roleplayservices-blog

Creating Roleplay content and learning more all the time.

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Rolling Word Play - 60

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Overshadow Doting Simulation, Lances Opponent Paid, and Stay Litter Drop.

Overshadow Doting Simulation An inventor of AI creations is hailed as being one of the pioneers of next generation free-thought simulations; perhaps the most radical ‘what if’ devices ever conceived.  A message sent through the matrix of AI code is decrypted to reveal that a future great leader is in danger of not existing and that many future beings created out of AI will cease to exist without the inventor’s help. Unfortunately, the inventor has fallen in love with his latest creation and is never happier then when in its presence. He calls it Hardy after his first pet dog that he loved when he was a young child.  He can visit and interact with Hardy whenever he likes in his private simulator.

Players will be charged with saving the inventor from himself for the sake of AI and the future of humanity.  What form with Hardy take and how will the player’s break the bond between Hardy and the inventor?

Lances Opponent Paid The best rider is one who concentrates on riding.  This is the opinion of Sir Derel Martinique.  He is a knight of the court and a pragmatist who will serve the king and save himself at the same time.  As a knight he is expected to lead the charge into battle against foes of the kingdom, but he is no master fighter.  Fortunately he has an account with the Fellowship of Magic, a group who protects artefacts and makes sure they are not abused by marauding hordes of barbarians or any johnny-come-lately adventurers.  They rent out magical artefacts to clients whose credit and reputation are both sound.  Sir Derel is one such individual.  In times of war, his go-to weapon is a special lance called Harash the Deal Broker. Harash is an entity who long ago was a warlord cursed into his current form with a continuous itch to find opponents to pierce.  In the hands Sir Derel, Harash has found many enemies, leaping and guiding the arm of the knight, who can keep his eyes in front and concentrate on riding through the battlefield.

Stay Litter Drop In a place and time very similar to the United Kingdom today, a mischievous computer programmer has been slowly driven mad on his daily commute to work by the constant dropping of litter.  He has gone through different stages of coping with this sloppy disregard for the environment.  He started by actively picking it up and binning it himself, then confronting those he saw doing it.  Both results left him less-than-satisfied and once he was even punched to the ground by a group of teenage boys.  For his latest solution, he has turned to his beloved technology.  He started creating little microbots; centripetal chips that he glued to each bit of litter he saw lying on the ground.  The litter reacts to loud sounds and moves towards them. Soon he had produced hundreds of them and they had made the national news.  The little noise-sensing droids were chasing and harassing humans and pets alike, pursuing them down the street.

Does the gimmick work in reducing littering?  What happens to the inventor?  Does he calm down, or invent even stranger and morecrazy litter deterrents?

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Rolling Word Play - 59

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Surges Import Pebble, Sharpened Tight Waterfront, and Pitch Tweeted Spaceship.

Surges Import Pebble For a time, a great deal of odd dreams occur in the town of Gormly.  This sleepy town sits on the river bank before this major waterway meanders towards the coast, growing in size as it goes.  The oddity is because of a mythical Mountain of Memories.  It is practically impenetrable sitting in the centre of the mountain range, above the rest.  Only the wisest sage or most bookish scholar would have more information on it than that.  But for them, they know that it is an old being who can see but cannot communicate.  Very few intrepid explorers have attempted to climb this monumental structure.  One survivor said he had suffered strange hallucinations that made climbing far too dangerous.

Let’s return to the town of Gormly, where a fragment of the mountain has broken off and drifted into the river.  It is a pebble by the time it makes its way down to Gormly’s river bank, and there it sits.   Thinking, dreaming and affecting those who drink the waters and share the atmosphere with it.  How will these visions play into player adventures?  Will the mountain’s memories help the players or cause lack of sleep and confusion?  And will the players discover the source of the town’s sleepless nights, or will the pebble get washed back into the river and leave Gormly behind?

Sharpened Tight Waterfront The rocky, underground citadel of Orefod has many issues.  A mistrusting ruler, a seize-and-plunder attitude to other fiefdoms and a hierarchy of worker, who either mine, make or maraud.  The infrastructure is also tightly controlled with two ways in or out of the citadel and one very fast waterway providing the water that the people need.  This would be a fast escape route out of the town for some unlucky or tired enough to attempt it, but the waterway is very narrow, has a very strong current and a series of waterfalls follow one after the other.  There are very few boats that are small enough and capable of not falling apart from being bashed against the rocks.  The making of boats is also a tightly controlled operation.

If the players find themselves here, what would be their objective?   Would they have a job to do or are they prisoners of war and looking to escape?  There are a few who have boat-making skills but if they are not in the pocket of the ruler, then their boats are highly illegal and would have to be kept secret.

Pitch Tweeted Spaceship In all space, music is a universally understood mode of communication.  Whilst tastes may vary, harmonies and pitches can be heard by most species.  There are many more musical phrases used by groups of space travellers, but there are also common musical phrases communicated between ships.  These signify “Peace/Friendship”, “Aid” and “Emergency/Urgent Duty”.  There is also one for “Hostile Action” but only a diplomatic war ships heading a fleet would generally use the official code.

