Last updated: Sun Jun 05 19:51:45 CDT 2016
- -429 NPCs
-259 Mysteries
-136 Locations
-276 Treasures
-141 Dungeons
-305 Plot Hooks
-162 Villains
-30 Rooms
- +Last updated: Sun Jun 26 19:17:35 CDT 2016
+453 NPCs
+283 Mysteries
+201 Locations
+395 Treasures
+142 Dungeons
+305 Plot Hooks
+205 Villains
+32 Rooms
This page is a compilation of the dungeons from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Dungeons thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
-| Dungeon Name | Dungeon Type | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hole in the Hills | Abandoned mine | This abandoned copper mine has recently been occupied by a band of displaced and hungry goblins. These goblins have been making raids against the local sheepherders. They carry off sheep because the sheep don't seem to fight back as much as the sheepherders do. | @@ -558,6 +565,10 @@Encompassing a perfect alabaster dome topped with a golden capstone stands a great wall, marked off at four corners with tall, elegant spires. There is no gate to the hidden chambers within. Deep inside the dome, it is said that the leaders of a cult gather to read the dreams of the world, ever staring out, never letting others see in. The cult's goals are mysterious, but townsfolk near the citadel sleep poorly, with twisted nightmares. The uninitiated who spend any time within the walls find themselves exhausted and slow, drifting slowly to an uneasy sleep. The dome travels, disappearing with the morning dew after a period of time, spending most of its time absorbing the other planes' dreams in the Astral Plane. In the perspective granted there, it becomes clear that the Dome is really the eye of a long dead deity of dreams and nightmares. Those who know this have tried to wrest the eye's power out of the cult's hands and use it for themselves. | |
| Lookout Point | +tourist trap | +Lookout Point is a 7 story tower that stands atop a seaside cliff above Quintcyville, a quaint, seaside village. A generation ago, pirates were constantly raiding the up-and-coming trading port of Quintcyville, so the tower was constructed to defend the merchant fleets in the harbor and spot incoming raids on the town. Eventually, the pirates were defeated, but the town was decimated and most trade was routed through a rival port, leaving the local economy locked in recession. A kid named Tor started leading local kids up to tower to play pretend adventures against the long-gone pirates. When Tor was older, he expanded that practice taking wealthy nobles and their spoiled children for a thrilling taste of real adventure. Safe, but appealing to their vanity, they could claim to have done something noteworthy. Soon, the town's entire economy built around Tor's adventures, which was the invention of Torism. The town now features numerous overpriced inns, taverns, shows, and shops. The tower has a few harmless monsters and a few hidden surprises. Three weeks of each month, the Torist industry rakes in a fortune from the vanity of visiting nobles. But the week of the full moon, when the Pirates were most likely to attack, all the tower's magical defenses come alive.... | +||
| The Fort of Atlas | Mobile Fortress | The Fort of Atlas seems, initially, much like any of the others scattered across the sweeping plains of the Western lowlands. It takes a roughly rectangular shape, with a large multi-towered central superstructure rising from within forbidding, sloped walls. There is very little in the way of internal empty space, merely some relatively narrow walkways between walls and keep. The first inkling of the fortress's unusul nature might come from these; rather than being covered in grass, they are paved in the same wide dark-grey bricks as the rest of the structure. They seem just too wide for a single man to defend effectively, but awkward for two to fight side-by-side. But the men and women who inhabit here have no intention of doing any fighting themselves. Without warning, the structure trembles for a second, and then rises up before you, and begins to move. Now the defenders of this otherwise rather quiet keep become obvious; an army of golems, each half again the size of a man and with ten times the strength. Thus does the fortress appear to 'wander' across the landscape, borne upon the backs of unshakeably loyal servitude. So too do these golems serve as its defence in the castle's time of need - the numerous access points to the understory allow them to appear from any and every direction at once, quickly surprising and surrounding any attacker who thought to simply stroll in to the apparently empty grounds. These golems are also of course the main attractant for (some of the more foolish) invaders - to wrest command of such an army away from its current owners would drastically shift the balance of power, in the cut-throat military game of the lowlands. | @@ -582,10 +593,6 @@For time immemorial the Thanes of the Golden Citadel have stood watch over the northern reaches from their council seats high in the mountains. The fortress is so named for its monumental doors, inlaid with gold and all manner of precious stone, produced by the finest smiths, engineers, and craftsman in the kingdom. The soldiers of this dwarven kingdom keep close eye on the narrow passes to protect the caravans which make the arduous journey northward to pay tribute, homage, and trade in the finest of rarities from across the world. As a result, though treacherous, many villages and towns have thrived in this frozen land. While any dwarven kingdom might be renowned for its might and wealth, the Golden Citadel is rumored to house antiquities and treasure beyond even the mundane. Pilgrims flow through its cavernous halls to pay tribute at the shrine of Moradin as they believe even godly relics lie within… | |
| Lookout Point | -tourist trap | -Lookout Point is a 7 story tower that stands atop a seaside cliff above Quintcyville, a quaint, seaside village. A generation ago, pirates were constantly raiding the up-and-coming trading port of Quintcyville, so the tower was constructed to defend the merchant fleets in the harbor and spot incoming raids on the town. Eventually, the pirates were defeated, but the town was decimated and most trade was routed through a rival port, leaving the local economy locked in recession. A kid named Tor started leading local kids up to tower to play pretend adventures against the long-gone pirates. When Tor was older, he expanded that practice taking wealthy nobles and their spoiled children for a thrilling taste of real adventure. Safe, but appealing to their vanity, they could claim to have done something noteworthy. Soon, the town's entire economy built around Tor's adventures, which was the invention of Torism. The town now features numerous overpriced inns, taverns, shows, and shops. The tower has a few harmless monsters and a few hidden surprises. Three weeks of each month, the Torist industry rakes in a fortune from the vanity of visiting nobles. But the week of the full moon, when the Pirates were most likely to attack, all the tower's magical defenses come alive.... | -||
| Castle Black Rock | Floating Fortress | Floating high above the land, Castle Black Rock is a marvel of magical prowess. As if pulled straight from the earth the bore it, Black Rock sits aloft a floating rock of obsidian, giving a magnificent shiny, black appearance. Black Rock was once home to a High Lord who went mad with power. After scrounging magical tomes and scrolls for years, the High Lord finally managed to lift the fortress high into the air - the ultimate defense. Legends say that the High Lord died some decades ago, leaving his untold wealth sealed within the fortress vaults. Castle Black Rock appears to have been made from obsidian, though few have been close enough to determine it's true make. The walls climb up dozens of feet with parapets and guard towers stationed along the perimeter. Were the fortress stationed on the ground, it would be a difficult siege, but floating in the air? None had dared try. | @@ -597,14 +604,16 @@Magically Reinforced City | The Rainbow City of Tyr is the Capitol city of an empire, a city completely encircled by fortress walls, with streets and neighborhoods capable of being converted to defensible positions. In the center of the city, the Mage's Spire rises into the sky. At the top of this tower lies a magical crystal, which is rumored to be able to allow an Archmage to power a spell indefinitely. Denizens of the city can always see a rainbow in the sky, and friendly visitors describe the air around the city as shimmering. Enemies of the city are held back by a shield of light. It's said that no one can pass through this prismatic wall. | -
