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Old 06-25-2016, 08:32 PM   #1
Johan Larson
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Toronto, Canada
Default the switch

The party has found a switch.

The switch is genre-appropriate: in a dungeon fantasy campaign, it's a bronze bar set in solid stone; in a modern campaign it's a modern electrical switch found in a deserted building; in steam-punk it's a double-bladed electrical switch sized for two-handed operation.

What does it do?
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Old 06-25-2016, 08:35 PM   #2
Randyman
 
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Default Re: the switch

It is accompanied by a talking snake named Nate, who warns them that throwing the switch will destroy the world...
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Old 06-26-2016, 02:04 AM   #3
Boomerang
 
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Default Re: the switch

Flipping the switch causes two other switches located elsewhere in the dungeon to reverse positions. In fact there are numerous switches throughout that all do the same thing, when flipped they all cause two other switches (the two closest actually) to reverse positions. If at any point all the switches are left in the up position you can leave safely through a magic portal. If they are all in the down position however, a portal direct to The Abyss opens up.
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Old 06-26-2016, 09:30 AM   #4
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Default Re: the switch

In a superhero campaign, it kills Captain Amazing.
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Old 06-26-2016, 01:03 PM   #5
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Default Re: the switch

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johan Larson View Post
What does it do?
It just sits there until somebody throws it.

When somebody throws it, it completes (or breaks) a circuit.

Okay, that's the Mathematician's Answers out of the way...
  • It turns on the lights. You quickly wish you hadn't seen that... thing - and that it hadn't seen you.
  • It turns on an alarm. So much for sneaking in.
  • It cuts the power to the magnet that was keeping a metal plate in place. Said plate drops across the doorway, cutting off your avenue of escape and leaving you no choice but to proceed further along the path. Flipping the switch back doesn't help - the magnetic field is re-established, but it isn't strong enough to raise the metal plate.
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Old 06-26-2016, 06:08 PM   #6
dcarson
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Default Re: the switch

It teleports the party to somewhere safe. Just the party, none of their stuff.
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Old 06-26-2016, 06:32 PM   #7
Boomerang
 
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Location: Melbourne, Australia (also known as zone Brisbane)
Default Re: the switch

The switch originally triggered an elevator, but over years of neglect the elevator no longer works. The PCs can force open the door which is hidden under a thick layer of grime and climb up or down the shaft to move between levels.
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Old 06-26-2016, 07:39 PM   #8
Johan Larson
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Toronto, Canada
Default Re: the switch

Quote:
Originally Posted by dcarson View Post
It teleports the party to somewhere safe. Just the party, none of their stuff.
Great idea. Unfortunately I'm riding herd on a toxic aggregation of rules-lawyers. They'll want rulings on cyborg implants, bio-tech mods, gestating fetuses, piercings, tattoos, and body-paint.

Please advise.

Last edited by Johan Larson; 06-26-2016 at 07:48 PM.
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Old 06-26-2016, 08:13 PM   #9
(E)
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: New Zealand.
Default Re: the switch

Ideas
- it's stuck
- triggers an ominous grinding noise in the distance
- a section of wall rotates and a tall man and a large dog run off yelling "ghost" and "rhost" respectively
- it resets every trap (or room) they have passed so far.
- An alcove opens and a skeleton (or robot) walks out with a can of oil and some tools and begins to oil and service all the doors and traps. (A variation has the skeleton feed the animals that have somehow survived for years in locked rooms)
- Nothing happens unless they make the notice check to spot the small coin slot next to the lever.
- it breaks revealing complicated machinery behind the wall.
- the door locks and a panic room door opens.
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Old 06-26-2016, 10:21 PM   #10
RyanW
 
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Location: Southeast NC
Default Re: the switch

Nothing... as far as you can tell.

That will drive some players completely insane.
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