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I'd totally use something like this in a big, crazy dungeon set with giant gears, pulleys and cogs or a dungeon that's really just a massive Rube Goldberg machine.
The suggestion reminds me of an old German animation called Balance. I always wanted to set up a similar encounter for a game.
Awesomely awesome!!!
Sounds like a great and memorable encounter!!!
Awesome.
Nice.
you should watch "The Musketeer" Final battle with BBG (In Black Even!) takes place in a tower with lots of ladders... and there's quite a bit of sea-saw action. It's the first time I've seen all the kung-fu movie techniques applied to a more western fighting style... but not too over the top (mostly).
I will most certainly use this in the next adventure I run. I love the idea of a gear laden dungeon set with creative traps that spice up encounters and this is a really good addition. Nice job!
My two cents:
It sounds like the sort of unusual terrain gimmick that GMs love, but that I find to be hit-and-miss as a player (because it ends up slowing things down, for instance, or because it just turns out to be fancily-giftwrapped way of applying a penalty to the PCs). The visuals are pretty cool, though.
I would put something in place to not allow it to completely fall over one side. It could be a short fight if your players don't act the way you think they will. I would also put in meaningful bonuses and penalties to bull rush and the like depending on the slant, as well and balance and climb checks. Can any of them fly?
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If anybody uses it, let me know how it goes!
I'm struggling to think of another penalty besides just dropping everybody, but am open to suggestions I plan on letting the players know what's going on, so they should understand. In my experience, this is the kind of challenge that players eat up. Besides, the See-Saw can't drop before round 4.
And yes, somebody can fly. But not everybody can fly, so the party has to deal with the See-Saw!
Bull rush bonus is a great idea!
Yeah, I'm so gonna use this now.
BZ consider this idea Ganked as it will be appearing in a dungeon I have in mind.
I vote Lava. Mine Though will be spikes.
Acidic lava that's full of melting adamantine spikes.
You forgot to put poison on the melting adamantine spikes. And fill the lava with swarms of acid- and fire-proof pirhana swarms.
Actually, some reverse gravity traps might be fun and hilarious--and return the non-flyers back onto the see-saw.
These might make it too annoying....
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To those who are going to use it: let me know how it goes!
I was playing around with spikes or water, but I ultimately decided on a simple stone. Stone will deal some damage after a 50 feet fall, but allow combat in case it continues. I decided not to use lava, spikes, acid or anything else because I want to give players the option of overturning the See-Saw. If the ground is certain death then they don't have a choice - they must stay aloft. If the whole group has feather fall or slow fall, I want them to be able to just ship and leave the enemies to flip over the See-Saw.
But let me know how it goes!
I would put some kind of hazard down there. Even if it's minor, it's a dis-incentive to totally bypass the see-saw. Choices are good, but there should be consequences to them. Even something as simple as items that would help the opponents but not the PCs, like a font of unholy water if the PCs are fighting undead on the see-saw.
Even a mysterious smoke that sickens them if they fail a DC 15 Fortitude save might be neat. Also, a vasty chasm with an unseen bottom is a lot scarier than a 50 foot plunge, which causes 5d6 points of damage, so about 17 points of damage, which they can probably survive if they're not too injured beforehand.
Maybe a landshark or slimy ooze or something.
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Good ideas. I've added in the inclusion of a monster in the bottom as an optional rule. Also, our heroes will not be able to see the bottom of the pit under normal circumstances and a cursory investigation - a torch will only shed light 40 feet. But the depth won't be too hard to investigate, as they can simply drop a lit object down.
I'm not sure this encounter will be very balanced...
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Forget putting a single monster down there. Fill the area below with five-foot-tall pile of ooey-gooey bugs! Nobody wants to try swimming through a lap pool filled with creepy, crawly, bitey, stingy centipedes, cockroaches, spiders and leeches! You can use the Mundane Insect Swarm hazard. The nice thing about it is a mundane swarm itself doesn't do any HP damage. It just hinders combatants and makes the fight nice and squishy and gross for those who fall in.
I'm not sure this encounter will be very balanced...
Dun Dun Tishhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I am thinking I will make it just a large amount of Water and throw a few Amphibious creatures in it. Once the enemies up top are eliminated the Water will disappear and the PCs can easily enter the bottom and slay the
I am using the concept of a "Archimedes Ramp/Plane". It will only completely tip after a set amount of time regardless of weight.
both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chest
both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chest
Do what?
both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chestDo what?
pirates of the caribbean. the second one, which chances are i totally borked the title.
both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chestDo what?pirates of the caribbean. the second one, which chances are i totally borked the title.
I got that part and you have the title right.
I was meaning the "both." comment.
both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chestDo what?pirates of the caribbean. the second one, which chances are i totally borked the title.
I got that part and you have the title right.
I was meaning the "both." comment.
oh, that was in reply to the thread's subject (because a see-saw battle is both awesome and silly).
oh, that was in reply to the thread's subject (because a see-saw battle is both awesome and silly).both. im reminded of the water-mill battle in dead man's chestDo what?pirates of the caribbean. the second one, which chances are i totally borked the title.
I got that part and you have the title right.
I was meaning the "both." comment.
Ah. I agree it is So silly it is beyond Awesome... There isn't even a fitting expression I can think of...
Where is the Creator of Questionable Content when we need him!?
Is Summon Banana Peel a cantrip?
Is Summon Banana Peel a cantrip?
It should be! I had a player that would do summon banana peels into NPCs pants to make them uncomfortable. She would squeal "Banana Pants!" and hilarity would ensue. I forget how she did it. But she did it with both a pixie-like sorcerer and an Empowered Awakened parrot wizard. But that was in 3.0 and 3.5.
Prestidigitation? Did I spell that right?
