The Summer Court's Gauntlet · The Green Door

Rapierhead Gauntlet

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The Summer Court has gathered to watch. Every member of the party must reach the fey orb and return to the Green Door, while a flock of Rapierheads, small fowl with rapiers for faces, darts along the halls.

Row 25 · the orb Far side
Row 1 · start · 1 square = 5 ft The Green Door
Off the map
Rapierhead (beak points the way it runs) Entangled 2Downed, rises in N rounds Safe dais
Keeper's notes

Challenge of the Enigma: the Rapierheads Grid

One trial in a gauntlet of challenges the party undertakes for the amusement of the Summer Court. Behind the Green Door lies a grid of flagstones, a flock of Rapierheads, and an orb on the far side.

How the grid plays

  • Turns, not sweeps. Characters act in turn order. At the end of every character's turn the whole flock runs one square west or east. A party of six sees the flock move six times each round.
  • Luck decides the direction. At the end of their turn, the player makes a luck check (d20, DC 11). On a success they choose which way the flock runs. On a fail the DM chooses.
  • Rows and walls. Each Rapierhead stays in its row and wraps around when it reaches a wall. Every square is 5 feet, so the grid is 110 feet wide and 125 feet deep.
  • Strikes. A Rapierhead that runs into a character's square, or whose square a character steps into, deals its damage. The standard is 1 piercing damage per strike.
  • Sentinel. A character standing as Sentinel blocks the flock. The Rapierhead that would run into them stops and strikes them instead, and the birds lined up behind it stop too.
  • Immobilised. An entangled or held Rapierhead stays put and blocks its row until released.
  • Regeneration. A Rapierhead that is killed falls in a heap of feathers and rises again in the same square a couple of rounds later.
  • The orb and the door. The top and bottom rows are safe. A character must touch the orb row and then return to the start row.

Objective

The party's goal is to navigate through the grid to reach the orb on the opposite side and then make their way back to the starting point, all while avoiding or strategically engaging with the Rapierheads. Every party member must complete this round trip for the challenge to be considered successfully completed.

Mechanics and strategy

Round trip
The challenge requires a return journey, doubling the distance each character must safely navigate. This demands resource conservation and strategic planning.
Team coordination
The necessity for all members to reach the orb and return amplifies the need for cohesive team tactics. The party must ensure that weaker or more vulnerable members are protected throughout both legs of the journey.
Strategic sacrifice
With the Sentinel ability in play, characters might have to strategically position themselves to block or distract Rapierheads, ensuring safe passage for others. This strategy becomes even more critical on the return journey, where resources may be more depleted.
Use of spells and abilities
Creative use of spells (for distraction, area control, or temporary immobilisation of Rapierheads) becomes crucial. Abilities that can protect teammates or alter the movement patterns of Rapierheads without forcing them out of the grid are invaluable.
Conservation of resources
Given the extended nature of the task, conserving spells, abilities, and health becomes paramount. The party must judiciously decide when and how to use their resources to ensure that all members can make it to the orb and back.

Considerations for success

Adaptive planning
The party needs to be ready to adapt their strategy on the fly, especially if unexpected challenges arise or if initial plans prove less effective than hoped.
Protection and healing
Ensuring that party members remain in good health throughout the challenge is vital. Protective spells, healing abilities, and the strategic use of potions or other items can be the difference between success and failure.
Balanced engagement
While engaging with Rapierheads directly is discouraged due to their regeneration, finding a balance between distraction, temporary immobilisation, and avoidance is key to navigating the grid effectively.

Consequences of failure

Failing to get all members back to the starting point might not necessarily mean starting over from scratch but could result in partial resets, where the party must re-attempt the return journey from the orb's location. Alternatively, increased difficulty or additional penalties (such as temporary debuffs representing injuries or exhaustion) could apply, heightening the challenge and emphasising the stakes of their mission in the Feywild.

On this page: Back to the orb is the partial reset, the exhaustion pips track debuffs, and a bigger flock or more damage raises the difficulty.

Tuning for your table

The flock moves once per character turn, so the size of the party sets how dangerous a round is. The original table had six characters, with the Rapierheads dealing 1 damage each.

  • Fewer characters means fewer moves per round, so raise the damage to keep the pressure on.
  • Higher-level characters shrug off 1 damage. Boost it to match.
  • A bigger flock makes the grid harder without changing the damage.