Tag: story ideas

Rolling Word Play – 48

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Today, it’s Sci-fi!  Discover more about Permitting Afternoon Someone, Blinked Enzymes Resold, and Microwaves Chickens Mounds.

Permitting Afternoon Someone
In the big city the ever-increasing use of technology and working from home gave one entrepreneur the idea to create Afternoon Tea with Someone.  This fashionable restaurant (that spawned a new culture of tea dates) takes bookings for individuals and pairs them up with other individuals, so each trip is a new social experience.  They say that many lonely souls grow a little after each trip.

What chance encounter might a player have in such a place?  Or could there be a murder or blackmail plot based around fixing the meeting between two people?

Blinked Enzymes Resold
In this futuristic world, enzymes are provided to clients seeking to lose weight fast.  It reacts with the digestive system, speeding up the breakdown of foods by up to 10 times.  There are also rogue sellers and one such enzyme manufacturer created enzymes that can hide their true intentions and look and act like any dietary aid.  When they blink back into their main programme however, they can mutate the host by unwinding the DNA coils and changing the information before copying them.

What is the rogue manufacturer’s intentions?  How severe are the mutations?

Microwaves Chickens Mounds
Habishabi is a land owner, but the land he owns has been severally polluted with waste, which is why he was able to buy it for next to nothing!  In the piles of debris and old produce, he has created a unique garden of his own.  Behind a wall of masonry and metal pots is a tranquil amphitheatre with potted plants and animals.  Sitting in the middle is a fountain made of bicycle parts, his living quarters is a shelter made of metal sheets and cupboards but is quite cosy inside.  At the other end of the amphitheatre is a large pile of carefully arranged microwaves inhabited by a colony of chickens.  Each microwave sits a little back from the one below and the ramps Habishabi installed allow the chickens to meander between each level all the way to the ground floor.

Habishabi is a very amenable sort, but he is also a man of trade.  He can mend, custom design and provide information.  In return, he often takes other items if he thinks they might come in handy.  A very useful guy to know.

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 – 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 – 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.

Rolling Word Play – 31

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Snow Plaster Redouble Surface Shopping, Factored Landowner and Satisfy Feeling.

Snow Plaster Redouble Surface Shopping
The snow shelves of Arenos are perfect platforms for the bird people to set up stalls to sell their wares.  At the height of winter, these stalls can stack on top of each other to over 50 high.  The largest are used to sell transport or are social spaces, while others sell meats, pelts and tools.  If your adventurers visit here, how will they get around?  What items, wise minds or criminals might lurk within the snow shelves?

Factored Landowner
The island of Ivinex has a very shrewd ruler known by many as the Purse Keeper.  He has a small school of Conjuration Wizards who have enchanted the land and its subjects in such a way that for any exchange of wares and money that takes place, the Purse Keeper gets his cut.  Within his grand palace there is a large warehouse and a treasury that is constantly being filled with his share of the transactions.  Many are tired of this but know that the Conjuration Wizards have them in a bind and will route out any illegal attempts to trade. There are adventures to be had here in the wild parts of the island as well as jobs for hire-swords in the towns, and with rewards (minus the Purse Keeper’s share).  There is also a chance to topple the ruler, if they dare.  Will the adventurers risk taking on the Conjuration Wizards?  Is there a way into the palace that avoids a full-scale battle?  What percentage of the transactions does the ruler get to keep?

Satisfy Feeling
The Swirling Pools oasis is an exotic, luxurious city state, where any business or land owner is rich thanks to the attraction of the naturally bubbling hot springs.  They have been lovingly carved into pools and every home that has been carved into the rocky cliffs is at a premium.  But be it the hot air or the rich power on display, something about Swirling Pools has an effect on those that visit there.  Any craving or desire they have is very hard not to act on.  While many are happy to relax, they can do for hours on end.  But for others, the seeds of jealousy, love, lust or addiction can germinate very quickly.  This is probably why the murder rate among inhabitants and tourists is so high and why the parties are so colourful!  If the adventurers go here, they will need to have their wits about them.  Otherwise it may be a case of what happens in Swirling Pools, stays in Swirling Pools!

Rolling Word Play – 30

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Voice Bulge, Senator Fetches Turtles and Fireworks Outsted Global Jogging.

Voice Bulge
A numbers of thefts have been reported in one city, with the watch very keen to catch the criminals. But as things develop, a gang war is brewing between two of the criminal factions and seemingly unrelated, a popular singing sensation is letting down his adoring fans.  If the adventurers investigate further, they will discover that Dano Dew’s brilliant singing can manipulate and unlock doors.  Clues are a plenty, including a pleasant humming sound being heard by witnesses before a robbery took place and the gang wars are to do with who gets access to ‘DD’s incredible talents.  It seems that he is over his head, but can the adventurers assist him, or has Dano Dew sealed his own fate?

Senator Fetches Turtles
One ambitious politician takes his orders from another being outside of his political party.  Sean Vlarn seeks to gain favour through worshipping an Old One; an ancient god.  But in return this deity wishes Sean to make sacrifices.  Instead or murdering his fellow citizens, he raids an animal sanctuary, bringing back many baby turtles in the hope that their sacrifice will suffice. To do this, he hired two humans to help move and sacrifice the turtles, promising them riches if they keep their mouths shut.  But as the sacrifices begin, they start to lose their minds.  As the players come into this adventure, a dangerous tension in the air of something evil and powerful stirring.  But what will be the result of Sean’s efforts?  Did his turtle sacrifices work, or was he forced to kill something bigger?  Will a door open between worlds, or will the Old One’s powers be given to Sean and his followers?

Fireworks Ousted Global Jogging
The gentlemen’s shoes.   This is a brand of magical black leather shoes that contain bright runes on its soles.  Created by a renowned magician-inventor as a marketing gimmick, it contains basic instructions to help teach the wearer how to behave in public.  When sitting, if the wearer places one leg over the other, it will suddenly become twice as heavy and force the wearer to keep both feet on the ground.  If the user’s walk is with feet pointing to the sides, it will give out a blast of air to affect the user’s balance until they adjust to keeping the feet pointing straight ahead.  If the user moves fast enough to have both feet off the ground at once (for example a run or a skip) then the shoes will create small fireworks that bang and pop all around the user until they slow down.