Strange you should mention that. I had in my scratchings some specific nastiness towards fey types. (not that dwarves are) But when I went to type it up properly I couldnt remember why or what led me to that reasoning. Hopefully it will come to me one day. Go to Comment
This is indeed the weak link ;) I specifically wanted no magic attached, as I was tired of "detect magic' finding my deepest secret and I believe the "its so magical you cant detect its magic" to lack depth. So I wanted a trap which wasn't really a trap as in "detect trap". Its not as if there are springs or trigger mechanisms to find :) I really wanted the "if i cant have it neither can you" feeling to come across, ie Not able to convert it back to iron. The only avoidance was to simply leave it be. Of course a mage could always toss a convert to metal spell at them or something :) Go to Comment
If a new way of getting characters together is desired, Character Hooks may help you.
Now, as an encounter/character hook is this certainly fine, the descriptions and the summoning are all pretty good. I'm afraid it is the formatting that leaves a lot to be desired. Don't be afraid to insert newlines, and put quotes around speech - those two things alone will make the submission more readable.
Oh, and yet another option: the sleeptravel was 'just a dream', they all really stay in their rooms. But if the reason they were summoned for is serious enough, the heroes could find the others on their own (the GM could place them all in/around the same city, or be cruel and make them widely spread out). Go to Comment
Already linked to them (note the Link Back section on the right side), so it is done.
I think it's not necessary to really move it there (delete this submission and post its contents anew into the scroll), but if you want to, it can be done.
Updated: fixed up some formatting.. I seem to loose things in the cut n paste from open office writer to here..Ill pay more attention next time Go to Comment
character hooks... there they are .. I new this place must have a spot for such things but couldn't find.
cheers
Not sure how to move it there. Feel free admin :) Go to Comment
Great is the lure of utility, and this site tends to train a Pavlovian reaction of finding a use for seemingly useless items and ideas. We are tainted by our civilization, and unable to merely go with the flow, and find the true path of non-acting in our life.
*deep sigh*
Also, the presented dichotomy is a false one. We gamers do very well recognize at least one other type of breed: the evil, nasty, AND useful monsters. :) Go to Comment
I love that the scariest looking material monster is actually one of the most, directly, harmless.
In actuality, the monster is quite dangerous. Sure, it is harmless. However it carries parasites and disease ridden insects from place to place. Sure it cleans up carrior and fungi, but it would also drop any number of "riders" off at any give time. Sure the monster is easy to kill, but it is a carrier of diseases and things better stayed away from. Prasites drop off and slowly crawl towards possible meals. So yes, it is no direct threat. It is an easy 5 xp. However, 72 hours later, after you have killed it... the dying begins. Unheroic dying of disease.
And if you escape it, the nearby village will, of course, get the plague or what ever the parasites bring with it. Someone might figure out that you killed the plague monster... and come after you.
If you have a smart foresting community, new adventures take place. You have a threat you can't attack, yet must redirect.
And yes, if left alone, these monsters are just background creatures. I like them in the "lost world" scenario, where they are just bugs in a world of giant saurians and monsters. They scour the green floor of the verdant jungle, only noticing slightly the giant creatures who cause the ground to shake as they pass. They are immune to attack because anyone who would eat them, would eat their symbiotic parasites as well.
They have a useful part of the ecology. However, if someone gets the "bug" up their butt to attack one, Go to Comment
Can I say ewwww? Get the big boot to squish this one.
Some ideas that came to mind include a mage sending the PCs to collect one of these beasties...alive, or some nobles discover that the meat of the creature (mostly in the legs) is quite tasty and send the PCs to collect several of the specimens. It keeps getting harder because after the first kill or two, the rhaphi start to swarm in larger numbers drawn by the smell of their own dead.
I would run the spellcheck, there are a few typos, but none of them glaringly bad. Go to Comment
Items (Other) (Non-Magical)