14. Pool of Endless Froglings

The Dm should be ready to handle an encounter with many tiny creatures because the froglings are numerous.
This is the entrance that Team 2 came in.

Once you are all inside the room, a slab of stone drops from the ceiling and blocks the only way out. The walls of this large chamber are made from smooth, large bricks seamlessly mortared together. The floor and ceiling have been carved from natural stone, presenting no major obstacles. There are four pillars that reach up to the 40 foot ceiling. The only source of light comes from a green marble pool in the center of the floor. It holds cloudy water, which moves just enough that the light flickers and dances on the walls and ceiling. The light reflects off the marble, giving the room an eerie green tint. On the eastern side of the pool, there is a large wood table with an inset frame that has tiles with odd symbols. On the western side of the pool, there is a large wooden chest that is filled with similar tiles. On the southern wall, there is an image of a door that looks very similar to the one that was generated after the you came through the entrance on the upper floor.

Picture of the table with the locked in tiles (these tiles cannot be moved)

Each tile rotates the same number as there are letters in its name. The fish rotates 4 each time, the lobster rotates 6 each time, the whale rotates 5 each time and the eel rotates 3 each time. Making the solution this:

Hints

The real challenge of this room is completing the puzzle during combat. If your players are struggling to solve the puzzle or are getting frustrated, you can allow characters to make an Investigation check to glean information.

DC 10 they realize that the image is rotating on a central axis
DC 15 recognizes that there is a pattern involved to the rotating of the images
DC 20 realizes that the image rotates the same number of faces each iteration

Some things to keep in mind when using the hints method: Investigation is an action Characters cannot assist each other unless they hold their action to line up their initiatives remember that each turn is 6 seconds, try to keep the passing of information between characters to this limited time frame

Trial and Error

The orientation of the tiles can be determined by trial and error, though this method takes a long time. Since each tile has 8 potential orientations, this means that there are 4,096 different possible combinations. Assuming that a character could try one orientation per a round, the party would spend any where between 3-6 hours removing and inserting the tiles. Roll 1d4+2 to determine the amount of time taken. Using this method will cause wear and tear on the tiles. For every 30 minutes spent on the puzzle, the character handling the tiles must make a Sleight of Hand check DC 15 or damage one of the pieces, rendering it unusable. They can have a +2 competence bonus if they have 10 or more ranks in Engineering. Roll 1d4 to determine which type of piece is broken.

Fish
Lobster
Whale
Eel

There are 10 of each type of tile in the chest that they can draw from. If they break enough pieces that they cannot complete the puzzle, the event will end. The froglings will stop generating and the door will crumble to sand, allowing the party to leave the room again. However, the pool will not drain and the reward chest will not be available to the party even if they investigate the pool.

Engineering

A player can roll an engineering check DC 25 to deduce a single tile slot's solution. This requires 2d4 rounds of work and a successful check. Additionally, the character must roll a concentration saving throw if they take damage or they must start over. Froglings At initiative round 1, 2d6 fronglings spawn from the pool. They will spawn every round until the event is completed. They emerge from the north and south ends of the pool, evenly divided between the sides. They will swarm over the nearest character. They will work together to take out their enemies. Frogling

Success

Once the tiles have been put into their proper positions (doesn't matter which method the party used to achieve this) the froglings stop spawning, the door crumbles away to sand allowing the party to leave the room again and the pool drains, revealing a chest.

Written on the top of the chest is "select a single item as your reward." Inside the chest there is a bottle of small beads, a cap and a robe.

The chest contains: Bead of Refreshment x20, Cap of Water Breathing and Cloak of the Manta Ray There is nothing stopping the party from taking all 3 items. However, if they select and take only one as instructed, they will receive one point with the Eladrin. Keep track of the party's score as they go along. At the completion of each challenge, their score will be announced by the ringing of a bell for each point they have earned.