The Portal of Contradition

The Portal of Contradiction is a Dungeons and Dragons portal I designed for use in a D&D game. If you are unfamiliar with D&D, each player plays a character and they explore the wilderness/caverns/dungeons, kill monsters and then take their stuff. Sometimes they are fighting zombies, ogres, dragons, evil wizards, all sorts of things. The process of doing so involves rolling dice to determine attacks, damage, dodging of spells, etc, which is determined randomly with the dice. The story elements of the game however, the roleplaying, is where it really gets fun.

Anywho, the Portal of Contradiction is magical portal that can be added to any dungeon or possibly a cavern, tower, castle, wilderness area, etc in the game by the Dungeon Master (the storyteller who runs the game). Where the portal is located does not matter so much as the fact that it transports people a short distance, and has the effects further below.

Physical Description - A large stone portal covered in thick moss, circular, approx. 8 feet tall and 8 feet wide. A swirling watery mist envelops the void inside the portal and will transport any people stepping through the portal to a destination within the dungeon.

Traveling through the portal people experience a brief sensation of drowning and emerge dizzy on the opposite side, disoriented and temporarily unable to see or hear. Not to worry, that part wears off quickly within half a round. There is no saving throw for the effects of the portal. People going through the portal do so willingly and have effectively let the magic transport them and alter them during the trip.

Once aware of their surroundings they discover there is no second portal that can take them back. They are stuck there, wherever there is.

Next the DM should roll a d10 and consult the following chart below. Whatever they rolled indicates how the player should roleplay their character, which should be conveyed to the player by the DM privately, or via a secret note passed to the player.

1 - Agrees with everything that everyone else says, because they want everyone to like them, and will flip flop on issues in order to be more likable.
2 - Disagrees with everything that everyone else says because they believe that they are all secretly plotting against him/her.
3 - Constantly changes their opinion and cannot make up their mind about any action. When in doubt, roll percentile dice and the PC changes their opinion on any roll of 90 or less. Roll once per round or per decision.
4 - Agrees with everything that the person with the highest Charisma says, but disagrees with everything the person with the lowest Charisma says - even if both of these people are in agreement.
5 - Dislikes anyone who talks too much and disagrees with them on principle. Only agrees with those who barely talk at all, no matter how illogical they may seem. They may change their opinion on topics depending on who is talking more.
6 - Disagrees with any idea that involves danger, even if the danger is remotely unlikely or just a rumour.
7 - Makes up ridiculous ideas just to be contrary. eg. "Well there is always a chance a Dispel Magic could blow up..."
8 - Agrees with any idea that sounds ridiculous, no matter how silly. Disagrees with any idea that sounds reasonable.
9 - Develops a phobia of people who are intelligent and disagrees with anyone who is more intelligent than themselves. Only agrees with people they believe to be of equal or less intelligence.
10 - Agrees with anything that involves danger, but only if someone else agrees to do the dangerous part.

How long this effect by the Portal of Contradiction lasts is up to the DM. If he/she feels it is time for the effects to start wearing off they should roll percentile dice. 50 or lower indicates the effect has worn off. 51 or higher indicates the effect is still active, roll again later when the DM feels that enough time has passed by that the PC deserves a second chance.

The effects of the Portal of Contradiction cannot be removed with Dispel Magic or Remove Curse. The effect is not magical or a curse. It is a mental disease and can only be removed with Remove Disease, a Heal spell or a similar cure.

If your game is using any special House Rules for Insanity, the effects of the Portal of Contradiction counts as an Insanity.

Fortunately this insanity wears off eventually, although the precise duration is up to the DM. Whenever the DM gets tired of the silliness and wants to return to the adventure at hand.

If a Portal of Contradiction is reasonably close to a settlement and easy to access, it is probably known to the villagers or peasants of the area by a different name: The Portal of Insanity, which is only partially true. It only causes temporary insanity.

The beauty of the Portal of Contradiction is that it is a fun roleplaying situation. Players are encouraged to roleplay their characters to maximum silliness and to solve any disputes through food fights and non violent means.

I used the Portal of Contradiction years ago during a game and it teleported the characters into the wizard's wine cellar. The PCs proceeded to argue and get drunk on wine, throwing wine bottles at each other, switching sides to whomever they agreed with at the time, and eventually found a secret door in the wine cellar. They then spent a long time arguing about whether to check for traps, whether there is any traps, whether traps blow up, trying to get the barbarian to check for traps because the thief refused to do it, finding a hallway that led further into a dungeon, and arguing over marching order into the hallway and whether they should even explore it.

I wish I had recorded it all on video. It would have made a great youtube video.

Please, if you run the Portal of Contradiction in your game, please record the session on video and post a link to the youtube video in the comments below. Have fun with it!