So one of the things I tell every new DM or every player who wants to become a DM is, "Why? Are you crazy? Its a ton of work and then the players burn down the town!" After that, I then tell them this. "Save everything. Every note, every character, every NPC, village elder, event, trap, encounter. ALL OF IT." This is your archive, it is an endless well to draw from over the years.
I've been thinking about plots and narratives a lot lately, mostly because it ties into my school work some. That being said I thought I would start this, an Archive for us all to use and contribute to if you want. Something for new DM's to draw from. While I know that this sounds A LOT like the DMsG I feel there are a few key differences. The biggest being this is free community-contributed content in smaller parts than the full modules or class options that we find on the DMsG.
So without further rambling, I present the first deposit into The Archive, some bits, and bobs from a Wuxia game I was running.
Locations
Jujija In the Provence of ki Temi, on a southern peninsula that stretches out into the White Sea sits the village of Jujija. Once a small fishing village millennia ago it is now a small metropolis with visitors from across the sea and far stranger places coming to see the sights and sell their wares. Among the many attractions and amusements in Jujija is the Temple and Monastery of Seven Seals Broken, a kami of the Mystic Arts and patron spirit of Jujija. It is from here that many factions and organizations that operate in Bodu Gunodu, the nation that controls Juija and many other kingdoms and provinces, operate.
The Grand Monastery The Grand monastery of the Mystic Kami, Seven Seals Broken. Seven stories tall at the cap of a large hill. Surrounded by seven gates, a road from each gate stretches out across the lands, reaching for other shrines and monasteries. The largest gate is the Gate of Scrolls in the southern reach of the monastery. Here tall ornate doors swing wide into a library that runs the length of the wall for miles. Monks sitting in patient rows, carefully copying manuscripts. At the door three Raven Tengu (Keneku) with their beaks elegantly carved with scrimshaw chatter and yammer back and forth, using the sounds of scraping quills and falling rocks to talk amongst themselves. The trio has and clearly still are drinking, passing a wineskin back and forth among themselves and being surprisingly loud for a species with no voice of its own. Past the gate more Tengu work and talk. Known for their ability to recall and copy writing perfectly, many have been adopted into the monastery to act as scribes. Though the Hall of Scrolls is the southern courtyard, stretching to the east and the west to meet with its three siblings and encircle the great shrine at the center of the monastery. Inside the courtyard trees bloom their winter blossoms, promising sweet ice apples and tangy winter cherries in the next few weeks. Training out here are students to the various schools of the monasteries. Students sparing or practicing highly ritualized katas.
The Mistresses Antechamber The Mistresses Antechamber, the heart of the monastery. Doors taller than even a giant, carved from a single tree. Etched with patterns and prayers to Seven Seals Broken, The Kami of the Mystic Arts. Widening circles and descending poetry cover every inch of the doors. Guarded by two huge dragonborn, silver scales gleaming in the torchlight of the hallway stand guard at the door, a long hooked spear in their hands. Past the door is a golden chamber, light shines from seven braziers etched with the foundational techniques of each of the schools of magic. Imposable to be seen from the door, chimes ring out from bells held by six bronze dragonborn arranged around the edge of the room.
NPCs
Emperor Kol Human with effective immortality - Rules many lands - Allows regional leaders independence as long as they pay tribute to him annually (Red herring archetype, make him look evil) The ancient Emperor Kol. Human and over a thousand years old kept alive by dark magic and eldritch arts and guaranteed to live for at least a thousand more. He rules from the Ivory Throne, protected by his bodyguards the three Iron Boars. Law requires that his image is displayed at all major holidays. Any who fail to show proper reverence and respect for the Emperor often meet a swift and brutal end. His army has concerned a thousand lands. His enforcers throughout the land are known as The Rose Guard, and rumor has it that the twenty-seven members of the spy organization known as The Blackbirds have each sworn an oath of loyalty to him that may be fatally enforced by the same magic that has kept him alive so so long.
