More inadvisable premises for low-level Dungeons & Dragons adventures:
The party has been hired by a local inkeeper to clear a infestation of
giant rats out of their basement. Upon investigation, however, the rats demand parley, and produce documents which – they allege – establish that they themselves are the legal owners of the inn. As far as any player character in possession of appropriate skills is able to determine, the documents are genuine.
A group of townsfolk ask the party to liberate them from their terrible
wizard-king. When confronted in his private sanctum, the
“wizard” breaks down and confesses that he’s a failed apprentice who’s
been running a Wizard of Oz scam with the aid of a few minor
cantrips. He begs the party not to expose him, claiming that the
countryside is home to a band of vicious marauders who’ve only refrained from ravaging the town because they believe he’s the real deal.
The party receives the opportunity to enter themselves into a region-wide martial tournament whose returning champion has promised to bestow her magnificent enchanted blade on anyone who can best her in single combat. The usual tournament shenanigans are afoot, of course, but the true intrigue is that the champion is really just a luckless merchant who’s been possessed by the malicious intelligence of her sword – and it’s looking to trade up to a better host!
A village is afflicted by an apparent curse that’s transforming plants, animals, and eventually people into grotesque monsters. The victims typically aren’t dangerous or hostile – just terribly confused. It’s eventually discovered that a local hedge witch has been improperly disposing of failed personal enhancement potions, and the resulting trasmutative effluvium has tainted the village well.
An evil sorcerer has crafted an army of unstoppable behemoths of iron and bone to rampage through the countryside spreading terror and devastation as a prelude to eventual conquest. However, the sorcerer in question is a member of a very, very small race, so the behemoths are only about three feet tall.
Item: tailored three-piece suit, tie, and matching cap for a horse, increasing the entire party’s charisma scores and…not sure what the game mechanic would be for this, but it also decreases the likelihood of a fight, since who but the most chaotic-evil would be willing to risk mussing up this horsely haberdashery?
This is one that I’ve debated actually putting out since i’m not entirely sure it fits my setting, but even if I don’t end up using it the final version of the setting I can at least put it here in case someone wants to use it.
As always, questions and comments are welcome. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Ok so imagine your fantasy setting with your typical giant spiders.
Ok, now imagine that these spiders have largely been domesticated for their incredibly valuable silk. They help make clothes, rope, textiles, even ARMOR. They’re almost treated like carnivorous cows in the regions that can support them. They might even name these girls the classic names like “Bessie”. They’re great mothers and produce many young; useful for trade and… even food if you like The Crunch.
People in this world are hardly afraid of big spiders the same as we’re hardly afraid of big dogs. Wary of wild ones, but not scream and cry terrified. Smaller spiders…it depends. Would you be scared if you suddenly saw a tiny cow crawling on your wall? The only type of spider people collectively fear are the hunting types: the ones that don’t spin webs, and instead attack their prey with brute force and a much stronger venom.
These large domestic spiders are incredibly lazy. They’ll sit in their webs and wait for their handlers to put their food on the web. Unless you get tangled, they don’t see you as food. This makes them great guards as well. They build traps for you. The venom isn’t deadly to humans…but can still be used as a weapon or in medicine. They’re just so damn useful that millennia ago, people put aside their instinctual fear just to get those sweet benefits.
You have been raised from the dead by Dark Powers and now walk the earth as Nosferatu, the Undead. No mere vampiric thrall, you are a Master Vampire cursed to hunger for the blood of the living for all eternity.
Race
Your race now changes to Vampire and you are classed as undead for all purposes. You are now vulnerable to radiant damage and gain the ability to regain your current appearance (including regenerating missing body parts) after a long rest.
You gain a +2 to Charisma and a pair of retractable fangs as long as you are a Vampire. In all other respects, you retain your current statistics and appearance as long as you are not Blood Starved.
If you fall to 0 hit points please see Day 6 of the Blood Starved condition.
