EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Hey all! I'm finally dipping my toes into the forbidden waters of DMing (technically my second time, but it's really a rebuild of the first time with a different group). Dungeon World seemed like a good place to start with lots of new players and myself new to DMing. The two groups I've run have put together a fun Arabian Nights setting, and now we're exploring its mysteries. I have a tendency to over-think things, so I'm really trying NOT to, while still having the hooks for future story. Being very new to DMing, though, I figure it can't hurt to look for advice on what kinds of treasure to give if I want them to be adventure hooks in themselves, so I'll list the classes my players are running and what ideas I've had thus far. I gave the group a bit of a big haul for their first adventure to whet their appetites and give them yet another "front" (acquiring goodies/getting stronger to face their other threats!) to deal with.
1. Wizard. Contemplative, but the player can be a bit of a spanner in the works as well. Has emphasized meditation and (because the char is human) can cast a Cleric spell--which is a Big Deal in-setting, it's just not widely known that he can do that. Also has some views on the origin and nature of magic that influential fellow wizards don't like very much. The treasure I've given him is a scrying sphere, about the size of a tangerine, which responds to his efforts at meditating and developing his magical senses; using it will give visions of other places with their own scrying stones, and sometimes flickers of someone *else* watching back. There have also been several spell scrolls, some of which are spells I invented and thus can be used to expand the Wizard's repertoire beyond the default Wizard spells.
2. Druid. Torn between aggression and wisdom, still pretty young, ejected from his tribe when his power-hungry brother took over and fought him. Player is very new to D&D so it's hard to predict him. My read is that the character is looking for a purpose or reason to his life. Found a "staff" in an ancient alchemist's lab...a staff made of living acacia wood. He's spoken to it with his druid powers and is very excited by the prospect that it was once something greater than it is, and that he may be able to repair it if he can learn more about it. It's an ancient druid scythe--which can be attuned to the sect of the Sun or of the Moon (what these mean is TBD!) by attaching the appropriate moonstone or sunstone blade with a fitting material (e.g. the preserved sinew of a hydra?) in an appropriate place of druid power. For now, it's living wood, made for druid use, and thus offers some minor benefits whether or not he's shapeshifted.
3. Bard. A bon vivant tempered by years of living among the desert nomad tribes. Had some shady contacts in his youth, but (mostly...) left them behind when his family finally hit it big in the textile business, around the time when he was old enough to go to a proper school. Creative and amiable, but quite willing to knock some sense into someone if they won't listen. Player has taken a HUGE shine to a paper dragon (origami sculpture, around the size of a dog), but is also very curious about the strange, dried-out pigments found in the alchemy lab. They are a set of Marvelous Pigments that need to be restored with an appropriate alchemical agent. What, exactly, that agent is and how to acquire it will be part of the adventure! The paper dragon is in some sense like a genie, and it comes from the faraway lands where dragons are common and the spirit of one might be bound to such an object. If the group can learn the secrets of the dragon, each player can ask for a boon once per year (resetting on the summer solstice)--knowledge, power, wealth, etc. The dragon's magic is finite, but strong.
4. Ranger. Child of a loveless marriage between an orc chieftain's eldest son and a local well-to-do merchant's daughter...forced by (essentially) blackmail pressure, to reveal that the merchant had used the tribe's raids to enrich himself enough to do business on his own. Formerly petulant and rebellious, now survivalist and rebellious: wants to bring the nomads back to the Old Ways (even if he doesn't really know what all the Old Ways *are*), and is brave/stupid/ambitious enough that, coupled with his bloodline, he has a shot. Found a bow in a secret compartment of the alchemy lab. I'm thinking it's one piece of an ancient tribal regalia set; by itself, it is merely a high-quality bow that (somehow) usually doesn't break arrows fired from it (allows a roll to recover spent ammunition). Each piece of the regalia should be useful in itself (e.g. a turban that, when unwound while speaking a command word, transforms into silk rope of up to 500' length, or a banner which provides morale benefits when seen by allies), but they all become a little more powerful the more of them are borne by a single person. Given the character's interests, I'm also eyeing stuff like discovering an abandoned secret base in the wastes or attracting the loyalty of a tribal/mercenary band.
5. Barbarian. Comes from far to the west, from the steppe beyond the western mountains, at least two months' journeying by riverboat and horse; has come to this land to learn of it, and to bring back what wealth and resources he can. Player is both very new and VERY VERY much a Timmy: he's happiest when he's breaking things, changing things, or just generally at the center of the mayhem. First treasure they've found is a set of alchemically-wrought laminated paper armor; I'm still trying to come up with a feature it should have above/beyond "it's light, but offers heavy-armor protection." I have some nice double axes with a fiery enchantment that I think he'll be able to win if he can defeat a brutal exiled criminal from his homeland (he may be a barbarian, but he has a strong honorable streak).
