Kol Korran
2013-03-15, 05:04 PM
Hey there! I've been slowly working on a future adventure for my group, when I return to DM, and I'm having some problems with a particular special location, and adversary. Since the play ground ideas have helped me before, I'm appealing for your help again. :smallsmile:
I'm not asking for system specific or rules/ mechanics, mostly looking for inspiration, but if it matters- The system is D&D 3.5, the general theme of the campaign is pirating, and the level range is about 4-5.
The jist of it/ TL;DR up front
The party enters a magical garden which was once a sort of natural winter palace for strong fey where they played their games, but is long abandoned, now guarded by a mischevious joker/ gardener fey (called Chi-ga-si!) and its magical plants (as well as a few other stuff.
I'm looking for ideas on a sort of special chess game in the garden, potential interesting magical plants, abilities of the gardener that makes it more fey like and intriguing (not necessarily powerful) and also... rhyming speak for the fey. suggestions?
A bit more in depth?
Background
The island of Koom-Das ("winter's seat") was once a long time ago a place where fey of the court beyond worlds came to play their strange and cruel games as winter was in full blown in their plane. one special game was a sort of weird chess game- on the White side there were many relatively weak pieces, led by the White King, made into a more powerful force by his leadership, on the black side there were fewer pieces, but stronger, given powerful options by the magic of the Black Queen. (An idea partly inspired by Terry Pratchet's book "Thud!").
for some unknown reason, the garden was abandoned a long time ago, but a few simple guardians (most likely pets) still remain, as well as the special fey known as Chi-ga-si (each syllable pronounced alone, enthusiastically, possibly with a slight maniacal delighted laughter) A gardener spirit in the fey world is an important figure, and doubles as a sort o a joker/ king's adviser... the spirit was left alone to care for the garden, perhap till it's master got back?
Chi-ga-si was bound to the garden, could not live (possibly by actions of another race, see later), but it continued to refine it's art of producing special and magical kind of plants, as well as refining it's strange and depraved sense of cruel and sadistic alien humor (a typical fey in that regard).
a special creation of his are the po-ta-toes, and creating the strange vod-ka from them. only some of these are not exactly like the real world counterparts...
enter the PCs and current day complications
If you wish to learn of the setup for this part of the adventure, you can check this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14715372&postcount=20). however, it is not needed. Suffice to say that Chi-ga-si tried to play a trick on new comers to the island, infecting one leader with a "sort of" a spirit of the White King (from the game), and another a spirit of the Black Queen. these two have been secretly warring through partly possessed "agents/ pieces of the board", and for whatever their reason at this point, the PCs are trying to put an end to this.
One of the PCs may be affected by the spirit of The White King or Black Queen at this point (having them affect their character, but not dominate it. some actions may require a test of will for example).
The PCs are:
1- a beguiler (caster with mind influencing powers) who is very secretive, prone to conspiration thoughts, thinks the worst of people. highly resourceful.
2- a sort of a scoundrel fellow, (think Jack Sparrow) easy going, quite clever and smart, also resourceful.
3- a slightly crazed partly gardener, partly speaks to plants, animal and dead people, partly a very old school (no anesthetic) surgeon wielding a... katana (character is all over the place).
4- not yet sure (died when we last ended the game) but probably a fire based blasty sorcerer.
What I need help with!
1. Chi-ga-si's concept and abilities: I want to make Chi-ga-si quite fey like if at all possible- strange, alien, nature and wild themed, but I'd also like to emphasize his role as a joker/ king's adviser. This is especially true if one of the PCs is affected by a spirit from the game, since Chi-ga-si, in it's part maddened mind sees this character as one of the old fey, and wishes to please it, but is also used to it's own role as court manipulator, and wishes to subvert his decisions.
physicality:
I'd like Chi-ga-si to feel like a spirit, but not incorporeal. I'd like him to move fluidly, with great agility, bone structure is... optional, sort of. I want him to feel alien, but not as abnormal as most aberrations. If it makes any sense, I want him to feel "fey"... A great inspiration to the way this character acts physically is Aku, the shape shifting menace from Samurai Jack:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/238968-144116-aku_super_zps7818379b.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/AKU_zps4a1d8d25.png
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/aku_by_cyberplague1_zps10466fea.jpg
I also wishes him to be able to take a limited and set number of alternate forms, (again, drawing inspiration from Aku. this is where the resemblance ends though) possibly ones helpful to groom the garden, but also ones quite useful for fighting, and impressively interesting.
