Rescuing imperiled nymphs and...

[Quickleaf]

...and things aren't what they seem.

I'm planning an adventure where my group goes to rescue 2 nymph sisters (Spring and Autumn) from the Wild Hunt who has abducted them. Both the Wild Hunt and, to a lesser extent, the nymphs and whatever court/archfey they're affiliated with, will be recurring parts of the campaign.

Maybe I've been doing too much writing today cause I hit some writers block.

I'd like the adventure to have some interesting twist or complication that provides for maybe a couple different possible endings. Why have these nymphs been abducted and is that an accurate word for what's happened? Why do the PCs need to rescue them?

Any ideas are welcome and might help jumpstart my lagging creativity.

 

[Cor Azer]

The nymphs are famous artists as well, known for painting beautiful pictures.

Unfortunately, their bitter nature sometimes causes them to steal a piece of the soul of the subject of their paintings - which has happened to the love of the Wild Hunt's leader.

Pull in some Dorian Grey to give the nymphs some extra immortality.

As a recurring element, perhaps they have a means to paint pictures of distant lands, and when the painting is submerged in natural water (pools, rivers, etc) that water feature temporarily becomes a portal to the distant place. This allows the nymphs to recur all across your world, and potential gives your PCs a reason to befriend them.

 

[Gilladian]

Perhaps the "abduction" is a re-enactment of a famous myth, which must be done every so often (once a century?) to cause or prevent something happening. If the cycle isn't properly carried through, some dreadful creature will be released, or some other horrible evil will occur.

If I made nymphs be artists, they'd sculpt the clay of their own riverbanks.

The wild hunt is an incredibly powerful and chaotic thing; perhaps if the nymphs don't remain with the Huntsman, he will lose partial control of his followers (or his being distracted by them causes that loss of control); a truly "wild" wild hunt could be VERY dangerous.

 

[Stoat]

The nymphs violated some obscure fey law. The wild hunt was returning them to the seelie court for justice.

The PC's are now on the outs with an Archfey for their interference.

 

[steeldragons]

Couple of thoughts for possible directions...

If the Nymphs being abducted are "Spring" and "Autumn":
1) What season is it currently in-game? If it's late summer and Autumn is abducted, is the world stuck in summer? Or would it slip straight into Winter...and maybe, without Spring, be stuck in it.
2) Why Spring and Autumn? Why not Summer or Winter? What does the Huntsman (or "-men"?) gain or have against Spring and Autumn? What would the Hunt want them for?
3- kinda goes back to 1) What happens to the world when Spring and Autumn are abducted?

Just some things to wonder about.

Have fun and happy [wild] hunting.
--Steel Dragons

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks for the ideas, it helps me figure out the "why" behind the old myth of the Wild Hunt chasing maidens/nymphs.

[MENTION=870]Cor Azer[/MENTION] I really dig the nymphs as soul-thieves and secret portal keepers. That could really tie in with the cyclical re-enactment thing, if the portals were some kind of cyclical passage from Faerie/Feywild (where the Wild Hunt dwells). Perhaps it's these sorts of passages the Master of the Hunt seeks out to cross into the world.

The Spring Nymph is a classic temptress who enjoys pitting mortals against each other for her favor, then dominating one as her love-slave. The Autumn Nymph enjoys uncovering the most intimate secrets of mortals and using those to leverage them to her whims. So, in a sense, they're already stealing from mortals.

[MENTION=2093]Gilladian[/MENTION] Great idea! What if the cycle involves portals allowing the Hunt to enter mortal world to blow off some steam? Or more mythologically, hunting a specific elusive creature bonded to the Master of the Hunt?

So, if the creature isn't hunted it runs amok. And if the Hunt doesn't hunt it, the Hunt runs amok. Nice.

If the portals aren't working, the nymphs might soothe the Hunt's wildness. Or perhaps the nymphs are abducted every year to compel them to open the portals. The nymphs could even be the "gate keys"!

[MENTION=16786]Stoat[/MENTION] Maybe the nymphs let a mortal know of the secret portals? The Spring Nymph because she had a dominated love-slave who she revealed too much to, and the Autumn Nymph because in a secret-for-a-secret game with a cunning mortal, she revealed the secret of the portals. Could be the nymphs enjoy giving the Master of the Hunt grief just to mess with him

Not sure which Archfey would want to punish the nymphs for giving away portal secrets... any suggestions?

[MENTION=92511]steeldragons[/MENTION]
Good questions, thanks.

1) The current season is end of winter at the cusp of spring. I'm planning on playing up the delay of spring with the nymph's abduction.

2) Why Spring and Autumn? Partially it's a 4e challenge rating thing (our group is around 7th level - Summer and Winter nymphs are 15th level+ challenges).

Also, Spring is the energy of new life and vitality, so if the Master of the Hunt needed extra life energy after a wound/hard challenge...or if he was having/preparing to have a child? Autumn I'm not as sure about...it's associated with both the harvest and melancholic reflection, the moon and Samhain/Halloween. Hmm...

And as for what the Hunt would want them for, well there's the R version, and then there's the poetic version. I'm more inclined toward the poetic version where the nymphs are a balm to the fevered wanderlust/bloodlust of the Hunt.

(3) What happens to the world when Spring and Autumn are abducted? I'm trying to figure out the extent to which these 2 nymphs represent Spring/Autumn in their entirety. Maybe they rotate which season they represent? Maybe there is only one nymph of each season at a time, and if one dies another is born? Or maybe there are a handful of nymphs of each season?

Not sure yet, but definitely got my creativity working again