- Instant Death effects. Lava. bottomless pits. trains that don't need tracks. wind-up telegraphed strikes.
- Riddles
- Convincing strange people to be reasonable
- Hard decisions between two values
- Shadow version of you that has all your powers(!)
- Object must be retrieved from the world of dreams
- Object must be retrieved from the world of ghosts
- Oh no! You're in charge of a group of irresponsible weirdos
- You are cursed. Probably curable, and high-level characters might have an easier time compensating but the story is about suffering, which both should be able to do in equal measure.
- Extra effect against the higher leveled. Reopening all your previous scars. Burning every spell in your skull. summoning the ghosts of everyone you've killed.
- Attribute damage
- Literally just ask your players to come up with the things that would challenge their PCs, then incorporate those things without changing them.
Sunday, February 7, 2021
Twelve Level-less Problems
In games with character levels, I'm intrigued by dangers that persist regardless of where a character is in the track of advancement. (Opponents in head-to-head combat are almost never scaling problems. Fighting a knot of eunuchs is impossible at first level, easier at fourth.) When a scenario features level-less problems, it becomes interesting to a wider variety of parties, and is more likely to encourage creative play.
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This is a good list. Also binary no-save effects, like "if you look at the nymph you fall in love and will never do anything to hurt her"
ReplyDeleteNumber 5 is so obvious and elegant. Very smart.
ReplyDeleteNumbers 6-7 have infinite possibilities as well. World of shadows, world of fairies, world od upsidedown world, world of mirrors, etc.