| Fort Griffstone | +Hobgoblin Stronghold | +This massive slab of crude stone juts out of the vast elven forest of Fellodar, which spreads on for miles around it. Made out of the hobgoblin chief's inborn hate for the elves, this fortress was made as a hideout and base of operations for one of the most influential goblinoid tribes in Findon (World). The walls rise high between 4 square towers and above these walls lies the "keep", or the headquarters where the leaders discuss battle plans. No one has ever attempted to break in and rumors about the ominous place have spread throughout all of lower Findon. | +
This page is a compilation of the locations from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Locations thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
-This page is a compilation of the locations from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Locations thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
+| Name | Type | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Common Inn | Tavern | Welcome to the Common Inn. Everything is quite ordinary, you see, there's nothing special about us. In fact, we make a point of it. If you speak anything but Common, we'll kick you out. But don't worry - that rarely happens. Come on in! | @@ -577,14 +584,272 @@Eldritch Creation hidden somewhere hidden | Long ago, the first Warforged were created here, wielding the powers of the Quori against the Giants. Constructs were imbued with life, sentience, and personality and were given the tools to assist those in need and those in the everlasting war against the Giants. | -
| What about that shadowy place? | +A single, dingy lantern swings on a rusted iron lamppost just outside the alleyway. You approach, back turned to the howling of the wind, and slide a single gold coin into a slot in the rough metal. A voice whispers from over your shoulder: "So... What can the Thieves' Guild do for you tonight?" | +Last week we did some elevated thinking, so let's bring it back to the seedier elements of society, far from any ivory towers. A collective of smugglers hiding in an abandoned warehouse, or maybe a gang of pirates precariously perched upon a beached ship. Any wretched hive of scum and villainy is fair game, here. The locations themselves don't necessarily have to be developed thoroughly; we're looking for places that could be dropped into any campaign by any DM. I'll provide some examples. Now... | +||
| The Wretched Ketch | +Dockside bar | +Built from the half-smashed hulk of a sailing vessel propped up against the cliffside, the Wretched Ketch gives even the seediest of taverns a run for their money. A dirt floor, dim lighting, and terrible alcohol characterize this watering hole for the worst of society almost as much as the terrible fish-and-excrement smell. At the very least, it's cheap--and the bedbugs are free of charge. | +||
| Home Free | +Bolthole | +When one is in the business of liberating shiny objects from their rightful owners, sometimes it's necessary to go underground. Usually, one can get away with going to the next town over, or blending into a crowd. For the times when even those tried-and-true methods fail, you're Home Free. An otherwise unremarkable farmhouse in the middle of scenic nowhere conceals an underground vault, with preserved food, bedding, and healing supplies for three to four people. Just mention to the elderly couple above that you are "Home Free," and they'll provide you with the key to the passage under the barn. | +||
| Bitter Grin Cove | +Smugglers' Den | +Contrary to the name, Bitter Grin Cove is neither a cove, nor even on the sea at all. Instead, it's a series of abandoned dwarven warehouses, tunnels, and living quarters that a smuggling ring have repurposed for their own business ventures. Thousands of gold pieces' worth of ill-begotten goods pass through the Cove each week, and its low profile and misleading name help keep intrepid investigators off the trail. | +||
| Harvand's House of Cheese | +Fence | +Once a legitimate business, customers who visit Harvand's looking for fine cheese will now leave a little confused. The cheese behind the counter is hard and cracked, and the man behind the counter wears leather armor behind his apron. But if you are looking to offload something that has a dubious history of acquisition, 'Harvand' will be able to help. And if you are looking to purchase, just ask, and he may have something for you at discount prices. | +||
| Barrels Point | +Smuggler's Den | +Long ago a trading vessel foundered off the coast. Needing to offload weight, they dumped dozens of huge oak wine barrels into the sea. Now hoisted above the shoreline into the bushes, the remains of the barrels have been converted into a series of small buildings where smugglers may store goods and trade. They still smell pleasantly of aged oak. | +||
| The Keyhole | +Thieves Den | +Privacy is hard to come by in the treeless frozen wastes to the north, so any cave is sure to by occupied, but the Keyhole is far from ideal. The only entrances are a narrow squeeze barely wide enough for a man, and a long drop down a rope from a ceiling hole 60ft in the air. Despite this, the Keyhole is warm, and furnishings have been brought in part-by-part to make this a relatively accommodating refuge for thieves and ne'er-do-wells. | +||
| The Angry Squid Tavern and Rooming Company | +Riverside inn | +this innocent looking inn on the side of a river is really a front to a smuggling ring, the inside is well kept and well lit, but the men the barman knows by name are not your average fisherman... | +||
| The Lord's Bridge | +Bolthole | +It's best not to think too hard about the architectural choices that led to the gap in the abutment of the Lord's Bridge, because in a pinch it makes for a great place to hide. The space inside is small but dry, and the entrance so cleverly hidden under the bridge that it almost looks as though someone has vanished into thin air. | +||
| Deadfalls | +Thieves Den | +In the forest by this remote town lies a twisted tangle of fallen trees, bleached grey with age. The pile is impossible to climb over, but there is a way to pick a careful path under and through the logs and branches to the small hut beyond. | +||
| The Museum of Curiosities | +Fence | +Anyone can enter the Museum of Curiosities (for a small fee). Within the huge room is crammed with objects, piled on the floor, slotted into shelves or hanging from the ceiling. Many are strange and interesting (stuffed sharks, a bone chandelier, books on invented creatures), but a great number are completely mundane. The proprietor, Varvick, is always happy to make new acquisitions without asking too many questions and hints that the items on display can also be purchased for a price. | +||
| Summer Fair | +Black Market | +Despite it's name, the Summer Fair runs all year round. An eccentric noble loved the Fair so much, he invited it into the grounds of his Estate for free on the condition that it kept going permanently. Over the years, however, the purpose of the Fair has slowly changed and now besides the ordinary citizens buying snacks and enjoying performances, you can also find dubious stalls hawking even less legitimate goods. | +||
| Patigan's Restaurant | +Thieves Guild | +When the head of the Thieves Guild enjoys the finer life, you end up with a place like Patigan's. Here Thieves can dine openly while they undertake negotiations, as the tables are widely placed in the large, decadent room, and there are plenty of private rooms available for more discreet meetings. The food is also excellent, and provides a good source of clean gold for the proprietor. | +||
| The Blooded Leech | +Speakeasy? | +The bouncer is frighteningly well-armed, the bartender is aggressively indifferent to anything but cold silver, and the entire room seems to be built from nothing but moody back corners. But whisper the secret word into the ear of the right hooded stranger, and he'll lead you down a narrow corridor, out the back door, down a flight of stairs, and through the crumbling threshold of a derelict warehouse, where the man who sold you the password sharpens his long knife, waiting to relieve you of everything you own. | +||
| Falter's Crag | +Mountain Fortress | +Built, abandoned, reclaimed, taken by force, and abandoned again, the old castle has forever been a stepping stone to greater, more important things. With none of the elegance of the lowland keeps, and with few of the defenses of the all-important valley strongholds, Falter has always served as a sort of waypoint, a staging ground for the next leg of whatever campaign it's been pulled into. Recently, however, an enterprising group of former highwaymen (who prefer the terms 'mercenaries' or 'sellspears') have occupied the old outbuildings and walls of the fortress, doing their best to make it somewhat presentable again. They're friendly enough to outsiders, and seem on guarded but cordial terms with the goatherds and herb-gatherers that roam the steep hills above the keep. But when pressed about why they've taken up in the old fortress, or who employs them and pays for the growing supply of provisions and weapons, the mercenaries are carefully reticent. | +||
