Author: Jon

Rolling Word Play – 41

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Cyberspace Twisted Drive, Suffers Aged Fragmented and Laying Crop Pouch.

Cyberspace Twisted Drive
A drive that allows users to take on another’s consoles and drive their screen and data. This is pretty bad from a cyber hacking point of view, but in the virtual world of avatars, taking on another’s identity becomes a very real issue. This artefact is difficult to penetrate in the virtual world as it only works in one direction. However, that means that somewhere, there is a dormant avatar frozen or in a resting pose.  Linking who controls the dormant avatar is key to stopping them causing any more damage.

Suffers Aged Fragmented
A being held together by stitches and string because he has aged so much. Could this be a lich who has used dark magics  and evil deeds to preserve his life, or is this being’s mind so bent on achieving an objective, that they live on beyond their body’s capabilities?

When he approaches the adventurers with a proposition, will they follow through not knowing if they are helping a desperate man or a necromancer? What quest does this aged being have in mind?

Laying Crop Pouch
This magic pouch is made of hemp, but woven into its fabric is nature’s magic constantly renewing the fabric so that it remains sturdy.  Not only that, if seeds are placed inside the pouch, within hours fully formed crops will have grown in their place.  Its size restricts the good it can do, but for a day’s rations or to preserve something small and precious, the Pouch of Crop Laying is a godsend.

Rolling Word Play – 40

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Wriggled Remembers Salvage, Slippery Dearly Muddle and Whisper Crafted Meatball.

Wriggled Remembers Salvage
Perhaps the strangest partnership in the known worlds if of Grelven and his wriggly, giant animal companion.  Grelven once rescued a giant purple worm as it was still growing from a mine cave-in. It had been abandoned by its mother, and grew attached to Grelven.  Since then, it has more than paid back the life debt it owed him.  They are inseparable and together they roam the plains and desert landscapes.  Their ability to dig up gold is unparalleled.

Slippery Dearly Muddle
A witch known of Geldred was once conned out of her finest potions when a knight said he would pay her handsomely for them.  He gave her fake coins however, worthless to anyone less naïve.  Furious, she gathered all the real gold coins she had and set a trap for the knight, planting the coins in various places in the forest and beside the bridal pathways.   She cursed each coin with a potent spell of her own, and was delighted when she spyed the knight picking one up and dying in the attempt.  The curse for the coins sends the creature that picks them up into the ground where a boggy, suffocating death awaits.  She decided to leave the other coins for others who might be as greedy and conniving as the knight was.

Whisper Crafted Meatball
Perhaps the most disturbing food on offer is the Whispering Meatballs of Mef. No-one but the chefs know how they are made or what they contain, but the original tale doesn’t inspire confidence.  Mef was a priest whose piety knew no bounds.  The story goes that he warned a greedy baron to share the crops of his land lest they go to waste.  When the baron continued to ignore his warnings, Mef confronted him and rather than imprisoning him or running him through, kept him alive as he crafted and skinned him into tiny pieces.  With these, he created a large pot of meatball stew, which he served to the villagers on the baron’s land.

Mef’s Whispering Meatballs are still served today in a few special locations. The meatballs seem to whisper incoherently as if talking with their last breath. Sometimes the diners swear they can hear what they are saying.  Are these creatures skinned alive by the cook, or a culinary trick using trapped air?  No-one knows for certain.

Rolling Word Play – 39

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Natives Renovating Blockages, Blackbird Colleague Apply and Swaps Resurfaced Speculative.

Natives Renovating Blockages
A Frogperson runs into the village seeking help from an unknown terror that lurks in the river.  It gets worse for the inhabitants of the village; upstream, the frogfolk have been decimated in recent wars with other tribes but also from a bestial threat that lurks in the waters.  They are unable to repair the vine walls that hold back the tide during the rainy seasons and these are about to begin.

A fun but dangerous adventure awaits.  One that would involve working with the Frogfolk, fighting a beast in flowing water whilst the rain lashes down from the sky.  What is the terror that the frogfolk are unable to identify or defeat?

Blackbird Colleague Apply
Not a person can forget the face of Evwin. The intelligence is keen, the sincerity good, the stature upright and yet for the citizens who saw Evwin, their brains could only compute ‘bird’.  And so it was that although he came from this kingdom, was raised in a village near here, he was considered an outsider. …This is where the story gets dark, for if they are unable to embrace Evwin as one of their own, he will turn against them.  Drow have not been seen on the surface for decades, but have already identified Evwin as not only intelligent but suitable spy material.  They have met a few times, and if unchecked, will lead the Drow to topple the rulers of the city.

