Looking for help: What does a commoner wish for?

[James F.D. Graham]

Hey folks, looking for some brainstorming from the collective here.

Long story short: A powerful entity (fey/fiend/genie) decides to empower the wishing well of a small thorp or hamlet so that it actually grants wishes.

The adventure here is that the PCs discover this and have to fix things but what I need help with is, coming up with a large variety of wishes made by the locals that have already come to pass. Or will come to pass as the PCs investigate

So please, give me what you got:

Who made the wish?
What was it?
and of course... how does it go wrong?

Thanks

[djdust]

Wealth and romance are the obvious choices. More maliciously, the death of a rival.

The curing of an illness.

"I wish I were big."

[LoudKid]

Some kid wishes he can be a great hero, and so he's given a grown-up body he can't deal with, and all sorts of catastrophic bad guys become his/his town's enemies.

[Lady-J]

commoner would probably wish for class levels in a more useful class

[Lathiira]

A farmer wishes for rain. Now it hasn't stopped raining in the region for days, with flooding starting to occur.

Another farmer wishes for a better crop. He gets his fields changed over to an exotic orchard, complete with giant insect pests.

A merchant wishes for better luck with his wares. He gets it. Since he sells cloth, there's a cold snap, he sells all his stuff. Now the crops just got frosted.

A child wishes a bully would stop picking on him. Now the child's bully is picking on someone else, the local wizard's apprentice, who is now taken with the idea to use his magic against the bully.

A wife wishes her husband, part of the kingdom's army, would come home. He does...as one of the undead, as he died on a battlefield.

The local sheriff wishes the bandits outside of town would just give up and go away. They do. Then a bigger bunch comes along and takes their place.

A priest wishes more people would come to church every week. They do, forcing him to hold his sermons outside. With the whole town distracted, a wandering peddler comes into town and pilfers the place of all sorts of valuables that he sells back the next day to different people.

[Tacticslion]

This is a really cool concept!

Here's some ideas - hope they help!

bumping down for better reading

bumping down for better reading part two

Some mechanical concepts:

1) it was made by a bored glabrezu
- 1a) possibly with the fey creature and/or cheitan templates, if you want it all three ways; see templates for ideas
{camouflage, change shape, trackless step, vanish}
- 1b) possibly a mythic creature; see below

2) said creature was hanging around the well in disguise, when a child - having recently been told by one of those "realist" adults that it doesn't really work (in an effort to prevent said child from wasting limited money)
- 2a) who noted despondently (as a child is want, instead of learning the intended lesson), "I wish this well really granted wishes." and tossed a coin in.

3) and so something (seemingly) good happens: the well now becomes a powerful source of inspiration and hope!
- 3a) anyone who drinks from it, gains timely inspiration or gallant inspiration (50% chance), aid or hollow heroism or greater (~33% chance each), or crafter's fortune
- 3b) whenever anyone throws a coin in and makes a wish, they generally gain the effect of a greater hollow heroism and (if it's possible) their wish is granted as if by mythic limited wish; if they do this enough times (GM must arbitrate how much), it becomes a mythic wish instead (this might grant other wishes, or might "store up" until it can grant the greater; if the latter, it uses sow thought to encourage repeat visits[ooc]). Note that these wishes can't actually remove or cure any bad effects created by the well, though it might "honor" a wish by suppressing the effect temporarily ([ooc]as if by delay poison or a similar effect for whatever else it inflicts; see below)

4) there is, of course, a "cost" for such things: first, of course, is the coin; second, however, is that it causes "problems"
- 4a) immediately after the fortune effect, there are three extended ill omen effects
- 4b) each time a wish is made, a low-grade variant of a bestow curse spell (25% chance each "wish": -1 penalty to a random score (max -6 to all); -1 penalty to attack, save, ability check, or skill (max -4 to all); -1% chance to act normally each round (minimum 50%, if failed, do nothing that round), -1 point of magical healing (minimum half normal; -10 means half of all healing, or nothing at all), a lesser crafter's curse spell (-1 to craft checks, cumulative), an accursed glare effect (50% chance if the curse affects the wisher, or those they glare at), or a hag's seasoning effect
- 4c) there is a 1% chance of one drinker being affected as if by a waters of maddening or spellcurse effect... albeit one delayed by 1d3 days (so it's not obviously linked to the well); otherwise, the well-water just functions like unholy water
- 4d) 1% daily chance per victim that 3d10 days after drinking or making a successful wish, a random affliction (prooooooooooobably a disease, but maybe a drug, a poison or an infestation?) is applied to a person nearby the wisher or drinker (possibly, but not necessarily including the wisher or drinker themselves)
- 4e) any "successful" saves are hidden from the populace by an echoed (if the first fails, a second tries) modify memory effect erasing the knowledge of anything afflicting them, in particular - this has the nice side effect of making it seem like the problems are just kind of... causing themselves

