Please help me justify these plot points!

[Corinath]

Hey everyone!

So I'm running my first campaign as a DM. I'm a writer in real life, so rather than use a module, I've picked particularly difficult story lines based on what my party members established as individual goals. There are a few things I'm having issues justifying with in-game logic, and would love your advice on.

1) I have a character seeking to resurrect an NPC ala True Resurrection. Unbeknownst to him, said NPC is, and has been, alive for a long time. The "deceased" character was resurrected/captured/controlled (any combination of these things) by the being my player thought killed them. The "deceased" NPC now currently has no memories of their old life. This character will wind up being a villain and possibly will rediscover their previous life in the process. Right now all I have is a catchall "they were brainwashed be the being that you think killed them", but this feels like a cop out and decidedly not DND/Fantasy in style.

2) I have another party member seeking to discover a lost relative. This party member is the stereotypical only evil character in a party of good aligned characters. I've foreshadowed that the party will eventually fight a terrasque, which most everyone would do willingly when the threat becomes global (It isn't yet). Except her, as she's neutral evil. I would love to tie in the lost relative to this terrasque. Is there any precedent for making an NPC in a state of stasis while somehow stuck inside a terrasque? Ala Jonah and the Whale, but unconscious? Magical stasis? Soul stone? Something like that?

3) If there were a chromatic dragon that you would expect would work to harbor the end of the world, what color dragon would it be? Simple right? I can't figure out if one would be more likely than the other based on 5e MM descriptions.

Thank you!

[Envyus]

3) If there were a chromatic dragon that you would expect would work to harbor the end of the world, what color dragon would it be? Simple right? I can't figure out if one would be more likely than the other based on 5e MM descriptions.

Thank you!

None of the Dragons would be more likely then the others I say. Blacks are stated as being the cruelest so maybe one of those.

[Foxhound438]

1) mind control magic is not unheard of, so a simple "a spell was cast" works and fits into fantasy/dnd just fine

2) imprisonment is a spell, you could make the terrasque the prison itself, or otherwise have the npc trapped in a gem that the thing ate. you would basically have to have it be like "you see a gem, and you recognize the figure of your relative inside the thing when suddenly a terrasque out of nowhere"... not great, but it's a start. Maybe another NPC has this gem and they get eaten while carrying it?

3) on its own I personally think it would be more or less against any chromatic dragon, as they all want wealth as far as I know. ending the world would be a detriment to that, I think... but if the dragon was a dracolich instead, and has since found that its immortal state is more like eternal torture and pain, a "total appocalypse" in which even the afterlife is destroyed could be a logical goal for it to have.

[Cglied]

1) I'd start with time travel and go from there.

2) I think you're on the right track. Nothing to add, but I wouldn't worry about precedent.

3) Not sure any Dragon type in general would be looking to end the world as opposed to gaining wealth and power and lording it over everyone else. This could be unique to an individual Dragon, maybe he's being manipulated? Maybe she's had everything taken from her and she is lashing out at the world in rage?

Just some thoughts.

[Veldrenor]

1) 5th level spell "Modify Memory." Casting with higher-level spell slots gives you access to longer and longer stretches of memory. You only have 1 minute each casting for making a change, but if you've got someone captive you've got all the time in the world to keep casting it. So D&D does have in-game brainwashing.
2) You could use a Ring of Mind Shielding. When someone dies while wearing a Ring of Mind Shielding, their soul enters the ring. As long as your soul is in the ring, you can telepathically communicate with any creature wearing it. Assuming the tarrasque's digestive system doesn't destroy or pass the ring, that's one way the relative could be inside it. Another is that the relative is evil like your PC, performed the ritual to become a Lich, and thought that somehow hiding their phylactery inside the tarrasque would be a good idea. Now they're stuck because the tarrasque digests their new body as quickly as it can form (this also gives your evil PC more motivation: they want to learn how to become a lich). A third option is that the relative could be alive and conscious, using Leomund's Tiny Hut for shelter and something like Goodberry or Create Food and Water for sustenance while they try to figure out how to get out without risking death.
3) The obvious answer is to go with one of the chromatic varieties or a dracolich, but honestly any dragon could work for this. Any variety of metallic dragon could become bored and nihilistic. Or imagine a gold dragon, lawful good to the core, who has lived a long life of misfortune, misery, and woe. They've seen all the chaos and malice the world can hold, and the few moments of goodness they've encountered only served to throw evil into stronger contrast. So they decide the best option is to destroy everything and let the gods start anew.

