December/January Challenge: Dungeoneering 101

[Gidde]

Ooh, Jax, that's a great idea. Someone needs to use that in their campaign, that tickles my nasty-DM alternate persona

[Savannah]

Or maybe it's not visible when the party beds down for the night and while they sleep it gradually comes to life and something steps into the room with them? ewwwww, that's scary

*makes note* I know what's happening in my next game I'll just have to make sure that the room with the invisible summoning circle is the most obvious one to camp in...

hehe... I remember in Order of the Stick (GREAT free online comic) when once they camped at nightfall - and the characters were confused about camping and talking about they usually only camped when they had to heal and get their spells back - normal day/night rythms confused them *lol*

Sadly, that's exactly how almost every game I've been involved with goes. (And, yeah, OotS is awesome!)

[Jaxilon]

Hey, you don't have to make that room the obvious choice. Since the circle is invisible until activated, you just make it exist in whatever room they decide to bed down in. The players will never know the difference and unless you tell them they are not going to know you had it preplanned all along. That's also why just before anything happens you roll a fistful of dice behind your referee's screen, act like you are checking the pips and then make a "hmm" sound. By the time you start to describe what's going on they will be sitting on the edge of their seats.

[Savannah]

Oh, sure, I could stick it wherever they end up sleeping. But it's more fun to give them a chance to notice that there's exactly one safe-seeming room in the heavily-trapped structure, to give them a chance to avoid it.