So a few weeks ago I got to sit my butt in the DM's chair, and it indeed was a memorable experience. I was running a 4th ed adventure, something I can't remember the name of. My friends were given a selection of pregen characters, and the party ended up boiling down to a typical dwarven fighter named Creek, a womanizing, ginger-haired half-elf rogue named Eruteron, and a haughty, tongueless eladrin wizard who's name escapes me (I am not good with names, which is sad because the Eladrin by far was my favorite of the PCs. xD)
The adventure hook was that the party had to go rescue a couple of kids from a dark elf wizard and his band of hobgoblins who were planning on using them for some ritual related to the shadowfel. Yada yada, a crazy homeless man NPC later, they find out the dark elf's whereabouts are at some abandoned mausoleum. So like good adventures, my party gathers up, and heads for the mausoleum so they can really begin the adventure.
Upon entering the strangely unlocked mausoleum, they are greeted by a wispy specter and an empty tomb filled with sarcophagi and a plaque/memorial dead center. The specter, a natural native to the tomb, was a recurring NPC for the adventurers. Once a spirit to some long-deceased line of warlords, years and years passed and the spirit soon forgot its origins. It only remembered that the mausoleum was important, and in that train of thought it protected it and warded potential looters and squatters away from it. The dark elf used that to his advantage, and after bending the specter's will began using it to protect his own affairs in the mausoleum. However, the will bending was only half effective, and while the specter wouldn't raise a hand on the dark elf it was in no way beholden to him.
Anyway, the specter sees the PCs as its last chance at stopping the dark elf from completely desecrating his home, but is doubtful of the PCs intentions. So he test them with a riddle, that, upon solving will open the memorial in the middle of the room and allow access to the lower levels of the mausoleum.
The riddle was your typical puzzle fair, something to do with aligning Bahamut and Pelor statues correctly over adjacent sarcophagi. Did my best to involve the dwarf, who was randomly looting the sarcophagi. I was immensely proud that they solved the puzzle, especially since I thought the specter's riddle as a whole was far too cryptic and dated for them to figure out. But with enough hints, and decent skill checks they managed to solve it and improve the spirit's attitude a notch.
With the riddle solved, they head down to the lower level of the tombs, and end up encountering a couple hobgoblins with rigged sarcophagus oil traps. Fun was had, let me tell you. The hobgoblins would just not die, even after having one of their traps sprung on 'em. The dwarf finally managed, after running into the fire, kill the last one standing while he tried to get out of the flames via attack of opportunity. Cleaved his head right off, and got hobgoblin gore on everyone. Was a very fun encounter.
The next encounter was located via a section of natural caves connected to the mausoleum, and...well, was much more chaotic due to time constraints and sequence breaking.
See, my party managed to find the two boys behind a iron bound, demon-decal door. They just could not get through that damn door. In hindsight, I realized that what should've happened was the adventures would have to find another way in the door, and end up encountering the dark elf who had the means to free him... yeah, well, it didn't go down like that. I ended up letting them do a group strength check, again, after a rest. This time, they busted through the door, and got in and confronted the kids.
With sufficient rolls, the guys knew the room was trapped, and the boys (bound in irons, and stuck in a magic geometric circle) told the adventurers that the wizard said that if either one of them left the boundry of the circle, something bad was going to happen. What rolls couldn't tell my party, was that something bad was going to happen if they entered. And oh boy, was it bad. Did I mention the room was aligned on two sides with a row of three statues on either side of the boys? Well, upon entering the ritual circle, guess what? In typical Tomb Raider/Indie fashion, two of them came to life and proceeded to attack the ever living crap out of the first person who entered the circle (in this case the dwarf).