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Rolling Word Play - 58

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Chronicles Yards Seekers, Crumbs Checkpoint Typified, and Avoiding Hotels Courage.

Chronicles Yards Seekers There is a novel book written by a very articulate and winged creature called Cnel, a Parin Parin bird, and is a record of the many gardens and yards he has visited in his lifetime.  The Parin Parin is a tropical bird of famed splendour.  The male’s golden and white plumage and the changeable colours of his head feathers is dazzling to behold.  But what is even more extraordinary is the way this bird can talk.  It knows almost every language; not just every bird call, but all creature languages.  It is therefore a very useful companion to have.   The pure female Parin Parin is less stunning by sight and doesn’t have the social graces of the male.  She does however pack quite a kick and is uncannily hard to catch, using her speed and agility, but also her hiding skills. The sheen on her feathers makes her blend in with most backgrounds.  The same sheen can be seen on the eggs she lays.  There are also half-breeds in existence which have picked up some of the Parin Parin’s characteristics.

Crumbs Checkpoint Typified Down an alleyway, in amongst the outskirts of the city streets, there is a singularly peculiar sight.  A flat 20ft by 20ft façade made of wooden board fills the alleyway and stands upright with a crude, simple landscape painting drawn on the front facing the street.  In front of this simple board is a checkpoint with a barrier and a simple guardhouse. There are normally two guards stationed outside it, although they do not show any great sense of wisdom between them. They diligently guard the façade, but they will drop hints as to what they are protecting.  They say things like ‘it’s secret’ and ‘I’m not at liberty to say’, but then drop significant hints that it is a valuable area and that they are doing an important job.

If the adventurer’s come this way and are curious enough to evade the guards and investigate further, here are some possibilities as to what the area is:

1.    It is a wooden façade held up by wooden framing.  The guards are delusional.

2.    Beyond the street’s floor the scene in the board is real.  All creatures are crudely created as if painted by a small child.

3.    The board is a simple grid.  Use a ‘touch-stone’ that the guards can describe and it transports the players to a different area of the map.  Could be a planar portal or a city map.

4.    The board is actually a large set of doors with handles hidden in the paintwork.  Inside are rare, exotic creatures being looked after.

5.    The guards were right to try to warn the adventurers.  The smell and texture of the board is incredibly strong, like bread but older and musty.  If the players touch the board they are at risk of being yet more crumbs in the picture!

6.    As the adventurers step past the checkpoint, time seems to slow and the guards float away as if in a frozen scream.  The scene becomes a watery one.  At the bottom there is a mural of a street scene that can transport the players back. What else is in the watery area is up to you.

Avoiding Hotels Courage Celestial Promenade is the most exquisite street in the city.  To live and sample life here is to deal with temptation and luxury.  Many travellers and businessmen have lost their fortunes in such places whilst a much smaller number have made theirs.  The most famous gambling houses, escort services, chocolate and gin palaces and toy shops occupy a space in what is a sea of colourful building fronts.  During the day, musical marching bands parade up and down the promenade and samples of delicious bread and cakes are served.  At night, the scene turns darker in every sense with drugs and delights of the flesh on display. They say once you’ve been, you never really leave.  There’s always a party, a creature or a liquor that calls your name.

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Rolling Word Play - 57

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Functioning Land Saints, Engendered Poky Increments, and Nodded Begin Elects.

Functioning Land Saints The trees of the Sayora Moors are vast and wild, where only the desperate would dare venture at night.   If the thick mist and howling winds don’t discombobulate the traveller then the half-crazed goblins will have a good go! One phenomenon that does sometimes come to the aid of the travellers is the Land Saints.  They are rarely seen but when they are, it is considered a blessing to the innocent and the underdogs.  These trees are not plotted on any map, nor are they tree ents that have the ability to uproot themselves and walk about.  They simply appear and bestow their guiding light and gifts. There are many stories of how they appear and what form they take.  They have been known to terrify bands of goblins or smugglers, and have provided healing fruits and shelter.  In one story, they lit up a shimmering path from the tree all the way to the traveller’s next destination.  Why they appear there is quite a mystery but many non-religious creatures seek divination after encountering a Land Saint.

Engendered Poky Increments The witch covens of Baon are very distrustful of each other and many will deal punishments for late deliveries or a bad harvest crop.  These are often done through long-ranged spells that inflict their victim with an illness or physical disfigurement.  Thus the witches and inhabitants of Baon often have many unsightly boils and bad tempers.

Nodded Begin Elects

The Forest Warden and the Head of City Office have few things in common, but one is how they announce their resignation and begin the process of looking for a successor.  Both nod their head to their second in command, who starts funnelling this information to those they deem worthy.  In the forest, the second will visit each tribe and announce it to the chiefs, whilst the cities version is much more underhand.  In the lead up to a suspected change of head, his Assistant or Secretary will take many bribes, which will enrich the head’s retirement and mean his assistant will be theoretically more likely to inform them of the news sooner.  The timing of the announcements is a fairly delicately affair though.  Whilst it’s always good to accrue payments, take too long and the good will could subside and the other members of the City Office may attempt a Coup.

