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Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 02:12 AM
I'm DMing a solo game for a friend who's playing as a Lupin ranged-combat focused level 4 Ranger (they have a wolf companion who's a level 4 Fighter; I initially gave him a Druid companion, but I let the player change the wolf to a Fighter due to the player's awful luck with rolls combined with their lack of melee skill). The problem is that I'm really running low on ideas for the game. I asked the player what they wanted plot-wise and they mentioned a preference for silly plots. Does anyone have any ideas for non-serious plots? (Preferably ones which don't involve the player being captured; that's already happened 3 times so far and I really hate taking characters prisoner due to suffering from a psychosomatic version of http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Wild,all in real life which extends to D&D characters.)

Quietus
2009-06-20, 02:19 AM
Wolfy wants a mate. He has to find a suitable she-wolf, convince her he's not a freak (a wolf with PC classes!?!), and then convince her to accept him as a mate.

Side thing if the wolf is successful in his task : It turns out the she-wolf was raised by a beautiful <insert race here> woman. Who is very impressed with the young man caring for her friend's new mate.

Follow that with something else silly related to this woman.

MCerberus
2009-06-20, 02:21 AM
Sadly I have a "Crank plot" page for my post-apocalyptic campaign.


Townspeople need help harvesting the honey from giant bees. It turns out they're all werebears.

Something is creating a spillover from <Generic Valhalla>. Two armies fight to the death over a piece of cloth on a stick. This repeats every hour or so. Yes I did rip this from Red vs Blue.

A reformed cannibal is rambling about there being something familiar about the taste of trail rations. He's right.

"Prophecy Inducing" roots actually transport the taker to a demiplane. Be sure to stat out walking hammers with lips.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 02:22 AM
Quietus: To be honest, I'd sooner avoid having anything relationship-based in the game (I'm not comfortable with RPing romance at all, and it would just come across as awkward and unconvincing). Thanks for the idea anyway, though. :smallsmile:

MCerberus: Those could work thanks. I don't get the hammer reference, though.


EDIT: Another thing about my games; I have 10 as the base Int and Cha for animals due to hating the specisist rules WotC have for them, so the wolf having PC levels wouldn't be that much of a problem anyway.

Quietus
2009-06-20, 02:30 AM
Quietus: To be honest, I'd sooner avoid having anything relationship-based in the game (I'm not comfortable with RPing romance at all, and it would just come across as awkward and unconvincing). Thanks for the idea anyway, though. :smallsmile:

MCerberus: Those could work thanks. I don't get the hammer reference, though.


EDIT: Another thing about my games; I have 10 as the base Int and Cha for animals due to hating the specisist rules WotC have for them, so the wolf having PC levels wouldn't be that much of a problem anyway.

So your typical wolf, snake, and horse are all on the same intellectual level as your average human? Damn, them's some smart animals.

Understandable on the relationship dealy though. In that case, I second the honey-sucking werebears.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 02:37 AM
(I tend to see animals as intelligent as humans in different ways in real life. And I'm a misanthropic furry anyway. :smalltongue:)

I'm definitly considering the honey plot. (I remembered something else that another DM mentioned about having to avoid bears of coated in honey.)

pingcode20
2009-06-20, 03:43 AM
The players walk into a city to find two gnome tinkers arguing in front of a pair of taverns across the street from each other.

The argument becomes increasingly heated, until finally they storm off into their respective taverns shaking their fists at each other. A few seconds later, the occupants of the taverns stream out hurriedly, and pedestrians quickly vacate the street.

Five minutes later, the taverns stand on mechanical legs and TAVERN BRAWL ENSUES!

Where the players come into the picture: The City Guard is sick of this, and hires the PCs to put a stop to the madness.

Quietus
2009-06-20, 04:13 AM
(I tend to see animals as intelligent as humans in different ways in real life. And I'm a misanthropic furry anyway. :smalltongue:)

Well, I kinda figured the furry aspect. Misanthrope, I hadn't guessed. I suspect a discussion of how and why you think animals are as intelligent as humans, even in some ways, would be interesting - but decidedly beyond the bounds of this thread.

