Hopefully long term, and hopefully not my last lol
anyway, I’m not planning this whole grand thing, maybe just a chapter of the story or arc or whatever
but I’m in love with a coven of hags that want to.... something... and that’s where I’m stuck
i want it to be memorable, but make sense at a narrative standpoint.
has anyone used hags as big bads? Would the coven want to dominate a city? Break the magic seals in the world and shut out other Magic’s besides their own?
A coven of hags is begging to be named. For a starting off point, look up the word, council or tribunal. See where that leads you.
Second, why did the coven form? Originally? Was it to protect something? Protect someone? Are the hags sisters, or are they related, like the mythological Fates or Gorgons from Ancient Greece?
Third, what's changed? Did a hag promise something and didn't follow through? Did a hag create a magic item, and it was stolen? Hags like bogs and swamps. They can alter their appearance. Did they trick someone into revealing some important information. What are they plotting? How does this plot increase their influence? Do they have the ears of some evil warlord, anti-paladin, dark cleric, or similar creature?
I agree with everything AdventureHalz has said and expand on that a little more.
Generally I think of the old rule of "Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?"
Who - Who are these Hags? Are they known by nearby villagers through rumors and wives tales? Or are they a secret coven, able to outrun even the keenest of seekers? Are they sisters? Family? Women who were consumed by hardships turning them towards darker power? Does some higher power control them and manipulate their power? Answering these question helps the DM understand their villains. They can be generic bad guys (twirly moustaches and all) or they could be a sympathetic villain. One that has to be killed, but cuts a tragic backstory that you almost (keyword: Almost) feel bad for them.
What - What kind of Hags are these (this question kinda correlates to Where, but we'll touch on that in a while)? Now don't get me wrong, with careful planning it could be a variation of all types of Hags. Also, what exactly are they doing that makes them the 'Big Bad'? Do they steal children in the night (works the shock angle)? Are they cursing men to do their evil bidding (like drooling henchmen - which can be comical or serious with enough planning)? Or are they luring woman to their dark master to carry his unholy child? Thinking about the what helps push their motivation (also going into Why, but this will help answer those questions if you hit the wall).
When - How long has this coven been around? This kinda ties into the Who as it gauges how the villagers react to the news of a Coven. Are they an ancient coven, where the villagers are not so frightened as they are resigned to their dark fate, awaiting heroes to end their sufferings? Is this a more recent thing, and the villagers are panicking to the point of strict curfews and harsh religious doctrine? Think about their timeline, it'll definitely help set the tone of the surrounding area, which helps when it comes to setting the scene.
Where - Where does the story take place? A small village in the middle of the forest? Or a bustling port off the ocean? And where, with relationship to the town, are the Hags located? Where do they do their dirty deeds? T
Why - What is their motivation? I know I asked a similar question in the What question. But this is a good question. Why are they doing this? Why are they doing their heinous deeds? Are they from some tragic background, pushed into Dark Magics seeking revenge against the town (perhaps the Town had a strict 'No Witches' law and their motherly figure was burned at the stake)? Or are they bad simply for the fact that they are bad? Do they require eating children for sustenance and power (like some weird cannibal cult)? These question will get the quest rolling. If they want to shut down a village's magic so there are none but their own, could this be because there was a College they were rejected from, they took personal? Are they the surprise heroes in all this? Perhaps magic users were taking advantage of nonmagic users, and they waged a silent war to kick fannies and take names. Now the Magic Users are spinning a story saying they are evil, but with enough persuasion come to find out the Hags were the good guys the whole time. Or they were corrupted in their intent? (See how this ties in with the When).
How - If their motivations were to dominate a town, or shut down the magic, how would they do it? Is there some sort of structure they plan on bringing down that is a central to magic users or life itself? Is there a specific person they aim to attack? How many Hags in a Coven? Will they wage an all out war? Or try to take a stealthy approach? Will they try to convince the Heroes to join them or use the minds of citizens to turn them against one another?
I find once you answer these questions you can kinda put a narrative together. Once you get that narrative, you have a story arc.
Some beautiful advice here, creating a memorable arc is like writing the skeleton/rough draft of a paper or book. The approach that these two have given is perfect, however I'm going to toss one more tool into your hand:
The players. They are a gold mine for inspiration, if used properly. Use the approach that has been given to you so far, then get your players' back stories. Once you have them, figure out how you can insert their various stories into this arc. You'd be surprised at how much more intricate an arc can become if you add one or two players' back stories into the mix, and you'll find they become much more invested in reaching the end.
Cheers, and here's to many gaming sessions in the future!
Some beautiful advice here, creating a memorable arc is like writing the skeleton/rough draft of a paper or book. The approach that these two have given is perfect, however I'm going to toss one more tool into your hand:
The players. They are a gold mine for inspiration, if used properly. Use the approach that has been given to you so far, then get your players' back stories. Once you have them, figure out how you can insert their various stories into this arc. You'd be surprised at how much more intricate an arc can become if you add one or two players' back stories into the mix, and you'll find they become much more invested in reaching the end.
Cheers, and here's to many gaming sessions in the future!