| The Fox and the Butcher | +Grey Market | +You can't step into the Fox without somehow discussing The Old Proprietor, a businessman of impeccable taste and acumen, or so they say. Gallant. Chivalrous. Stalwart. On the wall above the till, the cleaver he supposedly carried into battle hangs from a bent nail, and when the draft kicks up from the harbor, it creaks back and forth in a rusty arc. What's strange is that there doesn't seem to be a new proprietor; the old woman who slowly wraps headless fish in brown paper certainly isn't one, nor the acne-scarred youth who sweeps the floor. Most don't seem to care, though - you can get things at the Fox that you can't get elsewhere, and they're always willing to buy low-risk merchandise. In the rare case that the constabulary come sniffing, The Old Proprietor's reputation (and a few silver) is almost always enough to send their search elsewhere. | +||
| Grizzlegut's Boon | +Sellsword & Sailor Gathering Place | +Once the waterside home of Sea King Grizzlegut, this mansion now serves as a meeting place for mercenaries and their next line of work. Years of exploration and pillaging brought luxuries to the mansion, now decorated with exotic furniture, ornate artworks, and masses of intriguing texts. Sword and buyer alike can find respite in rooms built to house Grizzlegut's hefty crew. | +||
| Underskin Watch | +Thieves hideout | +Latched doors open to a workshop saturated with the pungent odor of toxins and decay. Numerous chemists work at specialized tables speckled around the room, concocting every poison ever used in the folly of men. The Watch's visitors keep constant vigilance of every entrance and exit in exchange for the right to purchase the poisons of their choosing. | +||
| Blackhall | +Regal Scumpit | +Each and every lord needs willing followers to do what he cannot, and so beneath every city lies a hall. A hall of black and cold, where loyal servants wait to carry out their next tasks. Separate from humanity, this hall houses secrets darker than the ones brought to it from the realm of men, secrets untold, but not forgotten. | +||
| Roy's | +Dive Bar | +Welcome to Roys! Everyone here is called Roy. Cept the Bartender, thats good ole Barry. But everyone is called Roy that goes in. No one cares for your name outside the bar. | +||
| Half Sunked | +Bar! | +Lord Bately ship, is just as stubbord as Lord Bately. On its last voyage, where it lost a part of its keel, and took on water. To only become irreparable once in sight of port. But it just got about half way. | +||
| The Blue Oyster Bar | +Dockside Tavern | +A small, rickety wooden structure at the end of the Mill Street Pier, the Blue Oyster Bar is known for its fresh oysters, skunky ale, stron rum, and tales of the sea. If you want to hire a sailor, you should head to the city, but if you want to connect with a ship's captain, this is the place. Most of the best merchant vessel captains can be found here, but so can the best and worst pirate captains. | +||
| The Plundering Dragon | +Dockside Inn and Tavern | +A half block up Mill Street from the waterfront is the Plundering Dragon, a warm place with a roaring fire and welcoming barmaids. The interior of this large inn and tavern is decorated with all manner of souvenirs brought back by sailors from the far reaches of the world. The girls are notorious for their wandering fingers, which easily find their way inside a man's purse. A joke goes that has it that every feather, dress, seashell, spearhead, knife, and totem hanging on the walls has been "twice-plundered"—once from its native land and again from the sailor who carried it back. | +||
| The Ox and Plowman | +Roadside Inn | +Travelers will find more welcome at the Ox and Plowman than from any in the nearby villages—filled with superstitious and fearful peasants. The two-story stone inn has a half-dozen rooms for rent and a cellar full of wine for drink. The owner and proprietor of the inn is a beautiful woman named Brynna who is rumored to be romantically involved with Jonan the Black Wolf, a notorious outlaw in the valley. Several ruffians who claim allegiance to the Black Wolf often come to eat, to drink, and to dice at the Ox and Plowman. | +||
| Wreckrife Straits | +Smugglers' Run | +Between Cape Flounder Island and the mainland are the Wreckrife Straits, a winding and narrow path of rough waters that only the bravest or the most foolish captains will dare to sail. Rocks, reefs, and howling winds make this a dangerous passage even for small craft piloted by seasoned captains. Running the Straits cuts at least three days off the journey around Cape Flounder, a risk some smugglers are willing to take to avoid naval battles and to outrun rivals. | +||
| Toad's Baitshop | +Riverside Storefront, Black Market Fence | +Toad's Baitshop isn't really the best place in town to go for live bait, fish line, and netting repairs, but you could do worse. However, if you're looking to unload something hot or to locate some stolen goods, Toad's is a good place to start. Old Toad is very discreet but stingy; he buys low and sells high. Ask him about his new "sticky nightcrawlers" if you want to see what's just come in. | +||
| Tymon's Cooperage | +Workshop, Black Market Fence | +Tymon is as good a cooper as you'll find. He often has only a single apprentice at a time whom he assures you can trust. Tymon's shop has a cellar full of "finished" barrels awaiting shipment. Tymon has an unsual numbering system for each barrel crafted in his shop, a secret code of sorts, and he uses it to providing a "holding service" for local thieves. He rarely sells the stuff that comes into his shop directly, but his services are worth what he charges to hold things while the heat after a heist cools off. For a considerably more, he'll even orchestrate a delivery of some "finished" barrels, allowing thieves to get their goods out of town without attracting attention from the constabulary. | +||
| Meats and Meads | +Butcher Shop and Brewery | +Tucked away in a small unlit alley lies a rather simple looking establishment, pungent with the smell of rotting roasts and stale ales. Their primary export is their signature wine that bears a telling deep crimson color and a heavy metallic taste; many of the meats come in rather small lean cuts, uncommon for larger game animals. On occasion, people dressed in dark colors are seen dragging heavy bundles of cloth and fabric into the back of the store in the dead of night, only to leave empty handed. | +||
| The Iron Maiden | +Armory | +A quick glance into the store would immediately leave you feeling cautious. Thorny sets of vicious looking armors stand on mannequins near the doorway, and a large selection of brutal weapons line the walls. You won't find any clubs or quarterstaves here, everything you see around you appears to be designed to draw blood, from notched whips, to morning stars, to vicious looking daggers. Various chains and shackles lie in bargain bins along the floor, and you may occasionally glance a bloodshot eye peering up from between the floorboards, or a muffled whimper from under your feet. | +||
| The Widowmaker | +Gathering Hall | +A place where the ale never runs dry and the patrons are always in a good mood. At first glance, everything seems a little too neat, a place perfect to attract adventurers and wanderers. A giant board covered in job postings lies directly inside the door, and you'll notice that each of them ends with "Please meet in the back for further details." Those who walk into that cellar never walk back out, and the job postings never seem to change, but otherwise it's a relatively safe place to eat, drink and be merry, though newcomers aren't recommended to frequent the establishment alone, just in case. | +||
| Alchemist's Fire | +Apothecary | +The potions sold by the owner of the store are known to be functional at best, and the sickly pallor and various chemical burns along his exposed skin may be a little more telling. He wears an intricately crafted full faced mask in the shape of a bird's head at all times, and a dirty leather coat that bulges and stretches in odd places. It is recommended you ask to see his "special selection", as this is where his work really shines. Countless Poisons, Acids and deadly chemical mixtures of all sorts hide under his thick jacket, and he's open to any questions you may have about delivering them. | +||
| The Kraken's Lunch | +Small seafood restaurant and bar near the docks. | +During normal hours they cater primarily to sailors and those that work the docks. Rumours abound however of shadier goings on once the lamps go off, however guards have never been able to prove anything. | +||
| The Lost Cove | +Smugglers Den | +Off the coast of the nearby city, far enough where no one could easily see boats coming in or out lies a cove not on any map. Riches lay there waiting to be taken into the city and sold on the markets, brought in by merchants looking to offload cargo they could not otherwise sell and through more shady means. | +||
