So I'm in the midst of dming for the second time and, as per my players request, came up with a completely original story since they've gone through too many modules lately and wanted something original they could sink their teeth into. Since I didn't have quite as much time as I wanted to prepare, I ended up writing my story as we go, and I've hit writer's block with what the mcguffin is turning out to be.
Basic summary of the story so far:
On a quest from a goddess the party is traveling around the country as they ramp up for war trying to find four magic items that when put together will be able to stop a succubus that has seduced the king and is controlling everything from behind the scenes. Brainstorming came up with a bit of an elemental story with there being four temples in far off locations that would give them an appropriately elemental item that would work together to 'grow' the actual item. So far they have a flask of water and a bag of dirt. Now they're heading towards the wind temple and I realized that I have no idea what the item might be for it.
also, this is my first post on the forums so if it's in the wrong section just let me know, advice seemed appropriate to me.
Incense is the standard use of 'air' for wind based stuff. Perfume, same thing. You could also use a living flower from the area that only grows around that temple. Vapors from a crack in the ground that induce prophetic trances would work, too.
==Aelryinth
Use a horn.
Something like: The horn of the wind, or some such.
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A kite that catches wind and the wind holds it forever. They have to make the kite from materials there. Maybe it has to have a specific design and they need to go into the lower levels of the dungeon to retrieve it?
edit: they have to keep the kite flying or they lose the special wind. Skill checks.
You can do the same thing with fire. They need to find some way to keep the fire burning. Maybe a secondary quest for a magic item that always burns but it never consumed. Maybe wood from a rare and magical tree?
Maybe a special form of incense, that needs to be burned in efreeti fire (a possible 4th part).
A hand fan for wind and a small brazier for fire seems appropriate.
a bottle of air producing all the spooky noises in the temple and powering traps and other stuff.
I'm still not sure how to bring down the succubus with it, if you had sand you could have used it all (4. temple with a torch of extra hot fire) to create a special lense that reveals the true nature of succubi.
Awesome suggestions, really like the idea of incense or a horn as well as an everburning fire for the last item.
appreciate the help and quick responses from everyone, thanks guys :)
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What's the final item going to be? I'd say pick that first, and then go with something that's logically related.
Is it a magical perfume that you can secretly put on the king that will repel the succubus?
Maybe the air item can be some kind of Bag of Endless Farts.
Or maybe a bird's feather from a species from the Elemental Plane of Air.
And welcome to the forums, aech! I'll bet you're a Ready Player One fan. :)
ooh, also like that one richard, definitely given me some stuff to think about. I have until the weekend to think about the story, so I should be able to work one of these in. And the bottle of air actually makes sense with the dungeon design I had in mind for wind.
Haha, loved that book so much thanks for recognizing the reference. and I was actually planning something along the lines of what richard said, something that would both reveal the succubus' true nature and weaken her enough to kill. the bag of 'dirt' hasn't been opened so I can always just say it's sand and i told them incorrectly the first time.
Aech,
It doesn't have to make sense, just make it solidified air, something that's super lightweight and unbreakable. I'm imagining something solid with the texture of glass that ripples and rolls and flows like air currents. They can put it in a bag and it won't flow out.
Or just call it "Solidified air" and never explain what it is.
-Tundra
A bottle that always releases a light breeze when opened.
A fan, nice and simple.
A seashell or conchshell that when you listen to it you hear the sound of the wind.
Fire burns, wind blows, rain falls... - Lelu: The Fifth Element.
Ok, your original post said "growing something" so if you've already got water to pour onto dirt, perhaps the "seed" is a burning coal which when planted and doused it doesn't go out but smolders into many embers that must be fanned into conflagration.
Another idea for air: a song. Ever hear the expression whistle up a storm? Many instruments are wind instruments and in order to hum, whistle or sing humans need air so a tune of some kind can be a logical choice.