5) now people are smart, and chance is fickle - they'll likely catch on, eventually; however, the well has three tricks up its non-extant sleeve
- 5a) it always uses sow thought to suggest to a wisher or drinker that the well is harmless and helpful (and it has an innocence effect, with an effective ranking of 12 and +5 cha bonus, for a total of +25 bluff; it may take 10, for a 35 bluff check; it is not an intelligent item, but functions as such for this purpose)
- 5b) those morale bonuses are mildly addictive (like a drug), but more subtle than typical drug addictions (see afflictions for ideas)
- 5c) a creature who gains their wish (of whatever value) is subject to modify memory that changes something in their memories to blame something other than the well

6) and the glabrezu itself (in harmless puppy form, if it's a fey creature with the change shape ability) helps "fix" any issues, and works to steer creatures into using its well (which might just "consume" its wish SLA or similar)

This creates a very subtle, yet lingering affect on the populous, who feels great (like taking a drug hit) and getting everything they want, but then enters a depressive state where things go wrong, and everyone and everything is to blame except the well.

Doesn't help with specific requests, but might help the well stay part of the town for a looooooong time, before it's ever discovered, and it could thus cause all sorts of problems for anyone passing through - anyone, say, wishing for prosperity for the town might find it become a haven for merchants who pass through and take a drink for the famous well. Also undead would likely enjoy hanging around all that unholy water...

Anyway, you might already have your own ideas, but I hope this helps!

EDIT: these are not to replace any negative consequences of the wish effect, but to enhance the whole situation. Often, though, if people get what they wish for, bad things will happen anyway - no twisting necessary. But occasionally twisting a knife is a good thing. Any memory modifying or sow thought or both could help the populace not even realize how bad it gets, as their mind is slowly twisted into, "I got what I wanted!" and "It's always been this way..." at the same time.

[Tacticslion]

Lady-J wrote:

commoner would probably wish for class levels in a more useful class

And gets a nice oracle's curse and/or abyssal bloodline (leading to tieflings, later).

[lemeres]

Gaining skills outside of your means is fairly common for wish fulfillment.

-A man is jealous of how women like the local bard, so he wishes for musical talent. Effect- people that listen to his music fall under his control (up to a limit; ie- number of minions in the encounter). Those under this control also experience the effect of inspire courage or inspire rage (depending on your flavor).

-A man wishes to be strong (maybe tap into that bully thing earlier). Give him rage, increase his size to large, and give him a slam attack.

-sculpter/wood carver wishes his works were more 'life like'- they turn into golems, and attempt to rip out hearts (life/soul metaphor stuff).

[Tacticslion]

Tacticslion wrote:

Lady-J wrote:

commoner would probably wish for class levels in a more useful class

And gets a nice oracle's curse and/or abyssal bloodline (leading to tieflings, later).

Not the class, mind you (which is outside of a wish's ability to grant), but just the curse and/or bloodline - maybe, if generous, the 1st level ability, or a SLA 1/week or something.

[CrystalSeas]

a) People wish for the romantic attention of Person X. Love charms/candles/spells that have a phrase that sets them off under the "wrong" circumstances.

b) People wish for their neighbor's goods. Envy of someone's better circumstance, but they also get that person's woes as well.

c) People wish for elevated social class sometimes because they think it will give them a).

[Lady-J]

Tacticslion wrote:

Tacticslion wrote:

Lady-J wrote:

commoner would probably wish for class levels in a more useful class

And gets a nice oracle's curse and/or abyssal bloodline (leading to tieflings, later).

Not the class, mind you (which is outside of a wish's ability to grant), but just the curse and/or bloodline - maybe, if generous, the 1st level ability, or a SLA 1/week or something.

i dont think switching out the commoner levels for actual class levels would be to much for a wish to grant, nor would granting enough exp to gain a couple levels(at least for low levels) would be the equivalent of wishing for a bunch of low level mobs who are then killed for their exp and given to the wisher

[Tacticslion]

So... wishing to be attacked by bad guys.

