I’ve been reading Witch King by Martha Wells (Amazon link). So far I’m really enjoying it. If you’re planning on reading it, you may want to skip the second part of this where I discuss designing a module based upon the first part of the book.
What I think the author does really well in this book it to give magic a relatively unique flavor. There are multiple different types of magic user in the book, and they all have their own ways of interacting with magic. The main character, Kai, is a demon. In the world of the book, demons are chthonic creatures that live under the ground. They come up from their subterranean realm to possess the bodies of the dead. Their forms and existences are very fluid in their subterraneans world. When they inhabit a mortal body, they are able to heal very rapidly, and also drain the life energy from living things. They are weakened by water and lack of contact with the ground
Witch King: Puzzle Tomb
Witch King starts with two of the main characters imprisoned in a dungeon that is underwater in order to disconnect Kai from his abilities. A group of villains works their way into the dungeon, drains the water from Kai’s chamber allowing him to escape. To me this part of the book has the feel of a classic puzzle dungeon.
I always have trouble with a puzzle dungeon because it feels contrived. Are the bad guys really going to spend a bunch of time making complex puzzles? I always struggle to find a motivation for my villains. The standard explanation is that wizards just like to have weird. It’s not a terrible explanation; in some ways locks and encryption are just complex puzzles. Another option is to make the puzzle about learning to manipulate a complex mechanism. For example, one designed to keep a nearly unkillable monster under water to incapacitate it. Part of the solution is how to get to the monster without freeing it before the party is ready to fight it….
Now that we’ve talked about Witch King, maybe take a look at some DnD magical item prices.
0 Comments