I want his powers to be tied to the guarden, directly. one obvious power is to make plants animate more, but I also want the PCs to be able to weaken Chi-ga-si by harming particular aspects of the garden (either plants, maybe sculptures, tools and the like). I'm not quite sure how to handle this. This is not a simple option as this place might become a home base for the PCs, and anything they destroy might not be easily brought back to function. Also, one of the PCs is a sort of a zen gardener, so he might quite like to keep whatever plants he can alive and functioning...
Chi-ga-si should have ways of moving quickly about the garden, harassing the PCs, but retreating quickly (perhaps to heal at some place deeper inside?). Not sure...
I'm picturing Chi-ga-si fighting them using his alternate forms, taunting them and playing with them (mostly with an afflicted-with-a-spirit character mostly), but getting to it's original form in the final battle, which is similar to that of Aku, only of a different color and no flaming eyebrows (:smalltongue:). I imagine him fighting with a long, very thin, very sharp, very painful knife... (it might be a special exotic weapon in the campaign) that has some sort of magical abilities...
Chi-ga-si might try and surrender when defeated (and tear a portal through time... no, not really) and offer to take care of the place for the PCs while they adventure, and maybe offer guidance from a by gone age. but that is left to be seen...
questions:
- How to make it more "fey"?
- what other abilities (that are not over powered and in theme) do you think could complement him well?
2. The garden grounds:This is a fey garden, and as such it is well kept, groomed, and MASSIVE... I plan that from the outside the place is supposed to be a small grove on a little hill, but once inside... well, it looks BIGGER. what sort of creatures, plants, things of beauty (or in fey tastes also cruelty) might you find inside?
do you have any ideas for exotic plants? exotic "pets"? anything unsuual and interesting? it doesn't have to be a battle or a trap or something potentially deadly, but something to add atmosphere to the place? I'd especially welcome things that the characters might later use, (most likely the part gardener character).
Some ideas I got so far:
The shadow hounds: big Mastiff like creatures, with no eyes, that I want to sense the world through some... very unconventional method (sense blood? a bit boring. exceptional hearing? sense certain kind of thoughts? maybe mimic thoughts and emotions?) I imagine them looking cumbersome and ungainly, but in fact moving incredibly fast, possibly with the powers of blink dogs, but also attacking numerous times in a round.
special potatoes: Chi-ga-si has been using potatoes for a wide range of experiments. I want the party to face swarms of potatoes that unroot themselves, roll over to the party and... explode? exhude poison? grow miniature limbs and sharp fangs and attack them? I just find the image hillarious. sort of mine swarm bombing/ frenzied eating potatoes. :smallbiggrin: best incorporated in a battle with other creatures as a surprise.
The invisible stealer: a bird or such like that is naturally invisble (or close enough to that that it's quite hard to spot), the comes to the party, possibly at fights, and takes something, flying off quickly. only the object does not become invisible, so the party sees it flies away. they may need to find a way to deal with this bird/ stealer, or find it's nest lest quite a few of their objects get stolen.
the grasping trees: trees that once you tocuh them (or you're pushed to them) open their trunk and try to swallow you in, and then... digest you. (trees with a swallow whole ability)
other ideas? i'm a bit short here...