[Tacticslion]

Look, I'm all for awesome wishes, but just wishing to gain levels is a bit out there, even for me (though I'd permit trading them in, via retraining rules, under limits).

But more than that: this is an explicitly cursed wishing well - not normally my wheelhouse (as I like to give players good things). Regardless, this falls under the "gaining skills outside of your means" - something covered above.

[Tacticslion]

Also, "I wish I lost commoner levels to gain levels of anything else" is an extraordinarily meta thing to wish for.

[Lady-J]

Tacticslion wrote:

Also, "I wish I lost commoner levels to gain levels of anything else" is an extraordinarily meta thing to wish for.

you can phrase it so its less meta like i wish i was as powerful as the wizard from that party of adventurers that saved our village last week

[Sissyl]

And you'd become level 6 (he was 5th, but you're an NPC class) but still, naturally, A COMMONER.

[Lady-J]

Sissyl wrote:

And you'd become level 6 (he was 5th, but you're an NPC class) but still, naturally, A COMMONER.

your not as powerful as a wizard if your not a wizard so no they wouldn't stay a commoner

[UnArcaneElection]

Some Commoners wish for something that CAN'T backfire(*).

(*)Demonstration of backfiring included.

[Chuck Mount]

"I wish everyone would just do as I say!"

Now, everyone ALWAYS does EXACTLY as the person says. Now, they stay locked up inside their house because they can't make them stop. This person might be the sheriff or someone the community relies on for guidance. When the party shows up and there's chaos, they ask, "So where's so-and-so?" and the answer is that he won't come out of his house or talk to anyone.

I like Lathiira's suggestion of the farmer wishing for rain. It wouldn't rain for that long before someone wished for it to stop, but it's great for the PC's to learn about in their investigation. Or, it's raining when they get into town. The roads are are sloppy and muddy with standing water everywhere, then it suddenly stops and the see someone walking away from the well mumbling, "It's about time". Of course, you'd have to make part of the magic of the well such that people don't associate the wishes that come true with the well.

I really like the undead husband coming home from war, though. Could just be a mindless zombie or a sad, empty, unhappy man. Like in the movie "The Others".

Someone, (not too bright mind you, but they are only 'commoners' LOL) might wish they could reach something from the top shelf. Now their arms are freakishly long.

Maybe a kid wished he wasn't afraid of anything... that would be one of the tragic stories the PCs hear when coming into town. Someone's kid was torn apart by wolves and the other kids said he (or she) just wouldn't run away with the rest... or something equally tragic.

And then, as someone mentioned about wishing for love. "I wish she would love me more than anything". Now, she's not only irritating and insanely jealous over the slightest things, but soon she starts locking him up in the house as her prisoner... that she waits on hand and foot and talks to incessantly.

But, on the bright side, you would have no disease and plenty of food. Those are the ones the locals would be sad to see go.

[90s Simpsons Referotron]

UnArcaneElection wrote:

Some Commoners wish for something that CAN'T backfire(*).

(*)Demonstration of backfiring included.

"Hey! I'm watching you!"

[Mysterious Stranger]

I think the children’s wishes are going to be more interesting than the adult wishes. Adults are more likely to wish for material things like money or good crops. Children will be more likely to wish for outlandish things.

Children’s wishes

I wish I could fly: Grows wings
I wish I could run really fast: Gains extra movement
I wish no one could see me: Gains permanent invisibility.
I wish I was really strong: 8 year old child now has 20 STR.
I wish I could make people like me: Charm Person as a spell like ability
I wish I were a <insert animal>: Child changed into an animal, but keeps their personality.

So basically you end up with a bunch of children with unusual powers running around.

[Neriathale]

I wish my annoying baby sister disappeared' (Go and watch Labyrinth)
'I wish Phoebe loved me, not her husband'.
'I wish I had a hundred gold pieces' (think about who they used to belong to...)
'I wish I never had to do the chores ever again' (You can't when you're paralysed)
'I wish I was the most beautiful girl in the country' (With a lot of unwanted attention')
I wish I could fly' (Congratulations on being a chicken)

[Lady-J]

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

I wish I was really strong: 8 year old child now has 20 STR.

i had a character like that, child rogue with 16 str, i would drag our caster places that i wanted to go and he was all like well i guess i gata go over there now cuz i only have and str of 10 and this small 5 year old is stronger then me

[Matthew Downie]

A child says, "I wish I was big." Turns not into Tom Hanks but into an ogre (or hill giant, or other level appropriate threat).

