PDA

View Full Version : I need a Black Water Well?



awesometori
2014-01-30, 12:24 AM
I'm not sure exactly how to phrase what I'm asking for. So here I go! I'm writing up a campaign. And part of the campaign involves a well that has been tainted by magic. I want the NPC responsible to have class skills, and be the equivalent of a player character(if that makes sense).

Every spell I've looked into either makes the water a colorless, odorless poison. Or only taints the water a round per level.

Maybe there's a specific class I don't know about that can semi-permanently cause a well to be tainted. So I'm asking for any advice on this.

This is the first campaign I'm seriously writing. And I want to do this as by the book as possible. And I have a semi limited experience with D & D. So any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to respond asking me to clarify what I want!

Thank you for your time! :smallbiggrin:

Deophaun
2014-01-30, 01:34 AM
I'm guessing this is for a 3.5 game?

You can always just give your NPC the Spell Thematics feat from Player's Guide to Faerun. All of his spells will have a similarly corrupted look, but it will definitely give you the foul-looking well water you want with whatever spell he casts on it.

Oko and Qailee
2014-01-30, 01:42 AM
Off the top of my head Corrupt Water comes up.

It permanently turns water into Unholy water... but it's only a level 1 spell so it might be easily curable.

Gavran
2014-01-30, 01:46 AM
First, what edition?

If 3.5, ask in the 3.5/P forums those guys are like encyclopedias turned up to 11.

If 4E, don't, monsters (read: bad guys) don't and shouldn't use PC stats or classes or anything like that.

Rift_Wolf
2014-01-30, 06:18 AM
What effect do you want the water to have in terms of game mechanics? As for the look of it, water goes black if stagnant; a negative energy effect on plant life would get it looking right.
Unhallow would be my first spell of choice, maybe with Permanency and attached to an object in the well. If you want a more supernatural effect, Pathfinder has rules for Hauntings, non-spell effects that ghosts can cause (sort of like traps)
If an evil druid poisoned the well, Hallucinatory Terrain. Then it can look like whatever he feels like.
Depending on the CR of the encounter, I'm pretty sure there's water based undead who taint water, I don't have my MMs to check right now though.

Hope this helps.

Berenger
2014-01-30, 06:26 AM
Is there a spell that can conjure petroleum? IIRC small quantities of it can spoil water and it is mostly black.

Rift_Wolf
2014-01-30, 06:32 AM
Is there a spell that can conjure petroleum? IIRC small quantities of it can spoil water and it is mostly black.

Crude oil's black; petrol's clear. Also, allowing a group of PCs free access to inflammable liquids is never a good idea.

Another idea for black water; milk a kraken? Just a thought...

nedz
2014-01-30, 09:13 AM
If 3.5, just add Aboleth; just don't forget to call him Steve. :smallwink:

Seriously: we need to know which version of the game you are running ?
They are often quite different.

Red Fel
2014-01-30, 10:16 AM
The alien world of Mer is being devoured by Dark Water. Only Ren, a-

Oh, sorry. Reminiscing about my childhood. In any event, this looks like a job for DM fiat!

Not every plot device needs to fall squarely within the ordinary mechanical framework of the game, provided that the players have an opportunity and means to use their mechanics to overcome the obstacles you concoct. In other words, as long as the players can fix the Dark Water problem with the spells/abilities they can use, feel free to home brew this "magical taint."

That said, if the NPC is of comparable level/CR to the players, and you want the taint to be a bit beyond their abilities, I'd suggest employing a bit of a literal deus (or diabolus) ex machina - say the NPC is being controlled by a powerful being, or has access to some sort of potent relic or artifact. Or perhaps it was inadvertent, the NPC's experimentations introduced something into the water that the NPC doesn't quite know how to fix. Or perhaps there's an interplanar crack at the bottom of the well causing all sorts of who-knows-what to seep in.

