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View Full Version : DM Help Interesting quests by a hag



stenver
2016-05-04, 02:57 AM
My player made a pact with a hag some time ago. The pact basically was - he gets some free stuff, in return he will return a favour to the Hag in the future.

He is now returning to the underground dwarven city that the hag lives in. The city is the largest dwarven city in the world, under siege by Undead horde. The hag is posing as a healer in the city, hiding his appearance as an elf that helps the dwarves in their war effort. Can you suggest some cool ideas that the hag could ask the player as a favour now that the time has come?

Kol Korran
2016-05-04, 06:25 AM
What are the hag's motives? Personality? Morals? Does it have a stake in the war? Does it have a stake in it?
What are the player's?
The character's?

Vinyadan
2016-05-04, 07:07 AM
"Find me a mug of decaf." You know, because of HAG, a brand I never tried™

Otherwise, what would a hag want? Something apparently useless or mundane, but which hag lore knows to have certain powers or uses. So it could be a certain pebble in a certain place with a certain colour. Possibly right under the archway of an important point for the war, or at the feet of the throne of a warlord. You don't even need to explain why you want it, or you might explain it later and make it a plot point.

Democratus
2016-05-04, 08:09 AM
A DM I know recently did this with a Hag his party encountered.

The hag wants a baby. That is her price. Bring her a baby.

Characters need to learn that making deals with evil entities has consequences.

kraftcheese
2016-05-04, 08:23 AM
A DM I know recently did this with a Hag his party encountered.

The hag wants a baby. That is her price. Bring her a baby.

Characters need to learn that making deals with evil entities has consequences.

Yeah I mean, how evil is this hag? In folklore, devils/witches/sorcerers/magic beasts (i.e. Rumpelstiltskin, Faust's devil, playing against Death to prolong your life...) do often have a preoccupation with deals and all...maybe your hag could ask for a child and the players might have the option to promise the hag a child and dupe it, if they can weasel their way out of the deal somehow?

But yeah, I'd say look at Faustian deals in folklore and legend; might give you some fun ideas!

Bulhakov
2016-05-04, 08:26 AM
It depends how morally questionable and difficult you want the quest to be? Some ideas:
- Smuggle a Hag Eye (a seeing stone) into a sensitive area (e.g. the throne room or an operations room in the barracks)
- Gather some strange resource (e.g. the tears of 12 small children, a strand of hair from the 3 main military commanders)

or maybe something deceptively simple, that later might turn around and bite the character in the ass, or just make them fear it will
- e.g. steal the lord's boots (a few days later the lord is found dead because his new boots were laced with poison)

stenver
2016-05-04, 08:29 AM
The hag is definitely evil and twisted somehow. But it's undefined what his exact morals are just yet. They have not have had a lot of exposure to him, except for the fact that they got poisons from him and a potion that can make one younger(when drank at sunrise) or older(when drank at sunset).

The hag does not have a stake in the war, other then the fact that she wishes to survive - and the undead are unlikely to let her. Of course, the last statement could be changed with some interesting ideas.

One idea I had that the Hag simply wants a candle to be brought to the Dwarven kings bedroom. The candle looks harmless, but she can use it to twist the kings dreams or somehow else affect him.

A baby is a possibility, but seems kinda loose and not intriguing enough

Tiri
2016-05-04, 08:30 AM
The hag is posing as a healer in the city, hiding his appearance as an elf that helps the dwarves in their war effort. Can you suggest some cool ideas that the hag could ask the player as a favour now that the time has come?

A male hag. That certainly is new.


So it could be a certain pebble in a certain place with a certain colour. Possibly right under the archway of an important point for the war, or at the feet of the throne of a warlord. You don't even need to explain why you want it, or you might explain it later and make it a plot point.

Maybe the hag's coven lost their hag eye, which looks like a stone to everyone but them. Or worse, an animal ate it for use as a gizzard stone.

gatewatcher
2016-05-04, 09:21 AM
So I realized after the fact that this contradicts the fact that the hag went to a warzone intentionally. It's all typed up; figured I'd post it anyways. Maybe some part of it is usable.
-----------

The hag asks you to take a single child out of the city to safety saying "I am concerned with him/her as much as I am for my own life". Saving a child is a good thing right?

Hag tells where the child is; maybe held by a gang whose headquarters they need to infiltrate.

The hag is working with the gang and the hag transfers their soul into the child as a means to escape the city. This is fairly common in folklore and very in flavor for a hag. The child will identify as evil but otherwise appear normal.

Group returns to find the body of the hag; who killed him?! Maybe the local guard is looking for the murder. Maybe one of the players is the leading suspect!

