D&D 5E (2014) Trying to build a "five room pilgrimage"

[Shades of Eternity]

Trying to figure out a model for doing pilgrimages as a dungeons and dragons adventure. Open to any and all feedback :

1. Introduction (Room One):
   • Location: Characters meet at the starting point of the pilgrimage, perhaps an inn or a town square.
   • Encounter: Introduce the main PCs and NPCs who will be joining the pilgrimage. Each NPC should represent a different character archetype or class, much like the diverse group in "The Canterbury Tales."
2. Rising Action (Room Two):
   • Location: Characters begin their journey on the road, heading towards the first checkpoint.
   • Challenge: Along the way, they encounter obstacles that test their skills and teamwork. This could be a combat encounter with bandits, a navigation challenge through a dense forest, or a social encounter with a group of travelers who offer a different perspective on the pilgrimage.
3. Combat or Roleplaying Challenge (Room Three):
   • Location: Characters arrive at the first major checkpoint, a sacred site or a shrine dedicated to a deity.
   • Challenge: The characters face a significant challenge that tests their resolve and their commitment to the pilgrimage. This could involve a combat encounter with monsters guarding the site or a roleplaying challenge where they must negotiate with devotees of the deity.
4. Discovery (Room Four):
   • Location: Characters continue their journey towards the next checkpoint, delving deeper into the world's lore and history.
   • Revelation: Characters uncover a hidden secret or piece of information related to the pilgrimage's purpose. This revelation could change their perspective on the journey and provide new motivation for completing it.
5. Final Confrontation (Room Five):
   • Location: Characters reach the final destination of the pilgrimage, a grand cathedral or a sacred grove.
   • Climactic Encounter: The characters face a final challenge that tests their faith, resolve, or character development. This could involve a confrontation with a powerful deity, a moral dilemma that requires a difficult choice, or a showdown with a rival group seeking the same goal.

 

[Shardstone]

Rename 2 to "Test of Faith," 3 to "Test of Virtue," and 4 to "Revelation" and I'd sign off on this.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm a big fan of the five room dungeon model and am currently working on my first point crawl. Blending the two like this seems like a natural way to go.

Remember that all the pilgrims have to each tell an interesting story about themselves, preferably in verse, and some of them should be absolutely filthy.

 

[Blue Orange]

Depending how Christian you want to make this, you could center 2-4 around the virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

Alternatively, there are four pagan cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude/courage and temperance, which seem a little more game-friendly given D&D rules.

Prudence means choosing the right course of action--good place for a puzzle, especially one that regards caution.

Justice--well, you can be fighting evildoers, but you might also have to find a solution to a problem that's fair to everyone.

Fortitude/courage--look, D&D is a combat system, this is the chance to break out the intermediate (or climactic) fights, particularly against a seemingly overwhelming enemy.

Temperance--you could do this at the start with the party having to keep from getting drunk, or at the end having to control themselves from looting.

 

[Shades of Eternity]

I was thinking of basing them on whatever saint they were going to.

I guess each pilgrimage will be based on what domain is based on. (ex. Arcana, Grave, etc)

I think I want to give it an almost ultima 8 virtues feel (so when done, get a divine boon).

 

[Burnside]

I favor a structure where your number 2 is number 1, and anything important from number 1 will come up organically as you move forward. Good stories start in the middle.