| Emperors Jewels | +Thieves Guild | +Officially sanctioned, though never publicly mentioned, this guild sits behind a hidden door in the Imperial Gardens. They are led by The Faceless Man and given jobs by the emperor and other freelance contracts at their discretion. | +||
| Stallion's Canter | +Fence/Tavern | +This mild-mannered-appearing tavern is actually a well known fence in the underworld. Using the right phrases and figures of speech, those in the know bargain with the fence (the barman), while appearing to discuss prices of drinks, food, bedding, and other accommodations. The goods are always left on the bargainer's horse, to be taken into a cellar by a "stable hand" after the bargaining is complete. Those ignorant of the tavern's true nature can enjoy an evening here, albeit at a higher price than they can expect from its nearby competitors. | +||
| Dirty Meg's | +Chop Shop | +Dirty Meg is known for running a clean business, despite her dirty leanings. She gives fair deals and never cheats a customer, but knows when to ask questions and when to let things slide. She has an ironclad policy against squealing to the authorities on her clientele, but she's been known to dump a hot item at the customer's expense if the heat comes around. | +||
| The Gilded Leaf | +Forest Tavern | +Many consider the elves to be graceful, elegant creatures nigh incapable of crime, and a first glance at the Gilded Leaf would confirm this suspicion. Built into a living tree, the Gilded Leaf seems warm and friendly, with smooth wood floors; a crackling hearth that burns with magical flame; and the smoothest wine an elf could ask for. Whisper the password (which you must coax out of a nearby fey) to the barkeep, however, and he'll direct you to the secret entrances leading to a thieves den built around the roots of the tree. | +||
| Ectoplasm | +Sunken Ship Bar | +The treacherous waters of Baron's Reef has claimed many a merchant, navy, or pirate seeking a shortcut, leading to rumors of ghost ships and krakens pulling sailors to their doom. If you know the waters well, you can sail through the deadly rocks and half-submerged ships to Ectoplasm, a pirate hotspot built onto a massive partially sunken galleon. Whether you want exotic drink, thrilling gambling, or the finest (and only) wenches in the middle of the ocean, Ectoplasm has your vice. | +||
| Cliffkeep | +Cliffside Fortress | +Hidden amidst the maze of canyons in the Sea of Sands, Cliffkeep is a secretive sandstone fortress built to serve an ancient guild of assassins. From the canyon floor or ridge, you can only see a few walls, windows, and buildings that sit about 150 feet off the canyon floor. However, secret tunnels and narrow, hidden crevices lead from the surrounding desert into the fortress, leading guards, bounty hunters, and armies to claim that their quarry simply vanish into the canyon. Cliffkeep is now the home of a marauding gang of bandits and thieves, but remnants of the assassins remain in secret rooms and trapped passages and vaults. | +||
| Windún | +Mountain tavern | +Carved into the very rock itself, Windún is hidden from prying eyes and was once the proud place of rest for those who ventured toward the ancient dwarven empire of Yaar'tag. Since the kingdom fell into disarray and avarice many winters ago, so too did its nefarious end meet Windún and corrupt its jovial character. Now, the tavern is a thieves inn where the most prestigious thieves and their orders congregate and sell wares to fences and the ever expanding under-market. The heavy smell of sweat and malted beer fills the air and as you enter, you notice faces lined with experience and scarred with villainy. | +||
| The Pit | +Slave market | +Where winding, narrow alleys writhe gnarled through the city, here is that place where old wives scare children with tales of slavery and chattel. The Pit had always been a place of unrest and was first a gambling den. Over time, the stakes rose and the bets became higher. There are still games played today where the scum of the land laugh and drink whilst their property is beaten and shoved between new master and old. For the most part, clothed in rags and held by rusting chains, the slaves stand silently at the market, waiting to be bought and hoping to be freed. | +||
| Ganga ni Wana | +? | +Compared to most places, the Wana seems relatively tame, albeit remote and some several miles from the nearest settlement. Drinks flow and the rich smell of food wafts over the tables. There is drunkenness and lechery abound, that is true. Yet it is usually no worse than any other tavern or inn by its debauchery. There are rumours, however, on what happens past the twilight hours, when most have left for their homes. A few new patrons stay behind, lured by the drink and other inviting pleasures. And some wandering travellers have claimed that in the quiet, bloodcurdling screams pierce through the silence before fading into nothing once more. | +||
| Yduro | +Docklands | +Meandering walkways and streets that twist inward and crumble near the sea, the heady smell of fish lingering in the air and the shouts of fishmongers. Nobles, profligate and drunk, sprawled on the street and there is a metallic taste to the water around here. Yduro has steadily declined as multiple decrees have stifled its trade to other docks. Its good heavily monitored once they leave the area, the locals have turned upon each other, scrapping for every morsel of good food that now seldom comes through here. Poverty and starvation reign and they have engendered much sin of late. | +||
| Ofþrycca | +Nefarious chemist | +Run by the dubious apothecary Ranwyn Oltarn, the little shop nestled within the sprawling alleys of the city is known to many as Ofþrycca or Oftha to the commoners. At any time of day, a thick, coloured smog emanates from its doors and the overwhelming smell of strange herbs chokes the street. Oltarn is rumoured to experiment on his patients, concocting strange recipes that detractors have accused makes the 'victim' suffer from a deep depression and a wasting sickness. There are some, in the darker underbelly of society, who swear by Oltarn's brews, claiming it gives them heightened awareness and prowess, if only afflicting them with strange visions at times. | +||
| Dorgadoon | +Disused bell tower | +Currently inhabited by bandits and rouges, the Dorgadoon was once a majestic bell tower that called those within the Barony of Corval to prayer. A ruined church lies at the hard, stone base of Dorgadoon and every year, a lone pilgrim makes their march to the place, laying a single flower where the altar once stood. Who they are and why they do this is unknown and the Grasping Hand who inhabit the place now could not care less. | +||
| The Watch | +Cultist church | +The Watch has long been a font of rumours and farmer saws. Shrouded in mystery and perched atop a cliff overlooking the sea, its first inhabitant was said to be a necromancer who had died many winters ago. In reality, the cult that had formed around him keep his life permanently upon the edge of death; it is believed by the Watch that the greatest secrets of necromancy are learned in this way and thus, his sallow corpse wheezes with the final vestiges of life, desperate for death but unable to grasp at it. | +||
| Sangava | +Smuggler's stall | +Each week in the market square, a lone stall sets up and seems to sell almost nothing of worth. Some odd trinkets here and there and a few wrapped meats but, in all, unremarkable and this is precisely how the Sangavi like it. Carefully choosing their clients, the Sangavi have developed an extensive trade network formed through intense trust and brutal reprimands. And so, a few hours before the weekly market, a tunnel is dug beneath the stall's desired location and goods from strange and forbidden lands funnelled through. As silently as they arrived, the tunnel is sealed and the Sangavi merchant heads home once more. | +||
| Black Flagon | +Inn and tavern | +A tavern buried within the poor district, the place is almost always visited by those who live in the area. The gentry believe the place to be fairly unassuming and allow the Flagon to proceed unchecked, believing it provides some relief to the commoners. In reality, the Black Flagon is the home of Fayvel's Own, a band of vagabonds and rogues who steal from anyone and anything. Rough and rowdy, the tavern is in a state of disrepair and it doesn't look as if it will be improved any time soon. Sodden clothes, wet with sweat and mead and stale fish linger in the air. Originally reselling artefacts and wondrous items, Fayvel's gang have become increasingly adept at hiding in plain sight and blending in with the nobility, such that they now sell information too. Their most recent exploits have uncovered some troubling news. | +||