Now, if you're looking for something air-like to help reveal her true nature, here's a thought: sucubi are notoriously vain right? Mix the water, mineral clay, special incense or perfume over special flame and you create a revealing creme. Then one of the characters has to be brave and savvy enough to present it to her and get her to apply it; as she does the elemental parts do their stuff: the flames give off little sparks and pops, the incense becomes a cloud of smoke, the water puddles on the ground and the clay drops in noisy pebbles causing a spectacle that ALL eyes are compelled to see and as the effects fade moments later she stands there, revealed in all her abyssal glory.
Finally, like the movie I quoted at the beginning you could have it just be a fifth element - you have an elite outsider to fight, so there's a 5th temple where the special dirt, water, wind and flame have to be brought together somehow within to form an elite outsider on the side of good. Only downside? Once you create your inhuman weapon you still need to get it to work - maybe its a child that just wants to be normal, or an X-Man that doesn't want to save a world that fears and hates it or a sensitive woman who doesn't see the point of saving a world devoid of love since she doesn't know love... you get the idea.
Welcome to the forums BTW and hope these help!
Another idea for air: a song. Ever hear the expression whistle up a storm? Many instruments are wind instruments and in order to hum, whistle or sing humans need air so a tune of some kind can be a logical choice.First:
Lelu Dallas Multipass?
Secondly: I really like the idea of a song that has to be recreated. While i'm not sure if this fits in thematically with the DM's story, as a stand-alone thing i really, really like this.
I really like the idea of a song that has to be recreated. While i'm not sure if this fits in thematically with the DM's story, as a stand-alone thing i really, really like this.
I'd be tempted to make a player sing it. But with my players they'd do it off key and in the most horrible, warbling voice they could manage...
okay, maybe not such a good idea. Good for youtube though!
-Tundra
A pinwheel or a balloon? A ship's sail? A weathervane? A monk that teaches you a unique meditation and breathing technique? A pet dragonfly or butterfly or bat or bird?
There are a lot of great ideas in this thread already.
I'm a fan of the feather, but a wind instrument such as a flute or an ocarina could work too.
Something that could be really awesome though is a miniature cloud.
A cloud you can stand on and fly? There was an old programme on British TV called 'Monkey' which had one of these. I think the programme was Japanese originally.
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Maybe have something that needs to be crafted from the 4 elements. Dirt (clay) plus water plus fire suggests pottery, but I'm not sure how to fit in air.
A cloud you can stand on and fly? There was an old programme on British TV called 'Monkey' which had one of these. I think the programme was Japanese originally.
I was actually thinking of more of a pet cloud, but one you can ride would be cool too. I think the idea of cloud riding, along with the extending pole, came from some old Chinese story that had a Monkey King that could do this or something like that.
I really get the feel of the Legend of Zelda type of quest going on here. I could easily see the McGuffin revealing the Succubus who escapes to her Abyssal master. But she has successfully enscorcelled the King's soul and they are preparing a ritual that would allow a permanent gate from the Abyss to open into the kingdom. They would then need to recover an artifact that was used to vanquish the master in ancient times, and gather the necessary supplies to re-open a portal to the masters plane and defeat him once and for all.
Well maybe something like this;
Items:
Flask of water
Bag of dirt
Bottle of air
Brazier of everflame
Runes on the side of the brazier indicate the order each of the elements need to be added. For example, they may need to add the air first intensifying the fire making it hot to even be near, then add the earth creating a molten mixture and finally add the water filling the area with cool steam and causing the final item to be created.
As each item is added the appropriate rune flares and then dims to a glow, a moment after the last rune dims they all begin pulsing with greater and greater strength…
After that it kind of depends on what the final item is going to be but if you like the lens idea mentioned above don’t be put off by the fact you didn’t think to make it sand, you are dealing with magic after all and rock, earth, and sand are reasonably close to the same thing already at least for this purpose.
Anyway gl, hopefully you’ve managed to get past your writers block. Btw, whatever you plan to go with I would strongly recommend getting an idea for what the final item will be and how it should be used before going any further. It’ll help you to figure out the rest of the fluff and may help prevent you from getting writer block again.