Due to some poor coordination of spells on the eladrin's part, she ended up casting an icey, knock-you-prone type of ability which the statues saved on and the dwarf failed. So he was knocked prone, and took a little damage. Still, no big deal, right? Errrr, well... Unfortunately for the dwarf, the statues had some weird immediate reaction ability that allowed them a basic attack role to keep a target prone if they tried to stand up near them. So a crit later, poor Creek is laying unconscious and on the floor, while the rest of the party has no clue what to do. Then, well, the statues turn come around, and coup de grace later we have one very dead dwarf with a head now in the shape of a mixing bowl (AWESOME) Bad indeed. So bad, that I even threw in the specter to help, not that it did much.
After some out of game discussion, and some shuffling of the pregen characters (only two real life players, and three toons) my friends were ready to continue. I wish they hadn't. Eruteron, our half elf rogue, is sweating bullets. He contemplates just leaving everyone, because the silversmith who hired them was willing to also pay a sum for any whereabouts of his kids whether or not they were alive. But he stayed, oddly enough, and fought against the statues valiantly... until the Eladrin wizard tried to leave the room to rest up and avoid more damage. He, in his paranoid mind, thought she was leaving. So in a big FU moment, he takes his crossbow and shoots her. Oh, lots of arguing was had after that. xD
The eladrin's player was trying to explain that, no, she wasn't bouncing out all together. Eruteron's player argued that being mute, how could she let her intentions be known? Ultimately, DM fiat was needed. I ruled that the Eladrin probably would've made her intentions known to Eruteron that she wasn't leaving for good, just resting (with sign language, or ghost sound. Really, anything to avoid PvP) Grumbling aside, the ruling was accepted, and no actions were taken against one another.
...only, now the Eladrin's player is a bit cheesed at the attempted betrayal, and meta games a bit. He decides, no, he really is leaving. Only, he's going to take out that bastard Eruteron first. I was speechless, and Eruteron's player was calling total bull (all in good sport, mind, no one was really angry). However, we were really running out of time, and I wanted the adventure to end SOMEHOW. So I, well... I let it happen, just this once.
The Eladrin used her special Thunderwave ability to attack Eruteron, and as if karma were balancing the scales it backfired magnificently. Nat' 1. Laughs were had, let me tell you. Eruteron suggested it backfire on her, and while I knew mechanically that wouldn't happen I allowed it just this once. The damage knocked her unconscious. Eruteron was the only one left standing.
So, with just Eruteron, a specter, two boys, and two statues (one only barely bloodied) the adventure sort of came a part. It got to Eruteron's turn, and he decided he might as well try to rescue the kids. So enters the circle again, rolls pathetically on breaking them free (but, with time constraints I allowed), and dragged them out of the circle... Bad stuff happened. The natural cavern they were in? It's collapsing. And while Eruteron was trying to be heroic, he gets decked across the face by a statue and then another. He's knocked unconscious as well, and by this point I ruled the party wiped. xD
However, feeling pretty bad about the whole mess, and some of my rulings I decided that the specter, out of respect for the valiant heroes efforts, led the two boys out of the cavern and mausoleum safely (a function he would've served the PCs, if they had survived) With the boys rescued, and the grip of the mausoleum waning due to its imminent collapse the spirit is finally allowed to move on to the afterlife.
As for the boys, they come out of the whole thing traumatized and shellshocked by their kidnapping and the brutal deaths of their wannabe rescuers (they were unaware the Eladrin tried to betray the half-elf) What details they gave to their father, the silversmith, were short and terrifying. Saddened and horrified at the death of the adventurers, and believing that it was one of their spirits that led his boys to safety, the smith ended up molding and casting three silver statues of them in their idealized likeness to honor them. The statues were considered to be the best of the smith's work, and with the attention they brought to his little smithy he ended up renaming his shop 'Three Silver Linings' and became somewhat renown. The success and work the fame brought to the shop also helped the boys get over the trauma, and now as men they reminisce over it fondly.
And what of the dark elf, that started all this mess? Did he manage to escape in time before the natural cavern collapsed and entombed him? I still haven't decided.