Will the adventurers be able to read the signs of the upcoming war, and will Evwin be prevented from spilling any more intelligence to the Drow?

Swaps Resurfaced Speculative
Poor Dunfern.  This city has suffered much from shapeshifters and now secrecy and security are high.  There is talk that the shapeshifters have regrouped and are again plotting to take control of the office of power.  It got so bad last time that golums were bought at great expense to spot those who were disguised as another.  But automatons can only be looking in one place at a time and they can even be reprogrammed.  And so the office of power, headed by Chief Lioron is under high alert.

This is a perfect opportunity for adventurers to help prevent paranoia, or be the cause of it. Once checked by a golum to ensure they are not shapeshifting fiends, there will be shapeshifters to hunt and identities to protect.  Who will the shapeshifters be disguised as, and how far up the ladder of power have they got?  Or is the whole thing a lie; a scheme to instil fear and control over their subjects?

Rolling Word Play – 38

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Ringleader Vibrant Income, Negotiated Amended Hoaxes and Spaces Covenants Fences.

Ringleader Vibrant Income
The city of Ashent is a very complex hive of culture and squalor.  It contains more bards per square foot than any other city.  This means that a cheap evening’s entertainment is very easy to find, but that competition for gigs is fierce.  Many provide custom services on the side, including musical codes and signatures; there is a market for creating unique ditties on piccolos and recorders, but also enchanting items to play the tune at the owner’s request. This goes for all occupations including the seedier ones.  Entire roguish gangs operate using secret musical codes to avoid guards, signal which plan to use and to gain access to safehouses.  In the brothels it is said that the front of house will communicate prospective customers to the escorts as they walk by to gauge who will attempt a transaction.

Any adventurers in this neighbourhood will be sure to have a good time one way or the other. Will they cotton onto the musical tricks at play, or be caught with their pants down and lose their purses?

Negotiated Amended Hoaxes
A new art installation has arrived in the castle.  Incredible sculptures of exotic beasts, life-sized and made of fine materials such as jade, marble and glass. But one of the animals holds a secret: an enormous amount of gun powder that when triggered will blow the entire castle apart.  But the conspirators have lost heart in their rebellious scheme.  It appears they were overenthusiastic when dealing with dangerous criminals who refuse to back down.  Now there are not only guards to contend with, but rogues bent on hushing up anyone that attempts to spoil their plans.

The conspirators will be seeking help but are too afraid to turn to the authorities and reveal their dastardly plot.  The travelling adventurers are perfect for such a mission.  What were the conspirators hoping to achieve? What will the criminals attempt with such fire power? And what animal contains the explosives?

Spaces Covenants Fences
The farming community of Freedle is different from most rural dwellings.  The herbs grown are exotic, the drinks brewed are peculiar but refreshing.  Parties in the open fields often occur at night and cauldrons are allowed to simmer for much of the day.  This is because every household in Freedle is of witching stock.  Despite their reputations elsewhere, the community gets by fine and their proud shared heritage makes the community fiercely loyal to each other.  Wars come and go, but the village of Freedle goes on.  Sometimes they aid outsiders, but often they mind their own business, preferring the outside world to do the same for Freedle.

Are there any bad apples among the witches?  What brews, magical items or curses might adventurers pick up when passing through Freedle?

Rolling Word Play – 37

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Arrange Graver Clubs, Pest Dwell Simulation and Saturation Bobbing Caskets.

Arrange Graver Clubs
One of the strangest and most secretive places from those outside the city to encounter is the Mourners’ Foundation. This group is for the bereaved. It uses funds taken from widowers who are members of the Foundation to buy and run several buildings in the city. The group supports each other as best they can. Some of the buildings are dedicated to solemn contemplation, whilst others are much more of a society for those who are well adjusted to their new-found freedom.  The group is close and also contains its own secrets.

How might such a group affect the power within the city?  Would they deliberately target wealthy merchants and work on their partners to gain extra capital?  Do their members hold key information and have they attempted to communicate with the dead?

