The Dream Castle
Overview
This adventure is a mystery within a surrealist fantasy universe in which the players begin by finding themselves trapped inside a locked dungeon cell. They have no recollection of who they are or where they are, and what they don’t know is that they are legendary heroes trapped inside of the mind of a legendary dream god hellbent on destroying them. The goal of the adventure is to make it to the top of the dungeon in which they are trapped, destroy Lord Demregall, King of Tithe, restore their identities, and escape the dream plane inside of Lord Demregall’s Mind.
Opening Scene-The Dungeon
The three of you wake up inside a dungeon cell. It’s cold in the cell, and surprisingly quiet. Your minds are in a fog right now. You can’t remember who you are, where you are from, or why you are locked inside of a dungeon cell. The only thing that gives any of you a clue as to who you are is your attire and belongings. You are all wearing armor and carrying weapons, and the spellcasters (including the bard) have their spellbooks with spells listed in them.
The cell that you are trapped in is very barebones. There is a toilet, two beds with pillows and blankets, a sink, and a barred window looking out into darkness. It must be nighttime. The cell is sealed with bars from ceiling to floor, and there is a metal door that appears to be the only way in or out of the cell. The only strange thing of note is an hourglass sitting on the window sill with its sands falling downwards. It appears to be recently flipped. What do you do?
DM Notes:
-No guards.
-Two skeletons outside the cell if they search. No roll necessary.
-Closest skeleton has a key ring on it with the key to the cell, if the players roll to search. Need an 8 or higher.
-Keys can be reached in a number of ways. Alternative method of escape involved breaking the bars or blasting their way out.
-Players are being timed to finish this adventure. One of Lord Denregall’s “games” for the players is a time trial. They have 3 hours to complete the adventure. If they fail, the dream plane is swallowed by silver sands.
You escape! When you escape you hear violently rattling and look over to see the two skeleton soldiers rising to their feet. They are waving their short swords angrily at you and charging toward you. What do you do?
Scene 2-Exploration
The skeletons crumble to dust in front of you, and now you are free. In front of you is a set of spiral stairs going upwards. Across the hall you see another pair of spiral stairs going upwards. There are two other dungeon cells that are locked and appear to be empty. What do you do?
DM Notes:
-The far cell is actually empty, but the middle cell has a clue for a later puzzle hidden under the bed.
-Both pairs of steps lead to the same location. The idea here is that players feel like they must make a big choice here.
-The hourglass is a key item for later on. It contains engravings of moons on it and is made of a sturdy silver. Nothing else about it can be determined.
Scene 3-The Three Keeps
When you reach the top of the steps, you find yourself out on top of the roof of what you are now sure is a castle. The two things that stand out to you are the night sky, which has an ethereal and otherworldly appearance, and three enormous keeps protruding from the back of the castle. The middle keep is by far the biggest in both height and circumference, with the two side keeps being significantly smaller. The middle keep also has an enormous locked portcullis blocking the entryway, and its lock is the size of a tower shield. The two smaller keeps are open, and spiral staircases can be seen ascending into the towers. The only other thing of note is that there are stone gargoyles positioned across the ledge of the roof, as if guarding over the castle keeps. What do you do?
DM Notes:
-The middle keep is locked firmly, as this one leads up into the King of Tithe’s chambers and the final areas of the adventure. The lock can be broken and the gate opened with some heavy magic spells, but doing so causes the eight stone gargoyles to come to life and attack.
-If the players choose to investigate the lock, they find that it has two key slots, one that is square shaped and one that is round. It requires each of the other keep’s keys to open. The square one has the words “The Key of the Moon” written above it and the round one has “The Key of the Sun” written above it.
Keep 1 (whichever is chosen first)
You go into the left keep, and immediately find yourself on a spiral staircase ascending upwards. It feels like you are traveling upwards for hours, but eventually you arrive at an open room that looks a lot like a library. There are bookshelves everywhere that are filled with books across the three opposite walls of the room. There are also two reading chairs with a table between them. The most interesting thing in the room, however, is a fairly big treasure chest about 5 feet long and 3 feet high. The strange thing about the treasure chest is that it is sealed shut by two metal clasps that wrap around the chest. Each clasp also extends out and connects to a statue of a demon at the crotch. The statues are in a pose where it appears that they are peeing into the metal clasps. In front of the treasure chest you see empty panels with slots for cards, as well as a tied up scroll and a deck of tarot cards sitting on the stand next to it. The stand is connected to the two clasps keeping the chest shut. What do you do?
