Creepy Ways to Gain Divine and Arcane Ability [Archive] - Wizards Community

Creepy Ways to Gain Divine and Arcane Ability [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Master_Vega
09-07-07, 11:23 PM I'm running a short, possibly to be extended if it turns out well, D20 Future horror campaign where the party (two PCs and two NPCs) is a boarding team sent on a rescue/recovery mission for a very important lost ship: the Cadogon.
To cut a long story short, the Cadogon is now demon/zombie infested, save for most of the bridge deck, and half of either deck above or below it which still have power and have been secured. The team has made it to the secure portion of the ship, and has agreed to help the crew of the Cadogon maintain their vessel. The captain sent them to rest in the make-shift barracks so they could be ready for their orders later.

The two characters who will be gaining FX abilities are of course the two PCs: a thrill seeking support gunner/demolitionist who's put a lot of time into researching Arcane Lore, and a medic/techy who's debating giving up her place on the team to become a chaplain.

Now I'm looking for creepy ways to introduce their arcane and divine talents before they actually take a level in their respective advanced classes. I currently have a fun idea for the mage to be (the thrill seeker), but I'm still searching on the acolyte... Ideas for both would be appreciated, since I'm sure my idea's not the best out there. If you like it and want to improve on it, go right ahead. :P

Mage idea: The thrill seeker, after the team finally gets a chance to sleep, wakes with a pencil in his hand. When he gets up, he finds a note by his side. On the note are symbols he does not recognize, below the symbols, in his handwritting, are syllables to a word he does not know the origin of.
This happens again with different symbols and a new word the next night, and again the next (until he levels up in the class). If the word on the note is read, the paper burns away... and the symbols and syllables appear on the next note the very next morning.

I understand that there's a "What's a DM to do?" forum, and a Horror forum, but the latter is not that active and I know you guys can whip out some awesome dramatic scenes (haven't seen so much of that on the DM's board.)
Thanks in advance for your replies!
Terjon of the Blue Rose
09-07-07, 11:48 PM For your acolyte.

The demon lies dead at your feet, the crude axe he fashioned from part of the ships hull still gripped tightly in his clawed grasp. Your blood stains the weapon and you feel an inexorable urge to cleanse it. The whole of the room is still tainted by the things presence but that simple chunk of metal resonates with the evil of its former owner. You reach for it to clean your blood off the blade, not wanting any part of yourself touching it. As you reach out you struggle with yourself. You do not want your blood on the blade but neither do you want to touch the weapon itself. You pray for guidance.

You recieve an answer.

PS I like the mage tech. Leaves some unanswered questions for you to play on later. Make sure those symbols occur later in the campaign, preferably where really bad things went down.
Fithero
09-07-07, 11:59 PM The dream was very vivid, you were laying in your bed with a tattoo gun, etching a symbol onto your own thigh. You could see the symbol clearly, though you didnt know what it meant, but you knew what it could do. It took hours, the lines of the tattoo were broad and full, weaving in and out of each other. The dream was painful, though fulfilling and you felt quite accomplished just before you awoke.

When you did awake however, you bed sheets were covered in blood and your leg burned with pain. You removed your pants to find that the symbol was infact still upon your leg, though instead of being tattooed, it was carved right into your flesh.

Use this for the mage, but make it keep happening until their body is randomly covered in these marks. And when they start casting spells, they can either ache, bleed or whisps of arcane mist can start comming out of them as they glow... i dunno.

You said you wanted horror :P
Master_Vega
09-08-07, 12:00 AM Awesome suggestions, Terjon! I believe I'll have to use that scene. :P

As for the mage idea, I'll try to think of something to tie the symbols to storyline wise. It'll be fun to see the mage's reaction when he sees the symbols scratched into the walls/in the form of smeared crimson. :evillaugh

Reading yours now, Fithero.

Edit: wow, that's freaky. :P I might use it, but I don't know; while it is close to the sort of craziness I'm looking for, the mage needs to have an in-character reason to pursue his magic, where this might drive him away from it. *shrugs* Still a neat idea. I'll see about it. ^_^
Fithero
09-08-07, 12:13 AM Freaky is what I do best :P

As for possibly scaring im off, make it that although the arcane marks hurt, they also empower him. The pain keeps them in the moment, everything seems sharper and their bodies tingle, apparently in anticipation of something.
Master_Vega
09-08-07, 12:19 AM That might work... If it does happen, I think it'll be after the notes (at least after the first one), possibly after he becomes a mage. Another thing that I want to avoid is the acolyte trying to purge mr. self-cutting mage. :P Character conflict can be fun, but it can also ruin a campaign, especially when the two conflicting characters are the only PCs.