3. the "chess" game:A central piece of this part of the adventure- the party reaches a massive board where the old fey played a game that may have or not have mirrored some events in the real world or the fey world. Despite drawing some inspiration from chess, and from other games, I want the characters to have to deal with some sort of a puzzle/ special battle/ puzzle battle here, in order to solve the problem of the possessing spirits of the White King and the Black Queen. the kin'gs pieces are more numerous, but individually weaker, and have some power coming from working together. the black pieces are individually more powerful in some way, and are supposed to represent a more feral, wild and magical aspect.
If one of the PCs is influenced by a spirit, I want this to have an effect that can both help the PC or harm them, depending if they figure their role right.
I don't want this to have a clear cut answer, or one path to solution, but sort of a dynamic and multi optional kind of puzzle, to see what the PCs come up with.
Oh, and I want it to be active, the PCs need to think on their feet. the pieces need to be a danger of a sort (the most obvious part is for them to be animated in some way, but creative ideas are welcomed).
this should be an important piece. It should reflect the games the fey play with mortals, possibly the games between the pirate culture and the Empiricist colonial force, and possibly conflicts between the players and so on. the main thing is that it's about a GAME, that it's LETHAL, and that the fey don't much CARE.
I'm not sure what Chi-ga-si's part in this is going to be, but I imagine it to be quite minimal- this is where the fey wanted to play without interuptions. he may come in and add his opinions, but not intervene much (I think). The game is it's own piece.
4. Rhymes of Chi-ga-si!I keep imagining Chi-ga-si speaking in rhymes all the time. not especially good ones, (bad broken English is in character) but still a distinguishing way of speech (sorta), all with a great smile, agile movements, and great enthusiasm. (multiple exclamation marks). I wish to make myself quite a few "common use" rhymes before game, so I can whip them out quickly. So far came with but a few:
- "come play with me! play with Chi-ga-si!"
- "you come to play? play with the fey?"
- "this knife slices! also dices! if you're not nices!"
- "you make a pyre?!? you bring here fire? just made things dire!"
- "Chi-ga-si whole garden make? now you come and try to break?"
- "blood flow! trees grow! Chi-ga-si is happy so!"
- "come for game? come to tame? or come for the name?"
any ideas for more?
thanks for any and all help!
I'm not asking for system specific or rules/ mechanics, mostly looking for inspiration, but if it matters- The system is D&D 3.5, the general theme of the campaign is pirating, and the level range is about 4-5.
The jist of it/ TL;DR up front
The party enters a magical garden which was once a sort of natural winter palace for strong fey where they played their games, but is long abandoned, now guarded by a mischevious joker/ gardener fey (called Chi-ga-si!) and its magical plants (as well as a few other stuff.
I'm looking for ideas on a sort of special chess game in the garden, potential interesting magical plants, abilities of the gardener that makes it more fey like and intriguing (not necessarily powerful) and also... rhyming speak for the fey. suggestions?
A bit more in depth?
Background
The island of Koom-Das ("winter's seat") was once a long time ago a place where fey of the court beyond worlds came to play their strange and cruel games as winter was in full blown in their plane. one special game was a sort of weird chess game- on the White side there were many relatively weak pieces, led by the White King, made into a more powerful force by his leadership, on the black side there were fewer pieces, but stronger, given powerful options by the magic of the Black Queen. (An idea partly inspired by Terry Pratchet's book "Thud!").
for some unknown reason, the garden was abandoned a long time ago, but a few simple guardians (most likely pets) still remain, as well as the special fey known as Chi-ga-si (each syllable pronounced alone, enthusiastically, possibly with a slight maniacal delighted laughter) A gardener spirit in the fey world is an important figure, and doubles as a sort o a joker/ king's adviser... the spirit was left alone to care for the garden, perhap till it's master got back?
