Just Thinking... Trapped Offerings
Thinking about an altar scene, one in an abandoned temple. Where the characters stumble upon it, and it’s empty. What’s their first instinct? Search it. After searching it and finding nothing. What do they do? they start placing things on top of it. Someone always does it.
Then when they put something on it, maybe it invites them into something further, like sliding to the side and opening a little door in the floor, with a Stairway down. Encouraging them to venture forth. The trick is it rewards them first. Then punishes them. I see it in play. They put a silver coin. The altar rumbles. Stairs appear. Torchlight flickers down. Excited voices. They all go.
Two rooms later, a check happens, and one character fails. Suddenly their strength is down a point, or maybe they notice they cast no shadow. I want it to feel like a trade they agreed to without reading the terms.
Maybe I could tie it to their encumbrance. Anytime they drop something on the altar, they start to feel a little lighter. it feels good. They drop an old shield, the altar takes it, and suddenly all their packs feel less heavy. It kind of tempting them to keep going. Do it a few times and have them keep feeding it. I’d track this as a DM, for every little bonus they get, a negative will happen on say the 4th or 5th time, but it wont be outright obvious. Maybe something from the altar is lurking in the shadows watching and the moment they stop offering up, it follows them, right out the dungeon to claim them as the final offering.
I dunno maybe I just crazy with weird ideas. You tell me?
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Let the terror of the room break apart, let them smell something sweet, let them cluster in an stumble into a honey trap. Literally a honey trap, for underneath, that sweet smell is a massive bee hive, that has caught the attention of bears who is ran by wearbear and are currently hibernating underneath just outside the hive of the bees where the tomb is at. A signature trap of the departed, who was buried with a single hive to guard his riches that grew. Might not work well at high levels, but is sure fun at low levels. Good Luck!