Grandmaster Gao Gold Dragonborn with either wings feat or dragon sorcerer class levels- Wise Old Martial Arts Master (Obi Wan archtype) Five long prayer strips, with four prayers on each of them, hang from each of three rings set into each wing of the single ancient golden dragonborn in the center of the room. His wings mantled, spread up and stretched wide. He looks up and his eyes are solid molten gold, lit from within by an eldritch fire. Whisker-like tendrils hang from his maw, and as he stands, his body moves with an unnatural grace, though elderly and thin in the body he seems to radiate a solidness that would shame mountains. (This one is a little hard to read. Basically, each of his wings has three rings set into them as a gage piercing, from each of these six rings five prayer strips hang. On each prayer strip are four distinct prayers. Numbers come out to 30 prayer strips total with 120 prayers among them. You may have noticed a focusing on numbers either descending or ascending, it was a thematic choice I made early on)
Yonon Nobu Indeterminate Level - Human with mutations - Master Thief - Runs The Crook and Noose - A known thieves guild hangout and dive bar - (Friendly Betrayal Archtype) NE. Str 10, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 5, Cha 11 He is skinny, but it’s not the skinny you get from starvation, more like someone took all his limbs and stretched them out, even his fingers look elongated. His silvery white hair is medium length falling down over one of his eyes. The other is a deep brown almost black. Around his neck hangs a simple rope necklace adorned with a wooden icon of Three Lost to the Wind, the kami spirit of entertainment and rivalry. Sells charms he gets from a hag in the woods, some of them work, some of them don't, and some of them are cursed. He has a tunnel under The Crook and Noose that he uses to smuggle goods in and out of the city. Has a habit of taking coins he is paid with and ****** them on solid objects before depositing them in coffers or his purse. The area of his face under his hair has not one but a cluster of four eyes. Both the eyes and his elongated appearance are due to a curse placed on him by the hag he gets his charms from when he tried to swindle her.
Miyazai Indeterminate Level - Red Guard Drake - Given increased intelligence and polymorphed into a Dwarf - Sent by the hag in the woods to keep an eye on and protect Yonon. NE. Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 7, Cha 13 She has long red hair cascading down the full of her back. Two hard and angry looking eyes sit above a beak-like nose. Her clothes look to be well made and expensive, even her gloves appear to be made of silk. She will refuse to talk to anyone but Yonon and angerly depart if anyone interrupts her conference with him.
Organizations
The Rose Guard Their armor is blue enameled laminar and they all wear a matching mask across their face. Patrols consist of one or two person units who are responsible for a set area of the city. Each member of the rose guard carries a magic item in the shape of a medallion with a rose etched on it, this gives them access to the spell Dancing Lights. The Rose Guard has a complex series of signals that they can send out using the Dancing Lights spell, directing it as high up in the air as possible. The shape of the four orbs relays what is going on and the color the severity. For example, if the guards are attacked they would use their first action to project an X formation of lights, if the trouble is minor, or already passed they would use the color green, if they are in need of immediate help they would use the color red, if the area needs to be evacuated the lights would be white. A specially trained Rose Guard called the Spotter is situated in a tower, with one tower overlooking a handful of areas under the protection of the Guard. Upon spotting a light signal the Spotter will use scrying magic (typically a crystal ball), as well as communication magic to establish contact with the signaling Guard. If the Guard is injured, in danger, or in need of assistance the Spotter will relay needed information to any other guards in the area. If the guard does not need assistance the spotter will record the guard's information about the incident and file it at the end of the day. A subgroup known as The Thorns provides a similar service as the guards only patrolling and maintaining roads across the country. They even have a system set up like the Spotter though the towers are significantly taller and usually function as a safe stop for travelers as well. Anyone caught traveling without a permit will have their goods confiscated, be given a heavy fine, and may possibly be incarcerated.
That's all for now. If you have anything you wish to deposit into the Archive feel free too. You do not need to format your deposits like I did mine, however, some measure of sorting and organizing will not hurt. If you use anything in here please let me know and post any variations you may of made so we can keep this growing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM of The Bonus Role - We are playing a 5E game set in my homebrew world of Audra check us out Sunday's at 10 AM CST and follow us at the following social media links. https://www.twitch.tv/thebonusrole @BonusRole
This is a fantastic idea! The following is just an adventure hook I came up with recently for a homebrew campaign setting (names/locations have been generalized for easy use by other DM's/Settings):
Adventure Hook:
The players (as themselves) and their close friend (Friendly NPC - The DM) are suddenly teleported from whatever mundane activity they were doing in the real world to a fantasy world named [Campaign Setting].
The players find themselves in a heavily wooded area. After they locate one another, they discover a single dirt road not far from where they arrived, which leads to the nearest town.
When they arrive in town, the players come across a group of “bad guy” soldiers under the banner of the “invincible overlord,” who are abusing a defenseless citizen.
The DM decides he cannot allow this to happen and decides to intervene.
The soldiers then kill The DM for attempting to protect the old man, leaving his body in the streets as a message: This is what happens to people who get in our way.
The abused citizen reveals himself to be the High Priest of the Temple to [insert god] and has taken it upon himself to give The DM a proper burial for his brave sacrifice.