| Grog. | +Tavern | +The innkeeper of Grog is direct and to the point, as is perhaps evident from the name of his establishment. Heldar Tharynn is a stout dwarf who dislikes long conversation and is motivated by a certain sort of greed. Unable to competently fight any longer, Heldar pays good coin and provides free food and board to those who return with a sizable treasure from the elder dragon Y'ntaraj for reasons unknown. Inevitably, word of this has attracted a certain sort of customer and many patrons of Grog often discuss how to reach the lair of the beast and slip past unseen. As of yet, very few have returned alive. | +||
| Whispering Lady | +Information Source | +Nestled in the middle of the docks is an aging but clean building, once inside you are greeted in a small waiting room by a well dressed servent. If you have the coin you can go in and be seated at on of the many private tables, and booths in the building, or for a "small" fee the maitre d' will take you to one of the semi-permanent residents tables so you may buy, or sell information. Additionally this is the perfect place to meet informants, broker deals, or pass information, as the owner has made sure it is protected from all forms of divination and has standing agreements with both the City guard and the thieves guild for protection. Your Secrets are safe here. | +||
| Dancing Bear | +Hell(AKA dive bar) | +Clapboard coats the outside of the building, each piece seemly put there at different times, the windows have no glass but rather have waxed cloth coverings, the cloth itself torn and patched. Upon entering you find a single room makes up the entire building, the "kitchen" is a fire pit in one corner with smoke allowed to flow freely through the room and up out the sheltered hole that serves as a chimney. The bar lines the far wall, made from old barrels and topped by sweat polished wood that seems to have come from a neighboring building at one time. As the door closes behind you with the screech of ungreased hinges and the slap of wood many of the patrons glance up, and you feel the weighing stare of armed men considering robing you. | +||
| The Silken Veils | +Brothel | +Sitting alone with a small garden on each side, and a high iron fence all around the property, The Silken Veil does not even try to fit in with the squalor of it's surroundings. Fresh paint gleams on every inch exterior, and perfect glass sits in the two bay window frames in the front. Standing behind the glass are two Women coated head to toe in silk so sheer you swear you could see right through it if they were not wearing countless layers. As you walk in the front door you see several hulking men standing at their ease in corners, and if you listen closely you think you can hear the clinking of armor in the walls. A older women sits behind the front desk, and greet you warmly with a smile. Sitting infront of her is a large book with what appears to be drawings of women on each page. | +||
| Grandma Gertrude's Gardening Grove | +Thieves Guild | +Most people think of Grandma Gertrude as a kindly sweet old lady who runs a Gardening shop on the edge of the city with quaint little gardens growing around her shop. What most don't know is that she was one time known as Grim Gertie, and was one of the most ruthless thieves of the lands. Now, she has settled down and taken over control of the local thieves guild using her gardening shop as a cover. She has dug various tunnels under the city, and thanks to dwarven contractors, they are more than mere tunnels. An elaborate maze of tunnels, laid with all sorts of traps, which can only be bypassed if Gertrude gives you a special pin to wear for gardening prowess. Inside this tunnel network, are training grounds, a black market, a barrister's office, an inn, a flop room, and a well secured fence's caged office area, where multiple fences buy stolen goods, depending on their specialty. One fence will only buy art items, another jewelry, etc. | +||
| The Avaricium Arcane | +Thieves guild for those who mix magic with their larceny | +Near the docks stand a nondescript building with no windows, and only one door. The door is trapped with numerous magical traps that a rogue would have to bypass to open the door, but for those skilled enough to deactivate the magical traps and open the door, another ugly surprise awaits as all they will see is the wall. The real door is hidden under an illusion on another wall. Once they do manage to prove their skilled enough with magic to find the real door, they can enter inside where they find a small bar tended by unseen bar servants, a job listings board, and a fence or two buying and selling magic items, spellbooks, and other things a thieving mage might need. | +||
| The Canopy | +Pirate hideout | +Hidden in the highest treetops of an ancient jungle resides an elven tribe who hunt for great treasure rather than for small game. Ropes and pulley systems are strung throughout the branches making movement between the many platforms swift and simple. Only the most skilled of acrobats can navigate this maze of loose planks and vines without falling to the jungle floor far, far below. | +||
| Swan's Inn | +Town tavern & inn | +Built from the ground up during the town's earliest days, Swan's Inn perfectly balances the feeling of a seedy bar with the reputation of a respectable establishment. Despite being a well-known front for the local thieves' guild, it's the safest place to be in town--provided that you don't mind parting with your coin purse after a while. | +||
| Carpenter’s Guild | +Thieves’ Den | +Masquerading as construction contractors this thieves’ den already has detailed blueprints of every mark they’re going to hit. Every member always carries around hammer and nails and will use these to defend themselves when caught. The locals aren’t sure what’s the bigger robbery, the heists they pull or the prices they charge | +||
| Spitting Distance | +Tavern | +This tavern is a favorite spot for criminals and lowlifes in the city, situated just above town hall there is a large deck from which the patrons can show their appreciation of the local governments efforts. The place is crowded every night of the week and it is easy to find a fence—or three—on any given night. Some government officials have taken to going to the bar after work and spending their nights cheek by jowl with pirates and smugglers. No one can tell who is worse. | +||
| The Black Hand | +Thieve’s Den | +Located in Lars MegaDark’s mother’s basement, this thieves den demands that ACDC music plays all the time in their hideout. The members all wear only black and are forbidden to cut their hair. They are embroiled in a violent turf war with Queen’s Gambit (although no Queen’s Gambit member even recognizes the name “Black Hand”) | +||
| Neptune’s End | +Cultist Temple | +This warehouse has a ring of smugglers masquerading as a Cthulhu worshipping cult, protected under the cities freedom of religion laws. The dingy driftwood built temple and non-euclidean statues inside make a surprisingly good cover and some of the smugglers get really into the act. | +||
| Salty Pete’s Delivery Service | +Parcel Delivery | +Salty Pete is a charismatic and brash veteran of the seas who can literally smell gold and opportunity. Based out of a squat 1 story shack of an office, his ships will get you past the local customs alright but they’re made to outpace things much worse, and much faster, out on the open sea. | +||
| Third Eye Academy | +Psionic University | +Formally founded to advance the study of psionics, up to two thirds of the grant money given to the university is actually used to ground up the psionic crystals into a fine hallucinogenic powder which the “professors” sell on the side, pocketing the profit themselves. | +||
| The Mermaid’s Tit | +Pirate Sloop | +Formally used to run down merchant vessels on the open water, Captain Gruntheim realized the party circuit is a lot more lucrative and converted his ship into a booze cruise that sails nobles around the royal harbor all night. For a hefty fee, you can rent out the entire deck and convince the captain to sail the ship into international waters for the really wild parties. | +||
| The Drop | +Tavern | +This tavern makes quite the effort to attract adventurer and pirate alike and isn’t afraid to show off their own set of weapons and each bartender has enough war stories to fill a novel. This is all for good reason, since rumors fly that the local mob runs the especially big drops through this bar. In actuality, it isn’t a mob bar at all and they haven’t handled a single drop, but the tavern uses it as a marketing tactic, and the mob doesn’t want anyone talking about the real drop bars. | +||
| The tavern for incredibly heroic heroes on heroic quests | +Tavern | +A tavern run by a couple of con-men aimed at catering specifically to adventurers selling scrolls of fireball (fake) and potions of healing (sewer water) in addition to the usual lodgings, food, and alcohol | +