Someone says "I wish he/she knew what it was like to be me," - as a result, two people have swapped bodies.

A young woman wishes to wed a prince. A brainwashed prince has now shown up, demanding to marry her. She now regrets it, because it's creepy, and she fears the spell will wear off the moment they're married.

Someone wished for ten thousand gold pieces. Someone else murdered him for them.

[RealAlchemy]

"I wish for enough food to get through the winter." - buried in it.
"I wish nobody would get sick." - sudden population explosion.

[Chuck Mount]

Two lovers sit by the well in the light of the full spring moon, looking into each others eyes. The man smiles and flicks a coin into the well and says lovingly, "I wish this night would never end".

[Pizza Lord]

Dungeon Magazine Issue #33 had an adventure called Dark Days in Welldale. Not sure if I can post a link to it, but should be easily searchable.
Here's the link, but if that's not allowed for forum rules reasons someone let me know, or Moderator please remove it:
Dungeon Magazine Issue #33

It involves a halfling community and their assumptions about a magical wish-granting well. While comical and whimsical in its portrayal of the halfling inhabitants, it actually has some pretty dark and grisly parts. It is 2nd Edition, however, and would require some minor tweaking though nothing more than adjusting statblocks likely.

Otherwise, if you're going with a more human-like community, the wishes will likely depend on how soon the PCs arrive after the villagers discovery of the well's ability. For instance, most people might tentatively start small. Even the most greedy people tend to have heard of stories about excessive greed, so it's fair that people will 'slowly push the boundaries' and wait and observe what happens to others (barring other restrictions, like only getting one wish from the well ever or over a period of a year or week, or requiring a sacrifice of some-kind, like a significant amount of the person's own blood).

So if early enough, the villagers will all likely have well-made clothing, eventually up to outfits of royal-quality (not necessarily walking around in gowns and such, but they likely will have those in their closets for special occasions). Most will have wished to be kings or royalty, so will probably have inexplicable auras of majesty about them and others will refer to them as 'king' or 'lord' or 'lady' around town. PCs won't do it automatically, but will sense an air of command and leadership. Obviously, they neglected to wish for any territory, so almost everyone is kingly in the area and most interact normally with each other as equals, since they're all equal again.

Some will have wished for creature comforts, what good is wishing for piles of gold if you don't really have a community big enough to buy the stuff (and there's likely a few individuals in the community smart enough to realize that carrying large piles of money to nearby communities will attract attention and will have prevented others from doing it). So houses and furniture will be very nice. There's probably a few plants or flowers that are not supposed to be in the area, but someone wished for a 'beautiful ice rose' or something and it's there even if the environment wouldn't normally support it (at least for a while).

[Pizza Lord]

Matthew Downie wrote:

A child says, "I wish I was big." Turns not into Tom Hanks but into an ogre (or hill giant, or other level appropriate threat).

There was a good episode of a cartoon (Gummibear Adventures, I think) where the human squire/page Kevin (again, I think his name was 'Kevin') wanted to stop being so small and scrawny. So he and his young gummibear friend Cubby (I am sure it was Cubby if I have the show right) read about a supposed magical well.

The well was in an abandoned village that moved elsewhere nearby because a supposed beast or monster had taken it over. It was dry and unused now, so they climb down into it and are confronted by a large hillgiant beast. They manage to slip past it and reach the 'wishing area' or wherever you would get to make the wish and Cubby is like, "Now, wish to be big and strong like you wanted so you can defeat that monster and be a great knight!"
But Kevin stops, does a flashback of him being small and fast and him and Cubby ducking behind boulders to hide and darting through small areas to avoid the giant and instead wishes "he were as big as we are."

The giant shrinks down back to a village boy, who thanks them and talks about how he came down and wished to be big and strong and was turned into the giant and couldn't get out. Eventually he scared off all the villagers (who thought he'd been eaten) but now he can go home and find his family where they've moved to.

Touching story with a lesson.

