That subject pretty much describes what I just did. I have some ideas for how they get out of it, but their souls have been placed in dolls. I was thinking of giving the stats for soulbound dolls, but with a few arcane spells for the sorcerer, a "mend" for the cleric, a few skill boosts for the investigator, and a STR bump for the martial.
I have a few things in mind, but to make sure I give them the most interesting game possible, I'd like some suggestions for ideas for what they can encounter in the castle on their quest to restore themselves to their bodies. They're each about a foot tall, and their magic will be limited. The castle is mostly clockwork stuff, but there could be some organic threats as well.
Thanks in advance!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Are the casters ok with having limited access to magic? If so I am jealous. My group would never go for this but it sounds fascinating
What level are you starting at?
For some encounters I would think one of the biggest would be the castle itself. They tiny creatures and I am assuming the castle was built for medium creatures. Stairs will be a challenge. Getting things off of tables.
If this was something done to them and the person who did it to them is in the castle hiding could be a large part of it. One fun slightly maze like thing you could do is have them find an opening in a wall. Inner walls might not be made of stone so they would have somewhere to hide and get lost in. If you do that creatures like rats and spiders become a dramatic battle. Sam option with floorboards.
If you have a player who would not flip out on you. A bird could pick up one and the group has to rescue them from the nest.
I have never had the chance to play with clockwork so I am not much help there. But you could have a room with massive gears that they have to traverse or fight it. Those gears would be constantly moving so they would have to deal with that.
If this was done to them maybe they could find failed previous versions. Treat them like a clockwork zombie.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
My very general advice is to figure out what each characters focus is, and don't mess with it. For example, if the martial is an exotic weapon specialist, let him have his weapon.
Also, are the dolls, doll-versions of the PCs, or just generic dolls? If they are doll versions of the PCs, their stats and equipment could be fairly similar.
This could also be a good time to experiment with something like getting rid of the cure spells, but giving everyone DR. Just keep in mind the side effects that could have, especially if the cleric focuses on it.
As for other challenges, there are all kinds of rats, insects, a feral cat, and other low CR threats that could suddenly become powerful. It might be easier to keep the PCs stats basically the same, and just reskin monsters. For example, a lone goblin could be given the stats of a fire giant (minus fire stuff). The feral cat could be a dire lion, etc.
Finally, the thread reminds me of a building I pass on road trips occasionally. The Doll House On Route 28 outside of Kingston, NY. It has been closed for many years, and has gone from a little creepy, to totally freaky as it becomes more and more decrepit.
They're seventh level, and yes, tiny in a Medium castle. And they won't be doll versions of themselves, but I was hoping to enable them to keep their party roles in their doll forms in some way. @Fergie, you're right, I'll have to keep the martial doll able to hit things with a two-handed... something. Kitchen knife, maybe.
Awesome ideas, thanks!