Help with "The Gathering" Trials

By AgniAvis72, in Game Masters

My players are younglings in the clone wars and they are about to get their lightsaber crystals. I want each of them to have a moment that demonstrates their emotional strength and weakness. However, aside from two of my six players I have no idea what kind of "vision" or "test" to give them. Anyone got any advice?

Here are my player race and classes with their emotional strengths and weaknesses:

Togruta Sentinel Artisan

-Malleability/Alienation

Zabrak Sentinel Shadow

Motivation: Poverty

- Malleability/Cruelty

*my idea with this one is to show a corrupted official beating the crap out of a poor homeless man that keeps beating him and what the player will do.

Kel Dor Seeker Hermit

Motivation: Deadliness

-Discipline/CLosemindedness

Aleena Seeker Ataru Striker

Motivation: Vengeance

-Love/Jealousy

*my idea for this one is to show his family that he was taken away from since aleena are so family oriented and then showing him a vision of his parents having another kid two years later and is being loved and cared for

Mirialan Guardian Protector

Motivation: Balance of the Force

-Justice/Obsession

Mirialan Guardian Soresu Defender

Motivation: Artistic Legacy

Dedication/Obstinance

Also, here is a link to our campaign if you want to check it out and have more information about the story. we have only had two sessions thus far.

https://ghostsofthepast.obsidianportal.com/

Edited by AgniAvis72
added link to campaign website; added last player

Check out Nexus of Power and Disciples of Harmony . NoP has specific rules on the Gathering including a fleshed out modular encounter.

Oh im aware of those books and I own them. But thats why I need help. NoP shows examples of how emotional weaknesses can be used for the creation of the gathering visions. My issue is i don't know what the visions should be of the listed emotional weaknesses b/c those examples are not given in the book.

I played in something fairly similar once. Some ideas:

They see a crystal on the other side of a chasm. The only way across is a narrow ledge, but as they continue, it just keeps going longer and longer, whilst the checks to stay stable get harder and harder. It's only when they finally realise they have to turn back that they get the crystal. Could be useful for Dedication/Obstinance.

34 minutes ago, AgniAvis72 said:

Oh im aware of those books and I own them. But thats why I need help. NoP shows examples of how emotional weaknesses can be used for the creation of the gathering visions. My issue is i don't know what the visions should be of the listed emotional weaknesses b/c those examples are not given in the book.

There are some really good examples in the F&D GMs kit adventure.

Just now, Tramp Graphics said:

There are some really good examples in the F&D GMs kit adventure.

Yeah i have that too. Examples of Alienation and Closed-mindedness aren't in there...:(

Perhaps for alienation the player requires help to get the crystal from someone, ideally someone they didn't get on with too well ic.

For obstinance perhaps or close mindedness theres a vision that tells the character how to get the crystal, but it's on a way that the player would not usually be willing to do?

I ran a gathering vision with the player not actually knowing it was going to be their gathering trial. Had the player roll discipline like is suggested in NoP against 3 purples and succeed so I let the player take the floor by saying "okay describe your character's worst fear manifested, his most serious flaw, then describe how he overcomes that."

The player went on a good 5 minute description and it was amazing.

We continued on with the encounter as normal (dark force cave twisted by some darkside creep who was kidnapping people and sending giant spiders to attack the nearby city). They fought the dude, fought some spiders, resued a man in a cocoon and a girl who was experimented on... it was only at the end, when they were leaving, that the force user of the group noticed a small light that hadn't been there before... as he grew closer, it was as if part of the jagged wall was reflecting some sort of light source in this dark cave. The closer he got, the more a humming melody played in his head. As he reached for it, it fell out of the wall easily enough and snapped in two before his eyes. He held in his hands two kyber crystals, his first ones.

Edited by GroggyGolem

It would be nice to have ideas about compassion/hatred as well as I am in a near futur facing the sale problem ;)

thanks

On 8/29/2017 at 0:53 PM, Rosco74 said:

It would be nice to have ideas about compassion/hatred as well as I am in a near futur facing the sale problem ;)

thanks

That's really easy. Ask them who their worst enemy is, like who do they hate the most who has done the most bad to them in their life. Present them with a vision of that person, helpess, bound, looking up at them. Do they give into hatred and end them, knowing it will stop them from ever hurting someone again or does the pc show compassion and bring about justice instead of vengeance?

That's the easy version. I try to present the player the trial in a way he doesn't know it is a trial, otherwise it would be too simple. His worst ennemy need to be someone he faced already in the game, not someone created just 5 minutes ago, and with just few clues he must identify directly who it is. For that I must think ahead. The next boss will hobble for exemple, his left leg being "sick". Then in the caverns the character might find some prints on the floor from someone hobbling, then he would know who it is.

What if a close friend or relative of the Hermit were to explain a particular sort of trail that he and all of his ancestors have faced, how they always had to navigate their way through a confusing maze in order to finally get the crystal. The PC begins this same trial, but must eventually realize that, through cryptic clues in the walls and subtle callings from the Force that he needs to go another way.