[Chuck Mount]

The tv show "Supernatural" had an episode with a coin that was tossed into a wishing well and started making all the wishes come true. A little girl wished her teddy bear would come to life. It hated being alive because of all the violence on tv and everything. It stole alcohol and got drunk regularly and eventually blew the stuffing out of it's head with a shotgun. It's a pretty cool episode.

[Rub-Eta]

James F.D. Graham wrote:

Long story short: A powerful entity (fey/fiend/genie) decides to empower the wishing well of a small thorp or hamlet so that it actually grants wishes.

It really matters what entity is granting the wishes. A fiend would definitely look out to screw people over and twist people's wishes. A fey would probably joke around with people's wishes and cause more of an annoyance rather than a menace. A genie, on the other hand, may very well fulfill the wishes as good as possible. So, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

"I want to be the richest man in town":
Fiend:
-Poverty strikes the town.
-A serial killer is on the loose and is killing all the rich people.
Fey:
-Richest, in what?
-Who said your wealth was in form of gold?
-The riches are yours, but where?
Genie:
-You gain a lot of money. Congratulations, you are now the richest man in town. Now you have to deal with it. All the greedy relatives, friends, lovers or anyone else who would consider to rob or blackmail you.

I feel like the genie approach is the most interesting one.

A girl wished to be the most beautiful woman in the entire country. Now she gets a lot of unexpected attention from several (different "quality") suitors. Jealousy starts to fester among her old friends. All in all, her life changes drastically.
A fey twist: The queen has grown a snout!

A lot of other wishes could be something that decays and can't be maintained over time. "I want to run a business" - community is to small to actually make said business go around.

[Tinalles]

Some more children's wishes.

From a lighter world:

"I wish I were good at [subject]."

"I wish I were a princess/prince."

"I wish I had a riding pony just like Alicia's!"

"I wish Thomas would be my friend."

"I wish I didn't have to go school any more."

From a darker world:

"I wish we had enough to eat."

"I wish Daddy wouldn't hit Mommy any more."

"I wish my baby brother would just die!"

"I wish Mommy loved me."

"I wish Kenric would bully someone else."

[Master Han Del of the Web]

Surprisingly, the town lawyer seems to do just fine.

[Mass Kneebreaker]

A Man wishes his family was safe. They are granted a fortress where nobody gets in...and nobody gets out. And he himself wasn't included.

A boy wishes he would have the strength to stand up to his bully. He is granted this strength..by being turned into a werewolf.

A man wishes for riches. He is granted them, only to be hanged for stealing the local nobles treasures which mysteriously vanished.

A coal miner wishes his luck would change. He's mine suddenly discovers a huge seam of gold....which attracts lots of greedy and violent bandits.

A lady wishes to be the most beautiful in the upcoming festival. She is turned into a Siren.

A young man wishes for the heart of the woman he fancies. He is granted it...in a present box.

The town priest wishes people would come visit his church more often. The chruch soon is filled with refuges trying to hide from the orcs ravaging the countryside.

[parrot familiar]

"I wish I was dead."

Something many an angsty village teenager (or any-ager) has said, perhaps sadly, perhaps playfully; and then, as they tossed in a copper...

[MageHunter]

Someone wishing to be have power might be cursed to turn into a girallon.

[*Thelith]

I wish I had a dog/pony/cat etc.
; Dire wolves, nightmares, lions

I wish I could go back to xxx time when xxx happened and do yyy instead
; Time suddenly starts warping in disastrous ways

I wish my sister/brother was dead
; Town starts dying off or become undead

I wish the sky was purple
; Chaos reigns as "end is near" fanatics run wild

[UnArcaneElection]

Mass Kneebreaker wrote:

{. . .}

The town priest wishes people would come visit his church more often. The chruch soon is filled with refuges trying to hide from the orcs ravaging the countryside.

Depends upon the priest -- quite many of them would probably consider this to be a successful wish.

[VRMH]

"I wish everything was back to normal again."

[Pizza Lord]

VRMH wrote:

"I wish everything was back to normal again."

Villager 1: "Did you hear about Normal Haskell from down at the mill? We found him trapped in his house, buried under tons of old junk, debris, and garbage. Looked like everything he ever lost or threw away just jumped back into his house while he was sleeping and crushed him."

Villager 2: "Really? That's terrible! Man, everything's so weird lately. I'm going down to the well to wish everything was Jim Dandy."

Villager 3: "Good idea. I was about to wish everything was peachy."

