News story to Plot Idea

[Hand of Evil]

Found the following story and plan on using it as a plot element...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/797323.asp?0dm=C21DT

So far my ideas are dealing with a new necromancy spell that performs the same function, transforms remains into diamonds.

A diamond market being de-valued to the rush of the new diamonds.

The diamonds being a gateway to the realm of the dead, allowing evil undead the ablity to control the living.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

 

[Buttercup]

Wow. That's an absolutely fabulous idea!

How would the PCs find out about the flood of diamonds? Would they arrive in a new location and hear rumors? Or would a caravan come to town with the gemstones? Could a detect magic spell reveal that there was something magical about the diamonds, like a residual aura? Would the diamonds detect as evil to a paladin?

You might have any dwarves in your party notice that something is odd about the diamonds.

What if the diamonds acted like a homing device to the necromancer who created them? Perhaps they would activate if their owner died, so he could show up and turn the corpse into another diamond, or maybe just a zombie. Or what if the diamonds were just cursed so anyone possessing them became a werewolf or something.

Hmm.

 

[Ruavel]

thoughts..

great use of an odd idea...

would it be worth making the diamonds Wondrous Items requiring something like Gentle Repose instead of making a whole new spell...

as for plot ideas...

perhaps a town is suddenly inundated with ghostly manifestations, co-inciding with the arrival of a new gem merchant... the merchant is not the necromancer nor is he evil, but he bought the diamonds from another gem trader in a different town who is an agent for the evil wizard...

people who have bought the diamonds have been visited by (& sometimes attacked by) ghosts for the last few weeks.. the ghosts are bound to the diamonds and have come into being as a result of the people being killed by the necromancer during his development of the process for creating the diamonds... the souls of these victime cannot be laid to rest until the diamonds are given to the surviving family members and/or the necromancer is "brought to justice"... (or the people could be resuurected)...

in this scenario the diamonds are not inherently evil, particularly if they are created from the remains of someone who died from nature causes... but when people have been killed specifically to create a diamond, the evil of the act lingers in the stone...

hope that helps inspire you... happy to act as a sounding board if you like...

 

[Ruavel]

sorry...

um... ignore that bit about Wondrous Items...

after writing it I realised it was stupid as the diamonds would have no magical ability but I forgot to delete it after writing everything else...



sorry...

 

[Hand of Evil]

Wow. That's an absolutely fabulous idea!

How would the PCs find out about the flood of diamonds? Would they arrive in a new location and hear rumors? Or would a caravan come to town with the gemstones? Could a detect magic spell reveal that there was something magical about the diamonds, like a residual aura? Would the diamonds detect as evil to a paladin?

You might have any dwarves in your party notice that something is odd about the diamonds.

What if the diamonds acted like a homing device to the necromancer who created them? Perhaps they would activate if their owner died, so he could show up and turn the corpse into another diamond, or maybe just a zombie. Or what if the diamonds were just cursed so anyone possessing them became a werewolf or something.

Hmm.

PCs could find out about the diamonds from the diamond merchants. It is amazing how fields are controlled in the world and thought about taking that to the fantasy world. But I was thinking an Skill Check (Knowledge, Profession, Apprise, Craft) could show a flaw or mark in the gem. This mark is the same from diamond to diamond.

It could also be that they diamonds allow the person who wears them to talk to the spirit of the person they were or enter a dream plane where they interact.

mmmmmm

 

[Hand of Evil]

Re: thoughts..

great use of an odd idea...


in this scenario the diamonds are not inherently evil, particularly if they are created from the remains of someone who died from nature causes... but when people have been killed specifically to create a diamond, the evil of the act lingers in the stone...

hope that helps inspire you... happy to act as a sounding board if you like...

Thanks.

I can see them as spirit family members, say to a barbarian tribe. When a member of the tribe died they are converted to a diamond and placed as spirits for the tribe to get advice from. Either the diamonds were stole or the spell was.

mmmmmm

 

[Bihor]

The PCs come back from a Dongeon with a bag of diamonds . They try to sell them and find out they'r wothless. Every body, especialy women , have one or more.

The caravan selling them said that ''Diamons are forever''
And peapole who die with the diamond close to them, becomes ghost or a other undead.

Or their soul are traped in the castle of the necromancer( a castle made of souls? mabe?).