Hey all, long time listener first time caller! First, a little bit of background: my party will be travelling to a continent that has been ravaged by a powerful curse that was loosed by an archfey as they died. I split the Eladrin into the Summer/Winter Court (a la Dresden Files) and there was a betrayal. Queen Mab (Winter Court Queen) was assassinated and she let loose a curse that was magnified by the magic leaving her body as she died. This has lead to the land being in eternal twiglight & barren.
My party will be traveling to the continent where this occurred to investigate an unusual vampire coven. Due to them being raised in the cursed land, they've been mutated in various ways. The party will eventually end up at a seemingly abandoned castle that is the 'base' for this coven. Since the land is cursed and these vampires are mutated (some can stand in daylight & aren't effected by running water, the spellcasters have a bit of extra "jazz" for their spells, etc.) I was thinking about making the castle sentient in its own way since it has been there since the curse was first cast and it has absorbed over a thousand years of magic being cast by the vampires themselves.
At first I was thinking that the house could "speak" to the leader of the coven and essentially make stealth impossible for the party but that doesn't seem like the best idea because it takes agency away from the players. As of right now I'm struggling to come up with ideas for this castle and would love any ideas or feedback.
For a little extra information: -One of the players is a sorceror who's father is the God of Magic. -Another player is an Eladrin Rogue who is a member of the Winter Court (so the curse could resonate with him since he is of the same Fey Court.
I played in a game where something like this happened. It was basically a reskinned Beauty and the Beast. We were supposed to destroy a McGuffin at the top of a tower to release the magic before somebody kissed somebody else. Of course, we did not. We slaughtered everything inside, and it was fun.
From a DM perspective with hindsight, it's usable. Maybe there's a McGuffin that the castle uses to talk to the coven. Maybe stealth is hard or impossible until this McGuffin is destroyed. So, agency is impacted, but the party knows how/why. There's an ever-present magic that makes the silverware dance and attack. The party could choose to go Grape Nuts on the McGuffin to destroy their disadvantage. Maybe they could use the McGuffin to distract the coven and gain further advantage. Or Fireball. There's always Fireball.
There’s an old 1e module, which has been updated for 5e, called castle amber (or sometimes chateau d’amberville). The whole thing is basically a haunted house. It’s not sentient, iirc, but it’s got some incredibly cool encounters you might want to steal.
At first I was thinking that the house could "speak" to the leader of the coven and essentially make stealth impossible for the party but that doesn't seem like the best idea because it takes agency away from the players. As of right now I'm struggling to come up with ideas for this castle and would love any ideas or feedback.
If I were you, I would probably "build" the house as if it were a custom magic item (no worries about the PCs looting an OP custom magic item and breaking your game since it will be immobile) and maybe fool around with the attunement rules such that anyone who is in/near the location may be permitted by the item/location to attune to it. Check out "Sentient Items" and "Artifacts" in the DMG. Maybe also take inspiration from the "Outer Planes" section of the DMG. Read up on lair actions and the regional effects of lairs of various creatures in the MM. Fizbans, if you have it, has additional lair actions for various dragons, some of which are very much like what you're describing with stealth. But even if you don't, I'm sure you can still read up on lair actions and use that to balance out a homebrew. Tasha's has some things under "Supernatural Regions" that could be inspirational for flavor or mechanics. But ultimately, I would say that you should use the stuff in the DMG about custom magic items as a starting point for powers and senses. Rework attunement, and think about how the ranges for senses might work (maybe it can "see" within 30 ft of any of its walls, or maybe there's a certain location within the house that behaves as eyes and ears).
I could have sworn I'd seen something in a published WotC product that addresses magical locations, but I'm not finding it now. Perhaps I'm thinking of a previous edition ...
Hey all, long time listener first time caller!
First, a little bit of background: my party will be travelling to a continent that has been ravaged by a powerful curse that was loosed by an archfey as they died. I split the Eladrin into the Summer/Winter Court (a la Dresden Files) and there was a betrayal. Queen Mab (Winter Court Queen) was assassinated and she let loose a curse that was magnified by the magic leaving her body as she died. This has lead to the land being in eternal twiglight & barren.
My party will be traveling to the continent where this occurred to investigate an unusual vampire coven. Due to them being raised in the cursed land, they've been mutated in various ways. The party will eventually end up at a seemingly abandoned castle that is the 'base' for this coven. Since the land is cursed and these vampires are mutated (some can stand in daylight & aren't effected by running water, the spellcasters have a bit of extra "jazz" for their spells, etc.) I was thinking about making the castle sentient in its own way since it has been there since the curse was first cast and it has absorbed over a thousand years of magic being cast by the vampires themselves.
At first I was thinking that the house could "speak" to the leader of the coven and essentially make stealth impossible for the party but that doesn't seem like the best idea because it takes agency away from the players. As of right now I'm struggling to come up with ideas for this castle and would love any ideas or feedback.
For a little extra information:
-One of the players is a sorceror who's father is the God of Magic.
-Another player is an Eladrin Rogue who is a member of the Winter Court (so the curse could resonate with him since he is of the same Fey Court.
I played in a game where something like this happened. It was basically a reskinned Beauty and the Beast. We were supposed to destroy a McGuffin at the top of a tower to release the magic before somebody kissed somebody else. Of course, we did not. We slaughtered everything inside, and it was fun.
From a DM perspective with hindsight, it's usable. Maybe there's a McGuffin that the castle uses to talk to the coven. Maybe stealth is hard or impossible until this McGuffin is destroyed. So, agency is impacted, but the party knows how/why. There's an ever-present magic that makes the silverware dance and attack. The party could choose to go Grape Nuts on the McGuffin to destroy their disadvantage. Maybe they could use the McGuffin to distract the coven and gain further advantage. Or Fireball. There's always Fireball.
There’s an old 1e module, which has been updated for 5e, called castle amber (or sometimes chateau d’amberville). The whole thing is basically a haunted house. It’s not sentient, iirc, but it’s got some incredibly cool encounters you might want to steal.
After a few minutes looking at it, there are so many cool things I can use. Thanks!
If I were you, I would probably "build" the house as if it were a custom magic item (no worries about the PCs looting an OP custom magic item and breaking your game since it will be immobile) and maybe fool around with the attunement rules such that anyone who is in/near the location may be permitted by the item/location to attune to it. Check out "Sentient Items" and "Artifacts" in the DMG. Maybe also take inspiration from the "Outer Planes" section of the DMG. Read up on lair actions and the regional effects of lairs of various creatures in the MM. Fizbans, if you have it, has additional lair actions for various dragons, some of which are very much like what you're describing with stealth. But even if you don't, I'm sure you can still read up on lair actions and use that to balance out a homebrew. Tasha's has some things under "Supernatural Regions" that could be inspirational for flavor or mechanics. But ultimately, I would say that you should use the stuff in the DMG about custom magic items as a starting point for powers and senses. Rework attunement, and think about how the ranges for senses might work (maybe it can "see" within 30 ft of any of its walls, or maybe there's a certain location within the house that behaves as eyes and ears).
I could have sworn I'd seen something in a published WotC product that addresses magical locations, but I'm not finding it now. Perhaps I'm thinking of a previous edition ...