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Saving the Red Herring by
The player characters, experienced and somewhat well known, hear rumors and travelers' tales about a distant area being overrun by dragons (or other terrifying monstrosities). The locals have sent them a message, begging for heroic aid. When they investigate, they discover that nothing of the sort is going on. It turns out that a group of thieves wanted them out of the way so that they could rob them (or someone who would normally receive their protection). |
Ideas - Plots March 23, 2007 |
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When is a Trap Not a Trap? by
The PCs encounter an elaborate trap room, designed to fill with water, drowning those inside. Clever and resourceful, they disable the trap and move on.Only later do they discover that this room is part of the elaborate cooling system that prevents beasts of elemental fire from overrunning the complex. While the fiery beasts run rampant, they begin setting fires, which causes the complex to become increasingly hot and smoke-filled. Additionally, the PCs now have to fight their way out past aggressive fire creatures... |
Ideas - Dungeons March 14, 2007 |
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Enchanted Alchemist's Tools by
An alchemist enchanted his equipment to produce even more powerful alchemical compounds, potions and the like. Unfortunately, it is not well-known that he had different sets of equipment for different processes: If the wrong set of gear is used, the result will invariably fail to function. It's not a cursed item, just something that's hard to figure out.
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Ideas - Items March 10, 2007 |
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The Champion by
In a city where the justice system features judicial dueling, plaintiffs and defendants are permitted to request a champion to take their place in the duel: Someone chosen by lot from among the foreigners in the city. When anyone first arrives, they are given an enchanted ceramic pendant that marks them as a candidate for 'court duty'. Wealthy folk entering the city are often escorted by burly guards, paid to carry pendants on their behalf: They elude court duty in that way. Adventurers may seek work as a rich man's proxy or may find themselves magically summoned to serve as a champion. |
Ideas - Society/ Organization March 9, 2007 |
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Magical Syrup by
Certain trees have sap that is filled with magical potential. Their sap is harvested and distilled down to produce various types of potions, much like maple syrup is collected in some areas. The magical effects of these syrupy potions are often fairly trivial; perhaps they simply cause the imbiber to grow hair more quickly, summon butterflies, or walk a few inches above the floor. People enjoy the syrup as a flavoring, instead of imbibing it for its magical powers.
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Ideas - Items March 9, 2007 |
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The Silent Mage by
A powerful wizard that the PCs encounter is completely silent. He does not speak and cannot be heard as he moves. Even his spells are silent, but his magic is just as potent.He has a tendency to summon invisible chairs, place foes in invisible boxes of force, and other 'mime tricks'. |
Ideas - NPCs March 9, 2007 |
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Nomadic Plants by
A desolate region is almost entirely without normal vegetation. Local plants are able to unroot themselves and crawl along the ground in search of water and fertile soil. The inhabitants fence their crops in to keep them from wandering off and put heavy stone thresholds in the doorways of their huts to keep wayward plants out. The plants sense by chemical cues, lacking sight or hearing, and tend to avoid herbivores or anything that smells of 'dead plants'. Characters with horses are likely to be unwelcome among the locals. |
Ideas - Lifeforms March 9, 2007 |
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Megaflora Mushrooms by
Giant mushrooms the size of trees. The stems and parts of the caps can be used in construction, and only the gills are soft enough to eat. An entire fungi-forest can grow in a matter of days, provided the correct conditions. Most fungus trees last about a month before collapsing, but not before a new generation sprouts to provide shade for the next spores.
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Ideas - Lifeforms March 5, 2007 |
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The Mirror City by
Near a major city, a mirror image of the place has appeared. This strange double is infested with hostile insectoid humanoids that appear to match the city folk in numbers and armaments. The humans' diviners have determined that the secret of the city's appearance can be found within the double's college of magic, so heroes are needed to explore within this mirror city and discover what has drawn it from its distant realm. There isn't much time to spare, as the bug folk find their mammalian counterparts unnatural and blasphemous, and plan to destroy them.
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Ideas - Plots February 27, 2007 |
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Ring of Soul Binding by
This ring keeps soul in the body even when the wearer is killed, making bringing life back to the wearer much easier. However, if it takes too long, the wearer will begin to rot and become undead. Removing the ring causes the spirit to pass on immediately.
