Hi peeps, I'm pretty new as a GM, please advise me on this one.
There's a magical door that can speak Common. Above the door is a phrase written in Common, etched into the stone. The only way the door will open is if the door speaks the phrase written above him.
I found this puzzle/skill challenge idea without context on the web, and thought it was kind of cool to put in one of my dungeons, but I feel it's surprisingly hard to watertightly design.
How should I go about hinting to the players that the door must speak out the phrase?
...Ideally they should come up with his on their own, but I want at least to have a method to confirm it if one the players suggests that this is the case, so that they don't waste too much time on figuring out the goal of this setup.
Is the door aware of the sentence it should not say?
What would be a good/fun phrase/set of words that is interesting for the door to get tricked into saying?
If the door needs to be bribed, what could a person bribe a door with? What would a talking door want to have?
The easiest and fastest solution for the whole thing in my mind, is if one of the player characters succeeds in charming the door with a fascinate or charm ability and compel the door to repeat what they say, like in a classic hypnosis.
But for the sake of exercise let's say the player who knows these enchantments is absent that session, how would this situation ideally play out?
Also, in case my players can't figure it out or get tired of trying, should I give my players the option of destroying/killing the door (with high difficulty) and get through anyhow, but give them some sort of repercussions for doing so?
EDIT: grammar/spelling
How should I go about hinting to the players that the door must speak out the phrase?
If you want to make it obvious you could have another talking door either in the same room or someplace else in the dungeon that is easy to reach that "loves" saying the phrase above it and everytime it says the phrase the door swings open.
Is the door aware of the sentence it should not say?
maybe the door isn't aware of the phrase but it's something the door doesn't "want" to say because it's beneath them to do so. Imagine a door with the personality of a prim and proper lady, but the phrase is lower class and/or a euphemism for something vulgar.
What would be a good/fun phrase/set of words that is interesting for the door to get tricked into saying?
I want you to knock my knockers?
If the door needs to be bribed, what could a person bribe a door with? What would a talking door want to have?
Maybe it has a squeaky hinge that it would like greased. A new coat of paint or other adornments. maybe it gets harassed by another creature in the dungeon and it would be grateful is said creature was prevented from being able to harass it any more. The door would of course require some kind of proof, assuming that its not self evident that the creature has been dealt with. If there's another talking door in the room, maybe it just wants that door to shut up for once.
I would expect the sentient talking door to be a construct, and thus immune to mind-affecting effects. This would make the challenge less susceptible to a brute force magic solution.
I think the first step I would go through if figure out who made the door that way and why. How is it 'supposed' to be used. The whole point of a door and a lock is that while you intend it to keep people out, you also want it to let people in, otherwise you would just wall the area off.
I expect if you answer that question, then the other questions will be answered a lot easier.
In game mechanics, the Magic mouth spell could be used to create the talking door.
As far as the phrase the door needs to speak, it could be the answer to a riddle or question, and the players need to play Jeopardy in order to get it to speak.
My only thought is...be careful what you make the walls around it.
I know plenty of barbarian characters that would be happy to take their adamantine pickax to the wall around the door and bypass it.
This would be the sort of thing you'd expect in a 'mad sorcerer's labratory' kind of place. Some sodding fool make a bunch of prank stuff as a last joke upon any who would seek their 'treasures'. This could also very easily be a fae thing.
In either case, I'd make the doors teleportation gates. Breaking the walls, or even the doors themselves won't help since you need their magical functions to get around. This works well if you want multiple such doors.
If it is a single door, make it fully intelligent. It isn't a person, so low level charms can't work on it. Actually make the door immune to that sort of thing. It doesn't make the door immune to social skills. Someone might be able to flatter, intimidate, bluff, or negotiate the door open.
Give the door some personality. Its been here a long time, and its probably bored. And the last thing it wants to do is watch the players leave. As long as it stays closed, they will stay here, right?
Make the door self repairing, and of exceptional hardness. Let it cast Make Whole at will. Even on the wall its attached to. Give the door a goal, like seeing the world. If the players fail to get the door open any other way, have the door make a deal. If they take it along with them it will open. If they agree, it detaches from the wall and can be treated as a Tower Shield. Leave the Make Whole ability intact!
/casts gasp
that's awesome... <3
That's a real nice idea!
I'd let the PCs roleplay how they would want to impress the door... and keep those skill checks for emergencies.
I like the idea of a nanny ghost living in the door who loves to chat about all the children she nursed...
Great suggestions by everyone! I think I managed to create something fun, coherent and integrated. Thanks for the help!