1) "Guido had some very dissapointing news for me. Guido says you aren't able to pay your debts. But fortunately, I am a kind and forgiving man. I require only one small errand..."
2) "We need you to rescue our princess..." Said the dragon...
3) "The Power Ring can only be destroyed by throwing it into the fires of Mt. Boom, in the land of Saurons. Unfortunately, our Destined Hero, a Mr. Frogo Bagun, went on a three-day bender and woke up fifty miles away, with a pair of womens' underwear, kobold size, and, well, the details aren't nessasary, but he hocked the ring and doesn't remember where or who he sold it too..."
4) "Here's the deal: This backwoods bunch with a pocket kingdom have some prophecies they all believe in, about these 'Destined Heroes' that are going to 'Save the kingdom, and maybe the world', from some sort of 'Coming darkness'. Now, thing is, you folks all look pretty much like the prophecies say, except you're missing one. Fortunately, I know a guy who fits the other description.
So, here's the deal: I figure we can run a nice little scam for a while. Who's in?"
5) "I'd like to thank you for breaking into my tower. Normally, an Archmage like me would just fry the sorry lot of you, but I've got a better use for you peons. I've discovered a new plane I want to explore. Or, rather, have explored. Guess who just volunteered?"
A giant lizard is stealing beautiful maidens, and telling them hour-long anecdotes about the insurance industry.
Dare you slay the Drag-on?
...The sun just rose, about a half an hour ago after an all-night rain. You are standing at the edge of your small town with quite a few folks you don't really know all that well... The fires have been burning in the hills for days now, but have died out overnight, and the sky is crystal clear, except off in the distant forested hills, where the steaming and smoldering have laid down a foggy/smoky misty pall that is obscuring the detail.
Across the mostly open fields at a distance of just over a mile or so you watch in awe as the vast army materializes out of the morning mist, and steadily forms up ranks. They easily number in the thousands, as each minute passes, you see more.
Off to your left about 200 yards on the perimeter of the town you see just over a hundred of the remaining town guard. The Captain issues some orders, and a knot of the guards begin going from house-to-house, warning people to leave without delay.
The rest of the guards prepare their weapons and mounts, It's clear to you now... they plan on being the last to leave, but they are planning on leaving. The local Overlord isn't going to make it in time to defend your town. What do you do now?
Wet, bedraggled, clearly having been on the road for too long, the merchant drops down in the chair next to you.
"You lot are not easy to find," she says "But I finally caught up with you."
Clearly exhausted, she fumbles an ivory tube from her pack and lays it on the table. She then proceeds to draw some small items from a belt pouch: an elephant carved from jade, two spheres of Lapis Lazuli, and an unblemished gold coin from an ancient empire.
She pauses a moment, then gets up to leave. She stops at the tavern door and calls over her shoulder, "The next time you want some baubles carted all over the countryside, I would suggest hiring a courier."
"Please, mister ... my mom went out into the forest to get food, and she didn't come back. Everybody in town is too scared to go in there, since the lights starting coming at night. You're my last hope. Will you find my mom?"
1) GM: "You're being shot at."
PCs: "WHY?!"
GM: "Probably 'cause of the software you just stole. Hey, you want to dodge?"
PCs: "What software? Why? Why would we -- "
GM: "To get your ship out of hock. Frillo Hamiss, the local crime boss, set it up so he can spring your ship if he gets that mem-cube you have in your pocket. 'Course getting it for him honked off the guy who owns it, so...seriously, any dodges?"
PCs: "You're a jerk!"
GM: "No, I'm the GM. nd you take 3 points of damage. Anyone else?"
PCs: "AAAAAAH DODGE DODGE DODGE!"
GM: "Good idea."
PCs: "...is Frillo a chick...?"
"We killed her on Friday. So why is it Saturday morning my security people tell me her fingerprints are all over the safe in the restaurant?"
Regards,
David R
Quote from: Dr Rotwang!;2476821) GM: "You're being shot at."
PCs: "WHY?!"
GM: "Probably 'cause of the software you just stole. Hey, you want to dodge?"
PCs: "What software? Why? Why would we -- "
GM: "To get your ship out of hock. Frillo Hamiss, the local crime boss, set it up so he can spring your ship if he gets that mem-cube you have in your pocket. 'Course getting it for him honked off the guy who owns it, so...seriously, any dodges?"
