How would something along the lines of the Highland Games suit, perhaps with the PCs facing off against the current champions?
looking for a little advice!
my PC's have been dealing with some other planar enemies recently (the precursor to a large invasion) and they've learned that cold iron weapons can bypass their DR. as a result im going to try and send them on a diplomatic mission to a dwarven stronghold to negotiate for a cold iron trade route, rather than just letting them pick up whatever they like down at bobs bargain weapons.
i was thinking it might be fun to have the dwarves want them to go through some kind of initiation rite (the PCs patron has dealt with the dwarves before, and they are not his greatest fans, so want some kind of reassurance as to the PCs good character) before they will talk turkey.
i had a few ideas rolling around in my head, and was hoping people might be able to suggest a few more for me. so far there is the typical 'go and kill this monster', or the standard drinking contest. maybe getting them to try and tame a hippogryph or similar, or some kind of olympic games type event with hammer throwing and so forth.
your thoughts welcome!
Obviously whatever it is involves multiple challenges, each one prefaced with a Drinking contest, and the winner of that gets a headstart or whatever!!
Obviously whatever it is involves multiple challenges, each one prefaced with a Drinking contest, and the winner of that gets a headstart or whatever!!
Remember the drinking scene at the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Arc. Like that, but with dwarves.
Some kind of weird race or test that only they do could be a lot of fun to inflict on them. Witness, for example, chasing a wheel of cheese down a steep slope:
Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling 2009 - YouTube
I once had the players ride a big log down a slope in an OA game like in the Onbashira festival in Suwa, Japan.
Some craftsdwarf has gone insane and is making crazy demands. The PCs could fix him, or appease his demands to return him to sanity, and he could make something cool for them too.
The dwarves have dug too deep, and hit magma and demons. They could use some help.
Alternatively, drunken ballista shooting. First, the standard drinking contest. That's just the pre-game though. Part two is the PCs working as a team against a dwarven team to hit some inanimate targets with ballistas. If they fail spectacularly, maybe they hit the statue of the dwarf mayor or important.
They must complete the Ritual of Manhood...
For Dwarves, definitely a drinking contest. Although having to properly smith a magic sword or something would be appropriate (though ludicrously hard and time consuming).
For the low constitution characters who can't handle the drinking and the throwing, perhaps they can get sent to the dusty underground libraries to precisely catalogue the Dwarven ancestral histories and genealogies in perfect chronological order?
Or perhaps they have to drink until their constitution improves!!!
Just wipe out the little pests and take all the iron you need. Enslave some as workforce if you can't find a decent smith with the other races (which you should be able to do).
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I second the Highland Games suggestion. Perhaps the PCs are arriving just in time for the local clan's yearly festival, and they have to prove themselves in the contests. Be sure to include at least one heavy event (caber toss, sheaf toss, hammer over the bar, etc.), one display of arms (preferably the ceremonial axe), one musical event, one animal show (Handle Animal/Ride checks?) and of course, a drinking contest.
The "judge the local brewing contest" is a great idea too. Con checks to endure the brew, followed by Charisma checks to describe the ones they liked. It'd sure be a great way to prove to the dwarves that they respect their culture.
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I agree with the "judges at a brewing contest" idea.
anyway, im trying to make it into a bit more of a 'join the clan' type ritual - something that all dwarves go through once they reach a certain maturity level. will have to work up some rules for drinking, i was thinking of treating it as a mild poison that does temporary dex damage perhaps. or ask the players to choose the kind of drunk their PC is, and RP accordingly (angry drunk, sad drunk etc)
DEX, INT and WIS damage!! (The INT and WIS represent the possibility of waking up in bed with...)
Some rules for drunkenness that you can build on if you want to.
Common coming of age type tests you might want to consider:
Kill (type) of beast alone using (favoured local weapon)
Survive in the wilderness without equipment for a set length of time
Contests (fights, races, sport events)
Vision quests
Ordeals (take a tattoo/brand/wound without flinching, walk across hot coals, or take on some of the fianna entry tasks
Create an elaborate stonework combination puzzle/maze that is used as a dwarven rite of passage. Have it include elements that play to dwarven racial abilities, such as unusual stonework and possibly multi-stage traps where successfully resisting getting tripped prevents the secondary traps from triggering. A laborious, repetitive task could be one of the challenges, as could rune deciphering/geometric arranging.
As a result I'm going to try and send them on a diplomatic mission to a Dwarven stronghold to negotiate for a cold iron trade route, rather than just letting them pick up whatever they like down at bobs bargain weapons.
Why do they need to trade with dwarves? Cold iron is not a unique, rare, or exotic material that must be adventured for. It's just NORMAL IRON ORE that has been forged at lower temperatures. They should be able to get the iron ore from most anywhere. All they need do is educate their local smiths in the new forging procedures. If it helps them make more money and to save their homes/businesses, they should be readily compliant.
As a result I'm going to try and send them on a diplomatic mission to a Dwarven stronghold to negotiate for a cold iron trade route, rather than just letting them pick up whatever they like down at bobs bargain weapons.Why do they need to trade with dwarves? Cold iron is not a unique, rare, or exotic material that must be adventured for. It's just NORMAL IRON ORE that has been forged at lower temperatures. They should be able to get the iron ore from most anywhere. All they need do is educate their local smiths in the new forging procedures. If it helps them make more money and to save their homes/businesses, they should be readily compliant.
Don't be such a Raving Dork!!