After the short makeshift funeral, the priest then explains that one of the “bad guy” soldiers (the same one who dealt the killing blow) was a high ranking lieutenant in the “invincible overlord’s” army, and has made a recent habit of terrorizing the local towns people, collecting a “protection tax” for the services of his soldiers.
The priest then tells the players a tale of the Heroes of Legend: x number of adventures (x = # of PC’s) from a distant land who 1000 years earlier saved [Setting] from a great evil and then mysteriously vanished. It was prophesied that these heroes would one day return and liberate [Setting] from the “invincible overlord” (who has apparently been in power for many centuries).
After hearing where the players come from, he believes that they are the heroes spoken of in this prophecy, and decides to bring them to a secret chamber hidden beneath the temple.
Here the players find x number of stone altars, each one dedicated to a different Hero of Legend (Each altar represents a different Class).
The players then choose one of the available classes (either generated at the top of the session or pre-gen sheets presented to PC’s as the alters), acquiring the starting gear and abilities associated with each hero in the process.
Now better equipped to face the dangers of this world, the players set forth on their grand adventure to avenge the death of their dear friend, defeat the “invincible overlord,” and find a way home.
This is a brilliant idea. I fully intend to edit this post sometime eventually with the optimistically named village of Rivervale, from my real-life game.
Animate Dead Let this sink farther than I meant too. Sorry. Finals and whatnot anyway got an NPC and a Complex Trap for Y'all.
Tefnek – Female Chult Beggar Prince LN. Str 9, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10. She has a pronounced scaring across her face and neck from her time as a competitor in the Executioner’s Run. She owes her success in the run to her almost supernatural way with animals. She talks almost exclusively in whispers due to scaring across her throat. She is very suspicious and does not reveal much. Ideals: Responsibility to Chult and its people. Bond: Protective of Old City and its people. Flaw: She is scared of going back into the Run.
Tefnek spends her days at the Run near the escape ropes, eager to pull survivors out if they make it across. She is secretly a druid and knows the language of the animals and so often, her bets pay out. Her winnings are her own though she always gives some money and a few kind words for the family of those who do not make it. She seeks adventures to investigate the fact that people have been going missing near one of the old complexes in the Beggars’ Palaces.
Complex Trap Complex Trap – Gas Chamber Initiative Count 20: Rune of Paralyzation: DC 15 to find, DC 15 to disable; affects all targets within 10 ft., DC 11 save or become paralyzed for 1d4 rounds. Takes the form of a rune on each of the walls, players can disable the runes with a check to damage, deface, or dispel the magic. If all the runes are not destroyed before they trigger again 1d4 of them reappear. Initiative Count 10: Poison Gas Trap: DC 15 to find, DC 15 to disable; affects all targets within a 10 ft. square area, DC 14 save or take 2d10 poison damage. Once the gas starts the only way to disable it is to search the area for the holes the gas is coming from and plug them, the search is for each individual hole of which there are four, all four must be plugged.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
GM of The Bonus Role - We are playing a 5E game set in my homebrew world of Audra check us out Sunday's at 10 AM CST and follow us at the following social media links. https://www.twitch.tv/thebonusrole @BonusRole
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So one of the things I tell every new DM or every player who wants to become a DM is, "Why? Are you crazy? Its a ton of work and then the players burn down the town!" After that, I then tell them this. "Save everything. Every note, every character, every NPC, village elder, event, trap, encounter. ALL OF IT." This is your archive, it is an endless well to draw from over the years.
I've been thinking about plots and narratives a lot lately, mostly because it ties into my school work some. That being said I thought I would start this, an Archive for us all to use and contribute to if you want. Something for new DM's to draw from. While I know that this sounds A LOT like the DMsG I feel there are a few key differences. The biggest being this is free community-contributed content in smaller parts than the full modules or class options that we find on the DMsG.
So without further rambling, I present the first deposit into The Archive, some bits, and bobs from a Wuxia game I was running.
Locations
Jujija
In the Provence of ki Temi, on a southern peninsula that stretches out into the White Sea sits the village of Jujija. Once a small fishing village millennia ago it is now a small metropolis with visitors from across the sea and far stranger places coming to see the sights and sell their wares. Among the many attractions and amusements in Jujija is the Temple and Monastery of Seven Seals Broken, a kami of the Mystic Arts and patron spirit of Jujija. It is from here that many factions and organizations that operate in Bodu Gunodu, the nation that controls Juija and many other kingdoms and provinces, operate.