DM Notes:
-The demon statues have glass vials of acid in them that can be seen just barely in small holes in the backs of the demons. A character with alchemy knowledge, a high intelligence, or high wisdom score can roll to determine what it is. Breaking the vials sends the acid into the treasure chest to corrode the key and make it unusable.
-The treasure chest contains the Key of the Sun for the main keep’s door.
-Trying to break the chest open also results in the key being destroyed.
-The stand contains a deck of tarot cards, 14 empty slots from left to right, and a scroll that reads:
“Here should lie the story of Demegrall the great, from education to empowerment to empire. Put the events of his story in the right order, keeping the following in mind:
The battle between Temperance and Strength is always the first battle that any great man must overcome.
Vengeful conspirators must be dealt with before love can be brought to fruition,
And when it's not, lovers die when trouble comes from above and you become the avenger fighting the avenger.
Man and woman battle while good and evil fight on the grand stage.
The holy man hangs the heretic for all to see,
While the Devil is made a Fool by Justice to finish the show.”
-Putting each of the puzzle’s cards in the correct slot results in the clasps being released. Once they been released, the players can retrieve the key.
-If the players search the books, they find out a strange fact: all of the books are on dreams or related to dreams.
Keep 2 (whichever is chosen second)
You walk up another set of spiral stairs and find yourself in an open stone chamber with red tapestries decorating the walls. The sole object in the room is an enormous monolith that reaches up a few inches from the ceiling. Attached to the monolith is a large painting that covers almost the entire monolith. The painting depicts a man who looks similar to Santa Claus, with a long white beard and a big round gut, standing at a fork in the road. The man is wearing a dark blue cloak and has several tool belts with various object such as knives, daggers, filled vials of different colors, and scroll containers, among many other things. He is wearing a pointed wizard’s hat that is the same color as his cloak. In the foreground of the painting you can see a wise old man with simple garbs standing and pondering. What do you do?
DM Notes:
-When players investigate the painting, white smoke leaks out of it, envelops the players, and then sucks them into the painting.
After many minutes of disorienting, swirling chaos, you find yourselves inside the world of the painting! You all feel an intense bout of nausea, and _____ even vomits. The wise old man comes over to you. He looks concerned.
Wise Old Man: Are all of you okay?
DM Notes:
-The Wise Old Man mainly speaks in idioms and wise sayings. He provides the players with their riddle for this part of the game, and the riddle is such:
“Up ahead is a fork in the road, with paths to two separate cities. One way is the City of Lies and another way is the City of Truth.
Citizens of the City of Lies always lie.
Citizens of the City of Truth always tell the truth.
A citizen of one of those cities (you don't know which) is at the intersection. You can only ask him one question, because he is an angry and impatient man, to figure out which path is the path to the City of Truth. Figure out the question that will reveal the path to the City of Truth and go ask the man.
Here is a Hint: If you ask the right question, the man’s city of origin will not matter.
The correct question to ask is: "In which of those two directions do you live?"
A Citizen of the City of Lies will point to the City of Truth
A Citizen of the City of Truth will point to the City of Truth
-Trying to ask more than one question to the mysterious citizen results in the man bursting into rage and attacking the players. Either the players lose the fight and are sent back to the “real” world with no way of re-entering the painting (and thus have to break the portcullis and fight the gargoyles to proceed) or the win and have to gamble on which direction is the correct direction.
City of Truth (Correct Path)
You walk down the path and eventually find yourself inside a large city with beautiful colorful houses and lush surrounding forests. A large sign above your heads reads “The City of Truth: Welcome Weary Travelers.” At the end of the city you see a glowing shrine of several stone gods and goddesses. All of the statues are glowing a bright blue light. You hear a voice in your heads. It is a woman’s voice, soft and calming. It says, “Welcome, children. If it is the moon key that you seek, come to the shrine at the end of the city, and we will offer it to you.” What do you do?
