Looking into this more thoroughly, "summon and bind a demon" is not going to work as a Cleric reward. Doing that requires a series of defined spells (Summon Greater Demon, Magic Circle, Planar Binding) which are all Cleric spells that they would just know once they make it to the correct level.
Handing the party a spellbook containing these spells is extremely tempting, and I might actually do that. But that's more stuff for the wizard, not the cleric.
So, I'm stuck again on what to give the cleric. A direct line of communication with some extremely evil God (Cyric is the go to answer, but there are other options) is tempting. But I'm also not sure what I would expect to come of that communication should it be opened. Which it won't be. So the point might be irrelevant.
Another thought would be to point them towards a tomb containing the fallen avatar of some incredibly evil god (again... Cyric most likely), which is setting up an adventure that they won't be able to do anything with until they are much much higher level.
I would still recommend having your players not have all the information on whatever the reward ends up being. Perhaps instead of saying " The ability to summon a demon to your will." Its, "The ability to call for the aid of an extraplanar entity." That could be a demon, a celestial, an aberration, any number of things. The same could be done for the ritual to become/summon the avatar of a god. Sure the party doesn't have any reason to trust the dragons rewards, but at the same time that can be a setup for you. If they HAVE to use one of the rewards in an emergency and see no negative effects right away it would imply the safety of the other rewards. That's when you can reveal that the Scroll of Reresection they used secretly bound the caster's soul to a Pitfiend, just as an example.
I stepped away from this for a few days and think I know what is going to be happening. I believe that this is my final answer:
Mage: "The Lich-ual"
Bard: The cursed songs. I 100% plan to print out the music sheets for several pop tunes and hand them to him. Because it amuses me.
Cleric: The location of a "tomb of incredible power". I don't actually know what's going to be in the tomb yet. And, frankly, I don't think the dragon would know either.
Monk: The name Kretis. With very little extra fanfare. This can become a lingering plot point for them and is 100% ripped directly from one of my favorite podcasts. On a related note, everyone on this board needs to listen to Rude Tales of Magic. It's amazing.
Thank you to everyone that participated in this thread. You helped me get through one of the worst cases of self-imposed-writers-block I have encountered. I greatly appreciate it.
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Might start a new thread... but what would a "summon a demon and bind it to your will" ritual even look like??
Looking into this more thoroughly, "summon and bind a demon" is not going to work as a Cleric reward. Doing that requires a series of defined spells (Summon Greater Demon, Magic Circle, Planar Binding) which are all Cleric spells that they would just know once they make it to the correct level.
Handing the party a spellbook containing these spells is extremely tempting, and I might actually do that. But that's more stuff for the wizard, not the cleric.
So, I'm stuck again on what to give the cleric. A direct line of communication with some extremely evil God (Cyric is the go to answer, but there are other options) is tempting. But I'm also not sure what I would expect to come of that communication should it be opened. Which it won't be. So the point might be irrelevant.
Another thought would be to point them towards a tomb containing the fallen avatar of some incredibly evil god (again... Cyric most likely), which is setting up an adventure that they won't be able to do anything with until they are much much higher level.
I would still recommend having your players not have all the information on whatever the reward ends up being. Perhaps instead of saying " The ability to summon a demon to your will." Its, "The ability to call for the aid of an extraplanar entity." That could be a demon, a celestial, an aberration, any number of things. The same could be done for the ritual to become/summon the avatar of a god. Sure the party doesn't have any reason to trust the dragons rewards, but at the same time that can be a setup for you. If they HAVE to use one of the rewards in an emergency and see no negative effects right away it would imply the safety of the other rewards. That's when you can reveal that the Scroll of Reresection they used secretly bound the caster's soul to a Pitfiend, just as an example.
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I stepped away from this for a few days and think I know what is going to be happening. I believe that this is my final answer:
Mage: "The Lich-ual"
Bard: The cursed songs. I 100% plan to print out the music sheets for several pop tunes and hand them to him. Because it amuses me.
Cleric: The location of a "tomb of incredible power". I don't actually know what's going to be in the tomb yet. And, frankly, I don't think the dragon would know either.
Monk: The name Kretis. With very little extra fanfare. This can become a lingering plot point for them and is 100% ripped directly from one of my favorite podcasts. On a related note, everyone on this board needs to listen to Rude Tales of Magic. It's amazing.
Thank you to everyone that participated in this thread. You helped me get through one of the worst cases of self-imposed-writers-block I have encountered. I greatly appreciate it.