Chi-ga-si was bound to the garden, could not live (possibly by actions of another race, see later), but it continued to refine it's art of producing special and magical kind of plants, as well as refining it's strange and depraved sense of cruel and sadistic alien humor (a typical fey in that regard).
a special creation of his are the po-ta-toes, and creating the strange vod-ka from them. only some of these are not exactly like the real world counterparts...
enter the PCs and current day complications
If you wish to learn of the setup for this part of the adventure, you can check this post (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14715372&postcount=20). however, it is not needed. Suffice to say that Chi-ga-si tried to play a trick on new comers to the island, infecting one leader with a "sort of" a spirit of the White King (from the game), and another a spirit of the Black Queen. these two have been secretly warring through partly possessed "agents/ pieces of the board", and for whatever their reason at this point, the PCs are trying to put an end to this.
One of the PCs may be affected by the spirit of The White King or Black Queen at this point (having them affect their character, but not dominate it. some actions may require a test of will for example).
The PCs are:
1- a beguiler (caster with mind influencing powers) who is very secretive, prone to conspiration thoughts, thinks the worst of people. highly resourceful.
2- a sort of a scoundrel fellow, (think Jack Sparrow) easy going, quite clever and smart, also resourceful.
3- a slightly crazed partly gardener, partly speaks to plants, animal and dead people, partly a very old school (no anesthetic) surgeon wielding a... katana (character is all over the place).
4- not yet sure (died when we last ended the game) but probably a fire based blasty sorcerer.
What I need help with!
1. Chi-ga-si's concept and abilities: I want to make Chi-ga-si quite fey like if at all possible- strange, alien, nature and wild themed, but I'd also like to emphasize his role as a joker/ king's adviser. This is especially true if one of the PCs is affected by a spirit from the game, since Chi-ga-si, in it's part maddened mind sees this character as one of the old fey, and wishes to please it, but is also used to it's own role as court manipulator, and wishes to subvert his decisions.
physicality:
I'd like Chi-ga-si to feel like a spirit, but not incorporeal. I'd like him to move fluidly, with great agility, bone structure is... optional, sort of. I want him to feel alien, but not as abnormal as most aberrations. If it makes any sense, I want him to feel "fey"... A great inspiration to the way this character acts physically is Aku, the shape shifting menace from Samurai Jack:
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/238968-144116-aku_super_zps7818379b.jpg
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/AKU_zps4a1d8d25.png
http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk295/meir_8/aku_by_cyberplague1_zps10466fea.jpg
I also wishes him to be able to take a limited and set number of alternate forms, (again, drawing inspiration from Aku. this is where the resemblance ends though) possibly ones helpful to groom the garden, but also ones quite useful for fighting, and impressively interesting.
I want his powers to be tied to the guarden, directly. one obvious power is to make plants animate more, but I also want the PCs to be able to weaken Chi-ga-si by harming particular aspects of the garden (either plants, maybe sculptures, tools and the like). I'm not quite sure how to handle this. This is not a simple option as this place might become a home base for the PCs, and anything they destroy might not be easily brought back to function. Also, one of the PCs is a sort of a zen gardener, so he might quite like to keep whatever plants he can alive and functioning...
Chi-ga-si should have ways of moving quickly about the garden, harassing the PCs, but retreating quickly (perhaps to heal at some place deeper inside?). Not sure...
I'm picturing Chi-ga-si fighting them using his alternate forms, taunting them and playing with them (mostly with an afflicted-with-a-spirit character mostly), but getting to it's original form in the final battle, which is similar to that of Aku, only of a different color and no flaming eyebrows (:smalltongue:). I imagine him fighting with a long, very thin, very sharp, very painful knife... (it might be a special exotic weapon in the campaign) that has some sort of magical abilities...
Chi-ga-si might try and surrender when defeated (and tear a portal through time... no, not really) and offer to take care of the place for the PCs while they adventure, and maybe offer guidance from a by gone age. but that is left to be seen...
questions:
- How to make it more "fey"?
- what other abilities (that are not over powered and in theme) do you think could complement him well?