Other alterations
* Maybe you don't want them to completely leave the city. There could be a hand off in the sewers. Group covers their retreat
* maybe the child was a 17yr old girl that the group finds seducing a leader later on
* Maybe the male child is found later as the adopted child to another leader; hag is looking to take over through inheritance

stenver
2016-05-04, 09:35 AM
A male hag. That certainly is new.

Hah, not really, just not a native English speaker and in my language theres no he and she, so I mess it up sometimes.



The hag asks you to take a single child out of the city to safety saying "I am concerned with him/her as much as I am for my own life". Saving a child is a good thing right?

Hag tells where the child is; maybe held by a gang whose headquarters they need to infiltrate.

The hag is working with the gang and the hag transfers their soul into the child as a means to escape the city. This is fairly common in folklore and very in flavor for a hag. The child will identify as evil but otherwise appear normal.

Group returns to find the body of the hag; who killed him?! Maybe the local guard is looking for the murder. Maybe one of the players is the leading suspect!

Other alterations
* Maybe you don't want them to completely leave the city. There could be a hand off in the sewers. Group covers their retreat
* maybe the child was a 17yr old girl that the group finds seducing a leader later on
* Maybe the male child is found later as the adopted child to another leader; hag is looking to take over through inheritance

Thanks for the writeup, it's great. Due to the fact that the Hag has not had very much exposure, then I can modify the backstory however it would feel fit. It definitely gives some ideas :)

Blackhawk748
2016-05-04, 09:37 AM
Heres the option that doesnt bite them in the rear end, even though they think it might.

The hag wants a *insert weird thing here*. Dont elaborate, just tell them where to get it and what it looks like etc.

Why does the Hag want the thing? Because it makes a potion of hide from undead when mixed with some stuff the hag already has. The hag is evil, but they also want to live.

Tiri
2016-05-04, 09:53 AM
Heres the option that doesnt bite them in the rear end, even though they think it might.

The hag wants a *insert weird thing here*. Dont elaborate, just tell them where to get it and what it looks like etc.

Why does the Hag want the thing? Because it makes a potion of hide from undead when mixed with some stuff the hag already has. The hag is evil, but they also want to live.

A potion of Teleport, more like. Hide from Undead doesn't do much against a whole horde of them.

Blackhawk748
2016-05-04, 09:59 AM
A potion of Teleport, more like. Hide from Undead doesn't do much against a whole horde of them.

Its the same as being Invisible except it lasts longer so you have time to GTFO. Besides the horde cant be everywhere and all of the exits are probably easy to see. So be invisible to the army and just leg it.

Tiri
2016-05-04, 11:18 AM
Its the same as being Invisible except it lasts longer so you have time to GTFO. Besides the horde cant be everywhere and all of the exits are probably easy to see. So be invisible to the army and just leg it.

There's also the part where intelligent undead all get a save and touching any undead for any reason ends the spell. Hard to work with when you're dealing with a whole horde.

Gallowglass
2016-05-04, 01:58 PM
"Let me guess you want a baby?"

"No. Bring a man a fish and he eats for a day. But teach that man to fish..."

"So, uh, what do you want?"

*gleam in eye* "I want you to build me a daycare."

stenver
2016-05-04, 03:59 PM
"Let me guess you want a baby?"

"No. Bring a man a fish and he eats for a day. But teach that man to fish..."

"So, uh, what do you want?"

*gleam in eye* "I want you to build me a daycare."

Ugh ogh.. This cant end well


Heres the option that doesn't bite them in the rear end, even though they think it might.

The hag wants a *insert weird thing here*. Dont elaborate, just tell them where to get it and what it looks like etc.

Why does the Hag want the thing? Because it makes a potion of hide from undead when mixed with some stuff the hag already has. The hag is evil, but they also want to live.

Interesting idea.. but knowing the player, he wouldn't have too many thoughts about bringing the potion to the hag. I mean, he knowingly did a deal with the hag.

Thanks again for your input.

One idea I got out of this is that the hag has created a child, which looks almost exactly like the dwarven kings child. She wants the PC to steal the kings child and replace it with her fake duplicate.. The duplicate starts a long-con corruption if the PC does it

kraftcheese
2016-05-05, 10:55 AM
Ugh ogh.. This cant end well



Interesting idea.. but knowing the player, he wouldn't have too many thoughts about bringing the potion to the hag. I mean, he knowingly did a deal with the hag.

Thanks again for your input.

One idea I got out of this is that the hag has created a child, which looks almost exactly like the dwarven kings child. She wants the PC to steal the kings child and replace it with her fake duplicate.. The duplicate starts a long-con corruption if the PC does it

Ooh that IS a good idea!

Very hag-themed!