This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Author Topic: Help with a thingamajig macguffin  (Read 1060 times)

Dacke

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • D
  • Posts: 311
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« on: April 08, 2006, 12:22:57 PM »
In my Eberron campaign, the PCs accidentally released a daelkyr and are now trying to put it back. Doing so will involve travelling to various parts of Khorvaire (and possibly beyond) to reassemble the pieces of the artifact use to trap the daelkyr in the first place. They got one piece in a previous adventure (a lens that on its own can be used to see invisible and to focus magic to do more damage to aberrations), and in the latest adventure they found a book that explains what the other pieces are and how to put them together.

However, I have little idea about what exactly those pieces should be. I figure they should involve something made from byeshk (anti-aberration material like cold iron is anti-fey material), and definitely a pretty big khyber shard in which to trap the daelkyr (this one would be a new part rather than finding an old one), but I'm sort of stumped on figuring the others out. So now I turn to you guys in hope of getting me some inspiration.

I'd like there to be at least four other parts, which would make one for each of the others of the five nations (the group is based in Sharn, so I consider the lens the Breland shard - though if I get many ideas, I might go beyond the original concept). I also figure that the Cyre shard should be the last one to get, since the Mournlands is a pretty damn dangerous place to be. Don't feel too constrained about the one per nation thing, I don't mind branching out into other parts of Khorvaire as well (given that most of the other nations came about as splits from the Five, you could easily put the "Karrnath" piece in the Talenta plains or something like that).
 

Levi Kornelsen

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • L
  • Posts: 2054
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2006, 03:50:05 PM »
To get really dull...

A framework the parts are set in.

Which needs to be strong enough to withstand the whacky magic forces involved, so it's gotta be made of something crazy-strong.

Doc

  • Newbie
  • *
  • D
  • Posts: 25
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2006, 03:59:30 PM »
You need a way of focusing the lens as well, kinda like a reversed telescope
 

Dacke

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • D
  • Posts: 311
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2006, 10:04:06 AM »
You mean like a second lens?

The ideas I have so far are, along with their effects when not assembled
Lens of Erion (already mentioned this)
Adamantine/Byeshk frame: Stabilizes the nearby area, preventing teleportation.
Some sort of energy-projecting rod, possibly launching an effect similar to Nature's Wrath (similar to Holy Smite, but with aberrations instead of evil as the prime target).
Big Khyber dragonshard (this could possible bought on the semi-open market).

I'm also thinking of adding some things that aren't part of the mcguffin proper, but still have neat anti-aberration properties, like a +2 holy Xoriat-bane greataxe (xoriat-bane meaning it affects Xoriat-linked aberrations and outsiders, the latter mostly being daelkyr), and maybe a suit of armor protecting against the reality-warping effects of the daelkyr and their servants.
 

Xavier Lang

  • I'm BillyBeanBag's fault.
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • X
  • Posts: 185
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #4 on: April 10, 2006, 10:11:33 AM »
Aberrations are deviations from the norm (dictionary defintion)
So have them get some very mundane things that are symbolically important.

Enough writs or legal documents from a powerful lord or king to wallpaper the room you are going to trap it in.  (Could be extremely diffcult and highly entertaining)

The braizers for the entrapment ceremony must be made of charcoal from the used tools of farmers/laborers  (Try buying/stealing or replacing all of the plows come harvest time.)

People engaging in the ritual must wear standard uniform of some significant military group.  (This could be very simple.)

If your feeling cruel:  A normal person must take part in the ritual some how.  (They have to find someone with only NPC class levels to assit them and survive the encounter.  Tracking down that 9th level warrior/expert and getting him/her to help could be really rough.)

Etc...
 

Dacke

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • D
  • Posts: 311
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #5 on: April 10, 2006, 10:42:50 AM »
Well, I wasn't planning on the climax being so much a ritual as a climactic battle. But those are some cool ideas. Might be better suited to dealing with slaadi than aberrations, though.
 

Xavier Lang

  • I'm BillyBeanBag's fault.
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • X
  • Posts: 185
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2006, 10:55:12 AM »
Quote from: Dacke
Well, I wasn't planning on the climax being so much a ritual as a climactic battle. But those are some cool ideas. Might be better suited to dealing with slaadi than aberrations, though.


Well, what is an aberration to you?  I used the dictionary definition because I didn't have anythng else.
 

Dacke

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • D
  • Posts: 311
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2006, 11:28:30 AM »
I use Aberration in the D&D sense, of a creature type. Examples of aberrations are beholders, mind flayers, gibbering mouthers, aboleths, and otyughs. Common traits include alien physiologies, and often lots of tentacles.
 

Xavier Lang

  • I'm BillyBeanBag's fault.
  • Full Member
  • ***
  • X
  • Posts: 185
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2006, 02:26:35 PM »
I thought there was a campaign idea i was missing, my bad.

I would suggest

Almost every aberration you listed is an underground darkness dweller, so there should be at least one big showy light making piece of the artifact for driving off/hurting the bad things.  Its game effect could be more of a nullification of aberration abilities instead of a damaging device if you would prefer.  If the bad guy has any sort of a motif or symbology, it should probably be counter to that.  If he is creepy, slimy dark, it should be sharp, bright, etc...

Something to represent order - a perfect sphere or other geometic object.  You can have it be part of the crowl jewels or other piece of art in one of the kingdoms.
 

Dacke

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • D
  • Posts: 311
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #9 on: April 10, 2006, 03:10:48 PM »
Light-making... nifty! Yeah, most aberrations tend to be darkness-dwellers, so that's probably going to go into the design. Thanks!

As for the campaign idea, it basically goes:
1. Get tricked by cultist into helping him release the daelkyr in question.
2. Dragon runs into them, telling them "Don't go to the... oh, you're heading the OTHER way. I'm too late, aren't I?", and then drafts them into cleaning up their mess.
3. Find the anti-aberration lens.
4. Find the book that explains the full artifact and the various parts (this is where they are at the moment).
5. Find the various pieces of the artifact and assemble them.
6. Locate the daelkyr and recapture it.

There's some stuff going on between the various items listed above, but that's the condensed version.
 

Silverlion

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 5483
    • http://www.silverlionstudios.com
Help with a thingamajig macguffin
« Reply #10 on: April 10, 2006, 08:48:48 PM »
Quote from: Dacke
Light-making... nifty! Yeah, most aberrations tend to be darkness-dwellers, so that's probably going to go into the design. Thanks!

.


I'd consider the reverse telescope idea--sort of a world trepanation tool. (not really as despite Norse creation stories the world isn't a skull, but I like the word trepanation)


Designed to focus the creature into its prison (so a magic funnel/trap)

You have the lens, a smaller lens (probably a rare gemstone--better if an end is pointy to make a "tighter" beam like all good pulp whiz bangs, its frame. Then you need the celestial sphere the whole thing sits in--like an observatory for a telescope, except with mystic runes on the floor maybe a big pentacle around the device.

Once they have the lens, frame, prism of Pandaemonium (we'll call the other lens a prism to seperate it out it "sorts" out the taint of this world from the critter leaving only the distilled critter to be imprisoned), and then put it together in the sphere, and trick the thing back there...
High Valor REVISED: A fantasy Dark Age RPG. Available NOW!
Hearts & Souls 2E Coming in 2019