PCs: "You're a jerk!"
GM: "No, I'm the GM. nd you take 3 points of damage. Anyone else?"
PCs: "AAAAAAH DODGE DODGE DODGE!"
GM: "Good idea."
PCs: "...is Frillo a chick...?"
Dude. Traveller mash up: Dynamo Joe. Firefly. Fading Suns. Blue Planet. Be there.
Long forgotten keep in rough country, a real "who the heck would build here?" kind of place.
Evidence that the last occupants went mad and died, after recording visions of beautiful worlds and strange powers.
And a door, cut into a solid granite cliff, has a massive chain of unknown material wrapped around the handle, and huge spikes driven deep into the stone to hold the chain in place. Lettering cut roughly into the cliff has weathered, but the general sense of "don't" can still be made out.
There's an ancient society, ruled for hundreds of years by the same dead King. His priests (claim to?) speak with him through magic, delivering his commands and judgments from beyond the grave.
Once this begins, though, other rival houses - who had previously ruled but who had been overthrown - start speaking with their own dead monarchs, starting a civil war with innumerable claims of primacy.
The adventurers are hired by one of these dynastic families to steal the body of a rival.
-O
"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
Regards,
David R
"All hands, prepare to abandon ship!"
"The horsemen are back! Flee!"
"Hello, dearies. Dear Mr. Fredricks said you could find my lost kitty. He's such a dear, so gentle and playful. The kitty, not Mr. Fredricks. He's also such a strong and loyal guardian. Why, one time he saved me from a robber! The kitty, not Mr. Fredricks. He's a bit rambunctous, but he quiets right down if you ring this bell. Mr. Fredricks, not the kitty. Anyway, Dear Mr. Fredricks will help you find my kitty. And if you don't, Dear Mr. Fredricks will be angry with you."
Dear Mr. Fredricks, the eight-foot iron golem, looms.
Kitty = Tiger, lion, cheetah, panther or other such big cat.
"Huwo. I am the famous hunter E. Fowd. Hahahaha. I am a big game hunter. Hahahaha. And todaw, whe are going to pway a game. Hahahaha. Youw are weaponwess and have no armwor or eqwuipment. I have a cwossbow and vewy good armwor. My estate is vewy large. You mawy wun now. Hahahaha."
"The Dagger must not reach the destined!" * Robed figure shoves a dagger into your hands, dies.
"Life is, in many ways, good for me. I have a large mansion, many treasures and much wealth. However, in any house, there is always the possibility of thieves breaking in and stealing. You all have references as good and reliable guards. I would thus like to hire you to defend my house against robbers and murderers." Said the dragon.
"Allright, you maggots! If any of you aren't up and awake in thirty seconds, you're getting a crossbow bolt! Congratulations, maggots! You're in the Queen's army! And that means you fight and die!"
"So, you want to hear about this land. Could tell you of the king, good, kind of lazy, the best kind. The local baron, kinda stupid, inept and corrupt. Not bad. The local 'bandits'. Mostly a bunch of kids who want to look cool. Doesn't sound dangerous, does it?
Thing is, white horses. You see a white horse with blue eyes, you run fast and you run far. Kill it if it follows.
Why? These things show up every now and then. And they go up to someone and they...Touch them, in the head, somehow. That person barely remembers their family. If the family is lucky, they might remember to wave goodbye as they ride away. And it really is goodbye.
Why? Because next time you see them, well, they smile, they laugh, they cry...But like a doll. No understanding. No soul in their eyes. And they talk...And people have to listen. They tell you to be good...And you do, for a few weeks. Or months, if you're week-minded. And you look like a doll, too. Not features. Never features. Just in the eyes. And then it all comes back...Worse. People you hated? You hate them worse now. A little disagreement? A real argument. Someone you loved? Well, it's faded now. Best friend? Not so much now. Aquantance? Who knows if you'll even remember them.
So, remember. White horse, blue eyes. Run or kill it. Don't let it touch you. Don't ever let it touch you.
How do I know? Because I killed mine just as it touched me. And now I can't ever forget.
...Can't ever forget.'
For a moment, his eyes fade and grow lifeless. Just like a dolls.
