I'm DMing for 2 PCs whose characters have prominent tattoos. I think they are great opportunities for magic item design space.
The swashbuckler rogue/soon to be battlemaster fighter dual wields pistol and rapier and has a tattoo of a silvery white dragon, so I think a wind or air-related power would be apt. Maybe gust of wind and/or fly, or at least feather fall or jump (they have an airship, and featherfall would be a great "parachute."
The other PC is an outsider wood elf monk of the 4 elements, covered in tattoos. His hands are scarred from when he first manifested his fiery snake powers. He dual wields tomahawks and has magical bracers that give them the "Returning" property. I'm think a tattoo that gave him an extra element ki power would be neat.
They just turned 5th level deep in a crypt that is deep in the jungle on a volcanic island in a lake. The rest of the party is a Halfling Tempest cleric, a human cleric 1/"shadow sorcerer" 4, an eladrin fighter 1/"brontomancer" weather wizard, and a tiefling warlock with a clockwork patron.
So no tanks. We keep trying to convince the Tempest cleric that she is a tank (breastplate + shield + decent Dex and Con), but she's not buying it, even though she has that cool Retributive Storm Strike ability if she gets hit. The monk could be pretty tanky, too (I think he has the highest AC), but he's more of a mobile artillery, like the swashbuckler and warlock....and brontomancer and shadow mage. At least the swashbuckler will jump in and out of melee to get his 2nd attack (he has a 3pp "Blade and Pistol" feat that's very similar to the Crossbow Master feat so he can dual wield sword and pistol, but he also likes to hide and snipe with a rifle).
I also have an idea for a quest for the "Tree of Life" that will give the PCs a bonus to their Constitution score equal to their Proficiency Bonus AND give them maximum hit points. Maybe proficiency on Death Saving Throws too. Maybe guarded by yuan-ti... a serpent played a big role in that story about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil...
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OK, I'll recap.
The PCs flew their ship of the air, the Black Betty, from the city of Podwick from atop the Great Stalk, to a volcanic isle on Loq Arak in the jungles of Xenique.
They fought a mated pair of manticores after parlaying with them, which helped, since it kept them from flinging tail spines at them.
They also encountered demon baboons riding pterodactyls, which threw harpoons at the heroes, yanking the warlock off the deck of the ship, but he was tethered, so he didn't fall to his death. The PCs shot the pterodactyls out from under the monkey demons, but the monkey demons were able to use their Reaction to throw their harpoons at the hull of the ship, which saved 4 or 5 of them--until the PCs cut them down.
The PCs landed their ship half a dozen miles from the ziggurat jutting out of the volcano. After hiking through the jungle, a pair of girralons ambushed the PCs in the clearing in front of the Crypt of the Monkey King. One was dispatched with ease, but the other one got wounded and ran back into the jungle--to get two more of the 4-armed apes! If the girralons hit a PC with 2 or more hits, they could grapple the PC--and throw him as a Bonus Action! Eventually the PCs prevailed.
After a brief rest, they climbed the stairs to the stepped pyramid and entered the upper chamber, which was an empty room with just a 10 foot wide pit with a horizontal pole braced above it. The shaft was 80 deep before it opened above a bigger space. Instead of tying a rope to the pole, the swashbuckler tried climbing down freestyle. And got halfway down before he slipped and fell 60 feet--into a giant pool of water. The water was crystal clear, so he was able to see the kraken spawn! The giant squid grappled the swashbuckler with its tentacles and swallowed him whole! The other PCs dived in and/or carefully descended. The brontomancer and the Halfling Tempest cleric were wise enough to lower a rope down the shaft. Otherwise, there would have been no way to climb out!
Meanwhile, the tiefling warlock, the clock cleric/shadowmage, and outlander elven monk dived into the water. The kraken spawn emitted a cloud of acidic ink, but was slaughtered by the heroes in time to save the swashbuckler's life. Oddly enough, it appeared that 4 of the squid's tentacles has been hacked off before the PCs got there.
They took a long rest on a short ledge in front of a giant stone door they could barely lift open (the strongest PC has a 12 in Strength!). Strange handprints were discovered in the sand. They managed to lift the door a couple feet, and entered a large rectangular chamber with half a dozen pillars not supporting the roof. Three spelleater apes were on top of the pillars, throwing giant javelins at the PCs. The apes were able to block some spells and attacks with shield and counterspell spells, but two were killed. The last threw down his massive shield and leaped off the 30 foot pillar, wielding a giant pike! The PCs knocked him out, tied him, interrogated him, and got him to join their party on their quest to eliminate the Monkey King.