I have a feeling Grease will be powerful in this encounter. Going to be running it in my Play-By-Chat game tonight.
So far they have slain all but one upper enemy. They only have one more turn before the Turn-Table-See-Saw drops.
EDIT: Well they enjoyed the Encounter especially when it dropped and they had to fight a Zombie Sea Drake right after they killed the Skeletal Champion up top. Luckily they killed the Skeletal Champion to change the Water from Unholy to Holy and weaken the Drake.
They easily finished up the Drake and drained the chamber into a reservoir and reclaim the Temple for the Dwarves.
Grease was the MVS of the encounter as it kept the Skeletal Champion and his unit hindered for most of the battle. Especially when they greased the SC's Greatsword causing him to drop it two turns in a row.
They figured it out after it started tipping to the sides. Mine wouldn't tip completely until 2 minutes after it was triggered.
They used it to good effect. At one point they used grease to cause the Undead to get stuck at the bottom of the slope. then they would just fill em full of arrows. Though they didn't like it when the room shifted and the Undead got a double move speed do to the grease and a surprisingly good Reflex save.
They were glad for the Water when they discovered the Pit was 1000ft deep and was filled to 900ft with water. 750ft of which was treasure.
They even used the Platform to trap the Sea Drake Zombie in a position to where they could fight on solid ground instead of in water.
I was so proud that the Party Leader (A Bard/Barbarian[Urban]) seen it.
NOTE: I taught her tactics and how to set-up Ambushes.
A few questions/comments.
1) How big would you make the see-saw? Say, how long/wide would you make it for a 4-person party of medium sized characters? A 6-person party?
2) Would you make it larger for higher level players (those with access to faster movement speeds, Fly, etc...)? How much so?
3) Having some trouble figuring out WHY this would be there--if it is a trap made by intelligent creatures, why wouldn't they just put a pit in place? Why would anyone be fighting on the other side?
4) I'm not sure how I feel about moving by factors of 8 for weight effects. A very heavy halfling weighs about 40 lbs., while a very heavy human (about twice as tall), weighs 220 lbs., which is more like 5x heavier. Plus, quarters or fifths are easier to quickly calculate/eyeball on the fly. A medium creature could be 1, a small 1/4, and a large 4.
I REALLY like this idea, though, so here's a sketch of what I'm thinking.
The PCs have gone into some crumbling ruins/dungeon/landscape to retrieve something or someone. They are known to have done so by some faction that is opposed to them/desirous of the same thing/person they have recovered, and that other group has sent a team to stop them/relieve them of their prize.
As the players are exiting the area, the antagonists ambush them, springing from cover/invisibility and hurl some explosive-y spell (or use Earthquake, or something similar), which causes a catastrophic collapse, leaving them on a teetering section of harder, sturdier material precariously balanced on a support wall or columns/upthrust rock/whatever. Maybe they happened to be above an old cavern, or hall that has had many of its other supports worn or broken by the years/water/whatever.
Begin encounter--the players want to get past the antagonists with their prize, while the anti-party wants to stop the players, claim their prize and not topple over themselves. Both groups are interested in keeping the thing upright, but neither is quite willing to just back off. Shortly after the fight begins, they all can hear some terrible creature coming from the space below them, making them even less inclined to fall. I'd also consider having everyone make Acrobatics checks to keep from falling prone in the first round, due to the bucking and shaking caused by the breaking and collapsing of the surrounding ground material.
I definitely like the idea of using distance from the fulcrum to add a little to the encounter.
I think I'd also want to place some terrain or debris on the space. This would serve a few purposes:
1) It could be used as stationary, or mobile inanimate weights--the players would have to worry not just about themselves and their opponents, but also about the other stuff sitting on the see-saw. This could be some residual boulders, furniture, corpses, sarcophagi, stairs that no longer lead anywhere. Some of this may be too complicated, but if you have things that can fit into approximate size categories, it might not be too bad.
2) Additional hazards; as the see-saw tips and things slide, they become free-agent bull rushers, or sources for cover.
3) Obstacles to keep the groups from simply running from one side to the other easily.
4) Tools that can be aimed or pushed to impede or bull rush opponents.
Getting off should definitely be somewhat intuitive or obvious, but not easy enough to be done under duress. Maybe there is an obvious anchor point for a grappling hook, or an dangling rope within reach that one could use to swing across the gap, or a section of wall that looks ready to collapse that would brace the see-saw or bridge the gap sufficiently to allow for egress. Using rope, or setting up some sort of bridge would likely be too time consuming to perform while fighting.
The area below should have some space to hide from whatever terrible creature is below, so that someone who does fall off isn't DOA. There should possibly also be some way up and out--maybe there are stairs or an easily climbable wall at the far end of the see-saw, but the creature has to be avoided, which would be more easily done by one or two people. If both groups end up tumbling into the pit, the antagonists should probably offer a brief truce to deal with the imminent threat if the players don't offer such terms themselves.
Regardless of party size I would make it 20 ft wide, so a creature can maneuver around others to get to the other side without provokes a half dozen AoOs along thr way.
Mine was a Hex Map Circle room that was 25 hexes wide.
I would make it at lease 20 or 25 feet.
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@Yeti
1: I have a map and details here: See-Saw Encounter
2: I would not make it bigger for higher levels. If they have invested in better maneuverability, then they should be able to use it.
3: You have to present this to your players with a knowing wink. There isn't really any good reason that this would be here. However, it's fun to play, so you have to weigh those two factors.
4: Unfortunately, I have no control over this, it's just physics. Besides, it's straight from the SRD. A create who is 2 times wider, longer, and taller than another will be 2 to the power of 3 times heavier.
As for your suggestions for objects rolling around - I like it! I think it might be a bit too complicated, but feel free to use it and tell me how it goes.