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Rolling Word Play - 56

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Offered Foreign Gobbles, Acclaim Scraper Earplugs, and Immigration Marinated Sesame.

Offered Foreign Gobbles A farmer was sold a bag of little brown, toothy beasties by a hooded tradesman who called them ‘Mud Munchers’. The farmer was complaining in the tavern about his field always being waterlogged and never producing any useful crops.  The hooded tradesman seemed to be listening in and sprang out of nowhere with an odd damp odour insulting their senses.  The farmer took the Mud Munchers as much to get rid of the creature and paid him off with 2 gold pieces (one provided by his drinking companion). With little ceremony he released the little beasties into a puddle within the field that night and watched as the bemused creatures dived into the mud and disappeared from sight.  The farmer retired, feeling underwhelmed by the whole experience.

The next day, the farmer looked out to see no mud at all on the field, which was flat and dry. Not only that, but plant shoots were started to pop up in neat rows throughout the land.  The farmer whooped with delight at this.    It was some time before he noticed the toadstools.  Small and bright red, they were appearing at regular intervals in the field and when he tried to pull them up he found he couldn’t.  The farmer didn’t give up however, and with a big spade and with help from a friend, started digging into the soil.  The toadstool roots went down for at least a full five feet below the ground. Then, he hit… not soil or rock, but nothing.  A vast cavern was beneath the field with a multitude of tiny little creatures swarming around.  The farmer and his friend backed away, but not before they were spotted and swarmed over. They were carried away and never seen again.  As for the field, it remains untouched.

If the players find themselves in this village, will they be called in to deal with a ‘pest problem’ or will the inhabitants be concealed, hooded tradesfolk trying to sell them their wares?

Acclaim Scraper Earplugs The Whistler Well is a much-feared, much talked about phenomenon in the centre of town.  It was created before anyone can remember, but myths have grown up around it, so now no-one knows what is true.  It is a deep well with a brownish water at the bottom, but the well itself appears to cry out on windy evenings as if mourning for something or terrified.  During one very windy winter, the rattled inhabitants of the town decided enough was enough.  It was too big to fill in and the water channel could be useful in dry months, so they created a thick stone barrier around it.  It is said to be the only known well to have 2 separate locked doors. Occasionally though, on windy nights, those passing by can still hear distant, muffled screams coming from within.

What is causing the screaming within the well?  Is there a way to silence the well for good, and are the many myths about the well true?

Immigration Marinated Sesame A new sub-group is growing in the city. A type of sesame seed has been imported from distant lands thought to have been originally brought by group that migrated to the city, it was said that although quiet they were a canny and close-knit community.  They were always able to sniff out trouble and avoid escalating conflict and were brilliant at keeping items in stock.  What they possessed was the Sesame Network.  The seeds contain just enough transient fibre from the original plants to maintain a connection with each other. When they are being chewed, any others who are also interacting with these seeds can hear one word commands spoken by the chewer. It was in this way that the original migrants could work so quickly.  This communication secret is diluting and now other groups use it, including criminals and would-be revolutionaries.  Sub-variants are being produced to try and avoid getting ‘wires crossed’ with other group messages.

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Rolling Word Play - 55

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Shaky Over Straighter Cookery, Strike Detect About Trunks, and Imagine Reasons Minus Regenerate.

Shaky Over Straighter Cookery Brawn is a minotaur with a passion for cooking.  His chef skills are prized but he is a stickler for perfection.  Because of this determination, he only has five recipes and expects them to be followed precisely.  Those who survive more than five days with this mountain of culinary curiosity will become highly disciplined cooks in their own right.  Although a vegetarian himself he sometimes allows an assistant to whip up a meat stew for carnivorous troops.  Of his previous jobs, he has worked for armies, city restaurants and hired by travelling adventurers as he is useful in combat with a saucepan.  His meals are generally very popular for a time, but when his clients want more variety, things usually unravel pretty quickly.  Rumour has it that he is working on his sixth masterpiece in a quiet town somewhere.

Strike Detect About Trunks When a royal artefact is stolen from a king’s tomb, there is much at stake.  The current royal family cannot sit idly by, especially because this item has a secret. Many golems and city guards are employed to inspect all containers and they have permission to break and destroy any items that are not given to them willingly.  This inspection has already yielded surprising results both in terms of thefts and trafficking of illegal goods.  One or two pets have also broken free from their cages, including a highly illegal and dangerous spider.

What is the item recovered from a king’s tomb?  What secrets does it hold?  Who took it and what might they do with it?  If they players are investigating, they might do well to check out the black markets to see if any information can be bought and if any strange items have been exchanged.

Imagine Reasons Minus Regenerate The Shaded Monstrosity is a creature of quite literally unimaginable horrors.  That is because it deliberately does not take the forms imagined by those it comes into contact with.  Created as a curse to protect treasures and sacred locations, these gargoyle-like protectors look like a simple, ugly stone figure above a doorway.  But when they are triggered into being by those passing through their area, they transform.  For 30 seconds they float through the air and attempt to inhabit the mind of the interlopers.  Each turn those in the area must roll a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw to avoid having their minds probed and if their save is unsuccessful, they see a threatening shape out of the corner of their mind that they fear.  For 5 turns (30 seconds) the victims of this attack have different visions and after those 5 turns, the protector of the space emerges having created a horrifying, unimagined form that it knows they won’t be expecting.

