Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pukunui" data-source="post: 6722806" data-attributes="member: 54629">Here's kinda what I'm thinking at the moment, though I'm still very much unsure:1) There's the main crypt, with a sarcophagus in the center and a tapestry of the PC's ancestor hanging on the wall behind. The tapestry depicts the ancestor gesturing (at the sarcophagus) with her axe. The idea being that the PCs are supposed to take that as a clue to look inside the sarcophagus, which turns out to be more like a well, with a shaft leading down into the darkness.2) At the bottom of the shaft is a room with old frescoes depicting the ancestor battling various monsters, including a minotaur. On one wall there's a frieze of the ancestor brandishing her axe. On the opposite wall is a pair of iron doors bearing the following inscription: "Voiceless I cry, wingless I flutter, toothless I bite, mouthless I mutter, what am I?"3) When the correct answer is given, the doors blow open to reveal a 60-foot long corridor with a permanent gust of wind spell blowing down it. Everyone except the PC whose ancestor is buried here has disadvantage on their Strength save against the spell.4) At the opposite end of the corridor is another chamber with a skeletal minotaur guarding it. Besting the minotaur allows access to the real tomb of the ancestor.5) In the tomb is a statue of the ancestor in the same pose as the frieze, but without anything in her hands. The idea is for the PC to put her axe in the statue's hands.I'm more or less happy with this, though I think some of the details - and maybe even the order - could do with some tweaking.I'm still unsure as to whether or not I should make it so her current axe gets transformed into or replaced with a magical version.If I go with the former, I could use the Last Crusade theme, and make it so she's supposed to pick the "correct" axe to put in the statue's hands. If she puts the right one in, it gets all magicked up.I also figured out how to clue her in to the fact that it's meant to be the one she's already got: In the initial adventure hook, I had her brother mention that their father's research had suggested that the axe the PC carries is just a replica. So when she's looking around the earlier chambers, I'll make sure to mention that the axe she's got looks just like the one that her ancestor is depicted as wielding in the tapestry and the frescoes and such, whereas none of the other axes in the final chamber will look like it.If I go with the latter, and make it so she replaces her current "replica" axe with the real original version, then I could just have it function as a key. She has to put it in the statue's hands and that unlocks the door to the ancestor's actual burial place, where she finds the real axe resting on top of her ancestor's body or something.As for the axe itself: I'm still undecided on what exactly I want it to do as well. If I go with the ancestor's spirit inhabiting the axe thing, I might forego making it an actual sentient axe and just use some of the special properties in the DMG to emulate it (like giving it the Guardian and Confident properties, for instance).I'm thinking, though, that for my own sanity, if nothing else, I should keep it simple to start with. So in addition to the above two properties, I'll either make it so she can throw it, make it so she can cast something like thunderous smite or thunderwave from it once a day, or give her a 1/day use of the tempest cleric's Wrath of the Storm feature.As she gains levels, I can start powering it up more. So maybe I could upgrade the thrown property so it deals extra lightning or thunder damage (like a dwarven thrower), or make it so it can cast storm sphere or something from it as well. Thoughts?</blockquote>

Verification