The Hero Test

[herrozerro]

I am going to be running a session soon where a character is going to be appealing to a dragon to become its champion and While I do have the vague idea of what I want, im not quite sure how to implement it.

My initial idea would be a series of three tests: Mind (wisdom), Body (Power) and Spirit (Heart).

For the Mind and body, I have a good idea of what I want to do. A riddle for Mind and since they will be in a library a skill challenge to find clues. For Body I was thinking a solo fight (not against a solo but rather a fight one on one).

Though Spirit is the one that I am failing at. My initial Idea is to place the PC/PCs in a situation and they must find the truth in the matter and proceed "right" way. For instance deciding to sacrifice oneself or another person for the greater good.

Now, over all I do have some concerns for each test, foremost is that I dont want the other members sitting around with nothing to do, Easy to solve for Mind because the entire party can scour the library for clues. Spirit is also easy depending on the situation where the party can deliberate on what the "right" course of action would be.

But a solo fight seems to be the only one I cannot come up with a good way for the whole party to participate.

My only other concern is the test is supposed to be hard. and failure of one part means a failure overall. While I love the idea that passing means one would be totally confirmed as the hero, I also realize that a few bad rolls can totally ruin the moment.

I want the player to succeed but I dont want it to appear to have a safety net underneath.

Ideas? comments? thoughts?

 

[Eloi]

Suggestion: index crystal within library

If this is a magical library, my suggestion is to utilize the library's fixed magic crystal index, solidly mounted and clearly not coming out without becoming valueless, which the other PC folks can interface with during the Body fight.

Allow the supporting characters to use their own energies to turn the tide in favor of (or potentially against, if they whim) their champion. By investing a sixth of their individual hp in each attempt, they could each choose to roll a skill challenge against the crystal (knowledge repository of the library) to aid their champion. Magically inclined folks can sacrifice the energy from the day's spell levels at a 5:1 ratio for hit points - a Mage with 60 hit points might expend a second level spell's energy, rather than 10 hp. The index is very accepting of magic power. [DM: Track all hit point energy, spells and otherwise, invested in the index, as well as final ranks of skill challenges and Knowledge Skills invested in, see below.] Hit points lost can be healed normally.

The first skill challenge attempt is simple, DC 5, against any skill the character possesses. Physical skills are simulated within the index on a mental level. Failure has only two results, expenditure of energy without gain, and the index gains power. Success has three results: the PC in the Body fight gains a reroll (as the Fate of One, Clairsentience/Seer power, lvl 7), the supporting character expends energy, which the index gains, and the skill challenge difficulty increases by 5 or half the amount the PC won the contest by, whichever is greater. On a critical success, the PC also infuses some positive quality of their own into the index, which will be useful in the Spirit phase of the testing. On a critical failure, however, the PC "shares deeply", essentially sharing their life story with the index, and granting the index the ability to buy skills up to the skill ranks possessed by the PC, depending on available index power. The index may behave quirkily and display mannerisms which emulate the PC in the future, and may invest in Knowledge Skill: (Sharing PC) ranks.

Should the PC choose to intervene negatively (i.e., against the PC in the Body fight), the energy is expended, the index gains power, and the PC in the fight receives a -4 to one saving roll, attack roll, or skill check (DC 18 Fort save to avoid, DC increasing by 4 for each additional intervention from any source). The index will secretly invest index power to acquire Knowledge Skill: (Intervening PC) up to whatever rank it deems useful, according to available index power.

The index will cheer the fight once it gains empathy, and will encourage spellcasters especially to back their champion with all they have. The index may gain considerable power from use, depending on how extensive the character investment becomes. A character who chooses to use the index crystal six or more times during the fight may knock themselves unconscious at 0 hp or below (but will autostabilize immediately) and will unwittingly grant the index access to their core insights; the index may, at that time, acquire a purpose. This adds a strong infusion of personality to the index, and it may select a name at this point.

The index may spend power to increase its mental and other attributes, with an index point being equivalent to 50 virtual gold, "spent" in accordance with the Intelligent Items portion of the SRD. Treat the index as a pre-intelligent magic item, initially with 10 in all three mental stats (just below the +1000 gold base version), aligned as the Dragon whose library it is (if it isn't the Dragon's library, it starts as Neutral). Once it has acquired 20 index points, its first purchase will be to make itself self-aware, "spending" 1000 gold and gaining power as per the item intelligence table. (See the 01-34% line, "+1000 Base Price Modifier" for details.)

It may acquire skills at 50 gold/rank, up to the DC of the skill challenges presented, but will most likely increase its base price modifier to +15000 gold quietly, gaining in internal power and complexity.

The index will be very interested in future friendly interaction to increase its depth, range and breadth of power, and may have several potential quests to offer (libraries are full of hints of ancient treasures, "last known sightings" and links to technologies lost to mortal ken - and secret libraries). Depending on the possible infusions the PCs have made to enhance the personality of the index, it could be a new ally (although immobile), an uncaring information resource, or even a puppeteer. If the index has acquired a purpose, it will spend considerable effort to ensure that the PCs are well aware of how desirable it would be to study and research at the speed of crystal, interrogate captives, and perhaps even try out new tricks through sparring with index assistance. It will encourage spellcasters to feed more spells into the index, so it can learn more.

The index, if accessed by others seeking to catch up with the PCs, might arrange things so that a fight might take place nearby between PCs and pursuers, so the index might be pressed again into service. Attempts to tell a real PC from a Doppleganger might be significantly aided by the index. If the test of Spirit ends in a tie, testimony from the index might sway the outcome in favor of the PCs.

If you feel like advancing the index faster, consider making each index-access contest a bit more expensive, perhaps a fifth of the intervening character's hit points. And the smarter the index gets, the more it will be interested in Divination spells, such as Contact other Plane. Of course, depending on what the index has shared, it could be afire with zeal and chock full of Paladin spells - YMMV.

 

[aco175]

Have you asked the players? Everyone else may be ok with watching for a fight so one player can shine, or they can become upset because they too came for fun. There could be some staged fight, or rather a test sent by the dragon to challenge them- him mostly, but one is judged by one's friends. It could be a regular fight, but one bad guy champion seeks out this one character for an honor duel in the middle of this larger fight.