My PCs feel the need to fix the dam at Skull Crossing permanently. They asked Mvashti how to do it. (For some reason, they are convinced that Mvashti is a powerful faerie. She hasn't bothered to contradict them.) She did a card-reading for them that showed a giantish woman (Conna), a string-pattern holding stars in its mesh (spirit quest) and a ghost (Conna's murdered husband).
They now have an alliance with Conna and can ask her what this means. She will say that she can't help them directly, but she can send a PC on a spirit quest to find the needed stone-strengthening magic, as that is the sort of thing the stone giant ancestors know about.
I expect that the PC priest of Erastil will do this. For a different PC it'd have to be adapted somewhat. My strategy in running this will be that failed saves/skill checks are just setbacks, not losses. The only way to lose will be to make a clearly wrong decision or give up.
The PC will find himself climbing a harsh stone mountain, and will have the following encounters. Conna will have warned the PC that to fly/teleport at any point is to leave the quest behind: it is a quest of earth and must remain grounded.
(1) Wolf. A dire wolf one size larger than the PC will offer to carry the PC upwards. A DC20 Religion check will remind the PC that "stand on your own feet" is an important principle in giantish religion. If the PC mounts the wolf, it will try to carry him downhill (5 rounds total). He can master it with a DC30 Ride, dismount safely with the usual Ride check, fall off for 2d6 damage, or try to cast with a DC15 concentration check--various spells can work here. If the wolf reaches the bottom it mocks the PC and vanishes, and the PC will be Fatigued by the time he gets back up.
(2) Servant of Erastil. A giant wearing Deadeye's sign will meet the PC at the bottom of a sheer cliff. He will ask about the PC's mission and perhaps about any major decision the PC has recently made. If satisfied, he will show the PC the subtle handholds which will allow ascent. Otherwise it is a DC30 Climb.
(3) Cave bear. A dire bear confronts the PC at the mouth of a dark cave. Ask the player what has been the PC's moment of greatest (non-magical) terror. If the PC overcame that terror, he can re-experience it and pass the bear. If not, he must make a DC20 Will save. If he fails but still approaches, the bear will strike him, leaving scars on his back to symbolize the scourging out of cowardice. Fighting the bear is an option but should be done in a way that shows courage. (Wrestling the bear is a great folkloric solution. Of course the PC is likely to lose, but being brave enough to do it is enough.) Beyond the bear, the PC must climb up through a dark cavern to emerge finally at the mountaintop.
(4) Ancestress. A giantess who resembles Conna (one of her ancestors) will ask the PC what he has come for, and then will three times offer "Is there a boon you would ask for yourself before taking the stone that will mend the dam?" This is the real test, as it tests Greed. If the PC asks for a boon he will be given a modest one, but he will not accomplish his quest. If he demands to know why, the giantess will tell him the Greed will give him over to Karzoug in the end.
Otherwise, the giantess will give the PC a rock he can barely carry. The PC may ask, after receiving it, for a boon to help carry it; if so, she grants +4 Strength for the duration of the descent. (At the GM's option, the PC might permanently gain the ability to invoke _bull's strength_ once a day as a caster of his level.)
(5) Descent. The way down is a different path than the way up, but the heavy stone is a problem. Three DC18 Str checks need to be made. Failure by 5 or less means the PC must set the stone down and rest; failure by more than 5 means it falls and rolls to the bottom. Spells can be used here, but the PC must carry the stone himself, not have a summoning or disk carry it--if he tries that, the stone falls.
(6) Stone pile. If the PC dropped the stone, it has rolled here into a big pile of identical stones. There are a lot of ways to find it, including a DC20 Search check, Scent, Tracking, Wilderness Survival, augury, etc. If the PC walks off with the wrong stone he fails but may try again.
If the PC successfully returns with the stone, he can set it into a gap in Skull Crossing and it will repair the damage that has been done. This is not, as the ancestor giant will tell him, a permanent solution: even mountains wear away in the end. But it's a solution for many stone giant lifetimes.
I'd run this fairly rules-light, focusing on giving the PC some chance to reflect on morality and the future. I don't know if it fits into anyone else's game, but perhaps there's a usable idea here somewhere.
Mary
Seems like a really good idea. You've managed to really incorporate a lot of the background information from the articale on the stone giants into this. It should really show the culture of the stone giants, that they are a proud and ancient people not just some monster to hack and slash their way through. It really shows an interesting and very different culture and makes the pc's interct with it. I think that this will be a great roleplaying oppurtunity for your players.
I do have a couple of quick questions. Will the quest be just for the person undertaking it or will the whole party be able to help but the one who has undertaken it will be the only one allowed to actually DO the task? Alo will it be a real quest up a real mountain or take place in a dream or spirit realm?
I do have a couple of quick questions. Will the quest be just for the person undertaking it or will the whole party be able to help but the one who has undertaken it will be the only one allowed to actually DO the task? Alo will it be a real quest up a real mountain or take place in a dream or spirit realm?
My campaign has only one player (five PCs) so it's not a problem for me to have one PC do it, and it will give a nice spotlight opportunity. In a multi-player game I'd think about a version that would allow the other PCs to help, because otherwise the other players will sit around for too long. (Or it could be run between sessions, if that works for the group.)
I was picturing it as being in the dream realm, to encourage a sense that what the PC intends is more important than the physical details of what he does. My PCs are all culturally Varisian and take things like dreams quite seriously.
Mary
Sounds like it will work perfectly in your game. I agree with you on place the quest in a dream like realm. It may just be my players but if it where on an actual mountain they would probably go all psycho adventurer and start slaughtering things. "A talking dire wolf offering us a lift, kill it then sell its hide!". Again maybe just my players.
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Not that it would matter at all, but I like symmetry. I think perhaps SEVEN tests might be more appropriate.
Alternatively one could use seven "virtues". Basically test each virtue.
Or, simply offer up a sin and see if the pC succumbs to it:
Example: Test 7 (the final and toughest test) could be a test of Greed. An Earth Elemental Archon offers a "stone" than can be used to fix the dam. However, it can be used to transform the characters skin to the hardness of stone (DR 5 or some such). Choose to transform self, and while "huzzah" DR 5, you are now marked as an "enemy" of earth. All earth creatures ignore your DR and gain a +4 to all attacks, saves vs., etc.
It's a neat idea Mary, thanks for sharing.
This is soooooooo kewl. I really like it and I use the spirit stuff/realm in my campaign and this so works for one of my players esp. thanks