I welcome and appreciate any comments on what I have here, as well as suggestions for new treasures, new places where treasures might be found, or ideas for hooks I can throw to the party for *them* to find out what's out there in the mysterious desert.
1. Wizard. Contemplative, but the player can be a bit of a spanner in the works as well. Has emphasized meditation and (because the char is human) can cast a Cleric spell--which is a Big Deal in-setting, it's just not widely known that he can do that. Also has some views on the origin and nature of magic that influential fellow wizards don't like very much. The treasure I've given him is a scrying sphere, about the size of a tangerine, which responds to his efforts at meditating and developing his magical senses; using it will give visions of other places with their own scrying stones, and sometimes flickers of someone *else* watching back. There have also been several spell scrolls, some of which are spells I invented and thus can be used to expand the Wizard's repertoire beyond the default Wizard spells.
2. Druid. Torn between aggression and wisdom, still pretty young, ejected from his tribe when his power-hungry brother took over and fought him. Player is very new to D&D so it's hard to predict him. My read is that the character is looking for a purpose or reason to his life. Found a "staff" in an ancient alchemist's lab...a staff made of living acacia wood. He's spoken to it with his druid powers and is very excited by the prospect that it was once something greater than it is, and that he may be able to repair it if he can learn more about it. It's an ancient druid scythe--which can be attuned to the sect of the Sun or of the Moon (what these mean is TBD!) by attaching the appropriate moonstone or sunstone blade with a fitting material (e.g. the preserved sinew of a hydra?) in an appropriate place of druid power. For now, it's living wood, made for druid use, and thus offers some minor benefits whether or not he's shapeshifted.
3. Bard. A bon vivant tempered by years of living among the desert nomad tribes. Had some shady contacts in his youth, but (mostly...) left them behind when his family finally hit it big in the textile business, around the time when he was old enough to go to a proper school. Creative and amiable, but quite willing to knock some sense into someone if they won't listen. Player has taken a HUGE shine to a paper dragon (origami sculpture, around the size of a dog), but is also very curious about the strange, dried-out pigments found in the alchemy lab. They are a set of Marvelous Pigments that need to be restored with an appropriate alchemical agent. What, exactly, that agent is and how to acquire it will be part of the adventure! The paper dragon is in some sense like a genie, and it comes from the faraway lands where dragons are common and the spirit of one might be bound to such an object. If the group can learn the secrets of the dragon, each player can ask for a boon once per year (resetting on the summer solstice)--knowledge, power, wealth, etc. The dragon's magic is finite, but strong.
4. Ranger. Child of a loveless marriage between an orc chieftain's eldest son and a local well-to-do merchant's daughter...forced by (essentially) blackmail pressure, to reveal that the merchant had used the tribe's raids to enrich himself enough to do business on his own. Formerly petulant and rebellious, now survivalist and rebellious: wants to bring the nomads back to the Old Ways (even if he doesn't really know what all the Old Ways *are*), and is brave/stupid/ambitious enough that, coupled with his bloodline, he has a shot. Found a bow in a secret compartment of the alchemy lab. I'm thinking it's one piece of an ancient tribal regalia set; by itself, it is merely a high-quality bow that (somehow) usually doesn't break arrows fired from it (allows a roll to recover spent ammunition). Each piece of the regalia should be useful in itself (e.g. a turban that, when unwound while speaking a command word, transforms into silk rope of up to 500' length, or a banner which provides morale benefits when seen by allies), but they all become a little more powerful the more of them are borne by a single person. Given the character's interests, I'm also eyeing stuff like discovering an abandoned secret base in the wastes or attracting the loyalty of a tribal/mercenary band.
5. Barbarian. Comes from far to the west, from the steppe beyond the western mountains, at least two months' journeying by riverboat and horse; has come to this land to learn of it, and to bring back what wealth and resources he can. Player is both very new and VERY VERY much a Timmy: he's happiest when he's breaking things, changing things, or just generally at the center of the mayhem. First treasure they've found is a set of alchemically-wrought laminated paper armor; I'm still trying to come up with a feature it should have above/beyond "it's light, but offers heavy-armor protection." I have some nice double axes with a fiery enchantment that I think he'll be able to win if he can defeat a brutal exiled criminal from his homeland (he may be a barbarian, but he has a strong honorable streak).
I welcome and appreciate any comments on what I have here, as well as suggestions for new treasures, new places where treasures might be found, or ideas for hooks I can throw to the party for *them* to find out what's out there in the mysterious desert.
