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TheThan
2011-06-13, 02:17 PM
working on a minor subquest here.

The pcs must defeat a witch in the swamp (may or may not be a hag. afterwards they are likely to find her caldron with a thick liquid boiling in it. It is her witches brew.

What should this brew do? And what happens if a PC should drink some of it.

[edit]
so far the witch has been luring young men into the swamp and drowning them. the brew may or may not contain human bits. as far as what her overall plans were, not a clue as of yet.

Honest Tiefling
2011-06-13, 02:20 PM
What was the witch up to in there? Likely she was brewing up something to help her plans.

Depending on her goals, maybe the hag was brewing up a potion to turn another woman into a hag. If a female PC drinks it, she will slowly turn into a hag and will need a cure. If a male drinks it, either the potion screws around with his body turning it into a hag anyway, but not without a lot of side effects. Or, it could turn him into a hagspawn, or something similar. Hagpawn are in Forgotten Realms, in Unapproachable East.

myancey
2011-06-13, 07:56 PM
Check out BoVD and find a spell in there that would make a good potion.

rayne_dragon
2011-06-13, 08:09 PM
Maybe it's just becuase I've watched Ravenous recently, but you could have it give the person a long-term boost to strength and con but having the desire to consume more human flesh. The bonus expires a month after the person has not consumed any human flesh. If they do keep eating human flesh, they start slowy turning into some kind of monster, like a maybe a ghoul.

DontEatRawHagis
2011-06-13, 09:28 PM
Young men? Bunch of possibilities with that ingredient.


Stealing youth - Bit cliche, but old hag witches usually do that. If they drink it they become younger for a short time, with bad withdrawal symptoms.
Change Gender - This could be for some fun, a witch trying to turn into a warlock. Basically think of it as a testosterone booster. If a guy drinks it his facial and body hair grows. Good for a joke.
Demonic powers - Use of the souls of men to summon unholy powers. If person drinks it they gain demonic powers.
Succubus bait - was being used as a ritual or something to summon/capture the demon, maybe trying to steal something from one, maybe its powers or an ingredient. They drink it they become a target for Succubi attacks.
Pregnancy potion - way for the witch to become pregnant without that messing about with men. Anyone drinks it they become possessed with a witch fetus granting them magical powers at first, but then they are slowly possessed by the dark magic it uses. Witches use this and impregnate unsuspecting women.

Combat Reflexes
2011-06-14, 03:53 AM
I'd give the brew a random effects chart!*

Maybe drinking from the brew is similar to activating a rod of wonder, or the brew is similar to a bag of tricks when you pour it on the floor.

Or just take the DMG and roll a random potion each time someone drinks from it.

*There are also several 1001-strange-effects tables on the interweb that might be interesting.

EDIT: obligatory link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNR_RFwvIac)

Honest Tiefling
2011-06-14, 03:55 AM
Actually, Combat Reflexes has a better idea then mine. I think random is best, because if someone gets a beneficial effect, the rest of the party might join in...

Amiel
2011-06-14, 04:15 AM
The boiling and froth expels great lavender-scented bubbles out of the cauldron. Whomsoever imbibes this liquid must save against DC (insert number) as the witches' duplicity resolves itself as a baleful polymorph.

potatocubed
2011-06-14, 04:19 AM
Perhaps it's a tasty gumbo. Even witches gotta eat.

Of course if she's a hag it might be gumbo with human body parts in, but that's what you get for eating the villain's lunch.

Serpentine
2011-06-14, 04:22 AM
It's actually just a tasty stew P: However, thanks to the boy-bits in it, anyone who eats it gets Kuru (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)).

Whybird
2011-06-14, 06:32 AM
What if the stuff in the cauldron was what she was using to draw people into the swamp to drown? Drinking it doesn't do anything, but with the right magical study and skill rolls they can make their own and draw people towards them. Of course, making it is a pretty evil act (and potentially requires some ingredients like the blood of a newborn) but in the right circumstances it could be useful...

Partysan
2011-06-14, 07:28 AM
Gah, every time I see the thread title I hear that song again... Oh, someone already linked it, nothing to do for me here then.

