I run a game every Wednesday night. My players are currently playing through the Dragon's Demand module and are making a lot of progress. The problem is that tonight one of my players is unable to make the session and I need ideas for a one shot I can run them through. Now I have planned ahead for situations like this by periodically having the players run into a magical entity they know only as "The Head". This being appears to them as a large stone head that emerges from the ground every now and then. Time stops all around them when he appears and he asks them a few riddles and then puts them through a challenge. Based on how well they do during the riddles determines how much help he offers them during the challenge. For example, one of the challenges had the PCs teleported to a cave full of Drow and they were able to answer a few riddles so they were provided with some flashbang grenades that he called bottled sunlight. Another challenge had them taken to a city square where a young girl was being burned at the stake. They stopped the execution only to discover the young girl was actually a bearded devil. I need ideas for some crazy encounters that will be challenging but not impossible for 3 level 4 PCs. You can be really creative with this because this encounter does not need to relate to the story or have any kind of continuity. Thanks!
I recommend reading through artifact destruction conditions. While many of them are a bit over the top, tonned down they make fabulous quest objectives. For example rather than having to submerge an object in the tears of asmodeus, have them try to destroy an item with a single bearded devil tear
What about this head teleports them to a dangerous magical cave underground where they are at the mouth of the cave and notice that the water outside the cave seems like it's being held back by some magical barrier. Have them explore the cave and find low CR monsters and at the end of this they find 2 free willed Quasits conspiring, and they must destroy them before they finish some sort of ritual they are performing to destroy this world. The Quasits should have the ability to create weak but high HP spawns to try and distract the players.
Thanks a lot! You guys have provided a great starting point for me to look in to. Usually the PCs are rewarded with a chest of gold at the end of each challenge. Do you have any recommendations for rewards other than gold that wouldn't be too crazy? Not trying to give my players magic weapons and armor for completing a minor side quest.
Nice! Thanks a lot, dudes!!
Have the reward be a treasure map. It creates another side quest to find the loot.
How did your session go, OP?