Irreverent Fool
2009-06-20, 04:39 AM
The honey sucking werebears could lead to a plot with undead bees.

Yes, zomb-bees.

obnoxious
sig

Fitz10019
2009-06-20, 04:44 AM
I'm definitly considering the honey plot. (I remembered something else that another DM mentioned about having to avoid bears of coated in honey.)

Use the diverse personalities from Milne for the villager DMCs. Don't forget the occasional, "oh, bother." Instead of all being werebears, they could be were-[animals] of the types from Milne.

Shademan
2009-06-20, 04:54 AM
have a entire city infested with dire rabbits. this million-beasts string swarm eat everyone in their path! and they increase in numbers by the minute!

Poil
2009-06-20, 04:58 AM
An evil sorceress is trying to abolish literacy in a kingdom through liberal use of explosive runes which she casts randomly on all things containing words. The people are too afraid to read anything and soon their society will collapse from it. As the party progresses in tracking down the sorceress to her lair, which is an old abandoned school, they learn she used to be a teacher but years of hard work for no reward with angry parents, oppressive headmasters and bratty children who refuse to learn made her snap one day and turn to evil. "If they won't learn to read I'll help them with it. Yes! No one should read anything anymore! Just wait until those curling parents reads THIS note their demonspawns will bring home! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Feel sorry for any wizards in your party. She has a great move silently skill.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 04:59 AM
What is Milne? I've never heard of it. The Undead Bee idea is excellent because the player took Favoured Enemy (Undead) at level 1. The Dire Rabbit plot would be good for later on (level 4 seems a bit low to be tacking hoards of bunnies). I'll consider the tavern one as well.

(Most other people are surprised about me being misanthropic as well. I think it's because I like helping people for some reason.)


Poil, I said it's a solo game with a Lupin Ranger and a Wolf Fighter. That idea could still work if the character ended up in another dimention (my current game world is a high magic world so that plot wouldn't work as well in it).

#Raptor
2009-06-20, 05:04 AM
The players walk into a city to find two gnome tinkers arguing in front of a pair of taverns across the street from each other.

The argument becomes increasingly heated, until finally they storm off into their respective taverns shaking their fists at each other. A few seconds later, the occupants of the taverns stream out hurriedly, and pedestrians quickly vacate the street.

Five minutes later, the taverns stand on mechanical legs and TAVERN BRAWL ENSUES!

Where the players come into the picture: The City Guard is sick of this, and hires the PCs to put a stop to the madness.

I love it.
Mecha = Gnome! :smallbiggrin:

Slightly inspired by Girl Genius, I'd guess... ^^

mistformsquirrl
2009-06-20, 05:46 AM
Glam Rock Goblin bard troupe >.>b

Namely, a group of extradimensional goblin bards have become stranded on the prime material, and worse - they lost their luggage gating in! >.>

You must complete 3 great tasks to help them!

First you must recover... The Pants of Power! Presently held by an ogre chieftain who uses them as a scarf, since they're far far too tight for him anyway. Actually they're too tight for almost anyone. That, and the Pants of Power have a charisma requirement to wear them. Yes, they're sentient pants.

Second... The Wig of Glamor - Long (and unimaginably BIG) platinum blonde hair, belonging to the band's drummer. You must negotiate with, swindle, or outright smash the natives to retrieve the Wig, before they use it for a truly unspeakable ritual >.>

What's the ritual? IT'S UNSPEAKABLE, Yeesh, didn't ya hear me the first time!?

Thirdly... ...

Fourth... Profit! - Do security at the concert. Keep ten-thousand screaming goblins from overrunning the stage <@_@> and you!