Anyone else think 'Happy-making mind horses' are creepy? :D
A mysterious figure is recruiting/abducting runaways and the homeless and then mutating them into morlockish zombies in his hidden sewer lair. He has been sending teams of his mutant soldiers to steal various hi-tech components needed for his different projects. Soon his army will be strong enough to arise from the depths beneath the city crush all who oppose it.
The mysterious leader is actually an alien who crash landed on the city outskirts not too long ago. He comes from a peace loving species but sustained serious head trauma in the crash and has become paranoid and aggressive as a result.
The PCs can become involved in a number of ways.
2 obvious ones:
-The PCs are asked to help find a child who has recently run away.
-The Pcs come upon break in at a hi-tech facility while out on patrol.
There is a mirror, upon who's face none may look and retain their sanity. This mirror is the lock, and Him Who May Look is the Key, so say the ancient prophecies of Linq Xum the Mad, who once ruled the island of Y'bo, now lost beneath the Sea of Blooded Screams, who's waters no man may sail for fear of the dreaded Crimson Kites who find the blood of Man particularly delicious.
The Mirror is hidden, said to reside beyond the Swamp of Infinite Jest, and guarded by the Blind Archers, an order of fanatics, not men, nor elves, no beasts but some remanent of a long lost race protecting that which destroyed their people.
It is said that should one look upon the Mirror and not be driven mad that the First King of Men, Manas the Serpent Rider, would rouse from his ancient slumber, rise with his army of Golden Heroes to drive back the Darkness from the world once more. Some believe that Manas sleeps beneath a great mountain, the Smoking Giant visible past the great swamp and its demonic inhabitants, who's face is carved into the likeness of a glowering, inhuman face. It is known that the right eye of the face is not natural... there are doubts about the entire face, but the right eye... they know.
It is said that the return of the Darkness, the Impenetrable, Endless Night is upon us once more. People disappear in the night, and even the bold rarely venture forth when darkness covers the land. Horrific screams pierce the night air, and the morning dew smells of forgotten blood. The king has not been seen in public in weeks, and some say he has gone mad with grief over the loss of his wife. Others claim he is dead, slain when his beloved rose from her crypt to join him once more.
Luckily, a small monastery devoted to the study of the Mirror and the Prophecies of Linq Xum the Mad think they have the answer. One of their charges, an orphen boy of prodigious spiritual gifts, meets what they believe to be all the requirements of the prophecied one. There are two catches: one, the boy will never survive the journey to the Mirror which no man has seen, not alone or with the aid of the monks alone. Two, there is a vital passage that is missing that has never been noted before the current crisis, the prophecies describe the journey of the chosen one in some, cryptic, detail, and the decribe the rising of the Golden Army, the defeat of the rising darkness...in somewhat disturbing, even more cryptic, detail...
... but no mention is ever made of the Chosen one actually GAZING upon the Mirror. Luckily it is said the original prophecies of Linq Xum were carven upon the hardest of stones, and carry the weight of Destiny, as all true Prophecies tend to do. And those stones are said to reside in his palace upon the Island of Y'bo...
A thirty-year old man, amnesiac for ten years, returns to his room at the manor where he has been staying for apparently saving the noblemans' life. He finds the following letter, addressed to the nobleman, hidden in plain sight - Perhaps in with his shaving supplies.
'To Sir Gerald, Royal Guardsman,
It is time. We have identified most of the traitors and are ready to put down this insurrection. The household staff has been cleaned up and we are as sure as we can be that there are no more assasins lying in wait.
The royal council, and I, thank you for your long years of service. What we ask may be difficult, but It is only a constructed personality. We know you have grown fond of It, but the Empire needs its Emperor. Besides, the shy and dependant personality we constructed for It would be incompetent to rule.
We suggest you restore the Emperor while It is asleep, as that would be kindliest.
Mathew Holmes,
Royal Counciler,
Head of Council.'
Next to the letter, in his guardians' handwriting, is the following note:
'I believe you can trust the following list of people: .
Not all of them are Ignorant, but I believe all of them to be Your true friends.'
It is the annual festival of Lolthapalooza, and the land is swarming with shog-goths.
You dropped your briefcase as you walked to your car. As you bend down to pick it up, you hear your son open the door to climb in so you can drive him to school.
When you straighten up, the door is still open, and your son is nowhere to be seen.