This page is a compilation of the mysteries from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Mysteries thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
-This page is a compilation of the mysteries from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Mysteries thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
+| Mystery Name | Mystery Description |
|---|---|
| The case of the Baker | Every morn' before the sun is risen. Fresh, warm bread appears in the village. This impoverished village has no baker, nor a proper oven. Too far from the city to maintain its warmth, the masterwork bread that appears... Only where none are looking. |
| The Foresters' Plenty | The town's loggers refuse to travel more than a league into the forest, but the lumber they return with is far too dense to be young growth, and it burns with an unusual ferocity. They've been following the same logging trails for as long as anyone can remember, and refuse to show them to outsiders. | -
| The Circle of Feasting | +The party happens upon a fairy ring in the forest. Since there are no actual Fey around, it seems to be simply a curiosity. Should anyone attempt to eat or drink within the circle, however, they will find that their food and drink has become cuisine fit for the most decadent of banquets. Upon leaving the circle, however, the food leaves a bitter, ashen taste in their mouths. | +
| The Hills of Jars | +Just under the rolling, grassy hills of Sucia Isle, a series of vast, labyrinthine warrens and warehouses waits. The stonework walls, ceilings, and floors appear to be ancient and caked with dust. Filling the tens and hundreds of rooms within the hills are large, earthenware jars, lined up by the thousands, their clay lids sealed with wax. The entrances and exits to these underground storehouses are warded with powerful glyphs, which have long since faded and gone dark with the ages. | +
| Silence is Golden | +This object is peculiar, taking the shape of a rolled ring of some strange, silvery material. At first glance, there is no immediate way to unroll it, but with adequate investigation, the end can be found, and the substance unrolled from the rest. The silver strips can be torn away with little effort, and will adhere to most dry surfaces, though they have no other effect. | +
| The Tree of Runes | +Deep beneath the earth, far removed from the most remote dwarven strongholds of the Shadowspire Mountains, there is a tree. Green and flourishing despite the lack of sun, the tree's roots reach deep and wide, breaking the cavern floor. Each of the tree's leaves bears a symbol that greatly resembles a rune in the Dwarven alphabet. | +
| New Tricks | +While hunting in the deep forest, a Ranger's dire wolf companion has unearthed a fossilized femur bone of prodigious size that oozes dark red liquid when touched. | +
| Treasure's Quandary | +A collector's prize relic has been publicly proved a forgery, but that hasn't stopped a zealous cleric from demanding it be 'returned' to the temple from which it was 'stolen'. | +
| Ninety Lives | +The neighbor's patch-furred, scarred old tom enjoys bringing the ravaged bodies of mice, rabbits and the occasional mimic spawnling to the steps of the outhouse, where the likelihood of meeting a bare foot in the middle of the night is at it's greatest. Lately, however, his prizes have included documents in foreign languages, gaudy jewelry, and the signet ring of a long-dead duke. | +
| Sideways Time | +A Wizard of some renown claims to have (re)discovered a new school of magic, but is unwilling to disclose any more until someone can prove that he isn't dead. | +
| Serpent's Feather | +The snakes that nest in the barren cliffs that skirt the Northern edge of the great desert are renowned for the deadly potency of their venom, and have been milked for generations in semi-religious ceremonies by Kobold mystics, who then sell vials of the stuff to the highest bidder on the shadow market. Lately, however, various cells in the loose network of assassin's guilds have reported that the last shipment of venom isn't nearly as effective as it once was, and a few incredibly thorough practitioners of the murderous arts have been overheard suggesting that it might actually have restorative powers. | +
| Love the Bomb | +In the quiet hamlet of Llywenshire, the well in the central square has served as the hub for the community for as long as anyone can remember. But after a sore-pocked and disease-ridden stranger clambered from its depths, shouting at anyone who would listen that 'SHE HAS AWOKEN' and 'THE END IS NIGH!', the villagers have begun to express concern. | +
| The Bronze Candlestick | +There is an old bronze candlestick on the mantle in the Rose Room at the Freewind Mage's Academy. Without fail, every morning, the caretaker finds the burnt stub of a candle in the bronze candlestick, even when there have been no guests in the Rose Room, and it has been locked all night. The caretaker has attempted to dispose of the bronze candlestick, but somehow it finds its way back to the room. | +
| The Hopping Raven | +Upon the gravestone of the beloved witch Lady Pinewall who succumbed to the blood plague, a raven hops up and down. When anyone approaches, the bird squawks "SPEARS!" and flies off, only to return once the coast is clear. | +
| The Golden Cherry | +At the center of the Royal Gardens is an old cherry tree that produces wonderful, sweet red cherries. In the history of the tree, it has produced a golden cherry three times. The first time, the prince who picked and ate the cherry died in battle the following morning. The second time, the kitchen maid who picked and ate the cherry died of a bad belly. The third time, the stable boy who picked the cherry and fed it to the pigs fell to his death from a hay loft that very night. | +
| The Pig in the Chimney | +At Garvil the Greenbeard's house, you'll hear an occasional squealing of a pig. The sound seems to be coming from his old stone chimney, but Garvil eats no meat and has never owned a pig. Sunny weather, stormy weather, crackling fire, or cold hearth, the squealing sound comes and goes as it pleases. | +
| The Sun God's Feasthall | +Way out in the desert in the ruins of the ancient city of Haz Alaf, there is a large stone table with stone benches still in its place in the feasthall of the Sun God. At noon on the day of the summer solstice every year, the table in the feasthall is filled with a traditional feast—pears and dates, figs and lentils, roast fox, buzzard's soup, braised drake, camel's milk cheese, toasted crickets, fried scorpions, honeyed wine, and mild tea. Ever since the discovery of the miracle, hundreds of pilgrims make the dangerous journey to Haz Alaf every late spring to witness the miracle. | +
| The Black Castle | +A black castle stands on the outskirts of a small town with strange customs regarding the dead, those that die are revered (think cattle in india). Word is the castle started out as nothing more than a pebble but has grown almost organically and they are willing to buy both the living and the dead for unknown reasons. | +
| Circle of unhappiness | +A round clearing in the middle of a vast forest. Nothing lay within, no grass, no trees, nothing but a single flower. Those entering will be faced with extreme dread and unhappiness to the point where they feel life no longer holds meaning for them. Even animals instinctively stay away. | +
| Jar of Many Faces | +A clay pot sits on the shelf, the visage inscribed on the jar stares back at you with an angry grimace. When next you glance in the pot's direction, you notice it's no longer frowning at you, but grinning. | +
| Ring of Many Moods | +Embedded in this small golden band is a single gem. When unworn, the gem is a pearly white. When worn, the gem shifts to one of many colours, ranging from the palest blue to jet black. | +
| The Unfound Door | +A door stands upright in the middle of a field, only visible from head-on. There is no frame or anything else to suggest it should be able to stand upright. When looked at from any other angle, it simply isn't there and may be passed through. The knob is locked and will not open for anyone. | +
| Boiling Bog | +A large pool of water within a marsh is bubbling and boiling and steaming for no discernible reason. Strangely, the water is cool to the touch. | +
| Well Of Black Water | +This strange well sits atop a hill. The water within is clear and inviting, but once a bucket is dipped into the well, the water within is turned black as tar and greasy, utterly undrinkable. | +
| Icebrick Tower | +In the middle of the scorching wastelands stands a tower of shimmering clear ice carved into the form of bricks. No matter how hot it is out, the ice will never melt, even though it always seems to be shimmering with melt water. | +