(For the record, this is actually a spinoff of something I did in one of my campaigns years ago. No it was not a particularly serious campaign, although the goblins at the time were mercenary bards who sang AC/DC songs - particularly "Dirty Deeds". ... I said it wasn't serious... >.<)

Roc Ness
2009-06-20, 06:09 AM
Make the guy climb to the top of a mountain to see a wise prophet who knows all. At the top theres a note tacked to a (locked and bolted) door of a wooden cottage: Entrance at back. The back is unreachable without climbing back down and starting again on the other side. When he finally makes it up the other side, he finds another note on another door. Guess what this one reads.

Seriously, guess.


Decided yet?


The note says: Gone Fishin'

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 06:17 AM
That would be amusing, but I don't want things to be deliberately anti-climatic (my lack of DMing skill should be enough to make sure things don't turn out as brilliantly as I want them to without plots being geared towards let-downs:smalltongue:).

TSED
2009-06-20, 06:20 AM
Sir, the Greatest Random Encounter Chart Ever has just what you need! [see attached signature]


Seriously. Roll a few things up, and then find a way to connect them together.


Silly plot?

Done.

Xenre
2009-06-20, 06:27 AM
The Ferret People of the Kingdom of Glargetmald seek to expand their empire by stealing the surround Kingdoms' supplies of cheese.

They then demand that all of said Kingdoms bow to their Ferrety will or they will be forever cheeseless.

Ferrety Wrath!!




Hey. You said silly.

Fitz10019
2009-06-20, 06:28 AM
What is Milne?

A.A. Milne, author of Whinne the ...

Wait for it...

Pooh.

You wanted silly, yet playable, and those characters have very distinct personalities. Even the plots could be distorted into D&D themes.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 06:33 AM
Thanks for clarifying, Fitz. I'll definitly consider that one. Xenre, do you have any stats for anthro-ferrets? I've never considered using those (which is ironic considering the number of half-animal races I use). I'll check that chart as well, TSED. (Thanks for all the suggestions so far. :smallbiggrin:)

Xenre
2009-06-20, 07:12 AM
The Ferret-People of Glargetmald:

Quick-up (feel free to expand on this if you like)

Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (18 hp)
Initiative: +6
Speed: 40 ft
Armor Class: 16 (Studded Leather +3, Dex +2, Natural Armor +1)
Base Attack: +2
Attack: Shortspear Melee +3 (1d6+2 /x2)
Full Attack: As above.
Space/Reach: 5ft
Special Attacks: Ravage (The Ferret People can leap upon an opponent, forsaking Dexterity bonus to armor class, but gaining a +2 to attack rolls and attack viciously. They go for the throat of the victim and on a roll of a natural 20, the character must make a Fort Save at +2 or be rendered unconscious. For every round the character is unconscious an additional Fort save must be made, each at a cumulative -2 to regain consciousness, it the Fort save fails the character loses 3 hp. Once the character reaches -10 hp, they are dead).
Special Qualities: Never provokes an Attack of Opportunity.
Saves: Fort: +3, Ref: +5, Will: +2
Abilities: Str: 14, Dex: 15, Con: 14, Int: 9, Wis: 12, Cha:10
Feats: Weapon Focus, Improved Initiative
Environment: Any.
Organization: Solitary or gang (2-8)
Challenge Rating: 2
Treasure: Standard (1/2 coin, no goods, standard items (beneficial items will be in use)
Alignment: Always chaotic.
Advancement: none
Level Adjustment -

Anyone feel free to use this creature if you like. They appear as a standard sable ferret, the albino ferrets are rulers and high ranking officials in their culture (to see a picture of a ferret-like humanoid, simply Google Images "Selonian".)

Eurantien
2009-06-20, 07:20 AM
Gelatinous cube eats village! I did this for lvl2 in a campaign and it went down a treat. (If you've seen Wayne's World you might even get the reference)

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 07:28 AM
Thanks, Xenre (I meant straight racial stats, though; I prefer to nerf races down to LA 0 before giving them proper class levels rather then HDs). I never saw that movie, Eurantien. That idea could work for making the player think a bit.

oxinabox
2009-06-20, 07:28 AM
hmm. i never have this problem
I leave two of my players alone (as in without guiding plot) i na tavern for 10 minutes and next thing i know they've cracked open a portal to sigal (without even knowing what sigal is), swapped through a dozen different Identities. sold one of them to efreeti, who turns out was after BDSM whipped him and cast eyebyte to put him in throws of pleasure, escaped at a profit. bought a house and convinced a high leval wizard that they've poison him and he has to make them a portal.