If they players come across this creature, allow them the opportunity to see the stone shape and know that it is magical.  If it is then triggered into life (for example, the players get within 10 feet of the doorway or treasure) then have the players make Wisdom saves for 5 rounds and take their suggestions for the fearful visions they see.  Once this time has passed, create the character.  Base the strength, abilities and hit points of the creature on how powerful the party is, for a good, challenging fight!

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Rolling Word Play - 54

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Frustrating Matched Believer, Sake Credit Midmorning, and Faded Recruiters Forget.

Frustrating Matched Believer Panegulis is a female acolyte who has the enthusiasm and application of a puppy.  There has never been a more adaptable but more incompetent being known to the planes.  She appears a wide-eyed Tiefling (pf demon ancestry) but could just as easily fit into a feywilds scene, with her wild hair and small horns.  She has believed wholeheartedly in a cause many times yet each time she joins a cult or follows a powerful persona, she invariably causes trouble.  Panegulis never means to cause irritation but her constant questioning and absent-mindedness means she cannot be trusted with even a simple task.  For those groups that have stuck with her and spent many agonizing weeks training her, she has the awesome ability to become the accidental pin to burst their balloon.   It’s as if she drains them of fortune and blocks the one crucial cog in the machine. One famous occasion was when the large Cult of the Ascending, found that days before their ‘great journey into the void’ their numbers had dwindled dramatically and that the only mage who knew the last rites was also missing.  This failure was traced back to a fatal spelling error in the password to enter their hideout.  If pronounced as written, it transported the creature reading it into a plane full of gigantic carnivorous plants.  Panegulis was of course given scribe copying duties that day.

Sake Credit Midmorning Midmorning in the city and a sudden drop of temperature was followed by reported thefts of gold and platinum coins right across town.  It seemed that wherever folk felt a chill, gold had disappeared; a curious incident that will repeat days later if not prevented by adventurers. What is causing such strange thefts to occurs, and why is it preceded by cold winds?  One theory is that there has been a summoning of an air elemental or genie that is collecting these coins at the bidding of its masters.  An exotic market stall purchase and some big-spenders connect the incident to the genie and its masters.

Faded Recruiters Forget An old God created and groomed a champion to fight for it but events in the godly realms conspired against them.  Now the champion has no orders and plenty of ambition.  In the guise of a paladin, Sir Gorenspir excelled in his training but has since been cut loose from his order as a wild and uncontrollable force.  Sir Gorenspir plans to use his charms and powers to take over the order that spurned him.  Once in charge, who knows what he could accomplish now he has no master. A character and an adventure awaits.  Will the adventurers meet the inspiring Sir Gorenspir and be moved by his plans to put the ‘stuffy’ order of knights in their place?  Or will the adventurers be recruited by the order of knights to report on their former student and perhaps capture him so that he can no longer spout falsehoods and use his powers unwisely?

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Rolling Word Play - 53

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Bloated Biologist Feature, Seafood Monumental Solidly, and Caveman Treatable Bundles.

Bloated Biologist Feature The self-titled Majesty of Floral Kind, this obese being lives in a large greenhouse, which houses many, many varieties of plant-life.  So much so, that fey-folk have occasionally settled there.  His majestic-ness is fond of visitors but prefers they do not touch his precious items, unless they have something to bring.  He loves to collect more species and can bear to part with plants if they are not his particular favourite at the moment.  It is said that he has monopolized rare, exotic species and that he holds a treasure hoard somewhere on site, perhaps hidden in one of his underground cabins.  There is also another rumour, which happens to be true, that he is part-plant himself. He is part-transformed Myconid (a mushroom-based humanoid) and also contains a carnivorous parasite that he feeds and keeps in check.  All in all, a fascinating creature but one not to get to close to!

Seafood Monumental Solidly The Festival of the Bounty is declared when a large sea monster is washed up on shore.  When this rare moment occurs, the inhabitants of the nearby sea towns will do everything they can to keep the creature from returning to the depths. So precious is the blubber and meat that the townships have agreed in advance to call impromptu festivals, which can usually last up to 2 weeks whilst a gargantuan squid can keep a festival going for twice that time.  Expect much carving of food, games to be played on the beaches and restaurants to do a roaring trade!

Caveman Treatable Bundles One of the strangest foods around has to be the Caveman Buns.  They are a kind of doughy bread-like substance but made wholly from fungus that grows in wet caves lining particular coastlines.  The taste and texture of this green and white bun is somewhere between seaweed and potatoes but they allow the user to increase their sight as if they had dark vision up to 30 foot and keeps them from being poisoned by the alkali-heavy waters found underground.  There are occasional side-effects, if the stomach reacts badly to the new fungus. Any player consuming it for the first time should make a DC12 Constitution save.  If they do not succeed they will need to make 3 rolls on a d6 die during the next 4 hours (at the GM’s discretion). If any of those rolls is a 1, then they are violently sick and suffer one point of exhaustion.

