves secretly. Maybe give some hints: strange smell, hissing noise. PCs need to find a way to deal with the situation.
- party is separated by a collapsing tunnel, maybe one PC is half-buried and needs to be saved while monsters attack. BUT: splitting the party may be quite a headache for the DM!
- tunnels are flooded with ice cold water (clear, or full of particles) => maybe poor sight, danger from cold water, length of tunnels unkonwn (but maybe there are some bubbles with air)
- large groups of foes need to passed without getting noticed, or guard posts must be avoided because foes there are obviously tough!
- old equipment can be reactivated to solve a problem (like old lorries or so).
Watch some movies for ideas:
- Indiana Jones movies (nice traps and obstacles, especially in Temple of Doom, and the Last Crusade)
- The 13th warrior (party makes the way through the caves)
- Sanctum (divers locked in caves due to flooding)
- The Cave (horror movie)
- Lord of the Rings (Mines of Moria)
...
An abandoned journal is always an interesting hook. Just make sure that you put the prep work in, because this is not something that can be improvised. (I recommend that it be damaged with only a few legible sections, for obvious reasons.)
Strange pools of water can attract the PCs' attention. In a metal mine, I'd expect the run-off to be coloured by an oxide, but anything goes in fantasy.
Changes in air pressure underground can produce unexpected air currents. These might be directly felt by the PCs, or they might hear wind howling through constricted passages.
Strange pools of water can attract the PCs' attention. In a metal mine, I'd expect the run-off to be coloured by an oxide, but anything goes in fantasy.
Changes in air pressure underground can produce unexpected air currents. These might be directly felt by the PCs, or they might hear wind howling through constricted passages.
