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

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7557319" data-attributes="member: 20323">Thanks, Eltab! I also was thinking along the lines of animating vines...however as I'm leaning on that in other parts of the adventure...I adapted it for a "stone wyrm." Here's the puzzle I ended up with for Sunday's game...<img src="https://i.imgur.com/4hAAdHN.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><img src="https://i.imgur.com/UsKKcnC.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The Nsi Nkondi & Tithing Obelisk[SECTION]An overgrown 60-foot-tall stone obelisk rises from where the hilly jungles meet swampy mire of the Nsi Wastes. The western side of the three-sided obelisk is weathered as if by acid rain, and at the base is a blocky carving of a door; the green face of a bald, bearded, horned man is carved into the false door. The other two sides boast macabre bas reliefs of tormented men and lizardfolk worked into the stone, along with an elaborate carving of a 20-foot long multi-legged horned serpent coiling around the obelisk. At the peak, the obelisk ends in a stupa with a horrid little statue of a gaping impish pterodactyl/dilophosaurus hybrid atop.[/SECTION]After gathering the “Nsi tithe” from river tribes, Ras Nsi’s zombie taxmen would deposit it here. Tribes delinquent in paying taxes would send a representative to engage in silent barter, leaving a surplus of goods/gold as a tax. GUARDIAN GARGOYLESThree unique gargoyles (CR 5) known as Nsi nkondi (Chultan for “Nsi’s spirit-inhabited-object-hunters”) are built into the stonework. If a creature makes a mistake in the puzzle, attempts forced entry, or attempts to destroy/damage the obelisk, the Nsi nkondi will become activated to carry out their mission of destruction. The 3 gargoyles (none of which can move more than 5 feet away from the obelisk) include:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Grandfather Plaque – built into the false door, this gargoyle resembles a yawning bearded devil face.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Spouter – perched at the obelisk’s peak, looking over the eastern false door, this small gargoyle resembles an impish pterodactyl/dilophosaurus hybrid with vestigial wings.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Stone Wyrm – coiled around the obelisk, this gargoyle resembles a wingless multi-legged serpentine drake.</li> </ul>Grandfather Plaque. AC 15, HP 77, gargoyle resistances/immunities, 0 speed, Intelligence 9 (Chultan, Common). Innate spells: (at-will) arcane lock (DC 30 break/pick), magic missile (120’, 3d4+3 force damage). Shout “You Shall Not Pass”: 30-ft-cone, 17 (5d6) thunder damage and deafened for one minute, DC 15 Con half damage, fragile crystalline objects take damage. Anyone who touches the plaque or its guarded door without permission is weakened – dealing half damage with unarmed/weapon attacks – for one minute.The Spouter. Small; AC 15, HP 63, gargoyle resistances/immunities + immune to acid, can’t fly but has Climb (30’) & Slow Fall (-30 damage). Acid Spew: 5-ft range, one creature, DC 15 Dex save or take 21(2d20) acid damage and the creature suffers 5 (1d10) acid damage at the start of each of its turns until immersed in water or succeeding the Dex save at the end of its turn; on a successful save only take half damage, and no ongoing damage; a creature reduced to 0 hit points by this acid is killed as its body is dissolved.Stone Wyrm. Large; AC 15, HP 91, gargoyle resistances/immunities, can’t fly but has Climb (50’). Multiattack (bite + constrict). Bite: +4 to hit, 5 (1d6+2) piercing damage. Constrict: +4 to hit, 6 (1d8+2) bludgeoning damage and target is grappled (escape DC 14), until this grapple ends, the creature is restrained and the stone wyrm can’t constrict another target, failing an Escape action causes a creature to become restrained and begin petrifying, if not freed from the stone wyrm by the end of its next turn, the creature is petrified.THE PUZZLEThe false door is a trap. The actual "door" is a stone block on the 5th tier which is constructed with a downward slanting “sill” and is impossible to move unless