DM Notes:
-The city is devoid of people, so the only thing that the players find when they search are beautiful buildings, roads, and other city features.
-When the players reach the shrine, the stone gods and goddesses greet them by saying, “Oh loyal ones, take the Key of the Moon as a reward for your perseverance, and may you be successful in your journey.”
-After the players take the key, the stone gods transport them back to the castle.
City of Lies (Wrong Path)
You walk down the path and eventually find yourself inside a city of splendors. There are gold towers abound, with the smells of cinnamon, vanilla, and pine floating through the air. The city sparkles with wonder. Toward the back of the city you see a castle that towers above everything else. You hear a voice that says, “Come to the castle to find the key that you seek.” What do you do?
DM Notes:
-This entire city is an illusion. As soon as the players walk into the city, everything in it disappears, and they find themselves standing in the middle of a dark swamp. A black dragon swoops down from the sky and attacks the players. He says, “You’ve fallen for our trap, foolish humans!”
Keep 3-The Final Confrontation
Now that you have both keys, you are able to open the lock. You put the keys in the locks, turn them, and the portcullis rises. You enter the third keep, and like the others, you find yourself at spiral steps moving upwards. What do you do?
You walk up the steps and find yourself in a large, elegantly decorated chamber with large jewels, gems, and golden decorations attached to the walls. Large black banners with silver skulls on them hang from floor to ceiling, and in the center of the room, sitting on a throne made of bones and skulls, is a man wearing a long black helmet that appears to be far too big for his head. He is also wearing black metal plate armor and a shining silver cloak. What little bit of his skin that you can see appears to be purple. Based on the legends that you have heard, you are confident that this is none other than Lord Demregall, King of Tithe.
Lord Demregall rises from his throne, steps forward several feet, and traces a line in the air that leaves trails of purple smoke. After a few seconds, a black staff with a shining orb at the top appears in his hands. He speaks:
“I’ve been watching you, and I must say that I am truly impressed that you have made it this far. I always enjoy bringing heroes such as yourselves to my own little realm to toy around with. While you have proven yourselves worthy, I must confess that your hardest challenge still awaits.”
His staff begins to glow, and a purple barrier of magic appears along the walls of the room, so as to prevent you from leaving.
“Now you must defeat me if you want to live.” Demregall’s wand flares with energy, and he appears to be getting ready to cast a spell. What do you do?
DM Notes
-This is obviously a mandatory fight, and this is the first of two places where the players can feasibly die. This would be fine, as it appears to be the final fight anyways.
(If players defeat Demregall) Congratulations! You have defeated Lord Demregall! The magical barrier is removed, and you see a large doorway open on the opposite side of the room. It is glowing with a bright light. What do you do?
You walk into the light, and you find yourselves on a floating road in the sky that twists and turns into the distance. As you walk, you find yourselves approaching a very, very large human-like being in the distance. The being stretches up from the ground below and towers up at least one hundred feet above you. The being has jet black skin and scraggly white hair that reaches down to its shoulders. Its eyes are like a human’s eyes, except they are gold. When you get close enough, the being chuckles and says, “Hello, mortals! Are you trying to get home? (Players answer)
DM Notes
-I’ll leave it up to the players to decide how much information they want to learn from this being before the final fight ensues.
-Here are all of the things that can be learned:
-This being is the legendary Sandman.
-This entire place is the dreamlands of Lord Demregall.
-Demregall made a pact with the Sandman to create a physical manifestation of his dreams where he could test heroes and hopefully kill them to absorb their life energy and make himself stronger.
-Demregall tests his victims first to make sure they are worthy of having their essence absorbed into him.
-The dreamscape of his mind allows him to absorb his victims’ essences.
-This is another situation where the players must fight to progress, and in this case they must fight to win. The Sandman reveals that his sick pleasure is to invade the dreams of the dying, and so he seeks to kill the players and invade their fading dreams.