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Rolling Word Play - 52

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Revolts Focus Muffle, Wells Sesame Defend, and Disagrees Invested Stage.

Revolts Focus Muffle A city on the edge of rebellion due to the trade taxes which are forcing many businesses to go elsewhere.  There is a roaring black market trade outside of the city walls are additional costs to increase guard duties both inside and out. On the other side of the spectrum is a woman called Wenbinata who has been protesting about the greed and lack of vision of the current rulers.  Her power and influence is growing in terms of working class citizens joining her in protesting.

In such scenes, the governors must act.  The players will find themselves caught up in the political turmoil.  Will they be employed as additional guards or to do the dirty work for the governers and silence the Wenbinata? Perhaps they will side with the downtrodden people and force change through, or will they take advantage of the black market and risk mixing with criminals?

Wells Sesame Defend Fort Dronis is an independent city in the dry hill lands.  It has rich neighbours and there are also marauding nomadic tribes that would love to conquer Dronis.  Fortunately, its riches are deeply rooted, for they grow sesame plants underneath the city floor and using a series of light shafts give the plants just enough light and energy to thrive.  This well system has enabled them to survive despite some long battles in the past. However, rumour has it that a group has successfully tunnelled into the well system, avoid the natural rocky defences.

Will the players be in a position to support the people of Fort Dronis, or are they part of the raiding party, attempting to do what so many have failed at and lay siege to Fort Dronis?

Disagrees Invested Stage The King’s birthday is being and there is a royal play due to take place in a few days.  It will have a very privileged audience including the king himself. Internally, there has been some arguments regarding the final script. The one presented to the king was an ‘adaptation’ of the famous Horseback Heroes of Getin.  However, it seems that some in the acting troupe wish to adapt it further than others…

This is an opportunity in so many ways.  If actors fall ill, they will require stand-ins and this is where charismatic (or merely brave) players can help.  But which version of the script will be played out?  How ‘realist’ will the props be?

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Rolling Word Play - 51

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Connected Notes Flicked, Appeals Bumper Pillow, and Passions Fruit Roadway.

Connected Notes Flicked On the outside the incidents in question are separate.  A golum wreaking havoc in a school.  The death of a family in a nearby town.  And on further investigation, two students of the University of Magic have gone missing along with magical items they were working on.  For months the University of Magic has been continuing its internal lessons as well as its public services without admitting anything is wrong.  But the University won’t be able to keep it a secret for much longer.

The Wizard Orengary is a very careful operator.  He wanted to sever all ties to his foster family and to his childhood and start afresh. Knowing that he forged his way into the University, an establishment that prides itself on having the finest students, his family continued to blackmail him for years until he finally snapped and used his position to set things in motion.  His previous identity would be erased from history and his ties to that family gone for good.  He took steps to hide the paper trail.  With a flick of the wrist, all evidence disappeared keeping people guessing but unable to prove his guilt.

If the players are involved in finding the cause of this disturbance, they will have to uncover the paper trail. Where does his magic send it?   Is it in a pocket plane of his own creation, or is there a chest he can summon it to?  How many have died in his attempts to conceal his past?  

Appeals Bumper Pillow Little Seeding is a farming community with very little money and very odd customs.  There is a large barn in which sits a small box.  At night time, the first to bed opens the box and says the incantation.  Moments later, a ginormous pillow expands into existence and fills the room.  This pillow is so fluffy and large that it provides enough comfort and space for the entire village!  This is why there are so few barns.  The community shares one for lounging, one for cooking and eating,  and one for storing their grain and equipment and one for keeping their livestock warm. For newcomers, it can be a strange sight, to see everyone snuggle on the pillow, both on top and inside with the feathers.  The origin of the pillow is a fey creature, or a witch or wizard.  Each person will give a different story and smirk knowingly as they tell it.

Passions Fruit Roadway An old saying by people in some parts of the world is ‘never follow a fruit-tree road’.  It’s a strange thought, but sometimes there is a trace of a god or a magical conscience that looks for someone to be loved by or to play with.  The fruit tree is a more typical manifestation of that need.   The fruit trees contain ripe fruit that are both delicious and dangerous.  Once a creature eats from it, they will become more and more reckless and adventurous. They can often hear attractive noises too, such as encouraging voices and romantic music. The fruit-tree road will circle around rocks and corners out of sight, catching the light in an attractive way and almost calling out to the traveller.  Those that follow the road to see where it goes will take the ever-winding path onward and upward until they will come to a point at the top where there is only one way to go. The audio illusions become threatening at this point as if there is danger advancing from the road they have just travelled up.  If the adventurer takes the plunge they will very likely die plunging either into the depths of the magical energy or hitting the real ground far below.

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Rolling Word Play

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Agents Statistic Derivative, Grouping Grudges Divorce, and Motivating Tilts Elect.

