Just a couple of extra things I'd consider
Some low bids:
Rock dust gets in your eyes
Small rocks roll around your feet, you might trip
...
Some high bids:
A huge boulder falls on you
The floor gives way
The walls have shifted. You must squeeze through a tiny gap to go on
...
Could even write them on cards and get the players to draw one each every round. depending on what they draw, they can use different abilities to resist.
2. More radical approach to APs
PCs all start with zero AP. A PC's APs represents how far that PC has
escaped from the temple.
There will be a fixed number of rounds.
Each round the temple attacks each PC (as above). As the rounds pass the temple's bids and target numbers increase. A forfeit against the temple has no effect, a transfer to the temple causes the PC to forfeit APs and incur a penalty for the rest of the contest, a transfer to the PC increases their APs ("a huge boulder falls towards but you dodge and then climb on top, finding an easier route to safety.")
The KKids are like normal contest participants. They have APs and can attack PCs as normal in their turn.
The PCs are also like normal contest participants except that they
can use their turn to try and increase their APs. This is like a
normal AP bid except: the upper limit is the target number of the
skill being used, a transfer to the PC increases their APs by double
the amount (or you could give them a bonus for the rest of the
contest), a forfeit against their "opponent" increases their APs, a
forfeit against the PC reduces their APs, a transfer against the PC
reduces their APs and incurs them a penalty for the rest of the
contest (a wound in effect).
The resistance depends on what skill they use, I guess.
A PC could also take other actions: fight the KKids, loan APs to
another PC etc.
At the end of the contest we find out how badly injured the PCs are. This is a separate Simple Contest for each PC. The PCs target number is their final APs, the opponent's is something set by you in advance. Depending on the result they are anything from Free without a scratch and some bonus booty (Complete Victory) to buried in the rubble, eaten by KKids and mad from Krasht Tides (Complete Defeat).
OK, OK, this type of monkeying around is not to everybody's taste but I prefer to treat the rules as a Toolkit than a Straitjacket.
Cheers,
sjjh
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