A fight ensues with the Sandman. The hourglass that you have been holding begins to start glowing. You see that the sands are almost gone from the top half. You see that you have about five minutes before the sands are up. The Sandman reveals that you have been being timed in your trial and your time is almost up. “Take refuge, young ones, as facing me is your final test.” He reaches out and lifts his fist to smash you. What do you do?
DM Notes
-Without using the easy way out, which is to smash the hourglass, causing the connection between worlds to break and thus taking you back to the real world; this proves to be a difficult fight.
(If players defeat the Sandman) Congratulations! You have defeated the Sandman! He falls down into the clouds and you see the road extend before your eyes down below the clouds. The road leads to a pool of water. You look into the water and start to remember things. You remember your names, your careers, your hopes, your dreams! You know that in this water lies the path to the real world. You jump in to find yourselves sitting in a pond on a farm on the outskirts of your city. It’s farmer Ingold’s farm! You see your city in the distance. It is just as bustling and vibrant as ever, and you are happy to be home!
The End
Analysis: Puzzle Design
There were two required puzzles for my players to complete in order to advance through the adventure. There are two keys, a Key of the Sun and Key of the Moon, that are needed to open the portcullis and fight the main villains. Solving each of the two side keep’s puzzles yields one of the keys.
The first puzzle is what I call “Storied Tarot,” and it is presented to players as such,
“You go into the left keep, and immediately find yourself on a spiral staircase ascending upwards. It feels like you are traveling upwards for hours, but eventually you arrive at an open room that looks a lot like a library. There are bookshelves everywhere that are filled with books across the three opposite walls of the room. There are also two reading chairs with a table between them. The most interesting thing in the room, however, is a fairly big treasure chest about 5 feet long and 3 feet high. The strange thing about the treasure chest is that it is sealed shut by two metal clasps that wrap around the chest. Each clasp also extends out and connects to a statue of a demon at the crotch. The statues are in a pose where it appears that they are peeing into the metal clasps. In front of the treasure chest you see empty panels with slots for cards, as well as a tied up scroll and a deck of tarot cards sitting on the stand next to it. The stand is connected to the two clasps keeping the chest shut. What do you do?”
When players investigate the scroll, they see the following text,
“Here should lie the story of Demegrall the great, from education to empowerment to empire. Put the events of his story in the right order, keeping the following in mind:
The battle between Temperance and Strength is always the first battle that any great man must overcome.
Vengeful conspirators must be dealt with before love can be brought to fruition,
And when it's not, lovers die when trouble comes from above and you become the avenger fighting the avenger.
Man and woman battle while good and evil fight on the grand stage.
The holy man hangs the heretic for all to see,
While the Devil is made a Fool by Justice to finish the show.”
The objective of this puzzle is to find the correct cards to put into the mechanism’s slots and to put them in the slots in the right order to open the clasps and retrieve the key from the treasure chest. The clues on the scroll reveal which cards from the deck to use, and marked numbers on the cards help guide the player to figure out their order. The trick to solving this puzzle is realizing that the cards need to be in order from left to right based on the order of the events described above as well as their numbers. A player who assumes that the marked numbers alone will guide them to the answer will be disappointed when they find out that there are multiple cards marked “1,” “2,” and “3.”
The solution is as follows:
The second puzzle was a logic puzzle in which the players must figure out the correct path to the second key, and they must ask a mysterious traveler for directions to the city with the key. The puzzle was posed to them as such:
“Up ahead is a fork in the road, with paths to two separate cities. One way is the City of Lies and another way is the City of Truth.
Citizens of the City of Lies always lie.
Citizens of the City of Truth always tell the truth.
A citizen of one of those cities (you don't know which) is at the intersection. You can only ask him one question, because he is an angry and impatient man, to figure out which path is the path to the City of Truth. Figure out the question that will reveal the path to the City of Truth and go ask the man.
Here is a Hint: If you ask the right question, the man’s city of origin will not matter.”
The correct question to ask is: "In which of those two directions do you live?"
A Citizen of the City of Lies will point to the City of Truth
A Citizen of the City of Truth will point to the City of Truth
Truth is left
Lies is right