Geometric Grecian Gaiety ======================== This adventure features a mix of puzzles and combat. Intro ----- Hectacles the Merry invites the group to his grand hall one night for a party. The wine flows freely, the attendees laugh, dance, and make merry. Hectacles keeps singing and his voice sounds like a great, booming horn. A state of sleepy drunkenness comes over everyone and the adventurers find themselves in a strage dreamworld with Mt. Olympus in the background and grand cities and gods in the foreground. It's unclear whether they're awake or asleep. Waiting to escort the PCs through this dreamworld is a mute guide (Pythagorus). 1st Trial: The Pillar of Heaven ------------------------------- The PCs see a huge pillar that extends up to the clouds. A small group of men are defending it from some imps that are trying to knock it over. The PCs will recognize the men as the good guys and pitch in to help defeat the imps. Following the combat, the god Hermes appears (he may appear earlier if the PCs need help with the imps). He explains that this pillar holds up heaven. They need to stablize the pillar and have decided to bend 3 of the nearby trees (which are so high that they punch through the clouds into heaven) to help support it. Hermes has agreed to stick around for awhile so he can cut the trees to the right length so that the top of the tree will exactly touch the top of the pillar. The PCs just need to tell him where to cut the trees. Formula they need: c^2 = a^2 + b^2 (hypotenuse of right triangle) (If they can find a way to restore Pythagorus' speech, he can help them) Pillar: 100 cubits in height Tree #1: 30 cubits from pillar (solution: cut to 104 cubits) Tree #2: 50 cubits from pillar (solution: cut to 111 cubits) Tree #2: 90 cubits from pillar (solution: cut to 134 cubits) 2nd Trial: Defend the Town! --------------------------- The PCs then go to the gates of a city (Xertaxercies) that is about to be attacked by an invading army. The goddess Athena has agreed to sew them a great tapestry that they can use to surround their city and will repel the invaders. She wants to know how long to make the tapestry. The gatekeeper that meets them will tell them that there isn't enough time to walk around the city to measure. A little more legwork will tell the PCs that there _is_ enough time to walk to the center of town. Formula they need: C = 2*pi*R (= pi*D) (circumferance of a circle) (If they can find a way to restore Pythagorus' speech, he can help them) Measurement from gate to center of town: 60 cubits Lenght of tapestry must be at least: 377 cubits (376.991) Some mass combat can ensue. It will go better for them if they can get the tapestry up. 3rd Trial: Tile my Floor ------------------------ Finally, the PCs meet Hectacles again. He is commanding a great Cyclops (one of the Titans who owes Hectacles a favor) to cut and carry numerous square tiles that were found in an old, abandoned temple. He is going to take them to his own hall to tile a room. The tiles are all 1.5 cubits square and his hall is 27 cubits square. The Cyclops will only make one trip, but he will cut & carry any number of tiles. How many tiles should he bring? Formula for area of a rectangle: A = L*W (For a square: A = L^2) (Again, Pythagorus can help them) Tiles they need to fill one side: 27 / 1.5 = 18 Tiles they need to fill whole floor: 324 Following this could be a game of pente or more combat, or something. Epilogue -------- Hectacles thanks them for attending his party, invites them to come again, and rewards them for helping tile his floor ($300 each or so?). Summary of NPCs =============== Hectacles Pythagorus Men defending pillar Imps (need stats for combat -- should be puny) Hermes Gatekeeper Athena Invading army (need to review mass combat) Cyclops