Halfway up, they were confronted by glimmers of themselves — fragments from across time — asking pointed questions. If a question was not answered truthfully, the target suffered 1d4 psychic damage.
Players took on the roles of these glimmers, posing questions to each party member (including NPCs) and fleshing out their backstories:
To the drow assassin rogue: “What did it cost you to save the princess?”
To the dwarven cleric: “Why did you betray your brother?”
To the elderly human wizard: “How many princesses did you father?” (Answer: one — another player’s mother.)
To the human warlock: a noble origin was revealed, along with a bargain made with their patron to lift their family out of poverty.
To the changeling rogue: “Which version of yourself do you wish you could return to for just one day?”
Each player also posed a question to the purple dragon, Nonna — long-time instigator of trouble and matron of the intergalactic catfolk — giving the DM an opportunity to lore-dump and unveil hidden agendas from past encounters.
This week’s cliffhanger: After being allowed to pass, the party hears rumbling earth and groaning metal below. Nonna looks imperiously back the way they came, scoffs, and says, “Who invited him?”
For these sessions we use the virtual table-top Owlbear Rodeo Http://www.owlbear.rodeo