After a short rest, they delved deeper into the tomb. They came across a magical seal in the middle of the twenty foot wide corridor. They knew it was a magical trap, and they attempted Intelligence (Arcana) checks to disarm. Their new ally rolled a Natural 1 and set off the trap! A wall of fire encircled the seal. They thought they were safe, if betrayed by their apish companion, but thornwhips struck out of the flames, pulling some PCs and the ape through the wall of fire. The PCs jumped back through the wall fire before a thunderwave threw them through the wall of fire again. The ape cast dispel magic on the trap, and brontomancer and warlock succeeded on their Arcana checks, and the trap was disarmed.
They continued down the hallway and came to another heavy stone door. The ape lifted it with ease, and half a dozen monkey ghouls with blowguns blew poisoned darts at them! They had heard the thunderwave from the trapped seal and were ready for them! Or so they thought. The PCs made short work of them, which was impressive given the terrain: A long room, 20 feet wide with walls covered in green slime, the ends capped by large murals. Above the long walls were higher platforms that more monkey ghouls snipers sniped from. Vine-like roots descended from the roof, allowing the monkey ghouls to swing back and forth. The upper platforms had bronze doors covered in yellow mold, but the shadowmage noticed it before anyone got poisoned. The doors lead to a maze of catacombs where the monkey ghouls would lay in repose.
The PCs then approached the heavy stone door by the far mural, tripped a floor panel, and a trap door in the ceiling dropped half a dozen 5 foot diameter stone balls that started rolling down the long chamber. The murals ignited in eldritch light, revealing that they were arcane gates! The balls teleported from the lower gate to the upper gate, going faster and faster. They were able to time the rolling boulders and jump down behind them, lifting the stone gate, and escaping deeper into the crypt.
They then came to an intersection and went left for adventure. They came upon an alchemical altar in a chamber with walls wrapped in alchemical gear and bookshelves. A blackrobed demon monkey attacked! It was a cleric 6/wizard 6 with a total of 20 HD. It was a fun fight, I got to use some fun spells, and even got a 6th level spell slot off (bane). I think the brontomancer got a little frustrated by counterspell and shield, but he looked at it as using up the monster's Reactions so everyone else could get him. The necromancer almost got away, but they were able to bring him down. They recovered his spell book, a manual of golem making, and leveled up from level 4 to level 5.
To be continued....
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So we concluded the Crypt of the Monkey King adventure last night.
After resting in necromancer's laboratory, they crossed the hallway and explored some crypts. They found linen-wrapped mummified remains of demon monkeyfolk. But they thought they were REAL mummies, and didn't search them very well. They DID find a secret passage that lead to a ramp that they didn't explore further.
The PCs returned to the main hall and entered the next chamber, which contained a pit that contained a towering two-headed ape with a pair of tentacles in place of each arm!!!
DEMOGORGON!
They battled it. Initially, the wild elf monk despaired because neither his tomahawks nor his unarmed fists could harm it. Then he used his fangs of the fire snake ki power, which not only burned the monstrosity, but caused it to cower in fear. Because Demogorgon is two-headed, it got to act twice a round. It was also able to spew acid AND poison, one noxious substance from each mouth. It was able to grapple and fling the PCs, but they whittled it down. Then the brontomancer, a wizard specializing in thunder and lightning magic, hit it with a lightning-powered scorching ray, which inadvertently healed the two-headed monstrosity. Finally, the swashbuckling rogue shot it with a pistol, and it came apart as its magical stitches burst.
Demogorgon was a flesh golem!
There were lots of clues, but the PCs didn't pick up on them: the krakenspawn was missing two pairs of tentacles, the mummified remains would have revealed a pair of missing heads and other missing body parts, and the necromancer had a manual of flesh golem making.
