D&D 5E another worthy quest

[pukunui]

Hi all,

One of the PCs in my homebrew 5e campaign has lost an eye. The Lingering Injuries rules in the DMG indicate that regenerate is needed to restore lost body parts. Regenerate is a 7th level spell, however, and the PCs are only 4th level, and I've established that there aren't many divine spellcasters in my campaign world. There certainly won't be any 13th level clerics or druids anywhere near where the PCs are currently.

So I'm thinking about turning the restoration of the PC's eye into a quest. Perhaps there's some mythical fountain of healing that can restore lost body parts. Or maybe there's a powerful being that can cast the spell in return for some favour somewhere.

Anyone got any good ideas?

Thanks in advance.
~ Jonathan

 

[Li Shenron]

I think it's always nice to have a side quest like that.

I don't have any special suggestion about the quest itself, but I just wanted to say, that while the PC is maimed it is not mandatory for you to give her mechanical penalties. Normally everybody assumes that you have to give her penalties on attacks and skills to represent the injury, but if you think that the quest might take long to complete, and so the penalty would be somewhat unfair, you are entitled to totally handwave numerical penalties, and just use roleplaying penalties (maybe children are scared by the look of the PC, or she has trouble reading, she frequently but harmlessly bumps into things, etc...) or at least use near-irrelevant mechanical penalties (e.g. she is slow at physical tasks involving sight, she has range penalties with ranged weapons...).

I suggest this because IMO it's too common for DMs to represent long-term injuries with harsh penalties (which feels like an unfair punishment since 99% of the time the player had no control on the effect, which more often than not is the result of a bad ST, or a foe's lucky roll) -> then decide a quest is necessary to remove the penalties -> then realize the quest cannot take too long without spoiling the game for the player -> then it ends up with such quest being short and success guaranteed, which kinds of makes the whole idea pointless in retrospective.

So I'd rather have a side quest that is not easy, no success guaranteed, and not necessarily short (it could even be a lifelong quest!). Something that the PC would totally want to do anyway (who wouldn't want to have her eye back, even if she has learned to live normally without disabilities from it?), but that doesn't really impose a game penalty until completed.

My 2cp.

 

[pukunui]

[MENTION=1465]Li Shenron[/MENTION]: That's a valid point. I have been playing it that the PC has disadvantage to sight-based Wisdom (Perception) checks and ranged attack rolls, as per the "lose an eye" entry on the Lingering Injuries table. I don't want to just handwave that penalty away, but you're right that if I make the quest too easy, it'll feel handwavey anyway, whereas if I drag it out too long, the PC will be at a mechanical disadvantage for too long as well.

One possibly solution comes to mind: While I'm not running an AL game, because my campaign is of an episodic nature, I decided to adopt the AL method of awarding "downtime days" as a consumable resource that can be spent on downtime activities in between episodes. I could make it so if he spends a certain number of his accrued downtime days, he can negate the penalty. He won't regrow his eye, obviously, but he'll be able to say he's learned to compensate for the lack of depth perception or whatever the mechanical penalty is meant to represent.

The other thought I had is that I could turn the quest into a sort of moral dilemma type of thing. Like maybe there's this magic fountain, but when the PC finally gets there, there's only enough magic water left for one more use ... and along the way, he's met someone who just might need it more than he does. Does he take the selfish route and use it to grow his eye back, or does he give it to the needier person and search for some other way to get his eye back? Would that be too mean of me? ("Here's a solution to your problem but if you take, you'll feel really bad about it.")

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The rules for Lingering Wounds were designed under the assumption of a high-magic world, where spells would be relatively easy to acquire. Otherwise, a missing eye is a fate worse than death.

If I was going to use Lingering Wounds in a low-magic world, I would allow a damaged eye to be recovered with a Restoration spell (either Lesser or Greater, depending on exactly how low-magic the world was).

Edit: Upon further inspection, Lesser Restoration explicitly removes Blindness, so it should just as easily remove half-Blindness.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Two words.

Mad-Eye Moody.

Have him get a magical/gnomish artificered eye substitute. Maybe a modified ioun stone.

 

[Saeviomagy]

If you can't restore it perfectly, go with some partially working substitute that has perks and drawbacks. Much more fun that way.

 

[jayoungr]

How about if the quest comes after the restoration? Kind of like a warlock's pact--"I'll fix this for you, but then you owe me. You'll spend months/years working off this debt."

 

[Sunseeker]

The other thought I had is that I could turn the quest into a sort of moral dilemma type of thing. Like maybe there's this magic fountain, but when the PC finally gets there, there's only enough magic water left for one more use ... and along the way, he's met someone who just might need it more than he does. Does he take the selfish route and use it to grow his eye back, or does he give it to the needier person and search for some other way to get his eye back? Would that be too mean of me? ("Here's a solution to your problem but if you take, you'll feel really bad about it.")

What I don't like about quests like these is that it often feels like a trick, created just to say "haw haw I played on your good nature!"

Speaking from a mythology standpoint, magic trees, magic fountains, etc...and the quests to find them were all tests of character by the gods. When he arrives at the pool and finds there is only one small drop, just enough for one person remaining, if he chooses to heal himself, okay, he heals himself he's back to exactly the way he was as if he had never lost an eye, congratulations. If, instead he heals the poor wounded child/woman/man whatever, he will be rewarded with more than just his eye. Perhaps he will gain some godly favor in the form of a better eye. If he's human, give him 1/2 range darkvision or the ability to see places that have been touched by the gods or the auras of others, perhaps as a way to encourage him to continue to do good the eye works as a limited "detect evil" once per day.

Because if you're going to test someone's character, which is exactly what your quest sounds like (help the injured man or himself) reward him for a show of good character. Don't go "oh well the water is all gone you'll have to embark on another quest (which you will undoubtedly face another challenge of character in)". That's cheap.

 

[thalmin]

The phrase "Lose an eye" can mean the eye is removed, but it can just as easily mean "Lose the use of an eye".

 

[pukunui]

What I don't like about quests like these is that it often feels like a trick, created just to say "haw haw I played on your good nature!"

Because if you're going to test someone's character, which is exactly what your quest sounds like (help the injured man or himself) reward him for a show of good character. Don't go "oh well the water is all gone you'll have to embark on another quest (which you will undoubtedly face another challenge of character in)". That's cheap.

That was my initial worry too. And I came to much the same conclusion. What if the person he encounters on the way who appears to be in much greater need is actually the guardian of the magic fountain? And then, should the PC offer to give that person the last dose instead of himself, the guardian reveals its true nature and rewards him for his selflessness. And yes, I like the idea of giving him a little something extra.

So now I just need to come up with some specifics. Anyone got any ideas? Maybe the guardian is a polymorphed gold dragon. I need to come up with an affliction that is worse than a missing eye but isn't something the party cleric can get rid of with lesser restoration.