Anyway. how about a prattchet plot.
May i suggest the last hero?
Basically:
The first hero stole fire from the gods.
Now a Hero planes to return it, with intrest.
Ie Blow up celestia.
You have to stop him

wizuriel
2009-06-20, 10:11 AM
you work for a crazy archdruid, your goal is to find monsters, subdue them and place random treasure on them.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-20, 10:17 AM
That one's interresting but it wouldn't make any sense due to what's happened so far, wizuriel.

Deth Muncher
2009-06-20, 10:40 AM
When you say Lupin, do you mean the infamous thief Lupin the 3rd? Or did you mean lupine, meaning wolfish? (I only ask because he's got the wolf companion.)

If it's the former, I'd say do some heists. Like, say the PC has to steal something for someone. Like, say there's some huge jewel that was stolen from this mighty wizard. The place it's being held has anti-teleport traps, so he can't just get in there, and he's much to squishy to take on the guards.

This is where the PC comes in. He's got to get in, get the jewel and get out, with as little notice as possible. Also, you should give him another male Ranger, a female Rogue with max ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, and a male Samurai (Oriental Adventures, not CWar) as companions. :D

This is of course assuming you're going off of Lupin the 3rd. But it could work, regardless of person style.

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-20, 11:33 AM
Parodies are a good source of silly plots. How about this, since you already have talking animals.

Your ranger and wolf companion is attacked by a flying wizard who exclaims "I'll get you and your little dog too." The ranger is joing by dwarf cleric in plate mail, a sorcerer and a cat, lion or tabaxi with rogue levels as they after the wizard in his tower. The wizard harasses them along the way with flying monkeys, plant creatures, etc.

Xenre
2009-06-20, 01:59 PM
Thanks, Xenre (I meant straight racial stats, though; I prefer to nerf races down to LA 0 before giving them proper class levels rather then HDs). I never saw that movie, Eurantien. That idea could work for making the player think a bit.

As a matter of fact I do!

Most Ferret-People leaders are Rangers or Rogues. Ferret-People clerics will usually worship trickery or nature dieties.
Ferret-People characters have the following racial traits:
+2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Wis
Medium size.
Ferret Peoples' land speed is 40 feet (they can run on all fours)
Darkvision out to 60 feet
+2 on Hide and Move Silently Checks.
+1 Natural Armor
Automatic Languages: Common, Ferret
Favored Class: Ranger, Druid, Rogue
Level Adjustment: 0 to +1 (This is depending upon the nature of the campaign.)

Zaq
2009-06-20, 02:18 PM
A group of bards who claim their motivation is "finding all the world's stories" is terrorizing the region, ambushing people and interrogating them. They never stop until they've heard the victim's life story, in detail. If they're not satisfied with the victim's story, they place a Geas on them to "go out and have a grand adventure, then seek us out and tell us all about it."

Xenre
2009-06-20, 02:31 PM
A group of bards who claim their motivation is "finding all the world's stories" is terrorizing the region, ambushing people and interrogating them. They never stop until they've heard the victim's life story, in detail. If they're not satisfied with the victim's story, they place a Geas on them to "go out and have a grand adventure, then seek us out and tell us all about it."

In the right hands, a campaign like that could be awesome. Nice.




Mine now.

Zaq
2009-06-20, 02:41 PM
In the right hands, a campaign like that could be awesome. Nice.




Mine now.

Glad to hear someone likes it. If you actually run it, be sure to tell me how it goes!

TSED
2009-06-20, 04:25 PM
I recommend NOT giving him a DMNPC party.


