“Fountain of Fortunes”- Out of the Box D&D Encounters #17
August 26, 2016
Introduction:
Players and characters have a wide array of value sets and see value in many things. The vast majority see value in monetary things, but this may simply a pragmatic outlook and not greed. The reality is that things generally cost money. However, many others place value on the intangible. Some place value in concepts or ideals. Love, honour, faith, hope, justice, and freedom…, or even death, carnage, corruption and tyranny. Add to that a bit of flavor text I read in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, and we have an encounter.
This encounter touches on that overarching theme of value in a small way. What do the players value or deem sacred?
Environment: Dungeon/Urban/Wilderness… anywhere you want a fountain.
Suggested level: variable. (1-6)
( The players will come upon an elaborate fountain with a floating statue above it. The fountain is 10’ in diameter, only two feet deep, and filled to a depth of 1’ with clear water. Above it floats an unusual and very striking statue. The 10’ tall statue is of two women in robes facing away from each other, but with their arms interlocked at the elbows. This statue floats five feet above the top of the pool. It is itself surrounded by stone statues of warriors in armor. which stand 6’ tall and float in an orbit around the main statues. This series of smaller statues, as well as the main statue, slowing spin in a circle, like a very slowly spinning top held aloft in the air.
The center statue is itself very striking. Both women are beautiful, but very different.
One is either painted black or carved from black stone. She has what look like massive deer antlers. Her expression is judging and displeased, and she looks down below. The other is either painted white or carved from white stone. She wears a blindfold, and smiles gently. She looks upward to the sky. If you’re playing in the Forgotten Realms setting, these could be Beshaba (Mistress of Misfortune) and Tymora (Goddess of Luck), who are not only gods, but sisters (Religion, DC: 12). Otherwise, make them whatever religious or arcane figures you choose.
The Warriors are in a plain grey, yet polished, stone. They are carved as if in elaborate plate armor and stand at attention with no weapons in hand.
Players that approach the pool to within 5’ of it will see things in the water. Scattered upon the floor of the pool will be coins. Some gold, some silver, and some copper. They scatter all about, and the distortion of the water makes it hard to count them accurately. (Optionally, you can choose to add a few low value gems of between 10 to 25gp each, but not many.)
The encounter becomes a choice. Do the characters drop coins in the pool, or do they take them?
If they take any wealth from the pool:
Should the players seek to remove any of the coins from the pool, a voice will be heard from the black goddess statue. “They whom rob a fortune win only poor fortunes!” A number of Warrior statues will then come to life and attack. Statues will take a full action to descend to the ground, after that acting normally on the next round.
Measure the strength of the following encounter by CR level and judgement. The Warrior statues are simply re-skinned Animated Objects (armor). Use only as many as is fair. Therefore, if you need a higher CR, add more floating Warriors. If you need fewer, have fewer Warriors, or have some just float and not animate.
Optionally, you can have the statues attack in waves. One statue animates on the first round. Two animate on the second. Three will then animate on the third. If the players survive three rounds, the attacks end.
Once the waves end, all destroyed statutes will reform, and hover back into place. Optionally, and with permission from any player killed in combat, you might even have a fallen player turn to stone and become one of the Warrior statues in place of a destroyed one. If the player has second thoughts about this choice afterward, feel free to let a Restoration or Remove Curse spell return the corpse to organic form, having been perfectly preserved by the petrification, and therefore able to be resurrected.
Once the statues have been defeated, the Beshaba statue will again speak.
“Your fortune has been cast,” it says, in an ominous tone.
The players can take this however they want. DMs can choose to have this mean future misfortune, or use it as an excuse to set up an ambush or add a trap. A DM could even use this as an explanation for a failed saving throw or ability check in the future. “You know, Beshaba said…”
For those players adamant about raiding the wealth in the pool, see “Treasure” below.
If the players donate treasure into the pool:
The white goddess (Tymora) statue will speak.
“Fortune left is fortune gained,” she will say in a gentle and maternal tone.
A player who donates to the well will receive a boon based on what they leave.
– up to 1 gp value: Gain a one-time bonus of +1 on the next Ability Check they make.
– up to 10gp value: Gain a one-time bonus of +1 on the next Saving Throw they make.
– 50 gp or more: Gain a one-time Advantage on the next Ability Check or Saving Throw they make.
If the players ignore the pool, examine the pool and take nothing, or otherwise leave it physically unmolested, nothing happens.
Monsters: Animated Objects (Armor). As per Monster Manual p.19. Use between 1 to 6, depending on what CR you are trying to achieve.
Treasure: Aside from the possible boons that are given by donating to the pool, the following can be found in the pool if the players take a full 30 minutes to raid the contents. The distortion of the water as well as how slippery the coins will be will make them tricky to collect quickly.
50 gp
750 sp
1000 cp
Complications: Aside from the obvious complications arising from the death or injury of a character as stated in the section above on characters transforming into statues, sloshing around in a pool to steal it’s wealth creates issues. If this is a public park, citizens, especially superstitious ones, will protest this act and might even call for a constabulary/city guard.
One might even wish to have a series of mysterious events, all unlucky, befall any pool robbers until the coins are replaced or reimbursed. The extent of this poor luck is completely up to the DM.
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