DMThac0 hits it right on the money here. One of the best ways to make a campaign memorable for your players is to involve their stories into the campaign. Don't worry so much about creating your own story that is amazing for them, but instead work on weaving their stories into one giant story that blows their minds ;)
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Hopefully long term, and hopefully not my last lol
anyway, I’m not planning this whole grand thing, maybe just a chapter of the story or arc or whatever
but I’m in love with a coven of hags that want to.... something... and that’s where I’m stuck
i want it to be memorable, but make sense at a narrative standpoint.
has anyone used hags as big bads? Would the coven want to dominate a city? Break the magic seals in the world and shut out other Magic’s besides their own?
please help me lol
This is an interesting idea....
A coven of hags is begging to be named. For a starting off point, look up the word, council or tribunal. See where that leads you.
Second, why did the coven form? Originally? Was it to protect something? Protect someone? Are the hags sisters, or are they related, like the mythological Fates or Gorgons from Ancient Greece?
Third, what's changed? Did a hag promise something and didn't follow through? Did a hag create a magic item, and it was stolen? Hags like bogs and swamps. They can alter their appearance. Did they trick someone into revealing some important information. What are they plotting? How does this plot increase their influence? Do they have the ears of some evil warlord, anti-paladin, dark cleric, or similar creature?
Happy adventuring!
I agree with everything AdventureHalz has said and expand on that a little more.
Generally I think of the old rule of "Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?"
Who - Who are these Hags? Are they known by nearby villagers through rumors and wives tales? Or are they a secret coven, able to outrun even the keenest of seekers? Are they sisters? Family? Women who were consumed by hardships turning them towards darker power? Does some higher power control them and manipulate their power? Answering these question helps the DM understand their villains. They can be generic bad guys (twirly moustaches and all) or they could be a sympathetic villain. One that has to be killed, but cuts a tragic backstory that you almost (keyword: Almost) feel bad for them.
What - What kind of Hags are these (this question kinda correlates to Where, but we'll touch on that in a while)? Now don't get me wrong, with careful planning it could be a variation of all types of Hags. Also, what exactly are they doing that makes them the 'Big Bad'? Do they steal children in the night (works the shock angle)? Are they cursing men to do their evil bidding (like drooling henchmen - which can be comical or serious with enough planning)? Or are they luring woman to their dark master to carry his unholy child? Thinking about the what helps push their motivation (also going into Why, but this will help answer those questions if you hit the wall).
When - How long has this coven been around? This kinda ties into the Who as it gauges how the villagers react to the news of a Coven. Are they an ancient coven, where the villagers are not so frightened as they are resigned to their dark fate, awaiting heroes to end their sufferings? Is this a more recent thing, and the villagers are panicking to the point of strict curfews and harsh religious doctrine? Think about their timeline, it'll definitely help set the tone of the surrounding area, which helps when it comes to setting the scene.
Where - Where does the story take place? A small village in the middle of the forest? Or a bustling port off the ocean? And where, with relationship to the town, are the Hags located? Where do they do their dirty deeds? T
Why - What is their motivation? I know I asked a similar question in the What question. But this is a good question. Why are they doing this? Why are they doing their heinous deeds? Are they from some tragic background, pushed into Dark Magics seeking revenge against the town (perhaps the Town had a strict 'No Witches' law and their motherly figure was burned at the stake)? Or are they bad simply for the fact that they are bad? Do they require eating children for sustenance and power (like some weird cannibal cult)? These question will get the quest rolling. If they want to shut down a village's magic so there are none but their own, could this be because there was a College they were rejected from, they took personal? Are they the surprise heroes in all this? Perhaps magic users were taking advantage of nonmagic users, and they waged a silent war to kick fannies and take names. Now the Magic Users are spinning a story saying they are evil, but with enough persuasion come to find out the Hags were the good guys the whole time. Or they were corrupted in their intent? (See how this ties in with the When).
How - If their motivations were to dominate a town, or shut down the magic, how would they do it? Is there some sort of structure they plan on bringing down that is a central to magic users or life itself? Is there a specific person they aim to attack? How many Hags in a Coven? Will they wage an all out war? Or try to take a stealthy approach? Will they try to convince the Heroes to join them or use the minds of citizens to turn them against one another?
I find once you answer these questions you can kinda put a narrative together. Once you get that narrative, you have a story arc.
Good luck to you!
I pick on no one. I leave everything to the fate of dice.
-rolls 1-
Dah, crap.
Some beautiful advice here, creating a memorable arc is like writing the skeleton/rough draft of a paper or book. The approach that these two have given is perfect, however I'm going to toss one more tool into your hand:
The players. They are a gold mine for inspiration, if used properly. Use the approach that has been given to you so far, then get your players' back stories. Once you have them, figure out how you can insert their various stories into this arc. You'd be surprised at how much more intricate an arc can become if you add one or two players' back stories into the mix, and you'll find they become much more invested in reaching the end.
Cheers, and here's to many gaming sessions in the future!
Oh my god I didn’t expect any kind of responses like this
thank you all so so so much! This gives me everything I could need to build this up to be a fantastic experience for everyone
ill spend the weekend figuring things out and I’ll post what I’ve come up with
thank you so much again!
Glad we were helpful. :D