The Grand Monastery
The Grand monastery of the Mystic Kami, Seven Seals Broken. Seven stories tall at the cap of a large hill. Surrounded by seven gates, a road from each gate stretches out across the lands, reaching for other shrines and monasteries. The largest gate is the Gate of Scrolls in the southern reach of the monastery. Here tall ornate doors swing wide into a library that runs the length of the wall for miles. Monks sitting in patient rows, carefully copying manuscripts. At the door three Raven Tengu (Keneku) with their beaks elegantly carved with scrimshaw chatter and yammer back and forth, using the sounds of scraping quills and falling rocks to talk amongst themselves. The trio has and clearly still are drinking, passing a wineskin back and forth among themselves and being surprisingly loud for a species with no voice of its own. Past the gate more Tengu work and talk. Known for their ability to recall and copy writing perfectly, many have been adopted into the monastery to act as scribes. Though the Hall of Scrolls is the southern courtyard, stretching to the east and the west to meet with its three siblings and encircle the great shrine at the center of the monastery. Inside the courtyard trees bloom their winter blossoms, promising sweet ice apples and tangy winter cherries in the next few weeks. Training out here are students to the various schools of the monasteries. Students sparing or practicing highly ritualized katas.
The Mistresses Antechamber
The Mistresses Antechamber, the heart of the monastery. Doors taller than even a giant, carved from a single tree. Etched with patterns and prayers to Seven Seals Broken, The Kami of the Mystic Arts. Widening circles and descending poetry cover every inch of the doors. Guarded by two huge dragonborn, silver scales gleaming in the torchlight of the hallway stand guard at the door, a long hooked spear in their hands. Past the door is a golden chamber, light shines from seven braziers etched with the foundational techniques of each of the schools of magic. Imposable to be seen from the door, chimes ring out from bells held by six bronze dragonborn arranged around the edge of the room.
NPCs
Emperor Kol
Human with effective immortality - Rules many lands - Allows regional leaders independence as long as they pay tribute to him annually (Red herring archetype, make him look evil)
The ancient Emperor Kol. Human and over a thousand years old kept alive by dark magic and eldritch arts and guaranteed to live for at least a thousand more. He rules from the Ivory Throne, protected by his bodyguards the three Iron Boars. Law requires that his image is displayed at all major holidays. Any who fail to show proper reverence and respect for the Emperor often meet a swift and brutal end. His army has concerned a thousand lands. His enforcers throughout the land are known as The Rose Guard, and rumor has it that the twenty-seven members of the spy organization known as The Blackbirds have each sworn an oath of loyalty to him that may be fatally enforced by the same magic that has kept him alive so so long.
Grandmaster Gao
Gold Dragonborn with either wings feat or dragon sorcerer class levels- Wise Old Martial Arts Master (Obi Wan archtype)
Five long prayer strips, with four prayers on each of them, hang from each of three rings set into each wing of the single ancient golden dragonborn in the center of the room. His wings mantled, spread up and stretched wide. He looks up and his eyes are solid molten gold, lit from within by an eldritch fire. Whisker-like tendrils hang from his maw, and as he stands, his body moves with an unnatural grace, though elderly and thin in the body he seems to radiate a solidness that would shame mountains.
(This one is a little hard to read. Basically, each of his wings has three rings set into them as a gage piercing, from each of these six rings five prayer strips hang. On each prayer strip are four distinct prayers. Numbers come out to 30 prayer strips total with 120 prayers among them. You may have noticed a focusing on numbers either descending or ascending, it was a thematic choice I made early on)
Yonon Nobu
Indeterminate Level - Human with mutations - Master Thief - Runs The Crook and Noose - A known thieves guild hangout and dive bar - (Friendly Betrayal Archtype)
NE. Str 10, Dex 10, Con 11, Int 15, Wis 5, Cha 11
He is skinny, but it’s not the skinny you get from starvation, more like someone took all his limbs and stretched them out, even his fingers look elongated. His silvery white hair is medium length falling down over one of his eyes. The other is a deep brown almost black. Around his neck hangs a simple rope necklace adorned with a wooden icon of Three Lost to the Wind, the kami spirit of entertainment and rivalry. Sells charms he gets from a hag in the woods, some of them work, some of them don't, and some of them are cursed. He has a tunnel under The Crook and Noose that he uses to smuggle goods in and out of the city. Has a habit of taking coins he is paid with and ****** them on solid objects before depositing them in coffers or his purse. The area of his face under his hair has not one but a cluster of four eyes. Both the eyes and his elongated appearance are due to a curse placed on him by the hag he gets his charms from when he tried to swindle her.
Miyazai
Indeterminate Level - Red Guard Drake - Given increased intelligence and polymorphed into a Dwarf - Sent by the hag in the woods to keep an eye on and protect Yonon.