I really get the feel of the Legend of Zelda type of quest going on here. I could easily see the McGuffin revealing the Succubus who escapes to her Abyssal master. But she has successfully enscorcelled the King's soul and they are preparing a ritual that would allow a permanent gate from the Abyss to open into the kingdom. They would then need to recover an artifact that was used to vanquish the master in ancient times, and gather the necessary supplies to re-open a portal to the masters plane and defeat him once and for all.
But they've clearly already mastered the water temple which is supposed to be the most tedious of temples.
anyway to the OP, perhaps the lung of some mystical creature, or maybe a billow
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I really get the feel of the Legend of Zelda type of quest going on here. I could easily see the McGuffin revealing the Succubus who escapes to her Abyssal master. But she has successfully enscorcelled the King's soul and they are preparing a ritual that would allow a permanent gate from the Abyss to open into the kingdom. They would then need to recover an artifact that was used to vanquish the master in ancient times, and gather the necessary supplies to re-open a portal to the masters plane and defeat him once and for all.But they've clearly already mastered the water temple which is supposed to be the most tedious of temples.
anyway to the OP, perhaps the lung of some mystical creature, or maybe a billow
True, but the Water temple is often times in the middle, and since there are only 4 available temples here, and 2 of the are done, there is a 50/50 chance it was one of the middle temples.
Besides, given the chance, I'd take the water temple first every time so I can look forward to less annoying dungeons.
Maybe have something that needs to be crafted from the 4 elements. Dirt (clay) plus water plus fire suggests pottery, but I'm not sure how to fit in air.
Bellows for the kiln?
I'll echo the idea of a possible solid. They currently have both Water (cold damage) and earth (airs opposite). Why not Frozen Air? have them use the two parts to build a mid-point item which they then use to freeze the breath of some air related creature.
Another option that you could take is to use the elemental damage type for the element (Electricity). Capturing lighting in a jar has just that ring of pseudo-science and mysticism. Lighting has a long history in human mythology as being the power of gods, which is perfect to be the "spark" of creation in forging the final McGuffin (sorry I'm trying not to lol*).
If your thinking head to the final McGuffin's form, with dirty, water, fire, and air/lighting you could end up with some kind of Clay container or vessel with which to both reveal and ultimately trap the succubus and prevent it/her from reforming in the Abyss still in control of the king.
*MacGuffin Crystal in Spoof Movie No Jutsu~!
A cloud you can stand on and fly? There was an old programme on British TV called 'Monkey' which had one of these. I think the programme was Japanese originally.I was actually thinking of more of a pet cloud, but one you can ride would be cool too. I think the idea of cloud riding, along with the extending pole, came from some old Chinese story that had a Monkey King that could do this or something like that.
see Sun Wukong in "journey to the west"
I also like the idea of the macguffin being a 'halfway point' that would require them to chase down the abyssal master as this would let me continue the story and put in some high level inter-planar travel if they're interested in continuing the story.
Right now I have it written out as:
the 'everflaming brazier' requires the 'breeze in a bottle' (originally a tornado that they have to trap in a magic vessel) to stoke the flames, after which the 'magic dirt' is added and heated into a molten liquid which requires the 'flask of magic water' to cool it into an urn that can trap the succubus.
(I sort of took a lot of the ideas listed here and mixed together my favorite parts)
and then as stated before, I'll talk to them about whether they want to continue the story or not and if they do it wouldn't be that hard to have her master show up at the final showdown.
edit: does this sound alright, or is there anything that should be edited?
Maybe have something that needs to be crafted from the 4 elements. Dirt (clay) plus water plus fire suggests pottery, but I'm not sure how to fit in air.
Step 1 Earth, Fire, Water to create an elemental instrument (ocarina anyone?)
Step 2 Perform the Song of Elemental AirStep 3 ????
Step 4 (I think you know whats coming....) PROFIT!