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Ideas - Items February 22, 2007 |
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Lakes of Aqua Regis by
The runoff from Mount 'Evil Volcano' has turned an area of small lakes below into a vision of hell. The mixture of acids in the lakes is of such strength that virtually any organic material touching is quickly dissolved. It is a melange of sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids.However, the place does harbor life, and its very strange, and very dangerous.... |
Ideas - Locations February 22, 2007 |
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Purse of Karma by
An enhanted purse that provides money, but at the cost of luck..
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Ideas - Items February 22, 2007 |
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Sins of the Son by
The PCs are accosted in a major city containing at least one famous fortuneteller / prophet of the future. They are informed that their as-yet-unborn child will (insert terrible evil), and that, although they are very sorry, the PC must be executed to keep this from happening.
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Ideas - Plots January 31, 2007 |
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Fear the Gods by
Culture/Religion: based on fear and respect. Gods are very dangerous creatures, sometimes friendly, often not. Temples are the way to make contact with them... if not easier, then at least more concentrated in one place. Were it not for the temples, gods could be running amok among the people. Therefore, mortals have to keep the gods close to temples, entertained and worshipped. It doesn't make the bad ones any friendlier, though (and is no guarantee some won't go on trips now and then). Still, there have to be priests that are hardy men, able to survive the rigours of their position, get a sufficient number of worshippers to make the gods feel important enough, and mediate the contact between mortals and immortals.
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Ideas - Society/ Organization December 15, 2006 |
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by
In the Middle Ages, and even up to the early twentieth century, most of Europe's executioners were related: the Sansons and Deiblers in France, the Pierrepoints in England, etc. The reason for this was that, it generally not being socially acceptable to, well, kill people, executioners and their children could, generally, only marry other executioners or <i>their</i> children. The parallels with massively inbred, Hapsburg-style dynasties are obvious- imagine a rather clever but politically inept satirist noting this, and being sentenced by the latter to a meeting with the former; even worse, imagine a dynasty of deranged and deformed executioners- think Texas Chaisaw Massacre with government funding. |
Ideas - Society/ Organization November 12, 2006 |
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Ink Gauntlet by
The idea of using tattoos to contain magic powers is not a new one. The Ink gauntlet follows the basic premise of using rare and precious inks to inscribe spells into the skin of a mage or would be spell-imbued person. Some of these inked spells might be permanent, while others might fade after being used once, or a preset number of times.
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Ideas - System October 16, 2006 |
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Giantcraft by
In the days of old, before the dominance of humanity, the giants were the supreme rulers of the world and their crafts were considered to be the best. These beings venerated the god of the forge above all others and their swords and armors were the best that could be had even in the days of their decline. A hero seeking a masterwork sword might have to voyage long and hard to find a surviving giant smith or cache of rare and valuable giantcraft weapons.
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Ideas - System October 16, 2006 |
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Fun Fun Fun by
Historicly, we have had plenty of rl groups like the Taliban and the Puritans who supressed anything which was in any way fun. What if there was some group that was the opposite? (which in time would cause problems of it's own for the civilians under their control.)
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Ideas - Society/ Organization September 23, 2006 |
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Eternally Mine by
In an isolated mountainous region, the local miners build their stone huts right next to the sarcophagi of their dead. In the winding tunnels of their mines, the spirits of their ancestors toil alongside them, sensing where the best deposits will be found and guiding their picks' strokes.
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Ideas - Society/ Organization September 11, 2006 |
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Tripping over the Golden Bough by
Nearly every primitive culture has had rituals and celebrations to guarantee the proper passage of the seasons and to ensure the fertility of crops and animals. Oversight of these ceremonies was generally the provenance of local kings or priests.Suppose that the adventurers dispatch one of these fellows. The local peasants may become hysterical, fearing famine and death will stalk the land. Alternatively, they may want one of the new heroes to become king. For a while, this can be a good thing, but the first time that the crops fail, the superstitious locals will want to sacrifice their new leader. |
Ideas - Plots September 11, 2006 |