A Game of Marbles

I'm particularly proud of this encounter. It combined great combat and a good puzzle. I've decided my new favorite monster is the Beholder...it attacks EVERY turn!

At the top of the stairs, the heroes were once again greeted by the illusionary wizard. He explained behind him was a 6x6 grid, with a couple walls placed on it. 8 marbles were to be placed on the grid. None could be adjacent, even diagonally. They also could not see each other horizontally or vertically. On 3 of the 4 sides of the grid were tables with a bowl on each one. In each bowl was a single marble...once removed and placed, a second one would appear in the bowl.

On the grid, waiting for the heroes were a pair of beholders. Hoping to outsmart the tower, the heroes attempted to slay the beholders and then solve the puzzle. Little did they know that any beholder slain would return to life on it's turn until the puzzle was completed.

Once they learned this and adjusted their tactics the encounter took on a life of its own as Ekeraath stepped up and does what he does best, pin down enemies and soak up damage. He resisted over 100 points of damage, taking 100's of points of damage. Leenia and Alexander did their best to keep him on his feet, only once did he go unconscious, bet Leenia immediately healed him with Unexpected Return, a power she had recently learned.

The other heroes did their best to quickly solve the puzzle, but the onslaught of the beholders proved challenging as Rudy, Kuppies, and Leenia all took substantial hits from them. To raise the difficulty, once a marble was placed on the board, it grew to 5 feet in diameter and would issue a burst of force at the start of each round, inflicting damage and pushing the hero.

To their credit, the party did an excellent job solving the puzzle while taking as little damage as possible doing it.