Hello! I am a new DM who would greatly appreciate some help on something I am trying to do with my group. Originally our campaign was a one shot, so I threw them into something big for where they were at level/experience-wise, thinking that they were never going to play again. Everyone enjoyed it and wanted to play a second time, and now they have asked to start playing regularly. I am trying to get them out of the capital city they were in and to another village. There will be several things going on there for the players to explore with different hooks to interest different people. One of my ideas was for the group to encounter a lizard (or perhaps small group of lizards). The lizard is actually a person who was cursed by a hag that he ran into. I was trying to research curses in 5e and I came across the baleful polymorph spell, but it appears to be a 3.5e spell. The spell was also not very clear on if the curse can be undone once the initial two saves have been failed. My question is do you think it would be reasonable for the spell to exist, and for a potion to be a possible cure for the spell? I plan to have a book of cures and curses planted in the village somewhere and with some investigation and clever thinking hopefully they will realize what has happened to the lizard and what they need to do to remove the curse. Does this seem reasonable? Also do you think it is fair to say that the Remove Curse spell would not work on this particular curse? I want the players to work towards rescuing the lizard man instead of just waving their magic jazz hands and making it work. I was wondering if I could say that the hag has access to old magic that much of the realm has forgotten about, hence why in game terms she knows a spell that the players don't. I really want this to work because think this would be a good way to get my players invested in an NPC that could become a potential ally if they can remove the curse, and my sister who is playing the cleric loves lizards so I think this would be a good way to engage her, but if it seems completely unreasonable I would love to hear advice on how to make it work or why to scrap it since I am still learning. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Sometimes the thing the bad guys have done doesn't fit a mechanic in the game. The hag transformed poor guy into a lizard. "Curse" is the perfect word for what she did to him, but it's not like the spell from the PHB, etc. So she put a spell on him. Finding the book of curses, or a knowledgeable villager that can help them figure out that this curse is special is a great idea. It will give them some knowledge of what they are up against and how to help this poor person. If your players are new, you don't even have to spend much time explaining how the hag was able to do this.
If I were a player, I would probably try to find out WHY she did it. The HOW is only important if it matters in how to fix it. If the book of curses, or a sage or hedge witch is consulted, it may identify the magic and say how to fix it and stop there. If you know why the hag did this to the person, you're going to be fine. I like the idea that he is being punished because of some slight, perhaps he didn't follow the rules of hospitality, or he prejudged her, or something like that. That might also explain how to help him, what the quest might lead to.
Thank you for your reply! I'm glad to see that what I'm thinking sounds reasonable. Your suggestions and advice is really helpful, especially the emphasis on why vs. how. I will definitely be putting some work in to ensure that the reason is a logical and interesting one. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me!
If the curse came from a Hag, then it 1000000% doesn't need to follow game mechanics. Hag magic is notorious for being weird and wacky. I'd recommend reading the Hag section in Volo's guide if you have it, gives lots of great ideas.
Thank you very much! I haven't had very much to do with hags yet but it seemed like they would be the type of creature to cause this sort of thing. Glad to know I'm headed in the right direction. My friend has Volo's; I'll ask him if I can borrow it. Thanks again!
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Hello! I am a new DM who would greatly appreciate some help on something I am trying to do with my group. Originally our campaign was a one shot, so I threw them into something big for where they were at level/experience-wise, thinking that they were never going to play again. Everyone enjoyed it and wanted to play a second time, and now they have asked to start playing regularly. I am trying to get them out of the capital city they were in and to another village. There will be several things going on there for the players to explore with different hooks to interest different people. One of my ideas was for the group to encounter a lizard (or perhaps small group of lizards). The lizard is actually a person who was cursed by a hag that he ran into. I was trying to research curses in 5e and I came across the baleful polymorph spell, but it appears to be a 3.5e spell. The spell was also not very clear on if the curse can be undone once the initial two saves have been failed. My question is do you think it would be reasonable for the spell to exist, and for a potion to be a possible cure for the spell? I plan to have a book of cures and curses planted in the village somewhere and with some investigation and clever thinking hopefully they will realize what has happened to the lizard and what they need to do to remove the curse. Does this seem reasonable? Also do you think it is fair to say that the Remove Curse spell would not work on this particular curse? I want the players to work towards rescuing the lizard man instead of just waving their magic jazz hands and making it work. I was wondering if I could say that the hag has access to old magic that much of the realm has forgotten about, hence why in game terms she knows a spell that the players don't. I really want this to work because think this would be a good way to get my players invested in an NPC that could become a potential ally if they can remove the curse, and my sister who is playing the cleric loves lizards so I think this would be a good way to engage her, but if it seems completely unreasonable I would love to hear advice on how to make it work or why to scrap it since I am still learning. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Sometimes the thing the bad guys have done doesn't fit a mechanic in the game. The hag transformed poor guy into a lizard. "Curse" is the perfect word for what she did to him, but it's not like the spell from the PHB, etc. So she put a spell on him. Finding the book of curses, or a knowledgeable villager that can help them figure out that this curse is special is a great idea. It will give them some knowledge of what they are up against and how to help this poor person. If your players are new, you don't even have to spend much time explaining how the hag was able to do this.
If I were a player, I would probably try to find out WHY she did it. The HOW is only important if it matters in how to fix it. If the book of curses, or a sage or hedge witch is consulted, it may identify the magic and say how to fix it and stop there. If you know why the hag did this to the person, you're going to be fine. I like the idea that he is being punished because of some slight, perhaps he didn't follow the rules of hospitality, or he prejudged her, or something like that. That might also explain how to help him, what the quest might lead to.
Thank you for your reply! I'm glad to see that what I'm thinking sounds reasonable. Your suggestions and advice is really helpful, especially the emphasis on why vs. how. I will definitely be putting some work in to ensure that the reason is a logical and interesting one. Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me!
If the curse came from a Hag, then it 1000000% doesn't need to follow game mechanics. Hag magic is notorious for being weird and wacky. I'd recommend reading the Hag section in Volo's guide if you have it, gives lots of great ideas.
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Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Great suggestion by Sorce!
A bargain with a hag can be a great plot device, which is not easy to be ended with common means.
Thank you very much! I haven't had very much to do with hags yet but it seemed like they would be the type of creature to cause this sort of thing. Glad to know I'm headed in the right direction. My friend has Volo's; I'll ask him if I can borrow it. Thanks again!