Bewitching Gaze
You gain the action Bewitching Gaze. You make eye contact with a target of your choice, that target must make a Wisdom saving throw against 10 + your Charisma modifier or be Enthralled.
If the target saves, they become Frightened of you, meaning that they cannot willingly move closer to you and have disadvantage on Ability Checks and Attacks whilst they can see you.
If the target is Enthralled, they willingly submit to your commands for 1 hour as long as they do not suffer any damage (aside from your feeding upon them). On taking damage they make another Wisdom saving throw to shake off the effects of your thrall. Feeding upon your target does not cause them any mental distress or trigger a saving throw.
Following their enthralment, assuming they survive, the target will only have pleasant memories of your time together and will need to pass a (DC10 + your Charisma modifier) Wisdom saving throw to remember any unpleasant memories from the encounter.
You may cast Bewitching Gaze at least once per day and may add your Charisma modifier to that number. This spell counts as a concentration spell and cannot be utilised whilst in a Feral State.
Hunger
You are now possessed by a hunger for the blood of living humanoid creatures. When confronted by the sight or smell of a bleeding humanoid creature, you must pass a DC10 Wisdom saving throw or be compelled to take the Feed action on them.
You may make another Wisdom saving throw to discontinue feeding at the end of your next turn and at the end of each subsequent turn until you complete the Feed action.
The title is self-explanatory. This one is on the request of @lori-dragons. So here is some advice I’ve got about how to make your NPCs likable.
Number 1: Have them give free stuff.
Ever played Dragon Age? I used to joke about how it’s dumb that you can get NPCs to fall in love with your character just by getting them gifts. “How unrealistic” I thought. Then I played D&D and found out that if my NPC gifts FUCKIN’ ANYTHING to a PC, they will fall so desperately in love with them.
Everyone loves getting stuff for free. So if you have an NPC gift your PCs something, a health potion, +1 sword, armor of fire resistance, ANYTHING, they will instantly be liked by your PCs. The more stuff the NPC gifts, the more he will be liked.
Example from experience: A reoccurring character I have is “the Doctor.” Basically a weird Plague Doctor that seems to be running EVERY alchemy shop, although no NPC seems to notice this. Suspicious right? Creepy dude, everywhere at once. Must be bad news. Except he keeps gifting the Party potions for free. So they just ignore all the red flags that he’s probably not trustworthy.
Number 2: Make NPCs pets or children.
Guaranteed success. A cute animal, even if said animal is an owlbear, if you present it as cute and nice, the Party will LOVE that thing. This is FULL PROOF with 99% of parties. Children, not so much. As a player, I always tend to distrust children and try to kill them cause kids are fuckin’ creepy and weird. But that’s just me. Your Party might actually be DESCENT HUMAN BEINGS. Who knows? Haven’t played with any of those before.
Number 3: Other traits a likable NPC can have.
The following traits I can’t describe in thorough detail, so you’re getting it in list form.
An NPC that is kind and supports the Party but is very naive about the darker parts of the world. Example: bright eyed squire to the Party fighter who just idolizes heroes.
A very sexually promiscuous shopkeeper. Not someone who hits on the Party. That is how you get PCs to DISLIKE an NPC. Rather, an NPC who makes it clear he/she is open to be hit upon.
An NPC that loves to fight. Parties love this. Someone who is NUTS about fighting and dying in an honorable way, while flaying your enemies with their own spines.
Insane wizards/alchemists that are absolutely batshit. I had a sorceress that invented drugs and lost all control of her power while getting high. Or a wizard that is batshit insane about people breathing more than 1 breath per 5 seconds. Just crazy wizards. Parties love crazy wizards.
Keep in mind, there’s more to making an interesting NPC. The above just talks about making LIKABLE NPCs. There’s a LOT more on how to make good villains, or just generally interesting NPCs. And if you folks want, I will post thoroughly about that. But I will leave that up to you. Hope my advice was useful to you all.
Hipsterpotomu5 dnd 