[Corinath]

1) mind control magic is not unheard of, so a simple "a spell was cast" works and fits into fantasy/dnd just fine

I guess I was worried this was just too simple? LoL, but you're right. I could just create a "Create Thrall" like spell inspired from the Warlock class. It just might blend oddly because the NPC is a warlock as well. LoL.


2) imprisonment is a spell, you could make the terrasque the prison itself, or otherwise have the npc trapped in a gem that the thing ate. you would basically have to have it be like "you see a gem, and you recognize the figure of your relative inside the thing when suddenly a terrasque out of nowhere"... not great, but it's a start. Maybe another NPC has this gem and they get eaten while carrying it?

Awesome! I didn't know about this spell! I like the idea of the gem being the prison and the terrasque having consumed it. :D


3) on its own I personally think it would be more or less against any chromatic dragon, as they all want wealth as far as I know. ending the world would be a detriment to that, I think... but if the dragon was a dracolich instead, and has since found that its immortal state is more like eternal torture and pain, a "total appocalypse" in which even the afterlife is destroyed could be a logical goal for it to have.

This is a *really* good idea. Envyus' ideas about black dragons were pretty good, but I absolutely love villains that you can empathize with. Suffering for an eternity as a dracolich is probably a horrid situation to be in. There might be some overlap since I have a main villain that is a death knight / oathbreaker paladin, but this is still pretty excellent. :D


None of the Dragons would be more likely then the others I say. Blacks are stated as being the cruelest so maybe one of those.


Thanks! I'll re-read the black dragons again. This is a viable backup. :D

[Corinath]

1) 5th level spell "Modify Memory." Casting with higher-level spell slots gives you access to longer and longer stretches of memory. You only have 1 minute each casting for making a change, but if you've got someone captive you've got all the time in the world to keep casting it. So D&D does have in-game brainwashing.
2) You could use a Ring of Mind Shielding. When someone dies while wearing a Ring of Mind Shielding, their soul enters the ring. As long as your soul is in the ring, you can telepathically communicate with any creature wearing it. Assuming the tarrasque's digestive system doesn't destroy or pass the ring, that's one way the relative could be inside it. Another is that the relative is evil like your PC, performed the ritual to become a Lich, and thought that somehow hiding their phylactery inside the tarrasque would be a good idea. Now they're stuck because the tarrasque digests their new body as quickly as it can form (this also gives your evil PC more motivation: they want to learn how to become a lich). A third option is that the relative could be alive and conscious, using Leomund's Tiny Hut for shelter and something like Goodberry or Create Food and Water for sustenance while they try to figure out how to get out without risking death.
3) The obvious answer is to go with one of the chromatic varieties or a dracolich, but honestly any dragon could work for this. Any variety of metallic dragon could become bored and nihilistic. Or imagine a gold dragon, lawful good to the core, who has lived a long life of misfortune, misery, and woe. They've seen all the chaos and malice the world can hold, and the few moments of goodness they've encountered only served to throw evil into stronger contrast. So they decide the best option is to destroy everything and let the gods start anew.

Re-memory, that's fantastic also! Thank you! The captor does, indeed, have a ridiculous amount of time to do this.

For your terrasque scenario, those are all amazingly creative solutions. I love the lich one so much because it's so sadistic, but this character wanted to be the offspring of Drizzt, so I can't suddenly make him a lich. LoL. The ring solution might be the most likely one, as I was already building a story that he went to vanquish the terrasque on his own without his family (and obviously failed)

I like the twist on the metallic dragons here, with them somehow believing what they're doing is the "good" and right thing.


1) I'd start with time travel and go from there.

2) I think you're on the right track. Nothing to add, but I wouldn't worry about precedent.

3) Not sure any Dragon type in general would be looking to end the world as opposed to gaining wealth and power and lording it over everyone else. This could be unique to an individual Dragon, maybe he's being manipulated? Maybe she's had everything taken from her and she is lashing out at the world in rage?