a creature chips out grips in the stone and is as strong as a frost giant (Str 23) OR the “sill” beneath is lubricated with water or oil. Five feet from the false door are 4 skulls of different colors representing Ras Nsi’s four major battles; they are arranged in a triangular pattern with the gold skull at the center: White Skull. The skull of the Eshowe chieftain, Showma, is covered in gum arabic and wood ash. Ras Nsi annihilated the entire tribe in retaliation for their attack on Mezro.Green Skull. The skull of Manawabe, the Great Druid of Chult, is adorned with plant arabesques and animal skins hang beneath it. Manawabe traveled the land awakening beasts and creating sanctuaries; viewing Ras Nsi's logging operations as an affront, he prepared an attack but was ambushed by Ras Nsi.Black Skull. The skull of Kaverin Ebonhand is covered in tar and adorned with Batiri goblin fetishes, with a pair of ebony hands dangling beneath. It is cold to the touch. Kaverin orchestrated a goblin attack on Mezro in his quest for the Ring of Winter but was killed by Artus Cimber; during this battle Ras Nsi offered unsanctioned assistance.Gold Skull. The gilded skull of Mezro's champion, Ufuoma, is adorned with a tattered feather headdress. When Ras Nsi attacked Mezro with the intent of overthrowing the insipid King Osaw, it was Ufuoma who led the warriors of Mezro against Ras Nsi’s undead army, ultimately falling in battle before Ras Nsi's army was defeated.The skulls are activated by being touched by an undead creature, by a creature with the Death Curse, by a creature marked by the Devourer, or by a character using Channel Divinity to Turn Undead or Control Undead. A skull’s eyes glow when it is active. If they're activated in the correct sequence historically (1-4), at each step of the sequence, the obelisk lowers one tier; for example, after activating the white skull, the 1st tier sinks below ground. However, each time a skull is improperly activated in the improper order, the Nsi nkondi attack as the DM sees fit.The foundation of the obelisk has four holes stoppered with stone plugs. Similarly, each tier’s floor has holes in it. Activating a skull causes a stone shape spell to shrink the corresponding stone plug, allowing swamp water to fill that tier, causing the obelisk to sink. This in turn causes the pumice stone holding the gargoyle heart to rise like an “island.”THE GARGOYLE'S HEARTWithin the 5th tier of the obelisk, the walls are lined with Chultan inscriptions recording tithes collected from various tribes. Upon a pumice dais at the center is a fist-sized black meteorite flecked with adamantine and pulsing with veins of fire – this is the gargoyle's heart the PCs seek. As the water rises, it lifts the pumice dais (and the gargoyle's heart along with it) up to the 5th tier.Untouched, the heart only weighs 6.2 lbs. Similary, an aarakocra, a creature with the blessing of Aerdrie Faenya or the Wind Dukes (or possibly a chwinga’s charm), or a good character of such purity their “heart weighs less than a feather” can lift the meteorite as if it weighs just 6.2 lbs. However, all others lift it as if it weighs 620 lbs. (requiring Strength 21).CAMPAIGN IMPLICATIONS<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The gargoyle's heart might be used by an alchemist (proficiency in alchemist's supplies) to create an elixir that will slow the Death Curse in an afflicted creature. The procedure requires knowledge of how to utilize gargoyle horn to create a potion of invulnerability and 1,000 gp of various components.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The presence of Acererak's screaming devil face on a monument of Ras Nsi that's well over 100 years old suggests that their relationship dates back farther and is more complex than ToA suggests in the line: Acererak promised to help the yuan-ti if they would guard the Tomb of the Nine Gods. How did Acererak meet the yuan-ti? What drove Ras Nsi to travel to Omu? Help them with what? What if Acererak contacted Ras Nsi after the bara was striped of his powers and guided him to Omu where "destiny awaited the future king of Mezro"? I like that alot...</li> </ul></blockquote>

Verification