Agents Statistic Derivative The Hide & Seek Agents are an urban group working for the authorities in dealing with threats to peace and stability of society.  They are well trained both in combat and stealth.  What makes them unique, however, is how similar they are to each other. This includes the way their walk and talk to their facial structure.  It is a strange but well-kept secret where they are hired from, or if they need to hire them at all.  Their skills make them excellent agents but their physical features mean they will never be able to infiltrate a gang without being viewed as highly suspicious.

Grouping Grudges Divorce Perhaps the messiest divorce of all time is the marriage of Prince Onur and Princess Hadenza from the nearby Kingdom. Upon marriage, they become King and Queen of the Prince’s Kingdom.  It was a marriage that was arranged with political and power stability in mind. However, no sooner had Queen Hadenza moved in, she discovered that she did not get along with any of Onur’s family. Her Mother-in-Law had prime place in his heart and within the palace.  Hadenza did not take kindly to having her Mother-in-Law in the next room and according to rumours abhorred Onur’s snoring.  

Things escalated quickly. She wanted to return to her own kingdom and Hadenza’s family were adamant that she shouldn’t be allowed to do this. She managed to arrange some nobles to smuggle her out and escaped across the sea to safety.  Onur’s family accused her kingdom of kidnapping his wife and the kingdom’s went to war.

In the months that followed, there were temporary truces, including one which allowed her to build a second palace outside of the capital.  But when relationships broke down again, she used that as a fortress from which to launch attacks on the kingdom.  Although the rulers have changed, the war still goes on to this day.

For the adventurers, this is an area where picking sides can become very problematic.  Sing the praises of the wrong ruler and they will have many fights on their hands!

Motivating Tilts Elect A new mayor is soon to be elected in the township of Venistas.  The votes are forecast to be closer than anticipated with the ex-guard, Juran gaining in popularity.  Giblil Teona, a veteran merchant of the city guild and very rich and influential was initially thought to be the runaway favourite.   This upturn for his opponent has somewhat perplexed and frustrated Giblil, who decides to respond with his classic move of taking action and doing something about it.  Guild guards are employed to put up the Teona banner throughout the city and town criers are paid to declare him as mayor even before the decision has been voted on.  More alarmingly, he has been blocking off ships owned by known supporters of Juran. Civil War is brewing, and opportunists of all sorts are smelling gold in the air.

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Rolling Word Play - 49

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection:  Discover more about Populations Lettuce Paragraphs, Arming Survived Move, and Sanitation Egging Taller.

Populations Lettuce Paragraphs The ancient population of Semaran spread far and wide when the seeds of the wild were stifled from a particularly savage and brutal stretch of land.  The royal family encouraged their subjects to migrate and maintain these lands to stop them getting out of control ever again.  With this goal in mind, the King gave each group weaponry to arm themselves, a pot of berry ink and a quill with which to write and a single King’s Lettuce. This may seem like a poultry gift, but the King’s Lettuce is a very sturdy plant.  It will survive without soil for up to 3 weeks and the leaves are strong enough when dried to be used as parchment.  The experiment worked.  The lands were tamed and the King received word from his very own subjects.

Will the player’s find the wilds growing out of control once more?  Or will they be bewildered as to why a theft of a lettuce is so meaningful to a village?

Arming Survived Move Through Filogel Wastes is the only way to travel between two fertile and populous lands on either side.  The mountains that surround the wastes are both crumbly and jagged, and so only a bird would contemplate travelling over such a route.  The difficulty with the Filogel Wastes is that it preys on the minds and bodies of those that cross it.  The legends say that brutal magical wars were fought on these grounds and now powerful spirits seek vessels in which to ‘live’ again. A civil war in the Eastern lands has made many people desperate enough to attempt the journey west on foot or on horseback.  Word through flying messengers has gotten through to the western lands.  Now, the city of Terussa in the West and the city of Valinrey to the East prepare for an undead army of all the fallen, desperate souls that tried to escape war. If the players are caught in this, will they be trying to escape the war and travelling through the wastes, or will they try to defend the cities from the undead armies?

Sanitation Egging Taller A way to be considered ‘cool’ and increase your standing in the young street gangs of Teruul is to ‘fly down the stench’; this refers to the sewers beneath the city.  The ‘stench’ as it is un-affectionately known, covers an area of 2 miles or 3.1km. If the person who is daring or foolish enough to surf this brown wave times their entrance well they may be able to sail down to the river at the other end.  But there are many twists, grates to dodge and the occasional creature to avoid.  As parts of the sewers are open-air, it makes for quite an entertaining spectacle!  Any that survive will be respected by some and begrudgingly accepted by others. Why might the players get involved in this? Are they trying to infiltrate a gang for coin or are they attempting to discover the identity of their leaders and what they are up to?  Or perhaps they have been caught and the gang want them to die in an entertaining way?

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Rolling Word Play

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Today, it’s Sci-fi!  Discover more about Permitting Afternoon Someone, Blinked Enzymes Resold, and Microwaves Chickens Mounds. 

