“ Leader carries gold into battle with him. When he sees a great feet of bravery or valor he rewards them with the gold, or maybe a token worth some prize if they survive.”
“ The Door
A nifty little encounter appropriate for any powerful sorcerer/magically adept monsters lair.
When the party have penetrated to an appropriatly impressive level/room they encounter The Door, this door is a vessel through which the Sorcerer/Monster can safely work against any intruders, the door is heavy duty iron bound studded oak wrought with craft skill and magic, set in the middle is a crystal orb, once the party get within a preset distance the orb flickers briefly as the door warns its 'master' of the intruders, the master can then effectivly possess the door itself, this means that all movement the door is capable of (i.e. opening and closing) come under the control of the master, the master can also cast spells from the door as if he were there himself, all the while any damage that is inflicted in return merely damages the door, this will in effect ruin any of the parties chances of surprise, allow the master to assess the parties abilities while remaining safe and sound and finally will probably cause the party to waste some of their juicier items/spells on a chunk of wood and iron, and if the master happens to have a deadly spell or three it could also reduce the size of the party,
Of course if you wanted to be really nasty you could have the door open to admit one person and then slam shut on the second person (squish) whilst blasting away with every spell in the mastrs repetoir”
“ One of the PCs comes across a magical ring that grants some power but has odd aura as if cursed. Yet this curse is different than the standard curse. When the PC puts on the ring he/she suddenly feels married. There is now an illusionary woman, who he/she cares deeply for but who is also always very critical of the PC. The wife is demanding of attention and constantly giving the PC directions. The PC wearing the ring is the only one that can see and hear the bride. The curse can never completely be lifted. Even if the PC takes off the ring and somebody else puts the ring on; the PC will still be visited by the ex-wife at least once a month. During this visit she will demand money and apologies.”