Like I said. I'll watch; I'll quite possibly use this one, but it won't be the first event. Thanks! :D
Terjon of the Blue Rose
09-08-07, 12:35 AM Fithero did quite nicely. Still if you're worried about using the cutting, spontaneously occuring burns during the dreams fit nicely, may even be woken up by others when his sheets combust. To fit the marks into the story consider having them undergo one of Fits suggestions only upon the defeat of a demon who bears a similiar mark. If you really want to be careful about inter-party conflict have the demon's be a mirror-reverse of the mage's.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
09-08-07, 12:43 AM Thinking about it, I had an idea. If your mages marks also appear on a demon and react to that demons destruction you should have the reaction be that mark splitting. It forms into two new marks. Have a villian at one point tell your heros "You bring me death and I welcome it. Whether it is your death or mine I am victorious".

Edit: If you like the acolyte story you need to know who and what answered. It's going to be the first question the player asks.
Master_Vega
09-08-07, 12:56 AM I didn't mean to be insulting to Fithero at all, and I apologize if I came off a bit offensive. :\

Interesting idea, taking the splitting marks a bit further: perhaps they are a representation of something vying over control of the PC? I won't be forcing a will save vs. domination, of course, or having him go off and kill people while he's asleep, but it could be a fun plotpoint to expand on if the campaign lasts longer than just the Cadogon. ^_^
Fun lead once they're off the ship. The first mark to split reforms a week after the incident. From there, the campaign can either end on an "or is it?" note, or continue on another quest where the mage and his companions set out to find out more about the marks, and how to eliminate them (normal removal methods won't work).

Oh, and when a mark splits, the pain from it ceases, but only for as long as it takes to re-weave itself.

Edit: Oh, I've thought about it. :D Thanks for the advice.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
09-08-07, 01:00 AM I don't think you came off as offensive. It just didn't seem like quite what you were looking for. Decided to try and adjust what he had offered.

As for the splitting I had more of a "for every one of us you fell two more shall arise" in mind but splitting could very well indicate a pair of influences. Good and Evil. Id and Ego. Human and Inhuman.

Edit. If he starts with two marks both can be used.
Master_Vega
09-08-07, 01:20 AM Ohhh... I'll have to consider this a bit longer. As fun as it is to brainstorm this kinda stuff, my brain needs a bit to soak it all in and put everything together. One of my rules is that the PCs have to have a way to win (even if it's a longshot, and what better a way is there to win?), or there's something wrong with my story. I don't want to doom them to fail, so if the "one shall fall, two shall rise to take its place" thing is the case, there needs to be a way to stop the splitting just as there's a way to stop a hydra's heads from growing back (by burning the stumps).

I could go with a very D&D outsider route and require the demons to be killed in Hell...
Terjon of the Blue Rose
09-08-07, 01:29 AM Alright I'll let ya go with this. If you want to allow them to win (in which case its not really a horror game but rather a heros in horror setting) then the energy of the demons death allows two more to enter this realm. All they need to do is find a means of preventing that energy from reaching whatever breach in the universe allows these things through in the first place or seal said breach.
Master_Vega
09-08-07, 01:36 AM I guess you're right about "heroes in a horror setting". It just seems anticlimactic to me to have them fight for survival until they make an unlucky roll. *shrugs* I suppose a better description of the campaign would be a supernatural thriller. :P

Thanks again for the help!
Fithero
09-08-07, 07:52 AM I didn't mean to be insulting to Fithero at all, and I apologize if I came off a bit offensive. :\

Huh? What?:confused:

Wasnt insulted in the slightest....

Im just throwin ideas around here dude, I dont mind if they all go crashing down :P

Sounds like your going to have some freaked out characters on your hands!

Peace
Kraikken
09-12-07, 02:30 PM -To take place after the cleansing of the weapon-
They begin to hear things, not quite voices, barely audible hints of a whisper. As they venture deeper into an area they become more audible, but have that characteristic din of many voices speaking at once, incredibly difficult to pick out any distinct one.
When the player tries to concentrate on an individual voice, the room chill's or becomes notably warmer depending on the conditions in which that spirit is currently bound in. Warmer, pleasent for beings having already crossed over, and colder and unerving for those that died violently or have some kind of resentment for the living.
These voices never do anything violent towards the person, yet on the DM side they are tied to a demon, weapon, or object within the ship. Say like a plank, a noose, torture wrack, or maybe the copper(somebody who barreled and salted food for ship storage). Imagine a man gone demon who cut up people and stored them in barrels.
The closer to this person the character got the more intense the voices would get, till eventually it becomes screeming. When actually near the bodies or the site of the desecration there is a compelling urge to release the damned, or cleanse the site.
For the mage tie in one of these objects/people could have some of those foreboding marking carved into it's flesh or surface, symbols of domination or corruption.

