A mostly fleshed-out outline for a one shot night of entertainment
Synopsis: The players are hired by a wealthy merchant to explore a long-forgotten temple deep in the jungle. The temple is said to contain untold riches and powerful artifacts, but it is also rumored to be cursed and guarded by deadly traps and monsters. The merchant wants the players to retrieve a specific artifact, a golden serpent statue, and bring it back to him.
Setting: The temple is located in a dense jungle, accessible only by a treacherous path. The temple itself is ancient and overgrown, with crumbling stone walls and moss-covered statues. The interior is dark and musty, with narrow corridors and rooms filled with traps and puzzles.
Encounters:
- The path to the temple is infested with giant mosquitoes and venomous snakes.
- Inside the temple, the players must navigate a series of traps, including dart traps and pressure plates that trigger poison gas.
- The players will face a group of undead mummies guarding the temple’s inner sanctum.
- The final encounter is against the temple’s guardian, a giant serpent construct animated by an evil sorcerer.
Rewards:
- The players will find treasure and valuable artifacts scattered throughout the temple, including the golden serpent statue.
- The merchant will pay the players a large sum of gold for the statue, and may also offer additional rewards for any other valuable items they find.
Note: This is a basic one-shot and might require some adjustments based on your group size and level of players. Also, would be great if you have a GM who could run the adventure and make necessary adjustments as per the players choices.
The temple layout is as follows:
- The entrance to the temple is a large stone archway, overgrown with vines and guarded by a pair of stone serpent statues.
- Inside, the players will find themselves in a long, narrow hallway with several doorways leading off to the sides. These doorways lead to small chambers filled with traps and puzzles.
- At the end of the hallway, the players will find a large, open room with a raised platform in the center. This is the inner sanctum of the temple, and it is guarded by the undead mummies.
- On the raised platform, the players will find the golden serpent statue, as well as a stairway leading down to the lower levels of the temple.
- The lower levels of the temple are a series of twisting, underground passages. These passages are home to the giant serpent construct, which serves as the final boss of the adventure.
The players will need to navigate the traps and monsters in the temple to find their way to the golden serpent statue and the final boss. The temple is filled with treasures and valuable artifacts, but also with many dangers.
Traps:
- Dart trap: A pressure plate hidden in the floor triggers a mechanism that shoots darts from hidden wall sconces. The darts are poisoned.
- Poison gas trap: Another pressure plate hidden in the floor triggers the release of a cloud of poisonous gas from vents in the walls.
Puzzles:
- The first puzzle could be a set of hieroglyphics on the wall that, when deciphered, reveal a sequence of numbers. These numbers correspond to the order in which a series of statues in the room must be pushed to reveal a hidden passage.
- The second puzzle could be a series of levers and pulleys that control the flow of water through a series of channels. The players must manipulate the levers in the correct order to open a door that is sealed shut by water pressure.
Keep in mind that this is just an example and there are many different types of traps and puzzles that can be used in an adventure like this. It’s important to tailor them to the level of players you have and adjust the difficulty accordingly.