[Tacticslion]

Sissyl wrote:

And you'd become level 6 (he was 5th, but you're an NPC class) but still, naturally, A COMMONER.

Well, you'll be a sixth level commoner as soon as you succeed on killing these first level kobolds. They all show up under an extended hold monster effect, but, uh... you might want to hurry. Also, they arrive in groups of fifteen per round until they represent an amount of XP equal to what you'd need to hit that bar...

[Tacticslion]

Lady-J wrote:

Sissyl wrote:

And you'd become level 6 (he was 5th, but you're an NPC class) but still, naturally, A COMMONER.

your not as powerful as a wizard if your not a wizard so no they wouldn't stay a commoner

Your reply is entirely "meta" thinking. By definition, a sixth level character is more powerful than a 5th level character - hit dice, not class, is the in-world's measure of strength. Or CR. So he'd be... an eighth level commoner.

But more to the point, while I love wishes that grant things and tend to dislike the "twisted wishes" trope because of the paranoia it engenders in my players, this is a cursed well.

"I wish I was a wizard more powerful than any in he world." Every wizard in the world is assaulted by a feeblemind effect (or teleport/planes off/etc) that looks like it came from this moron. Alternatively, he is struck with feeblemind himself and (through whatever method) granted enough XP to hit epic levels and mythic tiers. He is also deeply cursed so that everywhere he goes is an unhallow and desecrate effect (as if he were casting them both each round) and he is under a constant state of panic with phantom does everywhere; he is under protection from good. Every word he says is power word (blind, stun, kill), and he makes wail of the banshee once per 1d4 rounds. That represents a far sight more power than most any wizard. And sucks.

Or he is made a first level wizard and dropped onto a dead magic demiplane.

Or he is made a first level wizard with an 18 in all physical scores and CHA, and a 1 INT and WIS.

Or...

And so on.

"I wish I was the most powerful wizard in this village."
"Congratulations, you already are." (said to a commoner in a village without wishes)

You, the poster, can always come up with ever-more-specific wordings: the people in the village cannot, because they don't even know how this works. There is no real knowledge or understanding of bit dice, levels, ability scores (after all, they aren't wizards with detect thoughts), hit points, CR, or so on. "I wish I was a wizard as powerful as that one guy who saved our village when he was here." is a valid wish from an exceptionally reasonable commoner. It won't work out like most people (at least most people who aren't looking to twist it) would think, because it's a cursed well, but it's still reasonably worded for a dude wanting power from the local magic wishing well.

My point was never that wanting to be a wizard is a bad wish - rather, that the framing and presentation is given in a meta way to the extent that it wasn't something a commoner would wish for in that manner.

[Cyrad]

Who made the wish? An impressionable young man or woman who loves tales about heroic dragons and is a total geek when it comes to arcane lore concerning magical creatures

What was the wish? Become a dragon

How does it go wrong? They become a dragon, explosively destroying their home in the process. Chaos ensues in the city.

[Tacticslion]

Pizza Lord wrote:

Matthew Downie wrote:

A child says, "I wish I was big." Turns not into Tom Hanks but into an ogre (or hill giant, or other level appropriate threat).

There was a good episode of a cartoon (Gummibear Adventures, I think) where the human squire/page Kevin (again, I think his name was 'Kevin') wanted to stop being so small and scrawny. So he and his young gummibear friend Cubby (I am sure it was Cubby if I have the show right) read about a supposed magical well.

The well was in an abandoned village that moved elsewhere nearby because a supposed beast or monster had taken it over. It was dry and unused now, so they climb down into it and are confronted by a large hillgiant beast. They manage to slip past it and reach the 'wishing area' or wherever you would get to make the wish and Cubby is like, "Now, wish to be big and strong like you wanted so you can defeat that monster and be a great knight!"
But Kevin stops, does a flashback of him being small and fast and him and Cubby ducking behind boulders to hide and darting through small areas to avoid the giant and instead wishes "he were as big as we are."

The giant shrinks down back to a village boy, who thanks them and talks about how he came down and wished to be big and strong and was turned into the giant and couldn't get out. Eventually he scared off all the villagers (who thought he'd been eaten) but now he can go home and find his family where they've moved to.

Touching story with a lesson.

I believe you are correct. That show was much better than it had any right to be.

Also: if anyone remembers The 10th Kingdom, that had a good example of a greedy commoner who got wishes... with problems.