Kraikken, The Beast
"I fear no King with a thousand men and all the riches of the world! I fear but a single man, with a sharp blade, and nothing left to loose".

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Master_Vega 09-07-07, 11:23 PM	I'm running a short, possibly to be extended if it turns out well, D20 Future horror campaign where the party (two PCs and two NPCs) is a boarding team sent on a rescue/recovery mission for a very important lost ship: the Cadogon. To cut a long story short, the Cadogon is now demon/zombie infested, save for most of the bridge deck, and half of either deck above or below it which still have power and have been secured. The team has made it to the secure portion of the ship, and has agreed to help the crew of the Cadogon maintain their vessel. The captain sent them to rest in the make-shift barracks so they could be ready for their orders later. The two characters who will be gaining FX abilities are of course the two PCs: a thrill seeking support gunner/demolitionist who's put a lot of time into researching Arcane Lore, and a medic/techy who's debating giving up her place on the team to become a chaplain. Now I'm looking for creepy ways to introduce their arcane and divine talents before they actually take a level in their respective advanced classes. I currently have a fun idea for the mage to be (the thrill seeker), but I'm still searching on the acolyte... Ideas for both would be appreciated, since I'm sure my idea's not the best out there. If you like it and want to improve on it, go right ahead. :P Mage idea: The thrill seeker, after the team finally gets a chance to sleep, wakes with a pencil in his hand. When he gets up, he finds a note by his side. On the note are symbols he does not recognize, below the symbols, in his handwritting, are syllables to a word he does not know the origin of. This happens again with different symbols and a new word the next night, and again the next (until he levels up in the class). If the word on the note is read, the paper burns away... and the symbols and syllables appear on the next note the very next morning. I understand that there's a "What's a DM to do?" forum, and a Horror forum, but the latter is not that active and I know you guys can whip out some awesome dramatic scenes (haven't seen so much of that on the DM's board.) Thanks in advance for your replies!
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-07-07, 11:48 PM	For your acolyte. The demon lies dead at your feet, the crude axe he fashioned from part of the ships hull still gripped tightly in his clawed grasp. Your blood stains the weapon and you feel an inexorable urge to cleanse it. The whole of the room is still tainted by the things presence but that simple chunk of metal resonates with the evil of its former owner. You reach for it to clean your blood off the blade, not wanting any part of yourself touching it. As you reach out you struggle with yourself. You do not want your blood on the blade but neither do you want to touch the weapon itself. You pray for guidance. You recieve an answer. PS I like the mage tech. Leaves some unanswered questions for you to play on later. Make sure those symbols occur later in the campaign, preferably where really bad things went down.
Fithero 09-07-07, 11:59 PM	The dream was very vivid, you were laying in your bed with a tattoo gun, etching a symbol onto your own thigh. You could see the symbol clearly, though you didnt know what it meant, but you knew what it could do. It took hours, the lines of the tattoo were broad and full, weaving in and out of each other. The dream was painful, though fulfilling and you felt quite accomplished just before you awoke. When you did awake however, you bed sheets were covered in blood and your leg burned with pain. You removed your pants to find that the symbol was infact still upon your leg, though instead of being tattooed, it was carved right into your flesh. Use this for the mage, but make it keep happening until their body is randomly covered in these marks. And when they start casting spells, they can either ache, bleed or whisps of arcane mist can start comming out of them as they glow... i dunno. You said you wanted horror :P
Master_Vega 09-08-07, 12:00 AM	Awesome suggestions, Terjon! I believe I'll have to use that scene. :P As for the mage idea, I'll try to think of something to tie the symbols to storyline wise. It'll be fun to see the mage's reaction when he sees the symbols scratched into the walls/in the form of smeared crimson. :evillaugh Reading yours now, Fithero. Edit: wow, that's freaky. :P I might use it, but I don't know; while it is close to the sort of craziness I'm looking for, the mage needs to have an in-character reason to pursue his magic, where this might drive him away from it. shrugs Still a neat idea. I'll see about it. ^_^
Fithero 09-08-07, 12:13 AM	Freaky is what I do best :P As for possibly scaring im off, make it that although the arcane marks hurt, they also empower him. The pain keeps them in the moment, everything seems sharper and their bodies tingle, apparently in anticipation of something.
Master_Vega 09-08-07, 12:19 AM	That might work... If it does happen, I think it'll be after the notes (at least after the first one), possibly after he becomes a mage. Another thing that I want to avoid is the acolyte trying to purge mr. self-cutting mage. :P Character conflict can be fun, but it can also ruin a campaign, especially when the two conflicting characters are the only PCs. Like I said. I'll watch; I'll quite possibly use this one, but it won't be the first event. Thanks! :D
