D&D 5E bits of lore

[Edwin Suijkerbuijk]

Some times as a DM you might come up with small interesting pieces of lore and campaign ideas you thought of that don't fit the world you currently run or are working on.
This is a tread to post such bits of lore So maybe anotherDm can use it.
Try to keep it short and general.


For example:
There used to be 2 castles on hills near each other, the lords of the castles were in a feud and one vowed not to leave 2 stones of the others castle standing upon each other.
He did defeat his enemy and kept his word.
Now there is a road leading from the castle to a empty hill, the road made from the stones of the other castle, all lying side by side non on top of the other.

 

[Azurewraith]

An entire village that is one big solid illusion as the baron was a crazed slasher that killed all the inhabitants but didn't want anyone to know so now the entire village is one big "robotic display" people doing the same things every day to not raise suspicion

 

[Edwin Suijkerbuijk]

There was a invasion by fire creatures, to fight them this kingdom captured a powerfull deamon and used his blood to create tieflings.
The demon is still kept in captivity and is forced to share his power becoming a unwilling patron to fiend pact warlocks.
No mater how much he begs you should not try to set him free.

 

[Pjack]

The creatures we call "orcs" are actually humans with a genetic condition: "orcism". People with the condition have been forced out of civilized lands for millennia; they've banded together for protection, and interbreeding has strengthened the trait. "Half-orcs" are people who have the condition to a lesser degree. Half-orcs usually come about when an orc mates with a human (or two half-orcs mate), but they can also appear spontaneously in human bloodlines. Since most people don't understand about recessive genes, this usually ends up being a traumatic experience for the entire family. And sometimes, "pure" humans are born to orc parents, to the confusion of the entire tribe.

(Alternatively: The creatures we call "humans" are actually orcs with a genetic condition: "humanism"...)

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Owlbears were created by the mad wizard, Riahkh. Everyone knows this from bedside tales told to keep infants well behaved. Each culture and each race has a different source wizard, or maybe it's just "a mad wizard".

The truth is, Riahkh was not alone. He worked with six other wizards on the task and they were all transformed themselves into these beasts. Over time they mated with one another and more owlbears were created, but somewhere out there lurks at least one, possibly all seven, of the originals, cursed with long life in their twisted forms.

Some day someone may find a way to release them from the curse. Or maybe someday they will regain their magical powers and become Owlbear Wizards.

In fact, perhaps they were all Sorcerors and it was one hell of a wild magic surge...which one day might reverse itself...

 

[Galendril]

In my campaign, a group of Suloise secretly left their homeland prior to the Rain of Colorless Fire. However, they knew it was important to attract others of the proper intellect and bloodlines to them. So, they constructed waystations across Oerth to test potential immigrants to their new land.

One such waystation exists in the Azure Sea which only rises at seemingly random times and locations. It was created in the form of a giant statue of a robed human. However, over time, it's been damaged and now only giant feet rise up out of the sea.

Inside the base, is a series of physiological tests and mental challenges. If they pass, they are given an astrological chart which will lead them to the hidden Suel enclave.

 

[BookBarbarian]

Ages ago the eldest of the races learned that the costs of war would lead to their extinction. Nations, clans, or even families could instead elect ritual combat as a substitute to war. Champions would fight over stakes of land, wealth, or slaves. Anything that could have been gained through warfare.

Rumor has it that these contests still exist in the most ancient of places, and that the powerful still wager the highest of stakes on them.

Beware! For if one agrees to the terms of the combat but does not abide by the results, they will draw the ire of all those who have ever participated.