Tag: ideas

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 – 28

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Rehearsed Speared Flow, Potentially Reforms and Bond Dainty

Rehearsed Speared Flow
There is a weapon technique used by some humanoid tribes (including humans, frog-people and lizardfolk) where in battle they will mark their spears in such a way that when thrown, it makes a shrill, whistling sound.  In large combat scenarios it can stop an advancing army in their tracks and if effectively used with fire effects can even force their enemies to make a hasty retreat.

Potentially Reforms
In this adventuring scenario, a Jousting tournament is taking place with the winner destined to become a new knight at the king’s table.  Not just anyone can enter however; there is a hefty entrance fee and the contestant must be a subject of the kingdom.  There are some opposing political views shared among the paladins and fighters there that day and it is said that the king has a favoured knight who would be a comfortable fit at his table.  Expect action and some foul play.  What will the players do?  Will they fib their way into the competition by replacing another contestant or forging their documents?  Will they back another fighter to win the jousting?  Is the king a good ruler or would change be better for the kingdom?

Bond Dainty
The Bond Dainty is a thing of legend but someone always knows someone who either used it or a shopkeeper who dealt with it.  Possibly a fey contraption, it is a bond to spend money in one go, and is usually worth a lot of gold.  It can turn up in the middle of the street or in a pile of documents but one thing is for certain – it will disappear before long!  Whoever finds it often has the wide-eyed look of someone about to have a panic attack as they decide how best to use the bond before it disappears. Many have failed to act, but for those that do, they have made shopkeepers and merchants rich as gold appears once the bond is passed over in exchange for their entire stock or even their ship.

Rolling Word Play – 27

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Danced Bookmark, Unreadable Trolley Glaring and Pack Leans Departures

Danced Bookmark
A mage’s slave is a fey creature trapped in a book mark.  It appears on the book mark to be just a silhouette of a female figure, but when he calls by humming a certain tune, she will dance into the room, quickly growing to normal size and forming her complete body.  She is chained to the book by a single piece of magical thread. Although slim, to break it would require some firebalm ointment, which isn’t easy to come by.  She cannot cast magic whilst in chains but is powerfully magic if released.  Will the adventurers discover the mage’s secret slave?  Will they help her and risk angering the mage?  What sort of free spirit will she be after being enslaved for so long?

Unreadable Trolley Glaring
A wooden, three wheeled trolley or wheelbarrow that has a mysterious origin. There are runes carved into it that are somehow unreadable, even by scholars. It hurts to look at them and they appear to change over time.  The most alarming thing is that the knots in the front of the wheelbarrow’s wood looks very eye-like and gives the air a tense atmosphere.  The wheelbarrow has the magical ability to ‘scare’ anything out of its way that isn’t entirely solid, such as walls.  Anything else will swerve 10 feet or more to the side of the wheelbarrow as it passes.

Pack Leans Departures
There are said to exist very lean of donkeys and camels that are cursed.  The story goes that they used to be humanoids who did something wrong. The wrong-doing and the curser change with each telling, but the most common myth is that two celebrated heroes, Saransey the Brilliant and Driget the Bard both met this fate.  If your adventurers ever see a lean pack animal looking sorry for itself, it might be they!

Rolling Word Play – 26

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Duties Blunders, Tubes Elevations and Resounding Babysitter

Duties Blunders
Cantra the Mellow is a god of few, but those who do follow him are devout believers in taking life at a slow pace. The adventure happens because Alfan, a worshipper of Cantra, is subscribed into the army and starts making clumsy mistakes and potentially disastrous blunders.  The ‘vibe’ spreads and soon everyone in his unit has caught this strange illness of calamities.  The army doesn’t understand the cause for their disastrous performances but have demoted its captain and kept the unit isolated away from the rest of the troops. The adventurers will be brought in thanks to their past accomplishments to guide this group of misfiring soldiers.  Can they lead the troops through their missions without losing more soldiers?  What will the missions be?  Will the adventurers catch this ‘illness’?  What will appease the god Cantra?

Tubes Elevations
Gigantic tubes have been lying on the edge of a city for as long as anyone can remember.  This area known as the ‘Tubes’ is believed to be a deathbed of giant worms, which over time has become a curving mound covered in light-green vegetation and with good views over the city.  In recent times, poorer communities have built a slum on top of this ‘land’.  There have been pleas by these communities for the watch to make their presence felt, but being a rough, poor area, the watch aren’t ‘able’ to assist, saying its beyond their jurisdiction. The adventurers are called in by a member of the poor community.  The problems lie with creatures of decay, which come out at night to feed on the city life.  What are these creatures of decay?  Will the Tubes slums be able to prosper or is more a steak than a city neighbourhood?

Resounding Babysitter
The Rakaldra is a kind, very large, many armed and lactating being.  She has the affection of a mother and the giving liquids of a cow.  She baby sits for different creatures and in return receives their blessings.  She is slowly rising to a god-like status and is now able to bless others from afar. Will the adventurers help her become a deity?  If she continues her rise, will she become a good god or is she plotting something else?

Rolling Word Play – 3

The Inspiration of Chance and Improvisation – Word Play

I’m starting a series where I generate Roleplay ideas based on random words. Let’s see what words I get to play with today:

Massive Analyst
This is a pill taken by a creature that is desperate for an answer that they cannot yet grasp. Many of those that have taken the pill take a long time to re-emerge from their semi-comatose state.  Some never return, lost in the midst of a mental or spiritual maze.  For most, they have returned profoundly shaken and many are never the same again. The epiphanies they bring with them are often not simple and take events in a completely different direction.

Here is a way of playing out the effects of a Massive Analyst on a d10 die roll:

1 – Utterly lost. Re-roll again the following day to see what happens next.   Add a mental quirk to your character sheet from this life-altering experience.

