Puzzle: Poison Gas Room, and the Riddle of the Buttons
Jan 27, 2014 7:19:35 GMT
DMScotty, wilmanric, and 2 more like this
Post by supergeekmike on Jan 27, 2014 7:19:35 GMT
Hi guys!
This is a riddle I wrote for my D&D game. Basically the set-up is that the players are in a tomb, and when they walk into one particular room the door swings closed behind them. There is another set of doors on the opposite wall, but they cannot be opened.
Set into the wall, there is a shelf with 7 buttons laid out in a row. Inscribed (either on a plaque or a piece of parchment, your call), is the following riddle:
I only want to help you
My neighbor wants you dead
His neighbor’s neighbor doesn’t kill
But knocks you out instead
His brother does the same thing
And is found at table’s end
But his neighbor turns you right to stone
So don’t think him a friend
His neighbor brings you blindness
And is two doors down from me
But the one between us doesn’t kill
Though you two might not agree
There’s another of our number
Who is to my right a ways
He turns your body inside out
And will surely end your days
So now you have your choices
Only I open this room
So will you find safe passage
Or will you find only doom?
Obviously, it's basically just a simple word problem, but it's neat to see all the players grab for paper and pencils and start drawing rows of 7 buttons simultaneously as they crowd around a handout.
Note: One of my players wanted to roll a check to get some sort of clue (I don't remember what the check was, but probably dungeoneering or intelligence). I gave him the clue that the dangling modifiers (the continual use of "his" referring to new buttons) was always referring to the most recently mentioned button. (For example, "His brother does the same thing" refers to the "brother" of the button mentioned in lines 3 and 4, the one who knocks the players out.)
It's a good idea to have a few traps prepared, in case they screw up and hit the wrong button. These are the ones I prepared (from left to right as they would appear on the table in front of the players) - some of them I had to steal from other poisons in the 4th Edition DM Guide, while others I had to crib from earlier editions or make up myself:
THE POSION GAS TRAP
No attack roll necessary. Search (DC 21); Disable Device (DC 25).
CR 7; mechanical; location trigger; repair reset; gas; multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft.-by-10-ft. room); never miss; onset delay (3 rounds); poison (see below, DC 18 Fortitude save resists, 1 Con drain/3d6 Con); Search DC 21; Disable Device DC 21.
First Button: Knock-Out Gas
A yellow gas fills the room and knocks the occupants unconscious.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).
Second Button: Stone Flesh
A dark purple gas begins to fill the room, turning all within to stone.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage and immobilized (save ends both).
Aftereffect: The target is immobilized (save ends).
Third Button: Blindness
A blue-white gas fills the room, and strikes the occupants blind.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Attack: +5 vs. Fortitude; target is blinded (save ends).
Aftereffect: The target is blind (save ends).
• Target grants combat advantage to enemies.
• Target takes a -5 penalty to attack roles.
• Target takes a -10 penalty to perception checks.
• Target cannot flank an enemy.
Fourth Button: Knock-Out Gas
A yellow gas fills the room and knocks the occupants unconscious.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).
Fifth Button: Safe Passage
The iron doors on either side of the room unlock and swing open.
Sixth Button: Poison Gas
A pale green gas fills the room.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Seventh Button: The Gas That Turns You Inside Out
A blood-red gas fills the room, and everyone inside feels their insides begin to churn.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
It's also a good idea to have some rules in place for if the players try to break down the doors.
Hope you guys enjoy it!
This is a riddle I wrote for my D&D game. Basically the set-up is that the players are in a tomb, and when they walk into one particular room the door swings closed behind them. There is another set of doors on the opposite wall, but they cannot be opened.
Set into the wall, there is a shelf with 7 buttons laid out in a row. Inscribed (either on a plaque or a piece of parchment, your call), is the following riddle:
I only want to help you
My neighbor wants you dead
His neighbor’s neighbor doesn’t kill
But knocks you out instead
His brother does the same thing
And is found at table’s end
But his neighbor turns you right to stone
So don’t think him a friend
His neighbor brings you blindness
And is two doors down from me
But the one between us doesn’t kill
Though you two might not agree
There’s another of our number
Who is to my right a ways
He turns your body inside out
And will surely end your days
So now you have your choices
Only I open this room
So will you find safe passage
Or will you find only doom?
Obviously, it's basically just a simple word problem, but it's neat to see all the players grab for paper and pencils and start drawing rows of 7 buttons simultaneously as they crowd around a handout.
Note: One of my players wanted to roll a check to get some sort of clue (I don't remember what the check was, but probably dungeoneering or intelligence). I gave him the clue that the dangling modifiers (the continual use of "his" referring to new buttons) was always referring to the most recently mentioned button. (For example, "His brother does the same thing" refers to the "brother" of the button mentioned in lines 3 and 4, the one who knocks the players out.)
It's a good idea to have a few traps prepared, in case they screw up and hit the wrong button. These are the ones I prepared (from left to right as they would appear on the table in front of the players) - some of them I had to steal from other poisons in the 4th Edition DM Guide, while others I had to crib from earlier editions or make up myself:
THE POSION GAS TRAP
No attack roll necessary. Search (DC 21); Disable Device (DC 25).
CR 7; mechanical; location trigger; repair reset; gas; multiple targets (all targets in a 10-ft.-by-10-ft. room); never miss; onset delay (3 rounds); poison (see below, DC 18 Fortitude save resists, 1 Con drain/3d6 Con); Search DC 21; Disable Device DC 21.
First Button: Knock-Out Gas
A yellow gas fills the room and knocks the occupants unconscious.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).
Second Button: Stone Flesh
A dark purple gas begins to fill the room, turning all within to stone.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage and immobilized (save ends both).
Aftereffect: The target is immobilized (save ends).
Third Button: Blindness
A blue-white gas fills the room, and strikes the occupants blind.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Attack: +5 vs. Fortitude; target is blinded (save ends).
Aftereffect: The target is blind (save ends).
• Target grants combat advantage to enemies.
• Target takes a -5 penalty to attack roles.
• Target takes a -10 penalty to perception checks.
• Target cannot flank an enemy.
Fourth Button: Knock-Out Gas
A yellow gas fills the room and knocks the occupants unconscious.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).
Fifth Button: Safe Passage
The iron doors on either side of the room unlock and swing open.
Sixth Button: Poison Gas
A pale green gas fills the room.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
Seventh Button: The Gas That Turns You Inside Out
A blood-red gas fills the room, and everyone inside feels their insides begin to churn.
Attack: Fortitude save, DC 18.
Hit: Ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).
It's also a good idea to have some rules in place for if the players try to break down the doors.
Hope you guys enjoy it!