Tag: story telling

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 – 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 – 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.