Pest Dwell Simulation
There are many situations where adventurers can make an impact but some are best to be avoided.  For example, the pest control drills of the Sewer Guards of Herembor.  The sewers below the city can be dreary, smelly places for much of the time, but the dark, gassy atmosphere can play on a person’s paranoia.  It’s true that smugglers sometimes use the passageways to get around, but it’s been a few decades since the last large beast was seen. Could it happen again?   The Sewer Guards’ solution is to create simulations in which guards dress up as giant rats and act aggressively whilst the other guards have to try and trap it as effectively as possible.

This drill isn’t designed with visitors in mind – how will the adventurers react to seeing giant rat things?  Will the guards be taken by surprise when they find armed humanoids rather than their colleague in a furry suit?

Saturation Bobbing Caskets
These magical caskets were said to be the invention of a renowned Cleric known as Monrey Yarroby who wanted to purify water.  To this effect he created a kind of purification system using magics that he was able to gather and channel into the material of the wooden caskets.  His experiments worked well, but he found that the saturating or purifying process needed water motion on the outside for it to mix properly and take effect.  Others after him found other uses.

The bobbing casket is 2 foot high by 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep.  It can transform an object placed within it when the closed casket is allowed to float on top of the water.  Most users use the rope on the casket lid to to tie it to something and  keep the casket from floating away.  The effect is that it attempts to saturate the object in some way.  Here are some results:

Roll 1d10 and have the DM decide two possible results and the odds for the likely and less likely results to occur.

  • Salt water = Likely becomes purified water.  Less likely, becomes salt.
  • Two objects = Likely becomes two separate objects.  Less likely, perfectly smooth single object.
  • Stone containing gems = Likely becomes normal rock.  Less likely, becomes pure crystal
  • Damaged manuscript = Likely is mended but without writing.  Less likely, restored with writing intact.

Rolling Word Play – 36

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Upholds Stints, Currently Advise Visit and Radioactive Topics Hottest.

Upholds Stints
A bounty hunter’s guild called the Vine was formed to deal with the city’s problems with the wilds and with some of its own inhabitants.  They keep their rates low by keeping the jobs simple and small, whilst the guild itself makes a healthy sum for the big jobs that come in.  To find a gang, a team of bounty hunters will each be working on capturing one individual.  If the job is to catch or kill an individual prey, then there will be a bounty hunter team, keeping their unit costs down.  In this way, no individual is ever rich enough to independently create a possible competition for the guild.  What individuals might the adventurer’s meet, or will they be the bounty that is being hunted down by this guild?

Currently Advise Visit
The platinum mines of Rehorab are being constantly battered by ferocious winds and merciless rains which make travelling very risky.  On the rare occasions when the route is clear, the news spreads fast and many make the journey at hasty speeds hoping to fill their vaults.  Minors are well paid, and act like banking clerks when the public arrive.  First, the contracts are fulfilled, unless they are void due to time penalties or if the minors they employed did not stay on.  After that a bidding war is had to buy the remaining stock.  Then, the ‘picks’ or short-term minors, are allowed in. There is an entrance fee however, and a percentage of their finds goes to the royal treasury.  Then, after a few frantic days, almost all make haste to return to safe lands before the wind and rains begin again.  A new shift begins for the minors, who will continue for as long as they can in the hope that another break in the weather comes. Death from floods and starvation are very real threats for the minors and many die on the job.  Will the adventurers be called there to collect a fee, or will they be seeking something else in the platinum mines?

Radioactive Topics Hottest
A new craze has spread throughout the land.  There is a plant that has been growing in the fertile but volatile upper slopes of Mionevir, a volcano that is so active, it continuously flows both under and over the coastal provinces leaving the area baron for all but the hottest creatures. The closest parts of the Mionevir volcano are sacred to the lizard folk who consider it new land and not part of any kingdom.  The plants that grow nearby are bright yellow and add a luminosity to all liquids they come into contact with.  Their flavour is very bright and it causes mild hallucinations.  However, if someone has enough of it, the drink can also cause mutations.  Perhaps a swirl mark on the skin, but sometimes a small semi-useless flap of skin or even a limb.  It is no coincidence that masks and cloaks are back in fashion!

Rolling Word Play – 35

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Spaced Closely, Violinist Wiggling and Refused Issuing.