Because it will be fun :)
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The drinking games could be used, but are rather cliche. Almost like trying to get accepted by elves you have to go make love to a tree. Or would be like going Japan and drinking a lot of Sake and now you are Japanese.
Instead you could consider what is considered dwarven culture. Loyalty, family, history, honor, tradition. Personally I would make my challenges centered around these concepts. The PCs have to recite the enter history of the Dwarven clans, embrace their religion, prove their loyalty to the dwarves over the humans, spend time with a particular family and be accepted by them.
In essence think of it as Shogun or the Last Samurai but with Dwarves instead of Japanese. I think it would be MUCH more entertaining, enlightening and fun.
But honestly a drinking game isn't going to do the trick.
Why do they need to trade with dwarves? Cold iron is not a unique, rare, or exotic material that must be adventured for. It's just NORMAL IRON ORE that has been forged at lower temperatures. They should be able to get the iron ore from most anywhere. All they need do is educate their local smiths in the new forging procedures. If it helps them make more money and to save their homes/businesses, they should be readily compliant.actually my copy of the CRB says that cold iron is mined from deep in the earth, and must be forged at lower temperatures to preserve its special properties. this to me says that its not normal iron ore, however i note from your general posting habits that you are quite unwilling to concede even the blindingly obvious.
so even if it IS just normal iron ore, there are a couple of reasons why this is irrelevant.
A) im the DM and i say so
B) im not asking for advice on how to procure cold iron, im asking for advice on dwarven society and the 'joining' of such
C) you smell, neener neenerso please contribute to the topic or go elsewhere :)
krome - you make some good points. the drinking game is rather cliched, but seems like it might still be fun. i really meant for it to be more of a background thing, like a pre-event tipsiness. i think the bonding with the dwarves will come a little later, as i intend to have them spend several months with them. this intial thing is just to get the ball rolling, so to speak.
Iron ore mined from deeper within the earth is still just iron ore. Still, since you don't believe that to be a suitable contribution to the thread, I will try a different track:
Are you familiar with the dwarves of the Eberron campaign setting? They are the bankers, money-makers, and all-around greedy financiers of that campaign's world. There is also a dwarven organization called the Aurum which could really get in the way of your players' goals (or perhaps manipulate them to their own ends).
I think this would be a great basis of inspiration for the dwarves in your campaign. After all, what are the dwarves likely to want in return for their ore? Trade and profit of course! Mayhaps the PCs will have to go on a series of minor quests to open up new trade routes to make it possible, or otherwise convince the dwarves to trust in the profits that can be made from the deal. If you play your cards right I think it could be a wonderfully different kind of roleplaying experience for your players.
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I like the "elaborate stonework puzzle/maze" idea, but how to implement it? If the PCs don't have Stonecunning, how can they solve a puzzle that requires it?
Here's an idea: Perhaps there's a large maze in which any light source is forbidden (dwarves have darkvision) but clues are etched into the walls. PCs without darkvision would have to feel their way through, which means they might be able to "read" the clues by feeling the walls. Maybe the dwarves tell them about the subterranean beasts that live in the maze, but in reality it's just the dwarves making animal noises and poking them with sticks. This goes on for a bit, and if the PCs remain good-humored about it long enough for the dwarves to get a good laugh at them, they agree to open trade.
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Me and the group I was with once had to smell like the humans we were visiting, or their guard animals would kill us. Maybe your dwarves have similar defences.
I missed that game, but I was told we essentially took a roll in their waste.
You could make them do things to smell like the community. Maybe they bathe by rubbing a type of ooze or slime on themselves which makes them smell different, ect. How an outsider would get the stuff might be interesting, since they have a monopoly on it. It might even be a slight lie (to the dishonor of the guard that told you) so once they complete the test the dwarves want to make things right.
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A test of honor could be a situation where the PCs didn't realize they were being tested. They could be 'at fault' for something they didn't do, like stealing from a merchant on the way in. Someone offers them a bit of cold iron ore if they admit to the accusation, or uses blackmail to get them to admit guilt. If they hold fast to the truth, and preserve their honor, they pass the test.
If they fail, it only makes the deal less in favor of the PCs.
I like the "elaborate stonework puzzle/maze" idea, but how to implement it? If the PCs don't have Stonecunning, how can they solve a puzzle that requires it?
Here's an idea: Perhaps there's a large maze in which any light source is forbidden (dwarves have darkvision) but clues are etched into the walls. PCs without darkvision would have to feel their way through, which means they might be able to "read" the clues by feeling the walls. Maybe the dwarves tell them about the subterranean beasts that live in the maze, but in reality it's just the dwarves making animal noises and poking them with sticks. This goes on for a bit, and if the PCs remain good-humored about it long enough for the dwarves to get a good laugh at them, they agree to open trade.
You wouldn't need to have stonecunning from any source, dwarf racial trait or otherwise. It's a Perception skill check to notice unusual stonework; stonecunning just grants a bonus and provides auto-checks within 10 ft. Knowledge (engineering) skill checks would be interesting challenges for the puzzle/maze as well, as it's always fun to provide uses for the less-picked knowledge skills.
I dig the darkvision requirements... if you really wanted to throw the PCs for a loop don't forbid lights but have the textured clues and such in the puzzle camouflaged in a bunch of colored lacquer images. Normal vision would have an even harder time discerning the clues that are obvious to otherwise color-blind darkvision. (And the dwarven version of a snipe hunt is a funny idea.)
When you do decide on how to initiate your PCs into your dwarf culture, you'll have to post an update on how it goes. :)