The PCs searched for treasure and secret doors, found a pair of blood red rubies amongst the remains of the Demogolem, and a secret passage that would have given them safe passage around the Demogolem, and led to another ramp leading down into darkness. The PCs took the bait this time. First, the swashbuckler gracefully slid down the ramp, and then really slid and ended up in a room hip-deep in teeth! The rest of the party had their giant ape friend lower them down on a rope. They searched room, finding a gold tooth and a gold velociraptor claw amongst the bones and teeth. There was a small 5-foot diameter grate leading out, but a pressure plate in front of it triggered a trap!
The walls started closing on the PCs!
There was a monkey on the other side of the grate, as was a mechanism capable of opening the grate. But instead of using a Monkey See, Monkey Do strategy, the shadow mage cast umbral hand and the warlock and the eladrin brontomancer used misty step to escape, and then manipulated the mechanism to open the grate before everyone else got squished.
They found a secret passage out of the mechanism room and into a large chamber with three monkey statues: See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. The statues were crumbling, a hand of the See No Evil monkey had fallen off and revealed its eye. The wall behind the statues was an image of monkey paradise, but the other three walls were images of hellscapes. Inscribed on the base of the statues, it said: May those in neverending slumber be judged for pride & humility, greed & charity, lust & chastity, envy & kindness, gluttony & temperance, wrath & patience, sloth & diligence.
The PCs relatively quickly figured out that if you turned the See No Evil Monkey around so it stopped "seeing" the evil of the hellscapes, it opened the secret door on the Paradise wall. The PCs went through it. It lead to a 20 foot wide corridor with statues of flying monkeys leering down at them from ledges along its length. The PCs crept under the gaze of the gargoyles until they reached another magical door, flanked by two unlit candles, one red and one blue. Unable to get the magical door to open, they returned to the Three Monkey Room.
There, they examined the remaining two monkeys. Speak No Evil had a speaking tube hidden on the back of its head. Hear No Evil had magical sensors in its ears. After saying lots of evil stuff, they finally spoke NO evil, said the Seven Virtues aloud, and 2 more secret doors opened, one to the east, one to the west. They went east first, bypassed a trapdoor that would have dropped them in the tooth room, and found a statue of a giant monkey head, 10 feet in diameter. On either side of the giant head were even gianter "ears"--semi-circular frames of mithril floating an inch off the ground. After a bunch of experimentation, the heroes discovered if you cast a teleporting spell on one of the ears, it opened a portal to the other ear for 1 minute per spell level. They also found a secret passage that lead to a lamp with magical blue flames.
The PCs then went west, found a 120 foot tall statue of a tree with golden bananas on top of it. They all had to make a Wisdom save or be compelled to climb the tree. Most made it, some climbed it 30 feet and slipped, and the monk made it up 60 feet before slipping, but his Slow Fall came in handy! There were live monkeys climbing regular banana trees in that room too. Beyond that room was a chamber with a lamp with magical blood red flames.
The PCs got the two magically colored flames, matched blue flame to blue candle and red flame to red candle, and the magical door at the end of the flying monkey gargoyle corridor opened. Inside was a large triangular room with 3 pyramids in it: two 10 feet tall, one 15 feet tall. Five braziers emitted smoke infused with soporific herbs. Lying on top of each pyramid was a mummified monkey: The Monkey King and his two Monkey Queens!!!
The PCs were paranoid about the gargoyles above and behind them, and the magical monkeys in front of them, so they retreated, took a long rest, and came back loaded for bear.
The PCs pulled the statues of the gargoyles down and through the Monkey Ears to the Bone Crusher Room. It turns out, the gargoyles were just statues. :-) (I made the players super paranoid by putting out pawns to represent them!)
They then opened to the door and fought!
After the Monkey King got burned, he ducked behind his pyramid and cast protection from energy on himself. His Queens were not quite as lucky, and were easily dispatched, but not before casting spike growth in the middle of the chamber. The Monkey King made decent use of thornwhip and thunderwave to position PCs into the spike growth region while it lasted. The NPCs actually made good use of cover from the pyramids for a change! Only one PC got pushed into the smoke from the braziers, but he failed his Con save, so he gained 1 level of exhaustion. The Monkey King had some legendary actions and a reaction that caused an opponent's weapon to grow thorns on it, making them drop it on a failed save, and attack at Disadvantage on a success.
But in the end, the heroes were victorious! They found gold and magical treasures hidden in the ziggurats.
They gave the Crown of the Monkey King to their spell-eater ape ally and flew away in The Black Betty.