Booooriiiing.

Archpaladin Zousha
2009-06-20, 04:52 PM
An evil sorceress is trying to abolish literacy in a kingdom through liberal use of explosive runes which she casts randomly on all things containing words. The people are too afraid to read anything and soon their society will collapse from it. As the party progresses in tracking down the sorceress to her lair, which is an old abandoned school, they learn she used to be a teacher but years of hard work for no reward with angry parents, oppressive headmasters and bratty children who refuse to learn made her snap one day and turn to evil. "If they won't learn to read I'll help them with it. Yes! No one should read anything anymore! Just wait until those curling parents reads THIS note their demonspawns will bring home! MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"

Feel sorry for any wizards in your party. She has a great move silently skill.

Isn't there a book with a plot like this? Like a famous author's writing has the ability to make people do things and one day she decides that if people don't appreciate reading, they shouldn't read, so she writes a book that makes people forget how to read and it's up to a pair of kids to talk some sense into her or something?

Je dit Viola
2009-06-20, 05:14 PM
Hey! I have a silly idea!

They have to hunt down an evil magician or other magic-dude who like summoning Tetris pieces and making them fall on people (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/498418). And sometimes he likes creating Tetris monsters that attack. Maybe just a re-flavored wizard or necromancer?

Or have an entire nation where music is illegal, so all the bards hide and play in secret, underground night clubs.

Yes, they are silly + 5.

Mr.Moron
2009-06-20, 05:29 PM
An Evil Wizard/Confectioner has given rise to a horrible new breed of monster by fusing Dragon & Sweets with his magic: The Candy Dragon.

It's breath weapon is boiling hot sugar syrup. Anyone who doesn't think that is fearsome has never had a close encounter with boiling hot sugar.

It must be stopped from torturing the world by hording everything tastes good in it's lair. It'd obviously have to be a tiny/cute thing, rather than a big hulking peppermint wyrm. But hey, it could work!

Je dit Viola
2009-06-20, 06:09 PM
Or the dragon could be made out of Cotton Candy...that'd be cool.

DM: There's a dragon with menacing eyes before you. It's pink and is made of Cotton Candy. You won initiative. What do you do?
Player: I take a bite out of it.
DM: *rolls* You did 10 damage. And now you are on a sugar rush. It breathes boiling sugar at you. *rolls* 11 damage.
Player: Now, I cast Water Orb at it.
DM: It dissolves into a sticky goo.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-21, 12:54 AM
The candy dragon and Bard ideas are good. When I said "Lupin", I was refering to a race of humanoid wolves* (their 2nd Edition fluff can be found on http://www.pandius.com/lupin_mc.html and their 3.5 stats are on page 36 of http://crystalkeep.com/d20/rules/DnD3.5Index-Races.pdf ; the Dragon magazine which contained those stats also gave them a North West Native American-type culture). Also, animals can't talk Common, or other humanoid languages; they are just more intelligent then standard D&D animals.

Thanks for the Ferret stats, Xenre (I'd say that's equal to LA 0, but I disagree with the idea that they are good Druids due to their Wis penalty). I agree with not having a DMPC party as well; normally I only have people joining the player temporarily if it makes sense for them to have buddies with the DMPCs fighting enemies separately from the player, or I'll have 1 DMPC to make things easier for the player.

*I avoid anime like the plague because the animation hurts my eyes, and the only reason I've heard of that cartoon is because of my attempts to get information on D&D Lupins.

Xenre
2009-06-21, 11:39 AM
but I disagree with the idea that they are good Druids due to their Wis penalty

This was mostly just due to their penchant for the wild. As a variant path for the druid, you could allow your players (if they find this race appealing) to base their spells off of charisma. I have done this for some of the races that take a hit to their wisdom.

Just a thought.

Teln
2009-06-21, 01:58 PM
The 3.5 DMG has a random plot hook generator, and it's got some interesting stuff. My personal favorite: The High Priest is an illusion. There's an interesting story behind that, I'd wager.

oxinabox
2009-06-21, 09:28 PM
oooh, have a look at the munchkin DMG for some random plots.