What you need to figure out is the mechanical effect of the water. Does the water kill people? Curse people? Give them temporary super-powers? Inflict mind-control? Cause spontaneous up-tempo singing and dancing? Is it temporary, permanent, curable in subjects? Or is it just freaking gross? Knowing what the effect is, and how treatable it is, will help determine whether the players make it a priority to fix the water.

The point is this. The players may or may not try to fix the water. (They probably will.) If it's a major plot point that the water is "semi-permanently" tainted, then feel free to impose some nebulous fiat-type high-level effect (e.g. requires some sort of Miracle, Wish, or powerful Remove Curse effect), provided that the players will have or can gain access to this remedy. If, on the other hand, it's only a minor plot point, then it can simply be a minor effect, like the spells you've been researching. Just add some cosmetics on top of it and run with it. The players can then fix or ignore the well as they like.

Vizzerdrix
2014-01-30, 12:19 PM
If 3.P, Black Sand from sandstorm would work. It'd give the water that black coloration and make it dangerous.

awesometori
2014-01-30, 12:59 PM
Ack! I should have specified that. Pathfinder version. I'm sorry guys. I want the water to have some kind of cursed magical effect. As I was looking at spells I enjoyed the tainted water that caused a fear effect in whoever touched it. I'm happy to try other effects as well!

The point of my campaign is it's up to the players who they do and don't help. And they may not even ever go to this town, and may not help these people. Whether they help or not will have effects in the future of the campaign(I hope to run a long campaign). And also effect whether they are asked for help, and different results if they ask and do or do not help.

Point is, I don't need to finagle things in there to railroad the well in. I've railroaded all my small campaigns. And it just ends up leaving a bitter taste in everyone(especially me)'s mouth.

I'm interested in all the effects you guys were talking about here. I didn't expect to get so many responses so soon.

I was thinking about just making my own NPC that had a special variation of a class so he could taint water like this. I was just worried if it was usually frowned down upon by more experienced DM's. And now I'm seeing that it's commonly done. Which I'm finding myself very pleased by.

I do like the idea of the NPC being controlled by someone more powerful. And the idea of a magical object that can cause this. Are there rules for when you're creating your own magical object? This water well is a side quest, but can connect to the main quest. But, there are other ways for my PC's to find the main quest without doing this quest.

And I don't want the water to just cause fear. I'm still in the very minor rough drafts of this quest, so I'm still brainstorming away.


Also, allowing a group of PCs free access to inflammable liquids is never a good idea.

LOL! Too true.

Thank you guys so much for your responses! I really appreciate all the help! :smallbiggrin:

Friv
2014-01-30, 02:24 PM
I was thinking about just making my own NPC that had a special variation of a class so he could taint water like this. I was just worried if it was usually frowned down upon by more experienced DM's. And now I'm seeing that it's commonly done. Which I'm finding myself very pleased by.

Yep, it's pretty common, especially with things that aren't going to be used in combat. In-combat powers are a little trickier, because you have to balance them right, but ritual stuff is ritual stuff.

Some players get more than a little antsy if they think an NPC has access to something that they aren't allowed due to Being PCs. Some don't. In the former case, the usual response is to houserule the thing in a way that is technically accessible, but not a desirable choice. In the latter case, the usual response is to say "Hell with it, it's a thing he learned. Took him years. If you want to spend the next decade studying how to corrupt water, go ahead, but you're going to have to roll up a new character who's actually taking part in this adventure."

As far as rules for creating magic items, they exist, but they tend to be balanced around the idea that they'll be items that the PCs will be using on a regular basis. They have a cost and value based on how powerful a spell effect the object uses, how often it can be used, and how easy it is to activate. The Pathfinder guide to it is here. (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items#TOC-Magic-Item-Creation)

awesometori
2014-01-31, 12:38 AM
Perfect! Everything I need! I'm going to work more on this tomorrow. Thank you so much for this guys! You've made this incredibly easy for me. This was my first post on Giant In The Playground and I'm thoroughly pleased. :)

I will be constantly referring to this thread as I write up this quest. Thank you guys so much!