Help! I need ideas for a quest of some sort for a cleric. (My players stay out)

[reveal]

In my Eberron campaign, one of the players is a 6th level Cleric of Arawai, Goddess of Agriculture, a diety of fertility, plant life and abundance. The cleric follows the Life and Plant domains.

For her backstory, she was attacked while travelling with her husband, another cleric, and other priests and worshippers. She was pregnant at the time. Her husband and baby were both killed. Since that day, she has not had her cycle and fears she can never have a child again; a horrible thing for a worshipper of life.

During downtime in the last session, she went to her temple to find out if she ever could have a child again. I have not told her anything and am looking for ideas as to how to allow her to do this.

I want to tell her "no but there is a way you could do this. Go to ... and do ..." or something like that. Any ideas?

 

[berdoingg]

Wow, your campaign is A LOT deeper than ours.

Without getting too icky, maybe the character could polymorph into another natural form in which it could reproduce differently (asexually, pollination, division etc.).

Alternatively she could stumble upon an abandoned young being that would distract her from her own worries.

 

[reveal]

*bump*

 

[Jdvn1]

Hm, it's possible that biologically, there's no reason she can't have a baby. However, her psyche won't allow it. The mind is powerful, after all. She has to overcome her fear of death and her horrible memory by destroying a physical manifestation of her opposite. Then, have her go after a Blighter.

Sounds like a really cool campaign, by the way.

 

[Timeboxer]

I want to tell her "no but there is a way you could do this. Go to ... and do ..." or something like that. Any ideas?

Hmm. Have her take a cyclic pilgrimage -- travel around the entirety of Khorvaire (no lightning rail, that's just too easy), or, if you can pull it off, circumnavigate Eberron.

 

[RuminDange]

Travel to [insert mountain valley] and find the last patch of [insesrt exotic plant/flower], collect [insert seeds/bulbs/fruit/] and take them to [insert another mountain valley] and plant them. Once they grow in the new spot, she can [collect seeds/bulbs/fruit] again and due to the nature of the second spot produce a herbal mixture that restores her ability to have children.

Of course, the [Exotic plant/flower] is protected by [insert BEG] and doesn't want to share.
Also [Another mountain valley] is protected as well or maybe she has to plant the [insert seeds/bulbs/fruit] in a sacred place so that the plants absorb the healing properties needed, and that sacred place is protected or overrun with [insert BBEG and minion].

Have fun. I know I would.
RD

 

[Jdvn1]

Travel to [insert mountain valley] and find the last patch of [insesrt exotic plant/flower], collect [insert seeds/bulbs/fruit/] ... <snip>

Of course, the [Exotic plant/flower] is protected by [insert BEG] and doesn't want to share.

...

Why does that remind me of the golden apple? Oh yeah...

 

[Amaroq]

8 ideas

Neat backstory; I like it!

In a generic sense, "Complete this quest..." works, and that point, any reasonable cleric quest can work. And that opens up a LOT of fertile ground.

"Please go to [such-and-such] [village/town/city]. I suspect that there is something untoward going on [with/in] our church there." There is. "My messages are not being returned, and an [internal affairs officer/Inquisitor] who visited it failed to return as well. Investigate, and take any steps necessary to correct the problem."

"The holy [mcguffin] has been stolen from [such-and-such] cathedral. Find the thieves, and recover it." Of course, its never that simple...

"Oh, that's easy. The hermit at [somewhere] is reknowned for being able to heal that sort of injury." Only, when we get there, we discover that the hermit is missing and there are obvious signs of violence in his cave or cottage...

"The lost [mcguffin], last seen four hundred years ago in [such-and-such], was rumored to have fertility powers. Of course, the church desires it, but if you and your band can recover it, I promise it will be used to restore you." Give it to one BBEG, who does not know how to use it properly, but covets and values it. Set a second BBEG in motion who has learned of its (other) powers and desires to use it for ill.

"When the Prophesized One is born [s/he] will be able to heal you. Only... some force is interfering with our ability to scry further to learn [who/where/when] the Prophesized One [is/will be]." "Well, when does the prophecy suggest [s/he] will be born?" "Any time between five years ago to five years from now."

"Recover the lost [mcguffin/tome], and in return one of our higest priests will remove your curse." "My curse?" "You didn't know?"

"The initiation rite for level [N] should perform that function for you; from then on, clerics of our Goddess may choose whether and when to become pregrnant."

After much divination... "Your ability to bear children has not been lost. It's been stolen." "But who would do such a thing?" "I know not... but we know when it went missing, so presumably it was stolen by those who attacked you and your husband, or perhaps by one who was using those attackers as a screen." ... this opens up all sorts of possibilities - who stole it? Why? And what have they done with it in the intervening years?

...

Filling out the answers to all the many questions is, of course, left for the DM's enjoyment.

 

[RuminDange]

Why does that remind me of the golden apple? Oh yeah...

Golden Apple? Oh that golden apple....don't know, does it? Never even thought of that.

RD

 

[GrayIguana]

Very nice background story.

I would use a quest that would either 1) gather some form of life (plant's seed, rare animal) and allow it to thrive, 2) or undo some great damage that an opposing god has done.

I'm not familiar with all of the Eberron gods, so I'm not sure who would oppose her. The Blighter idea is good for this one.

A third route may be to just recover a specific life-giving relic. The recovery of artifacts seems to fit well with this world. The item could have been lost in the Mournlands. For added tension, include another group that may be looking for the item as well, but to destroy it.

Are any of these ideas helping?