D&D 5E Lost Mines of Phandelver - Shrine of Luck blessing ideas

[PegLegPete]

Hi all, first time poster here!


I'm running a Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign for some novice players, and I'm novice-intermediate with being a DM myself.


Anywho, my players gravitated towards the "Shrine of Luck" in Phandalin. A couple of them prayed at it, clearly hoping it would help them somehow. The book has no advice for this, so on the spot I had them roll a d20 and figured if they rolled above 15, they'd get inspiration or something. None of them did so it fizzled out their excitement. I felt like this was a missed opportunity for me to spice up the game.


Now that I'm in between sessions, I wanted to prepare something to add that spice and make the shrine stand out to the players. Something they might come back to time and again (I'm even thinking they could live in & govern Phandalin after the campaign, making the Shrine a familiar place the mechanics familiar as well).

I tried to make it reflect the idea of gambling a bit, though with some advantage if the player was very generous in their offer and/or roleplayed exceedingly well and uniquely.

I am hoping to get feedback from this community! Is this too silly? Overpowered? Something you would use or not use, and why? This is my first attempt at customizing/enhancing the LMoP module so I'm a bit nervous!

Here's what I came up with:


SHRINE OF LUCK in PHANDALIN

• Dedicated to Tymora, goddess of Luck. AKA “Lady Luck”. Sister Garaele tends to the shrine, lives next door.
• If players pray at the shrine, seeking favor, Sister Garaele comes out to vaguely explain how worshipers of Tymora respect the goddess with words and offerings, and it is said she sometimes bestows them a gift (craft a poem/scripture maybe?). Do not describe any of below in exact terms, but in generalities that are RP friendly.
• Players will need to either make an offering of value and/or roleplay out a sufficiently worthy prayer (speaking and acting out prayer that respects & pleases Tymora). Result is decided below:
  • Bad : <10g or half-assed RP results in 1d6 roll by GM.
    • 1-4 = sister Garaele smiles and thanks the player. (No effect)
    • 5-6 = sister Garaele smiles and touches the players arm. player gets choice of inspiration point or wheel of luck point
  • Decent: 10-100g or decent RP: Sister Garaele smiles and touches the player's arm. Player receives choice of inspiration point or wheel of luck point (purple aura).
  • Great: >100g or outstanding & unique RP. Sister Garaele smiles and hugs the player. Player receives inspiration point and wheel of luck point (that will roll with advantage, green aura)
• A Wheel of Luck point is known as Tymora’s Gift or Blessing. PC can only ever have 1 point. Can be used whenever they like to roll on the Wheel of Luck table, with aura color dictating advantage. Once used they cannot receive another for 72 hours despite any offerings.
• Tymora does not like her gift to be expected or abused. Receiver should feel lucky to have received it and be thankful to Tymora. Tymora is more favorable with her gift if the subject has mentioned her name favorably in last 72 hours (she likes to be remembered outside of just praying at a shrine/temple), has gambled in the last 72 hours (doesn’t matter if they won or lost), or has does something with a high risk/reward ratio in last 72 hours (e.g. jumped on a dragon’s back to slit its throat or similar risky act).
• She is less favorable if player in last 72 hours has made jokes about her, used her name in vain, cheated whilst gambling, or adventured too conservatively with little risk.
• This favor/disfavor can push the player’s offering requirements up/down a tier in the above table
• Upon using the Wheel of Luck point, an ethereal wheel made of marble and gold, transparent and without physical presence, appears 5 feet in front of the player, as large as the room allows up to 20 feet tall. The wheel then spins making a quiet ticking noise and quickly lands on one of 12 ‘slices’ which have Druidic runes engraved in the wheel. No one but the player can see this happening, though other PCs and NPCs can just barely the ticking noise if able.
• Wheel of Luck Table: Roll 1d12 and consult below effects:
  • 1 = Super Unlucky: player receives disadvantage on all rolls for 1d20 hours. Loses big at all gambling attempts, even if PC cheats.
  • 2 = Freak Accident: something falls on the player from the ceiling/sky or similar, reducing player to 1 hp. If player’s HP is already 1, they are knocked unconscious and begin their first death saving throw.
    • Inside: rock, anvil, piano, chandelier, part of the ceiling, hand of god
    • Outside: lightning, tree falls, rock from cliff, a manatee, hand of god
  • 3 = Gambling Monster Attacks: Copper dice and cards rain from the ceiling/sky, summoning a gambling elemental that attacks the PC immediately. Is alive for 1d20 hours. Disappears upon kill/timeout.
  • 4 = Horrific Calf cramp: PCs dominant calf suddenly cramps up, very painful and limits speed. PC max hp temporarily drops by 25% and movement reduced by half, effect lasts for 1d4 hours.
  • 5 = Something in my eye!: Player suddenly gets something in their eye, blinded for 1d6 minutes
  • 6-7 = Wild Magic: player rolls on the wild magic surge table (if not applicable, such as receiving a spell bonus when not a spellcaster, then GM modify it to be relevant or can roll again)
  • 8 = Nick of time: Player senses all enemies/traps nearby and dodges all attacks for next 1d6 minutes. If no enemies nearby, player trips and instantly finds hidden treasure worth 4d20+20 gold.
  • 9 = In The Zone: muscle memory and clarity of mind flows through the players mind and body. movement speed is doubled for 1d4 hours and PC gains 25% of max hp temporarily. Effect lasts 1d4 hours.
  • 10 = Gambling Monster Helps: Gold dice and cards rain from the ceiling/sky, summoning a gambling elemental that does whatever the PC asks. Is alive for 1d20 hours. Disappears upon kill/timeout.
  • 11 = Deus Ex Machina: in combat: freak accident occurs upon 1 enemy of players choice.
    12 = Super Lucky: player receives advantage on all rolls for 1d20 hours, Wins big at any gambling attempts, even if opponent is cheating.

