Hi, I am starting to build a homebrew one-shot game where I want the finale or to work up to the finale, to be in a mine car but have it more like a rollercoaster maybe even infuse magic. However I have no experience prepping a homebrew, let alone in 2e. I have done some things with premade modules and I was running a reign of winter but it didn't get far due to the release of 2e and my friends and I enjoying that style of game play. If anyone could point me in a direction of ideas of how to build something like a runaway mine car turning into a fun roller coaster somehow I'd appreciate it.
well, I'd start with purpose design rather than mechanics design.
What does the mine cart need to accomplish? What feel should it give?
What is the obstacle? What is the price of failure?
How do PCs interact with it? What is the reward for skill?
Once we have that we can make a few base mechanics and then see how we can inject some tactic into it.
I'd run it as a skill challenge from 4e.
Set up several skills that could help progress the runaway mine car - athletics or acrobatics to shift the cart onto the "right" track (meaning whichever one you want it to take), or perception to tell people to duck from a low tunnel if they're attacking a pursuing car with weapons so they don't take a bludgeoning hit as they get knocked down; maybe introduce a melee attack option to knock falling stalactites away.
Also allow your players to select any other skill they have that might be applicable - maybe one of them has mining lore so they know just how to toss a switch as the car moves, or one of them wants to use performance to hit a high note that will agitate all the bats in the mine to cause them to fly into the pursuers' face.
Set up a total number of successes based on a DC that they have to reach to "escape" on the car and a number of failures that could cause the car to come to a halt. You might also want to let players cover for someone else's failure (up to a point, probably with an in game impact) so that one bad turn doesn't derail the encounter prematurely.
Thank you for this idea. It is a great starting point! This is close to what I was thinking but wasn't sure how to organize it. Thank you.
I'd run it as a skill challenge from 4e.
Set up several skills that could help progress the runaway mine car - athletics or acrobatics to shift the cart onto the "right" track (meaning whichever one you want it to take), or perception to tell people to duck from a low tunnel if they're attacking a pursuing car with weapons so they don't take a bludgeoning hit as they get knocked down; maybe introduce a melee attack option to knock falling stalactites away.
Also allow your players to select any other skill they have that might be applicable - maybe one of them has mining lore so they know just how to toss a switch as the car moves, or one of them wants to use performance to hit a high note that will agitate all the bats in the mine to cause them to fly into the pursuers' face.
Set up a total number of successes based on a DC that they have to reach to "escape" on the car and a number of failures that could cause the car to come to a halt. You might also want to let players cover for someone else's failure (up to a point, probably with an in game impact) so that one bad turn doesn't derail the encounter prematurely.
Don't forget a roll to use the rickety handbrake, or try to brake with your foot after the handbrake breaks.