“ There exists a prestigious academy with a history going back hundreds of years. Graduates are highly skilled and very much sought after for employment. For purely traditional reasons, the academy requires its students to become proficient in a skill or area of knowledge that has no use in the modern world. This could be Ancient Egyptian, an antiquated form of writing such as shorthand, knowledge of building or repairing antique steam engines, programming COBOL, etc. PCs who graduated from this academy must be sure to have this skill in their repertoire.”
“ Purple deer have begun to appear near the ruins of a fallen city, or other place of power. Hunting the deer is absurdly easy, as their coloration makes them easy to see. The heros prepare a feast from a freshly killed deer find out several hours later that the meat of the new purple deer is poisonous. This can range from cramps and vomiting to the truly sinister and lethal.”
“ A world where most people know a few cantrips and even non-magical people can help to cast spells. Which is just as well because the big spells can only be cast with the help of large numbers of people.Most large spells tend to protect borders and stop earthquakes as they can be done legally, but there are those willing to cast bad large spells s well.A major part of law enforcement in this world is preventing evil magic.”