2. The garden grounds:This is a fey garden, and as such it is well kept, groomed, and MASSIVE... I plan that from the outside the place is supposed to be a small grove on a little hill, but once inside... well, it looks BIGGER. what sort of creatures, plants, things of beauty (or in fey tastes also cruelty) might you find inside?
do you have any ideas for exotic plants? exotic "pets"? anything unsuual and interesting? it doesn't have to be a battle or a trap or something potentially deadly, but something to add atmosphere to the place? I'd especially welcome things that the characters might later use, (most likely the part gardener character).
Some ideas I got so far:
The shadow hounds: big Mastiff like creatures, with no eyes, that I want to sense the world through some... very unconventional method (sense blood? a bit boring. exceptional hearing? sense certain kind of thoughts? maybe mimic thoughts and emotions?) I imagine them looking cumbersome and ungainly, but in fact moving incredibly fast, possibly with the powers of blink dogs, but also attacking numerous times in a round.
special potatoes: Chi-ga-si has been using potatoes for a wide range of experiments. I want the party to face swarms of potatoes that unroot themselves, roll over to the party and... explode? exhude poison? grow miniature limbs and sharp fangs and attack them? I just find the image hillarious. sort of mine swarm bombing/ frenzied eating potatoes. :smallbiggrin: best incorporated in a battle with other creatures as a surprise.
The invisible stealer: a bird or such like that is naturally invisble (or close enough to that that it's quite hard to spot), the comes to the party, possibly at fights, and takes something, flying off quickly. only the object does not become invisible, so the party sees it flies away. they may need to find a way to deal with this bird/ stealer, or find it's nest lest quite a few of their objects get stolen.
the grasping trees: trees that once you tocuh them (or you're pushed to them) open their trunk and try to swallow you in, and then... digest you. (trees with a swallow whole ability)
other ideas? i'm a bit short here...
3. the "chess" game:A central piece of this part of the adventure- the party reaches a massive board where the old fey played a game that may have or not have mirrored some events in the real world or the fey world. Despite drawing some inspiration from chess, and from other games, I want the characters to have to deal with some sort of a puzzle/ special battle/ puzzle battle here, in order to solve the problem of the possessing spirits of the White King and the Black Queen. the kin'gs pieces are more numerous, but individually weaker, and have some power coming from working together. the black pieces are individually more powerful in some way, and are supposed to represent a more feral, wild and magical aspect.
If one of the PCs is influenced by a spirit, I want this to have an effect that can both help the PC or harm them, depending if they figure their role right.
I don't want this to have a clear cut answer, or one path to solution, but sort of a dynamic and multi optional kind of puzzle, to see what the PCs come up with.
Oh, and I want it to be active, the PCs need to think on their feet. the pieces need to be a danger of a sort (the most obvious part is for them to be animated in some way, but creative ideas are welcomed).
this should be an important piece. It should reflect the games the fey play with mortals, possibly the games between the pirate culture and the Empiricist colonial force, and possibly conflicts between the players and so on. the main thing is that it's about a GAME, that it's LETHAL, and that the fey don't much CARE.
I'm not sure what Chi-ga-si's part in this is going to be, but I imagine it to be quite minimal- this is where the fey wanted to play without interuptions. he may come in and add his opinions, but not intervene much (I think). The game is it's own piece.
4. Rhymes of Chi-ga-si!I keep imagining Chi-ga-si speaking in rhymes all the time. not especially good ones, (bad broken English is in character) but still a distinguishing way of speech (sorta), all with a great smile, agile movements, and great enthusiasm. (multiple exclamation marks). I wish to make myself quite a few "common use" rhymes before game, so I can whip them out quickly. So far came with but a few:
- "come play with me! play with Chi-ga-si!"
- "you come to play? play with the fey?"
- "this knife slices! also dices! if you're not nices!"
- "you make a pyre?!? you bring here fire? just made things dire!"
- "Chi-ga-si whole garden make? now you come and try to break?"
- "blood flow! trees grow! Chi-ga-si is happy so!"
- "come for game? come to tame? or come for the name?"
any ideas for more?
thanks for any and all help!