2-3 – Confused in the unconscious realm. You re-emerge 1d10 days later, but have lost some of your mental sharpness.  Add a condition to your character sheet to reflect this.

4-5 –   You return quickly but altered by the experience.  Add a mental quirk to your character.

6-7 – You were unaffected by the experience and were able to return quickly.  You will gain +1 to the die roll if you ever decide to retake this pill.

8-9 – You found an answer to the question.  Check with the GM to see what wisdom you gained.

10 – You had a profound epiphany.  It is greater than you could have possibly imagined!  Check with the GM for details.

 Activate Understanding
A scene of devastation. Zombie roam across an area known as the Death Zone.  They are surprisingly fast and aggressive, attacking living organisms, which either bleed out or become animated undead husks like themselves.

The source of the trouble is in a grave.  A powerful magical ring was left with the corpse of an elderly lady who died a few years ago.  She carved it and used her magics to prolong her life.  As her own energy drained away, the ring’s stored energy was still working.  As the flimsy wooden coffin in which she was buried deteriorated, the ring’s influence tainted the soil and cause an un-life in the corpses of those in the graveyard.

The town records and library will have information on an old woman who dodged death for so long (she was over 140 years old) and where she was buried.  There is also information about how to use witchcraft to change the energy flow in an item.  Using a ritual and a few key ingredients, the ring’s energy can be changed to generate a flow of peace and rest.  This is a way to finally end the reign of un-life.

Sorry Accept Patience
A society run by a zealous religious faction expects their citizens to report their own sins and the sins of others.  For those who are brought to receive their punishments, they must first ask for repentance (Sorry), accept they are wrong and sign a confession (Accept).  Having signed, they must then await punishment, which will be delivered when the religious faction deem it appropriate (Patience).  This can sometimes take several years and can even be provided in smaller installments.  The faction controls the populous in this way, with fear of punishment and of being reported for sins.

Rolling Word Play – 2

The Inspiration of Chance and Improvisation – Word Play

I’m starting a series where I generate Roleplay ideas based on random words. Let’s see what words I get to play with today:

Drag Intention
A tactic used by a Gillatora; a long, spikey creature with 2 tentacles and a powerful beak.  It deliberately weakens its enemies by stunning them with its beak before grappling them and dragging them along the ground where rocks and other debris can cause further damage.  If the ground is smooth, it can also drag their victims along its spike-covered back.

Judge Cook
All societies have their own system of justice, on which they promote fairness and deter selfish, harmful actions.  In one particular society, the judge and the cook is one in the same.  Those who are found to be corrupt and selfish are prepared a complex and tasty food dish.  They then must replicate the meal and dedicate several hours and days (depending on the severity of the crime) to perfecting it.  If they are able to consistently impress the judge (often the same person who served them the original dish) then they are allowed to dedicate time to improve the dish.  This is not only a good way to improve recipes but a way of focussing the mind of the criminal.  This new dish becomes the ex-criminal’s new speciality dish.  One day, they too might become a judge-cook for other wayward citizens.

Basic Desperate Relationship
In a dystopian future, relationships are seen as essential.  Everyone must buddy up as single individuals have been found to be most likely to resort to terrorism and episodes of violence in this dark future. Where the relationship has started to breakdown, there is a certain amount of help provided to by the state. The relationship states are as follows:

Blissfully Operating (BO) Essential Functioning (EF) Basic Working Relationship (BWR) ….. Basic Desperate Relationship (BDR) Advanced Desperate Relationship (ADR) Failing Relationship (FR) Deadly Relationship (DR)

Those below the dotted line are considered a risk and a potential burden on society.  A BDR is usually because one partner raises complaints or their working efficiency is down below acceptable standards.  BDR provides credit to attend talks on relationship issues and attending a check-in (compulsory attendance by both partners to agree on ways to improve their relationship) once a week.

Advanced (ADR) includes counselling sessions and even starts with credit for a short holiday for first time offenders.  Failing and Deadly are a concern to the society at large.  Those caught before they do anything fatal result either in divorce of partners or a clean slate (memory wipe).

Rolling Word Play – 1

The Inspiration of Chance and Improvisation – Word Play

I’m starting a series where I generate Roleplay ideas based on random words.  Let’s see what words I get to play with today:

Relevant Salmon
A group of salmon who are dependent on a single entity for their survival.  Like a hive mind, they collect their intelligence and ‘pool’ it together into one fish, who leads the others; hopefully to salvation and safe spawning grounds.

There have been instances where a salmon has been caught and all other salmon have attacked the unsuspecting fisherperson until they dropped their catch.  Unfortunately a myth has grown up that killing the one, relevant salmon will grant you wishes.  There is no record of this being confirmed, but there are records of a single salmon being speared and the entire group instantly dying.

Drafty Chocolate
Made from cocoa beans grown in the harsh tropical caves of Hinreln, the taste mentally transports the user to those harsh, windy conditions.  The shock can be good or bad depending on the creature, but it has been proven to lower the body temperature significantly and is highly sought after by those in hot, desert climates.

Suspicious Negotiation
A term that can be applied to many situations, but the particular story to earn this title is a play, very popular in rural towns in which royalty do not reside.  The story starts with a king who rules over a peaceful nation.  In the story he sees a fey creature (the sort of creature varies with each telling) imprisoned in his city.  Fascinated, he ignores his advisors and buys the creature for himself.  The king asks it questions and using its charms and illusory powers the fey creature convinces the king that it can see into the future.  For each question the fey creature conjures up a dystopian vision which in turn feeds the king’s growing concerns.  As the story goes on, the visions get worse and the king’s paranoia alienates him from everyone around him.  The story ends with the fey creature tricking the king into being released.  It then kills then king and assumes his form.