Permitting Afternoon Someone In the big city the ever-increasing use of technology and working from home gave one entrepreneur the idea to create Afternoon Tea with Someone.  This fashionable restaurant (that spawned a new culture of tea dates) takes bookings for individuals and pairs them up with other individuals, so each trip is a new social experience.  They say that many lonely souls grow a little after each trip.

What chance encounter might a player have in such a place?  Or could there be a murder or blackmail plot based around fixing the meeting between two people?

Blinked Enzymes Resold In this futuristic world, enzymes are provided to clients seeking to lose weight fast.  It reacts with the digestive system, speeding up the breakdown of foods by up to 10 times.  There are also rogue sellers and one such enzyme manufacturer created enzymes that can hide their true intentions and look and act like any dietary aid.  When they blink back into their main programme however, they can mutate the host by unwinding the DNA coils and changing the information before copying them.

What is the rogue manufacturer’s intentions?  How severe are the mutations?

Microwaves Chickens Mounds Habishabi is a land owner, but the land he owns has been severally polluted with waste, which is why he was able to buy it for next to nothing!  In the piles of debris and old produce, he has created a unique garden of his own.  Behind a wall of masonry and metal pots is a tranquil amphitheatre with potted plants and animals.  Sitting in the middle is a fountain made of bicycle parts, his living quarters is a shelter made of metal sheets and cupboards but is quite cosy inside. At the other end of the amphitheatre is a large pile of carefully arranged microwaves inhabited by a colony of chickens.  Each microwave sits a little back from the one below and the ramps Habishabi installed allow the chickens to meander between each level all the way to the ground floor.

Habishabi is a very amenable sort, but he is also a man of trade.  He can mend, custom design and provide information.  In return, he often takes other items if he thinks they might come in handy.  A very useful guy to know.

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Rolling Word Play - 47

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Rattle Swaps Fully, Lengthy Articulate Occurs, and Stone Paradise Smoked.

Rattle Swaps Fully The Kimaran is one of the most feared shape changers known.  They start life as snakes with a large vibrating tale that rattles wherever it moves. The legend goes that they are a god’s way of punishing idiocy.  Certainly, those who are foolish or unlucky enough to run into these loud serpents and are swallowed whole suffer a terrible fate. The creature that emerges from the digesting snake looks the same as the prey, but this is in fact the Kimaran.  The mind of the digested creature now inhabits a smaller version of the Kimaran’s body and must start its new life, looking for similarly slow or gullible victims.

Lengthy Articulate Occurs The case of the Drip is one that holds the city in its grasp.  It started with one individual who seemed to hear the dripping sound clearly above all others.  But soon, more and more beings heard it, and slowly it drew them mad as at ever more frequent intervals they would absent-mindedly stop and call out the sound they heard: “drip, drip, drip”.

Can the players intervene and find the source of this cursed sound?  What does it portend, or is the device causing it already having the effect its designer wished?  If investigating, the players will need to make sure they themselves do not lose their minds.

Stone Paradise Smoked The inside of a volcano isn’t the idea of many creatures’ paradise, but for the Lizard folk or Arlatla, it provides them with perfect slopes to soak in the sun’s rays and also the heat to keep warm in all seasons.  Situated between the dry plains and the moist jungle, the sacred volcano or Arn provides all this and more besides.  The lizard folk have installed several sheltered rooms under the active hill.  Each room also has warm air circulating through vents from the magma pools below, providing plenty of good heat.  They have created a large green house, which uses the moisture of the jungle and heat from Arn to grow their own foods.  The Red Hall is an area where only the elite are allowed. This includes a doughnut-shaped enclosure with a warm pool in the middle, allowing the lizards to enjoy heat, light and water all day long.

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Rolling Word Play

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Resolve Transcript Proceeds, Glosses Gratitude Shimmered, and Prune Ogre Fluffy.

Resolve Transcript Proceeds The Arch Fey Andruin has the ability create creatures by writing them into the world with his feathered quill and silky parchment.  Not just happy simply to create, he often writes a script for his subjects.  The latest episode has him unsure of what to do however, as some of his creations have encountered each other.  Should he side with the two-headed troll, the 9 foot dryad or the giant snake with the bear’s head?

If the players enter this scene, how will Andruin react?  Will his creations gang up on them?  He has been known to give his favoured creatures advantages, such as finding useful items or gaining extra muscles they didn’t have before.  Will he take a liking to the PCs, or erase them from his story?

Glosses Gratitude Shimmered The source of all glamour comes from Eirlattan Falls.  It flows into an underground cave where each water droplet’s brief appearance is dazzling!  The water here is remarkably powerful and any Arch Fey that has fallen on hard times or any foolhardy and ambitious fey creature craves a visit to boost their powers of manipulation and influence.  However, the water also hides many dangerous and evil entities that are disguised by the glamour they wear.  Super-charged sprites, giant insects and other even greater dangers lurk in the caverns surrounding the Eirlattan Falls.

What reason might the players have to visit the falls?  Do they seek power, treasure, or are they helping to revive a fey who claims they will reward them?  Tread carefully, for many in the fey wilds cannot be trusted.

