Sometimes my players are really ingenious...

[Carnifex]

I put up a post a while back for ideas fora non-combat encounter with a solar beholderkin, a fire-based beholder variant, and got some great ideas given to me (thanks guys!) I had the encounter set up, but now things have taken an interesting new turn...

(It's an online message-board game BTW, in case some facets of it seem a bit odd).

The party, in a mountain ravine, encounter the solar beholder. IT's a species of lazy, rock-eating beholder that likes to lounge in the sun; neutral evil, but not actively evil, instead they hate being disturbed and are territorial and will kill people who wander into them without any qualms. The party is no-where near hard enough to take it in combat; I want to force a non-combat encounter because fighting the beast simply isn't an option,

Anyway, the idea I filched from my previous thread was that in a nearby cave, there's some nice tasty mineral stalagmites the beholder wants to eat, but ti doesn't want to go out of the sun and into the deep, dark cave. It has, however, been collecting mirrors from its victims and will let the party go unharmed if they use the mirrors to shine light on it so it can get to the minerals while still in the sun.

And then one of my players just showed real ingenuity. Here's his email to me detailing what he wants to do...

Kale's got a plan, it might just work. He and Cord are going to clear out a flat place on the ground, make some sandpates, then melt the stuff down to glass, burned down opaque.

Plenty of sand, an eye for a furnace, and Cord's got a bit of mineral knowledge. The good news is that glass cooked and contaminated enough to become opaque and black is really easy to make- it's what you don't want to make when you're making windows. One of those things Kale picked up when he wondered why window glass was sold for so much in Iril.

Anyway, here's the thing. As they work, the others are just going to be an inconvenience, they're not worth anything anyway, so why not let them go? In the intervening time, they may have time to get help from the iron hawk tower, or plan an ambush themseleves. Not like the thing would think they'd do anything but run when given the chance. As for Kale and Cord, they stick around and make glass. If it doesn't work, they try to blaze a way out. If it does work, the thick panes can be arrayed about the south wall of the ravine opening, curved like a reflector oven that the orb can sit in. Aah, extra warmth. Best thing is, it was something made by his power that no one else in the world has.

Go Team.

Sorry, I just had to share that piece of sheer ingenuity. I was so impressed when I read that email. Bonus XP, methinks...