Coidzor
2009-06-21, 10:35 PM
I'm reminded of Animals versus animals... I think it was some kind of parody of disney cartoons... or perhaps Wicked... that did that. where Animals are the intelligent ones out of fiction as we know it and animals are the ones we're more familiar with...

http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00039.html

erikun
2009-06-21, 11:40 PM
Snatch a few ideas from the ridiculous monsters (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115470) thread. I find the thought of a rampaging half-gold dragon Gelatenous Cube to be quite amusing. :smallsmile:

<edit>

They have to hunt down an evil magician or other magic-dude who like summoning Tetris pieces and making them fall on people (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/498418).
That reminds me of one stage in Castlevania 3, where you need to hop around on a platform that is building up from falling blocks.

Coidzor
2009-06-21, 11:43 PM
Ooo! Or escaped monkey bees who are famous for their banana-flavored honey.

Or having to find and deal with rogue wizards/wizards' experiments such as rounding up duck bunnies and the like.

Mnymosene
2009-06-21, 11:55 PM
You're hired by the (aging) local plumber to save his wife. Unfortunately figuring out which castle she's being held in proves difficult.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-22, 01:04 AM
That is a good point, Xenre (ironically, I have 1 player in a PBP game I'm running who's using Cha for Druid casting). I don't know how I'd do the Tetris block puzzle, but the others ould be interresting.

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-22, 01:50 PM
That is a good point, Xenre (ironically, I have 1 player in a PBP game I'm running who's using Cha for Druid casting). I don't know how I'd do the Tetris block puzzle, but the others ould be interresting.

Maybe you can make variations of the Japanese "human Tetris" game Brain Wall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Wall).

Basically you can use variation of the closing walls trap but the character has a choice of escape routes, climbing, jumping or going through a whole in the wall if they can fit. Might be fun if/when the character gets wild-shape.

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-22, 01:53 PM
That could work (they won't ever get Wild Shape unless they multiclass, though).

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-22, 02:16 PM
That could work (they won't ever get Wild Shape unless they multiclass, though).

OK. Well it might give him reasons to use spells like warp wood, wood shape or reduce animal or tree shape (given appropriately shaped cutouts in the approaching wall).

Tempest Fennac
2009-06-22, 02:18 PM
That would rely on him storing those spells, which isn't likely in most cases (Rangers hardly get any spell slots as it is, so the player will probably use them for things which they are more likely to use in a typical day).

HamsterOfTheGod
2009-06-22, 02:28 PM
That would rely on him storing those spells, which isn't likely in most cases (Rangers hardly get any spell slots as it is, so the player will probably use them for things which they are more likely to use in a typical day).

Well the puzzle-game-death trap could include several ways out like jumping, climbing or using spells in scrolls or wands or a potion...maybe found after searching the trap room or maybe found before entering the trap.

Zaq
2009-06-22, 03:25 PM
You're hired by the (aging) local plumber to save his wife. Unfortunately figuring out which castle she's being held in proves difficult.

One word: Awesome.

Calmar
2009-06-22, 03:56 PM
Something is creating a spillover from <Generic Valhalla>. Two armies fight to the death over a piece of cloth on a stick. This repeats every hour or so. Yes I did rip this from Red vs Blue.

Where I is comin' from, we're calling this Ysgard. :smallbiggrin:

Coidzor
2009-06-22, 04:01 PM
One word: Awesome.

And once you do find her she's a shrewish harpy who keeps trying to get recaptured and complaining since OBVIOUSLY she's not important enough for him to come rescue her himself anymore. Then add in the worst elements of the stereotypical Jewish comedian's mother/mother-in-law trope.

If they have any experience with railroading DMs they should be too scared to figure out what happens if they just kill her... or attract the attention of an entire covey(Flight? Murder?) of harpies after killing off their queen....