“ The monarch used to have absolute powers until the disappearance of King Henry V. A 'temporary' replacement was put on the throne to hold it until King Henry returned, and he would have only one vote on the governing council of nobles and no other powers except persuasion. More then 50 years have passed since then and everyone knows King Henry is almost certainly dead-but the nobles don't want to go back under the rule of an absolute monarch, so the kingship is only 'temporary' until King Henry V returns to take back his throne.”
“ You've probebly heard of the real Thomas Hopkins, Witchfinder-General, who hunted down and hanged suspected 'witches'. What if there was a world/realm where magic was normal, and it was the non-witches and non-wizards who were hunted down and hanged as inferior beings?”
“ A legend tells of a people living deep in the desert, they appear at first as ordinary human beings, sometimes impersonating someone familiar to the PCs, before causing their features to disappear, leaving a blank, smooth sheet of skin where their face should be.”