A popular cliché or trope that seems to endlessly occur in Fifth Edition games is this: defeat monster, check its pockets, take its stuff. Here’s a way to rethink the scenario. What if the magic item is part of the encounter? What if a magic item defined the encounter such that it makes it very difficult to acquire without damaging it? What if that same magic item was also highly desirable?
Adding to this concept we’ll apply a template to the encounter, taking a common everyday monster (zombie) and applying it to a monster less common … say, one that makes it harder to just take the magic item.
Here’s my interpretation of that concept — start with an instant fortress, make a few customized adjustments and place it on your selected terrain already deployed, with a zombified tyrannosaurus rex inside it on the ground floor.
How? Why? That’s not important.
"A wizard did it.”
Add locks and traps. Then ask yourself — is the eventual edifice worth the problem of dealing with the watchdog trapped inside? Even better, if they deal with the watchdog and get greedy, there could be even more issues...
Encounter Type: Combat
Map: Tower map
Lighting: Dynamic lighting
System: 5E
Length: One shot
Installation Type: Addon
License: Roll20 End User License Agreement
(Personal Use Only, Do Not Distribute)