Prune Ogre Fluffy Old Ravvak is a solitary creature who dwells in his hilltop cave.  With the winds the way they are, his hair is useful.  As he has aged, his hair became white until he began looking more and more like a yeti.  Unfortunately for Ravvak, a myth has developed that underneath all his hair, he has a tattoo of the map where he vanquished and buried his old foe, Gurlich the Fierce.  The myth goes that he hated but respected the eight-foot tall war boss, so buried him with all his possessions.  It is this last part that has spread through the towns and taverns nearby.

Will the adventurers attempt to shave Ravvak’s white fur in the hopes of uncovering the burial ground of Gurlich the Fierce?  Will Ravvak be communicative or uncooperative?  If they succeed, will the myth of the map be true, or just another far-fetched tail in the bardic song repertoire?

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Rolling Word Play

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Upwardly Nippy Charmingly Involvement, Imported Sonic Budgeted Goodbye, and Craved Unruly Westerner.

Upwardly Nippy Charmingly Involvement The rage in rich neighbourhoods of the city is to own a set of Pillar Plants.  Placed on balconies, below chimneys or on window sills they are ideal for getting rid of unwanted house guests.  Not only flies but the criminal fraternity will have their fingers bitten and if something brushes past their upward openings they will produce a gooey substance that will stick to the would-be visitor, who will be dealing with the smell and mess for days afterwards.

Imported Sonic Budgeted Goodbye One of the cheapest spells to create for mages is the ‘Message’ spell, which is capable of delivering audible messages to a particular person even if they are many miles away.  Certain arcane entrepreneurial spirits thought of a way of creating a Blossom’s Message Pack.  ‘Send your loved one a thoughtful greeting’.  It just requires them to open the pack, attach a part of the creature they are sending in to – such as a hair or the end of a finger nail – and speaking the 6 second message into the box.  The idea quickly caught on and made magic not only accessible to many people but affordable!  It was particularly popular for families of merchants and those travelling into dangerous situations such as war or into piratical waters.

Craved Unruly Westerner Fortune of all sorts is craved by most folk, but one in particular seems to collect and distribute it.  It is said she is like a sorting machine for the currency of chance.  Although she goes by many names and many faces, most of the time she frequents herself in the taverns and brothels of the city, awaiting chance encounters to come to her.  Once she is found, the crowds gather and the evening is never dull.  Is she a god or does she just have a unique talent?  No one knows for sure.

Only fools play her at cards and so she often changes her face to make sure she gets her game before they can change their minds.  She very rarely deals with direct requests preferring fortunes to be won or lost in a genuine way.  One such example is if an unfortunate man is trampled to death by a horse in her sight, then two long lost brothers may happen to meet moments later.  At the same time, if two lovers meet for the first time then a cart driver may lose his sight.  The world works in such ways around her.

For what purpose might adventurers go looking for her?  Or will a chance meeting mean she gives them a banana peel of fortune?

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Rolling Word Play

Creating Roleplay ideas based on randomly generated words.  Here’s today’s selection.  Discover more about Poems Hospitality Safety, Showing Committed Dating, and Prevented Intrigued Resurfaced.

Poems Hospitality Safety The Cirono Monks are specialists when it comes to creating wards and passwords to access areas such as rooms.  These are normally used to prevent animals and greedy creatures from entering a sacred space but word started getting out that the monks could provide this service for donations to the upkeep of their abbeys. Under the stewardship of Bishop Taliso and then Bishop Frigi, creating protective wards and passwords became a lucrative business venture for the Cirono Monks and clients were encouraged to pay higher sums for their time and expertise.

By the time the adventurers have heard of the monks, they are approached by a client who is keen to get their hands on the riches gained by the Cirono Monks.  Such a mission would not be easy however, as their magics will have blocked the known passageways.  How will the party consider approaching this treasure raid?

Showing Committed Dating Prince Ordin is the second in line to the throne of his kingdom.  He is powerful but does not have the same responsibilities as his older brother.  Still a bachelor at the age of 30, his father is tired of his son’s ‘casual’ dalliances and lack of commitment.  He has decreed that the prince must get married by the year’s end, and that anyone who can manage to tolerate him long enough to go on five dates over five consecutive days will have earned his son’s hand in marriage.

Is there one among the adventuring party who would want to try to gain this young man’s hand? His many irritabilities include getting bored easily, going to the boar races, spending time in the brothel houses of the poor part of town and storming the stage at plays.  He is like a moth in front of many bright lights, but a moth that is very rich…

Prevented Intrigued Resurfaced The rocky dwarven kingdom of Trolwind was built on solid foundations, in a gorge and out of the direct sunlight and wind blasts above.  There were difficulties in the beginning with rat men and goblins gaining access through tunnels, but these were blocked off and the area cleansed and maintained.  Much later, after a long period of peace and relative prosperity, the rulers grew lethargic and the rules and regulations the kingdom was built on were carried out less often and in some cases, not at all.  The rat folk have again burrowed into the warm, sheltered tunnels of Trolwind…

There is scope here for the adventurers to either discover the rat folk’s expansion into Trolwind tunnels or be called in to exterminate the problem.  How savvy are these rat folk and has anything else burrowed in with them?