NE. Str 10, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 7, Cha 13
She has long red hair cascading down the full of her back. Two hard and angry looking eyes sit above a beak-like nose. Her clothes look to be well made and expensive, even her gloves appear to be made of silk. She will refuse to talk to anyone but Yonon and angerly depart if anyone interrupts her conference with him.
Organizations
The Rose Guard
Their armor is blue enameled laminar and they all wear a matching mask across their face. Patrols consist of one or two person units who are responsible for a set area of the city. Each member of the rose guard carries a magic item in the shape of a medallion with a rose etched on it, this gives them access to the spell Dancing Lights. The Rose Guard has a complex series of signals that they can send out using the Dancing Lights spell, directing it as high up in the air as possible. The shape of the four orbs relays what is going on and the color the severity. For example, if the guards are attacked they would use their first action to project an X formation of lights, if the trouble is minor, or already passed they would use the color green, if they are in need of immediate help they would use the color red, if the area needs to be evacuated the lights would be white. A specially trained Rose Guard called the Spotter is situated in a tower, with one tower overlooking a handful of areas under the protection of the Guard. Upon spotting a light signal the Spotter will use scrying magic (typically a crystal ball), as well as communication magic to establish contact with the signaling Guard. If the Guard is injured, in danger, or in need of assistance the Spotter will relay needed information to any other guards in the area. If the guard does not need assistance the spotter will record the guard's information about the incident and file it at the end of the day. A subgroup known as The Thorns provides a similar service as the guards only patrolling and maintaining roads across the country. They even have a system set up like the Spotter though the towers are significantly taller and usually function as a safe stop for travelers as well. Anyone caught traveling without a permit will have their goods confiscated, be given a heavy fine, and may possibly be incarcerated.
That's all for now. If you have anything you wish to deposit into the Archive feel free too. You do not need to format your deposits like I did mine, however, some measure of sorting and organizing will not hurt. If you use anything in here please let me know and post any variations you may of made so we can keep this growing.
GM of The Bonus Role - We are playing a 5E game set in my homebrew world of Audra check us out Sunday's at 10 AM CST and follow us at the following social media links.
https://www.twitch.tv/thebonusrole
@BonusRole
This is a fantastic idea! The following is just an adventure hook I came up with recently for a homebrew campaign setting (names/locations have been generalized for easy use by other DM's/Settings):
Adventure Hook:
Now better equipped to face the dangers of this world, the players set forth on their grand adventure to avenge the death of their dear friend, defeat the “invincible overlord,” and find a way home.
Happy Gaming!!! :-)
This is a brilliant idea. I fully intend to edit this post
sometimeeventually with the optimistically named village of Rivervale, from my real-life game.It's nowhere near a river or a vale.
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both" -- allegedly Benjamin Franklin
Tooltips (Help/aid)
Animate Dead
Let this sink farther than I meant too. Sorry. Finals and whatnot anyway got an NPC and a Complex Trap for Y'all.
Tefnek – Female Chult Beggar Prince
LN. Str 9, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10.
She has a pronounced scaring across her face and neck from her time as a competitor in the Executioner’s Run. She owes her success in the run to her almost supernatural way with animals. She talks almost exclusively in whispers due to scaring across her throat. She is very suspicious and does not reveal much.
Ideals: Responsibility to Chult and its people.
Bond: Protective of Old City and its people.
Flaw: She is scared of going back into the Run.
Tefnek spends her days at the Run near the escape ropes, eager to pull survivors out if they make it across. She is secretly a druid and knows the language of the animals and so often, her bets pay out. Her winnings are her own though she always gives some money and a few kind words for the family of those who do not make it. She seeks adventures to investigate the fact that people have been going missing near one of the old complexes in the Beggars’ Palaces.
Complex Trap
Complex Trap – Gas Chamber
Initiative Count 20:
Rune of Paralyzation: DC 15 to find, DC 15 to disable; affects all targets within 10 ft., DC 11 save or become paralyzed for 1d4 rounds.
Takes the form of a rune on each of the walls, players can disable the runes with a check to damage, deface, or dispel the magic. If all the runes are not destroyed before they trigger again 1d4 of them reappear.
Initiative Count 10:
Poison Gas Trap: DC 15 to find, DC 15 to disable; affects all targets within a 10 ft. square area, DC 14 save or take 2d10 poison damage.
Once the gas starts the only way to disable it is to search the area for the holes the gas is coming from and plug them, the search is for each individual hole of which there are four, all four must be plugged.
GM of The Bonus Role - We are playing a 5E game set in my homebrew world of Audra check us out Sunday's at 10 AM CST and follow us at the following social media links.
https://www.twitch.tv/thebonusrole
@BonusRole