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-08-07, 12:35 AM	Fithero did quite nicely. Still if you're worried about using the cutting, spontaneously occuring burns during the dreams fit nicely, may even be woken up by others when his sheets combust. To fit the marks into the story consider having them undergo one of Fits suggestions only upon the defeat of a demon who bears a similiar mark. If you really want to be careful about inter-party conflict have the demon's be a mirror-reverse of the mage's.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-08-07, 12:43 AM	Thinking about it, I had an idea. If your mages marks also appear on a demon and react to that demons destruction you should have the reaction be that mark splitting. It forms into two new marks. Have a villian at one point tell your heros "You bring me death and I welcome it. Whether it is your death or mine I am victorious". Edit: If you like the acolyte story you need to know who and what answered. It's going to be the first question the player asks.
Master_Vega 09-08-07, 12:56 AM	I didn't mean to be insulting to Fithero at all, and I apologize if I came off a bit offensive. :\ Interesting idea, taking the splitting marks a bit further: perhaps they are a representation of something vying over control of the PC? I won't be forcing a will save vs. domination, of course, or having him go off and kill people while he's asleep, but it could be a fun plotpoint to expand on if the campaign lasts longer than just the Cadogon. ^_^ Fun lead once they're off the ship. The first mark to split reforms a week after the incident. From there, the campaign can either end on an "or is it?" note, or continue on another quest where the mage and his companions set out to find out more about the marks, and how to eliminate them (normal removal methods won't work). Oh, and when a mark splits, the pain from it ceases, but only for as long as it takes to re-weave itself. Edit: Oh, I've thought about it. :D Thanks for the advice.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-08-07, 01:00 AM	I don't think you came off as offensive. It just didn't seem like quite what you were looking for. Decided to try and adjust what he had offered. As for the splitting I had more of a "for every one of us you fell two more shall arise" in mind but splitting could very well indicate a pair of influences. Good and Evil. Id and Ego. Human and Inhuman. Edit. If he starts with two marks both can be used.
Master_Vega 09-08-07, 01:20 AM	Ohhh... I'll have to consider this a bit longer. As fun as it is to brainstorm this kinda stuff, my brain needs a bit to soak it all in and put everything together. One of my rules is that the PCs have to have a way to win (even if it's a longshot, and what better a way is there to win?), or there's something wrong with my story. I don't want to doom them to fail, so if the "one shall fall, two shall rise to take its place" thing is the case, there needs to be a way to stop the splitting just as there's a way to stop a hydra's heads from growing back (by burning the stumps). I could go with a very D&D outsider route and require the demons to be killed in Hell...
Terjon of the Blue Rose 09-08-07, 01:29 AM	Alright I'll let ya go with this. If you want to allow them to win (in which case its not really a horror game but rather a heros in horror setting) then the energy of the demons death allows two more to enter this realm. All they need to do is find a means of preventing that energy from reaching whatever breach in the universe allows these things through in the first place or seal said breach.
Master_Vega 09-08-07, 01:36 AM	I guess you're right about "heroes in a horror setting". It just seems anticlimactic to me to have them fight for survival until they make an unlucky roll. shrugs I suppose a better description of the campaign would be a supernatural thriller. :P Thanks again for the help!
Fithero 09-08-07, 07:52 AM	I didn't mean to be insulting to Fithero at all, and I apologize if I came off a bit offensive. :\ Huh? What?:confused: Wasnt insulted in the slightest.... Im just throwin ideas around here dude, I dont mind if they all go crashing down :P Sounds like your going to have some freaked out characters on your hands! Peace
Kraikken 09-12-07, 02:30 PM	-To take place after the cleansing of the weapon- They begin to hear things, not quite voices, barely audible hints of a whisper. As they venture deeper into an area they become more audible, but have that characteristic din of many voices speaking at once, incredibly difficult to pick out any distinct one. When the player tries to concentrate on an individual voice, the room chill's or becomes notably warmer depending on the conditions in which that spirit is currently bound in. Warmer, pleasent for beings having already crossed over, and colder and unerving for those that died violently or have some kind of resentment for the living. These voices never do anything violent towards the person, yet on the DM side they are tied to a demon, weapon, or object within the ship. Say like a plank, a noose, torture wrack, or maybe the copper(somebody who barreled and salted food for ship storage). Imagine a man gone demon who cut up people and stored them in barrels. The closer to this person the character got the more intense the voices would get, till eventually it becomes screeming. When actually near the bodies or the site of the desecration there is a compelling urge to release the damned, or cleanse the site. For the mage tie in one of these objects/people could have some of those foreboding marking carved into it's flesh or surface, symbols of domination or corruption. Kraikken, The Beast "I fear no King with a thousand men and all the riches of the world! I fear but a single man, with a sharp blade, and nothing left to loose".