| A Clear Circlet | +In the Archbishop's parlor, on a mantle of dark wood, stands a circlet of beaten rose-gold. Across it stretches a translucent film similar to soapy water. Several of his guests have sworn they saw glimpses of strange lands, otherworldly places and in one case their own bedchamber inside it, but the Archbishop has never seen anything. | +
This page is a compilation of the npcs from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K NPCs thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
-This page is a compilation of the npcs from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K NPCs thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
+| Name | Gender Race Occupation | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brad the Bard | Male Human Troubadour | A prancing ponce whose lyrical beauty is beyond compare But for the nonce let's dwell on his quest for booty so rare His lust for princesses and queens and such ladies fair Landed him in prison five years ago - he yet rots in there! | @@ -1749,14 +1756,108 @@Female Gnome Bloodhunter | A powerful bloodhunter, her first kill at the age of 12 she specializes in wielding weapons of uncommonly large size for her race. Constantly under the effects of an illusion she appears before her prey as an innocent human child. She preys specifically on demons, or cursed that hold weapons or items of sentience, even if they've no other power to speak of. She's slowly expanding her circle of 'friends'. | -
| Who are these crones, enchantresses, and fortune tellers? | +The witch smiles gleefully as she squishes the caterpillar between her fingers. "Into the pot!" she smiles as she tosses it into the bubbling, hissing liquid." | +Witches, seers, fortune tellers, and diviners are staples of fantasy worlds. Individuals who have glimpsed dark secrets or who can peer into the future. Sometimes these are villains, but most often they are following some agenda of their own that is unwholesome if not wholly evil. The NPCs don't have to be developed deeply, but they should have enough suggested content that any DM could quickly fill in what's missing. I'll post a few examples. (These may or may not have drawn some inspiration from these tables and these tables.) | +||
| Myrta | +Female Human Crone | +Myrta learned her craft from a half-elf witch who came to her aid after she was evicted following the death of her fourth husband. This cackling old crone saved Myrta and her young daughter from a beggarly life, teaching them spells that gave them the power to manipulate men's minds and the forces of nature. Since being chased from town after a few short years of scrounging in the allies, Myrta's made a cozy little lair for herself and her grumpy familiar Ormund the Owl in a cave in the swamp. She's a tough old bird, and she'll happily mix up a poison or curse an item for you in exchange for a few silvers. Her mistress told her about the staff of Hecate, the first witch, and Myrta's been gingerly probing for lore relating to the staff ever since. She's currently mixing up a terrible poison made from blindworm's sting, dryad's thorn, and stirge's foot. Who the poison is intended for is anyone's guess... | +||
| Marta | +Female Human Enchantress | +Marta is the witch Myrta's beautiful daughter by her second husband, and she learned the craft as a teenager on the streets from her mother. Marta left her mother's tutelage to marry some handsome lord, but he died under mysterious circumstances. When suspicion turned on Marta she fled to the mountains where she lives, conducting seances, reading the palms of travelers, and seeking the soul of her dead husband. Her familiar is a talkative snake named Hiss-Fiss, and her other companion in the mountains is a giant bat named Hipp-Fipp, whom she rides to and from the valley to her hidden lair. Marta has a nervous twittering laughter that shakes her pleasant features in an unpleasant way. She also has a real talent for love potions. Most men who drink these potions fall in love with Marta herself, but that works for her. She enjoys taking new lovers. She also enjoys casting old lovers from her mountaintop home when she's done with them. | +||
| Morta | +Female Half-Elf Bogwitch | +Morta is the most mysterious member of the coven. She's half-elven with a very unfortunate wart on her nose. She's quite good at preparing alchemical concoctions, from magical cure-alls to pyrophoric substances. She lives on an island in the swamp and transforms into an owl to get from place-to-place. If you let on that you know magic, she'll pick your brain for ritual lore before letting you go. Once she let's you go, there's a good chance she's going to hunt you down with her bow and her spear. If you get far enough away, she'll transform into a horned owl and track you down. She consorts with a gleeful fire elemental familiar who delights in burning things and whom Morta is constantly trying to restrain as she prefers to kill things herself. Morta delights in the thrill of the chase and the adrenaline rush of making the kill to end a successful hunt. | +||
| Laki | +Female Human Shadowseer | +Old Laki is a bent-backed creature of routine who knows the most unexpected things. Every morning, she rises to a cup of tea and dried fish before her morning walk amongst the beaches and meadows of the rugged coastland. Hobbling along with her crooked cane, she collects bits of driftwood, grasses, herbs, and shells for her fires. She sleeps the afternoon away under the watchful gaze of her raven, and receives guests in evening. All through the night, she prays to her dragon gods and works her spells, divining answers to her guests' questions by interpreting the shadows the flames cast on her tent walls. | +||
| Margy the White | +Female Human Fortune Teller | +Robed in black with dark brown hair and tan skin, one may ask why is she called Margy the White? This sturdy middle-aged woman offers readings in her kitchen, during which her voice deepens and her face takes on a ghostly pallor. The local priest has been ranting about Margy being a fraud for decades, but that never seemed to bother Margy. She keeps offering to do a reading for a silver to any who ask and who have good manners. | +||
| Glyddon Silverstrings | +Male Half-Elf Singer | +Glyddon Silverstrings has a handsome face and a golden voice and a pitch-perfect harp. He has recently been wandering the villages of the Borderlands singing for his supper and offering simple healing as his meager skills allow. Once in a while, he has had dreams that offer him glimpses of the future, including foreseeing his own mother's death while a youth in Brightharbor. After she died, he has been an unsettled rascal, never staying in one town for long. Some say he is wanted for the murder of a Southron merchant prince whom he tried to warn about his enemies' plans. | +||
| Deepbrother Harridan | +Male Human Prophet | +A gaunt priest of the Sea Queen, Deepbrother Harridan preaches her dire message of darkness and suffocation for those who do not submit to her will. Harridan himself was the sole survivor of a terrible shipwreck as a young lad. So moved by his luck, he pledged himself as a deepbrother of the Sea Queen, claiming to have received visions of her plans when his lungs were filled with seawater. He has "drowned" himself dozens of times since, taking on seawater and asking that his assistants revive him. Recently, he has predicted a black vengeance will rise from the sea to consume those in the city who refuse to renounce their devotion to the Light. | +||
| Borovurnum Jurtha | +Female Human Sailor | +On the languorous and rain-soaked coastlines there is a rowboat tied to a rotting pier somewhere. On this rowboat is Borovurnum, never tired, never hungry, with fire behind her huge pupils and teeth and deep blue tattoos of wide-eyed snakes up and down her muscled arms. She will row you to the nearest fishing hamlet, clam shack, or charcoal-burner's hut for only some conversation in exchange; and during the journey she will offer you to smoke from her pipe. If you interest her sufficiently with information—and, more importantly, manage to draw a mouthful of smoke from the pipe—then she will regard you highly and pleasantly, offering to row you anywhere you wish or could possibly imagine. However you will smell of, and constantly spit up, liquid smoke and heatless fire for a few days afterwards. Further, you will always hear the slight splashing of oars on water from inside your head, your appetite will be subdued and then all at once entirely gone, your eyes will feel hot and swollen. | +||
| Malfra | +Female Human Enchantress | +Ever since Malfra was born, she felt different from the others living in the small hamlet. Her natural magical talents made her feel like an outcast. As a young woman she met her one true love. He was a soulmate: finally someone with whom she could share her gift of magic. One day, he gave her the most beautiful flower she had ever seen as a token of their love. When their relationship ended on his behalf, Malfra turned bitter. She grew envious of other young maidens who were happy with their lovers. Fleeing from her home and retreating into the neighboring woods, she set out to destroy their happiness. When young couples wander too close to her confines, she enchants the young maiden in love and turns her into a bird, to be locked into a cage at her hovel. Only the flower that reminds her of her long lost love will break the spell. | +||