 

[phantomK9]

I had a very similar situation arise in my game.
One of the players was throwing coins into the shrine's fountain. The first time he did this I said that Tymora smiled upon him. I gave him 1 luck point for the day (from the Lucky feat). This has only happened once. Player still quite often makes offerings to Tymora, but in my opinion it would take more and more offerings to get her attention and thus favor.

The gods in Forgotten Realms are fickle creatures and I didn't want the players to all simply have a resource to back to time and time again expecting the same result. If they did this the gods might just get angry.

Throughout the game the player (who is playing a Fighter) has taken Tymora as his patron deity and he has begun acting in ways that show devotion to her. Recently they came across a town where a cleric of Beshaba was causing problems (adventure created using random rolls from the DMG....lots of fun!) and he used offerings of gold and platinum to help bring Tymora's favor to what the PCs were doing.

In these cases I've simply been asking for the player to make strait Wisdom or Charisma checks (no proficiency). High rolls I'll simply say something beneficial happens in the story.

Also in my game Sister Garaele has joined the party (they didn't have a cleric) and has even become the lover of the Paladin of Helm.

Your approach is very well thought out, but it seems like a lot for you to keep track of. I've found that simple is better. Also, a set amount of gold offerings of 10 - 100 gp might be a lot in the beginning but may not mean much later on.

Anyway, great effort. Welcome to the forums, and good luck.
Have some XP.

 

[PegLegPete]

Thanks for the reply, Phantom.

I like how your fighter actually has taken up Tymora as his patron and actively tries to show devotion to her. That is something I'd like to encourage in my games, showing the world is effecting the player somehow.

I like the idea of just making up "something beneifical" happens if they pass a check, but I found that being too new D&D and DM'ing that I don't have the creativity to improvise a (balanced) effect on the fly. Inspiration seemed to weak too, so that's where I ended up with my complicated table. I agree with you that simple is likely better, so I may end up scrapping my idea (or saving to be recycled into something else), but i did like that I had something concrete I could fall back onto instead of having to improvise something on the fly.

Either way thanks for sharing how you handled the shrine in your game. Using the Lucky feat is probably the easiest implementation and I will probalby steal that, and try to limit it as you have recommended.

It's so helpful to get feedback on my game. Thanks again.

 

[aco175]

I like the idea of having this as an extra part of your game. If the players are new to gaming and D&D you may want to cut down on the amount of rolls to get something. One of the goals of 5th edition was to simplify things. I would go with something simply such as advantage on a roll or check, or a +1 to a roll or check. Any donation gets a d20 roll and over 15 gets the bonus. Simple and the players would remember it so you the DM can do all the other things. Also, do not be surprised if you go with this and the players begin to look for other goodies from other temples and stores and such.

After you play for a while you can add more items like this, or save this for a specific temple and tie it to an adventure.

 

[Goonalan]

Thanks for the reply, Phantom.

I like how your fighter actually has taken up Tymora as his patron and actively tries to show devotion to her. That is something I'd like to encourage in my games, showing the world is effecting the player somehow.

I like the idea of just making up "something beneifical" happens if they pass a check, but I found that being too new D&D and DM'ing that I don't have the creativity to improvise a (balanced) effect on the fly. Inspiration seemed to weak too, so that's where I ended up with my complicated table. I agree with you that simple is likely better, so I may end up scrapping my idea (or saving to be recycled into something else), but i did like that I had something concrete I could fall back onto instead of having to improvise something on the fly.

Either way thanks for sharing how you handled the shrine in your game. Using the Lucky feat is probably the easiest implementation and I will probalby steal that, and try to limit it as you have recommended.

It's so helpful to get feedback on my game. Thanks again.

I try to do this kind of stuff in-game, if a player has done something to gain Luck or whatever I usually just put a little star by their name somewhere (I have a book for each week's play for notes) and then weave it into the story, the next time it's needed- rather than just give my players a +1 to lug around (and remember), I always forget to hand out Inspiration points.

So when the Ogre goes to bean the paladin (the guy with the Luck) the paladin's feathered crest (on his helm) somehow tickles the giant's nose and the creature sneezes itself prone.

I try to make the Luck moment memorable, and when possible funny.

I don't do this for all the guys that make an offering at the shrine (or whatever) but for the guy that does it first (that isn't the Tymora worshipper). My players also get rewarded for doing the right thing (memorably so), I always forget the Inspiration Points because I'm from the past (old git- first DMed red box). I like to put a tick next to one guy's name every session and then try and make something good happen for that guy in the next session.

So when the Wizard got the fireball out in the mine and the ceiling started collapsing last weeks hero (the Priest of War) somehow managed to outrun the collapse, he took a chunk of damage but he didn't die- all the bad guys did however (but they were only Kobolds so meh).

So when the guys spent an hour or more trying and failing (mostly due to spectacurly low rolls) to find the info they needed to get to the next part of the adventure it was the (lucky) paladin (again) that woke up the next day (after the guys went on a massive drinking session) with the info he needed written on a pair of very large (non-human?) panties, with no memory of how he obtained these.

I don't stack these points, a PC can have only one (and I don't tell the guys they have them).

Cheers Goonalan