Spaced Closely
The temple of Ashin Rah is an ancient temple which is still used to practice religious ceremonies today. Ashin Rah was an almighty deity who gained her followers’ reverence by the mighty deeds she performed and the dreaded sacrifices she asked of her followers.  Although just outside city borders, the temple practices of today are tolerated because the god worship is Siellanna the Moon Goddess.  Unbeknownst to the city however, a cult of Ashin Rah has been steadily growing for some years now and their boldness for sacrifices is steadily increasing.  There are rumours that street children have gone missing. Can the adventurers help reveal the cult’s existence and stop the sacrifices from escalating?  What might deed might Ashin Rah be planning?  Little known Ashin Rah lore reveals that the sacrifices are left tied to the top of the pyramid and that creatures emerge from between the closely-spaced statues to take them to another plane.  Can those who have disappeared yet be saved?

Violinist Wiggling
A bard with fey ancestry is a dangerously mix of mischievous and magical.  This is definitely the case with Vezor Dirac, the half-tiefling half-nymph. It is said he was created at an almighty party and that mischief and music flow through his very veins.  He has played in several bands but his fellow band members and taverns cannot endure him for long.  His powers of control and manipulation of the audience include:

Rhythmic foot-tapping: DC 12 Wisdom saving throw Bum wiggling: DC 10 Charisma saving throw Wolf howls: DC 10 Constitution saving throw Partner twirling: DC 10 Charisma saving throw Singing the tune: (requires concentration): DC 10 Wisdom saving throw

Although, the difficulty to resist is not high, for each 5 members of the audience he has in his grasp, the spell DC for everyone increases by +2.  Evenings have finished with wild table-top dancing, fights, fires and many bruised limbs.

Refused Issuing
The city newspaper, The Daily Tribute is controlled by the crown.  The printing press is a very new invention and is controlled by royal craftsmen. It is used for propaganda to further establish the rule of the royal family and demean their enemies and rivals. So when another printed newspaper is released called The Bootstrap that contradicts the words of the Daily Tribute, this is seen as a very serious offense by those in charge.  The adventurers will be requested to root out the rebels, preferably alive.  Where did they acquire such equipment? Is there a ‘paper’ trail leading from the manufacturers?  What do the writers of The Bootstrap aim to achieve and where is their printing room?  The adventurers will have to ask themselves who they believe is in the wrong and if they care either way.

Rolling Word Play – 34

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Tipping Cavailer, Feeling Jackets and People Brother.

Tipping Cavailer
Although they don’t always get great press, cavaliers are the classic ‘knight in shining armour’, or in other words, escorts in armour.  Most are mercenary, happy to be bought or sold to the highest bidder, whilst some become indispensable to one particular patron and are bought out for life. The cavalier has loyalty to the one that pays them but beyond that must keep an eye out for potential custom and maintain an impressive reputation.  While there is no doubt some truth behind patrons tipping cavaliers for extra favours, there is a famous case of Sir Basil the Cavalier who tipped not only rich folk with goblets of wine that he hoped would patronize him, but also gave money to town criers and king’s subjects to say favourable things about his deeds and stature.  Sir Basil is likely in great debt by the time the adventurers enter his domain.  A chance then to try and rescue Sir Basil’s faultering career by accomplishing some impressive deeds.  As a reward?   Well, he knows where all the best parties are in town.

Feeling Jackets
This one is a bit of a caper.  As the temparature drops and the weather worsens, giant snow critters have awoken from their swampy island and invaded the mainland. The town is riddled with these creatures, which look like flying wind chimes.  When they bite their prey, they take blood and inject an ice-cold fluid into their victim’s veins.  If the creature manages to stagger away, they must quickly warm their bodies up or risk freezing on the spot and being stabbed by a second snow critter which will fill them with tiny eggs.  After that it is a matter of hours before they become the host for a new generation of snow critters.  If your adventurers are unlucky enough to find themselves in such a town in wintertime, expect rescuing missions and lots of hot drinks.  How can the snow critters be stopped or prevented from feeding on the townsfolk?

People Brother
In the town of Ricaroto, they have perhaps the most surprising guardian.  A troll youngling was discovered outside the town in the grasslands before the forest proper.  The young couple who found her didn’t have the heart to kill her seeing only desperate hunger in her eyes.  Away from prying eyes they fed it meat and berries until it was able to use its own limbs. By that time they had already named her Dew Eyes and couldn’t bare to let her go.  It caused much alarm when at first it was discovered by friends on a house visit.  Word got around but the couple stubbornly kept her.  After much debate, the council did not banish their child troll from the town. However, many were very weary of her and the troll was kept at home for all but occasional trips.  At the present time, Dew Eyes is a young but nearly fully grown troll and believes herself to be a person.  She came into her own when a band of orcs raided the town.  They were not expecting a troll and she defended her foster parents’ territory as if her life depended on it.