| Norgith the phasing | +Male githzerai wanderer | +Norgith is a tall, gaunt, hooded figure, always wandering through dark woods or climbing distant mountains, though sometimes he is seen passing through alleyways in bustling cities. Little is known about him, but whenever he is encountered, he is amicable, though impatient. He seems to know everything, and has an answer to every question, but he always speaks enigmatically, and also always claims only to have a few moments to talk. When people try to find him again, even moments later he is gone. No one ever sees him coming, and no one sees him leave. It is said that he phases across time and space, observing the world, but not staying in any one place for long, which is how he gained his knowledge. | +||
| Giddy Cremm | +Female Half-Orc Suntouched Cragwitch | +She clings to the boulders and cliffs of her mountain home with hooks made from steel, woven through her fingers and along her arms with lengths of braided leather, hemp and hair. She wears the sun as a cloak, the wind as a bonnett, the sky as a dress. Her laughs (and her deep, unsettling coughs) echo for improbable distances, and it's always wise to make camp when you hear them, and soon; should there be a pot of something tasty awaiting her when she comes calling, she might be willing to overlook a trespasser on her land. | +||
| Marin of the Lupines | +Female Human Oracle | +She lives in a sturdy cabin, tucked between two boulders on the edge of the wood, where the tall trees give way to to undergrowth and wildflowers. During the long springs and summers and autumns, she can be found wandering the the threshold - the divide, she calls it - harvesting the few Lupines that stray under the shade of the foliage. These, she says, grow with the shadow in them. She boils them in springwater and honeycomb, and as she whispers her hidden words, the bees from the meadow crawl through her knotted hair and across the glassy mirrors of her sightless eyes. Those who watch find it unnerving, but the wise know that the bees keep secrets. | +||
| Twisted Tether | +Awakened | +She loves questions. Her only request for repayment is 'to discover something that she has not before'. This can be a song, a riddle or simply showing her things she has not seen - be that with books, paintings, casting illusions or virtually anything else. The more impressed she is with this information or story the more forthcoming she is with answers to any questions. As she is well past three thousand years old so finding something 'new' can be very challenging - though it is suspected she 'pretends' to be surprised &/or delighted to nearly any good company. She loves to share her ideas with those she enjoys and it helps her to pass the nearly endless time that waits before her. | +||
| Throne of The Harvürdium Kingdoms | +at all costs | +To this day this wonderful throne sits alone within a mighty (albeit crumbling) castle, long abandoned in the middle of a ruined empire. To any who seek its hard knowledge, bitter wisdom and face-peeling sarcasm, the way is easily discovered. | +||
| Gaglagabablagubb | +clear thinking | +Seekers that go to this talkative blob of mouths & eyes can get vast, complex and insanity-inducing answers to so nearly any question. Though admittedly, one has to not only keep their sanity but also avoid being eaten throughout the conversation - some habits are hard to break. Clever people bring along at least enough snacks to pre-occupy this creature until any would-be questioning is done. | +||
| Ventelusall | +Reincarnated | +Centuries ago legend speaks of a great bard asking a powerful green dragon: 'what is treasure?' Much to her surprise she could not answer as she really did not know. Why was something valuable? What had true enduring value? How could one attain the most or all of these Eternal Goods... whatever they were? She became rather flummoxed for at least a few centuries. | +||
| Garian | +Male Elven Researcher | +Seers: Othelius is a half-lich. He and his partner Garian were the victims of an unfortunate experiment in ascending to lichdom via an artificial, true-neutral-aligned phylacterial ritual. Othelius is now effectively immortal, but must be constantly moisturized by an external source. He normally resembles a healthy, if elderly, elven man, but shrivels and mummifies within a few hours if not properly hydrated. Othelius can passively anticipate many possible futures, and can give general predictions as to the way things will be in the next several weeks or months. He doesn't do long-term prophesying. Garian is a half-lich. He and his partner Othelius were the victims of an unfortunate experiment in ascending to lichdom via an artificial, true-neutral-aligned phylacterial ritual. Garian, too, is effectively immortal, but must remain in an unnaturally dry environment or his body will rapidly putrefy and decay. His prophecies are of the more traditional kind - from time to time, he'll be inspired to write poems or songs that cryptically foreshadow events several years or decades in the future. | +||
| Roland Roggeveen | +Male Elf Farmer | +A tall golden-eyed elf with hair the color of grain. He often wears a tan tunic, and grey overalls. He has a small farm of his own, and lives there alone. In the small windmill on his farm he practices his magic, and makes many things for his plants, magical fertilizers to cause plants to grow in wonderful and strange ways, mulches that push out weeds, and protect the soil, and sprays to dissuade the presence of vermin, and insects in his crops. He will sell these to anyone who can show a good interest in plants. | +||
| Clara Sheehy | +Female Half-Elf Phytomancer | +A soft spoken and kind woman. Her hair is bright white with tinges of red, and green. She mostly keeps to herself, preferring the company of the magical plants that she creates. Her home is a small cottage with sunflowers and rosebushes growing around its edges, and many raised gardens scattered around it. She can be quite shy around new people to the point of misdirecting them away from her cottage with elaborate illusions. When she is outside her house she usually wears a large straw sun hat with a white ribbon on its top. | +||
| Hubert Donnelly | +Male Leprechaun Shopkeeper | +A brown eyed leprechaun who wears a green tunic, and brown overalls. He manages his own shop, and sells various magical trinkets as well as gardening supplies. A few of his own gardening tools are quite magical. He acts kind to those that enter his shop casually, but when someone that has a great need for something enters his shop he will do whatever he can to trade them what they want at the cost of something they have great sentimental value in. He can be very mischievous, and even taunting to those that have traded something to him that the once greatly adored, and will not easily trade it back to them. | +||
| Gerhard Katirci | +Male Ogre Geomancer | +A large ogre with dark grey skin, and piercing green eyes and a set of spectacles. He speaks very intelligently, but has issues with using profanity often. He wears a dense, grey, woolen shirt, and tan overalls. He works in mines to prevent their collapse, and to locate the ore or gemstones in them. Often he uses his own strength to amend issues in the construction of a mine. He respects the earth and stone of the mines he works in, and can speak to it in a way to find the best way to reinforce it. | +||
| Haukvir | +Male Dwarven Watcher | +A quiet dwarf who lives in the ruins of a long-forgotten temple. His beard is glossy and black, as are his eyes. When he speaks, he speaks with many voices, in many accents, and none of them are Dwarvish. | +||
| Bartholomew the Great and Powerful, First of His Name, Whose Arts Rattle the Vaults of Heaven | +Male Half-elf Charlatan | +Bartholomew (or, to his friends and/or paramours, Tol) is a lanky, somewhat frazzled half-elf with a shock of red hair. 'Shock' is an appropriate word; this stage magician uses what small sorcerous talents he has to swindle away the money of every backwoods family and small-town bumpkin from here to the Whitespire Mountains. Make no mistake, though: he might be terrible at performing magic, but he is a prodigy at summoning the eldritch horrors and assorted unsavory creatures that slaughter any who would turn him in to the authorities. | +
This page is a compilation of the plot hooks from /rDnDBehindTheScreen's 10K Plot Hooks thread. Be sure to visit and contribute!
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