Just some thoughts.

I'm not sure I like doing time travel here because I'm already using it for a different plot device. For fans of Chrono Trigger, I have an "End of Time" like place my party might stumble upon that is an outer plane for a god, which has an item that will take them to the first instant the terrasque attacked and the party was witness. They may never find this place, but if they do they have the option to prevent all of the destruction they will invariably witness as the terrasque demolishes the world.

The dragon being manipulated is a great option I haven't explored yet. It feels a bit of the same, a manipulated character creating a manipulated character, but maybe there's a way it can work without feeling too much the same. Revenge is a good option too.

Thanks!


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I just want to say y'all are giving me some amazing ideas. Thank you so much. :D

[TheFlyingCleric]

2) Imprisonment spell. There are two ways of going about this:
- The component is inside the tarrasque (not necessarily the relative themselves). They'll want to cast a 9th level dispel magic on it, but they'll need to fight the tarrasque to be able to do that and live.
- The ending condition for the imprisonment involves doing something with Tarrasque blood, bile, or whatever.

Either way, the player will need to know that's the case, so have a plan for how you will tell them that "Your princess is in another Tarrasque".

[Corinath]

2) Imprisonment spell. There are two ways of going about this:
- The component is inside the tarrasque (not necessarily the relative themselves). They'll want to cast a 9th level dispel magic on it, but they'll need to fight the tarrasque to be able to do that and live.
- The ending condition for the imprisonment involves doing something with Tarrasque blood, bile, or whatever.

Either way, the player will need to know that's the case, so have a plan for how you will tell them that "Your princess is in another Tarrasque".

I'm leaning towards the gemstone being inside of the Terrasque. I think an ending condition means the spell ends without having the need of Dispel Magic? And if the body, or proxy for the body, isn't inside the terrasque, they can Dispel Magic it without the ending condition anyway. I think? Right?

Hopefully the moment of telling them is a long way away. They're still only level 4 right now. :D

[Autocon]

I'm not sure I like doing time travel here because I'm already using it for a different plot device. For fans of Chrono Trigger, I have an "End of Time" like place my party might stumble upon that is an outer plane for a god, which has an item that will take them to the first instant the terrasque attacked and the party was witness. They may never find this place, but if they do they have the option to prevent all of the destruction they will invariably witness as the terrasque demolishes the world.


Since you mentioned Chrono Trigger, have you considered a Dream Devourer (3DS remake) (http://chrono.wikia.com/wiki/Dream_Devourer) or Time Devourer (Chrono Cross) (http://chrono.wikia.com/wiki/Time_Devourer) scenario? Schala was trapped in the Dream/Time Devourer, in a crystal on its back. Your family member trapped in the terrasque could play out similarly.

[Shining Wrath]

(1) Aside from Modify Memory you could use the Clone spell with some modifications - the villainous entity did kill the NPC but the the villain had prepared a special clone which would lack all memory of the original person using Special NPC Magic. So the NPC's soul transferred without memories to a copy of their body, which the villain then raised up to be as bad a person as the villain is.

(2) I like the use of Imprisonment or a phylactery. For a twist the PC needs the Tarrasque to die to save their relative - but in the right place at the right time. So the person no one trusts because Evil will have to subtly manipulate the party into luring Big T to where he's "needed" and then kill him "properly".

(3) If I were going to go with any dragon working to end the world it'd be a White. Per 5e the White is relatively less intelligent but remembers everything about its own life. An ancient white dragon, then, that has lived thousands of years and has great power, but has suffered many misfortunes and therefore wants to avenge itself on the whole world. Imagine an immensely powerful person without the intellect to really understand the consequences of their actions but who broods endlessly about the injustices and misfortunes of their life. Examples of misfortunes:

Despoiled of numerous fortunes by adventurers, barely escaping with its life
Scarred and disfigured by battles with other dragons and adventurers, its life is filled with pain
It has watched every child it ever had die in battle
It has become a "Moby Richard" for at least one powerful organization or guild - someone out there is dedicated to killing this particular White as the eldest and evilest white dragon known


EDIT: had to replace the real name of Melville's whale which had been asterisked-out.