Horsing Around!

Horsing Around! is a one-shot ran by Brayden.

Party

Sparklenook

Ian Thorne

Synopsis

“Our story starts as many do, with walking, so much walking, down a lovely forest road, where our heroes tread said path towards a town they have heard whispers of being in great trouble. You see before you a town, cottages and roads, a strangely old-west style saloon, and the occasional people.”
They find their way to the mayor somehow and he directs them to the horse kidnappers lair just north of the town and then must solve a trio of horse puzzles, seen below.

Puzzle 1: Horse Door

A pair of two grand ornate purple double doors, with ornate gold patterning depicting horses running on and on, free and wild. Under each door handle is an indent in the shape of a horse, one red, and one blue. By the doors is a series of identical horse figures made of different materials, one ruby, emerald, amethyst, quartz, sapphire, and diamond. (The Red goes in the blue and vice versa)

Puzzle 2: Needle in a Haystack

Behind the doors is a room with a 5 foot ledge, leading into a pit of hay, on the far wall reads ‘Hark, you cannot continue on your way/verily for we say thee Nay/ For, to continue you must find the needle in the hay’ A DC 15 investigation check in the hay (or any other fitting mean) will reveal the needle, when a drop of blood is drawn with it the blood will float and drip into the hay, dissolving it, revealing another set of double doors, obscured by the hay.

Puzzle 3: Knock Knock, who’s there? H O R S E

As you face these grand doors you find a sign hung on the door with string that says ‘Please knock door’. (Any bludgeoning damage will cause the doors to just fall and slam into the ground)
After solving the trio of horse puzzles, the party finds themselves in a large room of dark black stone. In front of them are 4 cultists (Jorts, Party Hat, Ducky Ring, Top Hat) circled around a horse that’s just kinda standing their with a bag over it’s head neighing confusedly as they chant “Equus” over and over, red runes on the floor glowing as they do, attempting to free the mare of night.

NPCs

Mayor Landcookie

A normal horse that is also Mayor of Stonecliff Gulch

Where are my pants

A normal horse, wife of Mayor Landcookie, kidnapped by horse cult