TheThan
2011-06-14, 04:03 PM
So far everyone's got interesting idea. but i think I've chosen the random effect table for the brew.

so here it is tell me what you think


witches' brew random effects table
{table=head]roll %|effect
1-5%| an imp appears to grant a single request
6-10%| your right foot withers, -10 movement
11-15%| you become sick, immediately take 2d6+6 damage
16-20%| you become more beautiful, +4 to your charisma score
21-25%| you shrink, as reduce person
26-30%| you are cursed, -4 to attack and damage rolls for 2d6 days
31-35%| you are healed for 2d6+6 hp
36-40%| you are afflicted with insanity, as the confusion spell
41-45%| You are stalked by a phantasmal killer
46-50%| You gain arcane sight
51-55%| you gain 1d3 negative levels
56-60%| you are turned into a frog, as the baleful polymorph spell
61-65%| you gain a shield of faith +2, shield has evil aura
66-70%| you are struck blind and deaf
71-75%| you age one category
76-80%| you gain protection from elements
81-85%| you begin to grow a clone from your stomach, the clone is an exact copy of you, only of opposite alignment
86-90%| your gender is changed
91-95%| you slowly become a hag, females change in 2d6 days, and suffer no ill effects during the change. males change in 5d6 days and suffer 1d6 damage each day until the transformation is complete
96-100%| You taste a wonderful gumbo stew, grants bonuses as heroes feast

[/table]

all effects can be removed via a break enchantment or remove curse spell.

Combat Reflexes
2011-06-15, 03:39 AM
So far everyone's got interesting idea. but i think I've chosen the random effect table for the brew.

so here it is tell me what you think


witches' brew random effects table
{table=head]roll %|effect
1-5%| an imp appears to grant a single request
6-10%| your right foot withers, -10 movement
11-15%| you become sick, immediately take 2d6+6 damage
16-20%| you become more beautiful, +4 to your charisma score
21-25%| you shrink, as reduce person
26-30%| you are cursed, -4 to attack and damage rolls for 2d6 days
31-35%| you are healed for 2d6+6 hp
36-40%| you are afflicted with insanity, as the confusion spell
41-45%| You are stalked by a phantasmal killer
46-50%| You gain arcane sight
51-55%| you gain 1d3 negative levels
56-60%| you are turned into a frog, as the baleful polymorph spell
61-65%| you gain a shield of faith +2, shield has evil aura
66-70%| you are struck blind and deaf
71-75%| you age one category
76-80%| you gain protection from elements
81-85%| you begin to grow a clone from your stomach, the clone is an exact copy of you, only of opposite alignment
86-90%| your gender is changed
91-95%| you slowly become a hag, females change in 2d6 days, and suffer no ill effects during the change. males change in 5d6 days and suffer 1d6 damage each day until the transformation is complete
96-100%| You taste a wonderful gumbo stew, grants bonuses as heroes feast

[/table]

all effects can be removed via a break enchantment or remove curse spell.


Yay for random effects! I like this table :smallsmile:

However these effects can easily be abused. In a party with a cleric or other character that can cast remove curse, everyone in the party can just drink drink drink until they get +4 Charisma, arcane sight, protection from elements etc. etc. Bad effects are just removed.

Maybe the beneficial effects (or all effects) should have a duration or something.

ps.
100: roll on the rod of wonder table.

Honest Tiefling
2011-06-15, 12:08 PM
Do all PCs roll on it, or does the brew do the same thing for everyone? I think the table has a lot of nifty effects and your PCs will likely hate you. :smallamused: I'm just curious.

Lord Loss
2011-06-15, 12:27 PM
I'd add that the effects last for a (week/day/month) and that, should someone attempt to drink from the brew while under the effect of another ability they are polymorphed into a toad for the remainder of the original effect's duration.

TheThan
2011-06-15, 02:12 PM
Well you know, I was thinking of giving each effect a duration, and I see your point on them just drinking till they get all the benefits. So I’m going to put a duration on them. Corse they may bottle the stuff up and use it like potions, which will have hilarious results.

edit
every time a person drinks from the brew, i get to roll on the chart (might make the players do the rolling). so every time they take a drink, they get an effect.

though i do like the idea of "no drinking twice". policy. might use that, though i think i might change it to a curse. not sure yet.

Traab
2011-06-15, 03:25 PM
Give them a steadily worsening side effect for each dose they take. The first dose, no side effect other than what the brew grants. Second dose it does some minor damage, third dose it does a little more, etc etc.

Oh, and I vote for calling it the Brew of Wonder. :p