Rolling Word Play – 33

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Recollect Intolerant Vandalism, Creator Beginning Anymore and Chain Wrestle.

Recollect Intolerant Vandalism
The ashes of the Dwarven King Krasta the Great were scattered some 70 years ago by the Elven Prince, Velsor when they vase containing the ashes shattered.  Since he succeeded his father as King, the Dwarves have stopped trading with Velsor’s kingdom completely.  This rift between the two nations is stopping trade for both kingdoms and is threatening to turn into a full-blown war.

Was Velsor really to blame for this ‘terrible crime’ or was there another power at work that ensured the ashes were scattered?  Can peace be brokered between these kingdoms?

Creator Beginning Anymore
A large area called ‘The Divide’ is a growing phenomenon where both land and sea are swallowed up into a gaping hole into which nothing returns.  Many say the Gods forgot this land or that an argument between two deities has created a wilderness that has festered over time.  Can the adventurers stop the ever-growing Divide before an epic disaster ensues? Will the clues lead them to resolving the situation?  Will they perhaps get divine intervention of their own as a third God acts as their guide?

Chain Wrestle
Three criminals or fighters defeated in battle are brought to the mountain kingdom of the Dwarves to be punished.  The three criminals are bound together with long chains.  In the arena, the ground gives way leaving a deep ravine below, and just three circular platforms beneath these fighters’ feet joined by narrow pathways.  The criminals must fight but in doing so, they seal their own fate.  Only if one can hang on will their chains be cut, allowing the others to fall to their doom.

Rolling Word Play – 32

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Rewarded Glares, Blankly Gaps and Exacts Thumbs.

Rewarded Glares
The slumlike city of Beren is heavy with criminal fraternities; so much so that freelancing specialists offer their entrepreneurial services such as lock picking and explosives to many different gangs.  Every spring, there is a deadly but highly lucrative tournament for aspiring young criminals, which involves combat, traps and picking locks faster than the other competitors.  They find these contestants by roaming the streets looking for untried talent.  ‘The Jury’ are the seasoned criminals who not only judge the performance of the tournament’s contestants but walks the streets looking for the next batch.  Any boy or girl who is not yet in a fraternity is a potential target and can range from 12-18 years old.  If one of them stares back at a Jurer when they are walking by, this is ‘rewarded’ with automatic inclusion for the next tournament where they compete against other children and ambitious fraternity juniors.  Are your adventurers young enough to enter?  Will they be attempting to rescue or train one of the contestants before it is too late to save them?

Blankly Gaps
Edreda is a bustling city of over 200,000 citizens with a maze of street markets and is also home to the summer palaces of the monarchy.  There is always news with such a sprawling population and with the kingdom always contesting borders with its neighbours.  But recently odd things are being reported.  Thefts have been completely unexplained, including walking sticks which were being used at the time and food which had just literally been taken out of the oven.  Messages have even appeared on the street in flower petals, although no-one remembers seeing a street artist at work.

What is going on? Are these strange moments connected? How are the perpetrators doing this and who are they?  Will these instances escalate and will the instigators attempt more than petty crime? If the adventurers get involved, they will certainly have offers from wll-to-do citizens asking for their help. But they might also be at risk of being robbed themselves.

What is going on? Well, one theory is that a bored princess is stuck in the summer palace all day but has a time-stopping device, allowing her a few moments each day to express herself in the city.  Another theory is that a young sorcerer is flexing their magical muscle and seeing what they can get away with.  But it really is up to you.

Exacts Thumbs
Filius Athaston was a much maligned head of the Merchants Guild.  Was, because yesterday evening he was found dead at a merchant’s banquet.  The death happened suddenly and it is strongly suspected that the pie he was eating was poisoned.  His neighbour at the table heard him comment at the poor presentation of the dish and moments later he had collapsed.  Examining the pie, there was an opening at the top of a pie and a thumb print left on the pie’s crust.  There is definitely a need for assistance here, and respected adventurers would be welcomed into the Merchants Guild, which is often out of bounds to outsiders.

Who committed this crime?

Those who investigate will discover a criminal syndicate masquerading as chefs for the sole purpose of turning the trade tide in the favour of their patron.  Lord Avelan Brusquely has ties to pirates and his stock of spices was being undermined by Filius Athaston’s own supplies which were given priority when entering the port.  The adventurers can expect some tough fights and some interrogation tactics before uncovering the truth.