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View Full Version : Wild magic research: creating a breadcrumb trail



Vegan Squirrel
2016-07-13, 10:16 AM
This is for a 5th edition D&D campaign, but I don't think that really makes a difference here. I've just started running a campaign with a wild mage elf, and her character's motivation is based on finding out how she became a wild mage. She knows she had an encounter as a child where she got lost in the forest where she lives, and she remembers that there were these lights which comforted her and stayed with her, as if they were watching over her. After that point, she started developing sorcerous powers which she cannot fully control (wild magic).

If this is your character I just described (and you should recognize my user name), don't read any further. There WILL be spoilers that will detract from your gaming experience.

You don't need to use spoilers in your responses; I just don't want her to start reading this and accidentally see the rest of the first post.

So there are a number of options here for what these lights could have been. I think I'm going with the spirit of a unicorn. I think the unicorn was killed by hags in a ritual that consumed its flesh, although I'm open to alternatives here. Its spirit was able to survive a bit longer, and did what unicorns do by protecting a young girl. As the spirit lost its hold on this world, its last act was to channel its magical essence into the girl, as a blessing and source of protection.

This is a fairly unique origin, and I'm not sure she'll ever be able to learn all of the specifics simply from research.

A little about the world and campaign so far: now 100 years old, this elf mage has read up on all of the elven research into magic without finding much of an answer. Wild magic isn't something these elves have really researched. To the south of the elven forests lie the Dead Lands, the ruins of ancient human empires which are now overrun with undead (because the humans tried to win wars with necromancy and it got out of control, zombie apocalypse style). Some adventuring elves have recently discovered still-intact libraries of the ancient human mages, bringing back some of the scrolls. This is how I'm planning to get this character adventuring, and most of the campaign will be exploring the Dead Lands.

So here's where I could use the Playground's help. I want there to be several stages of discovery for her, but I need a trail of breadcrumbs. First she'll learn something about wild magic in general, then she'll learn about a couple different known sources, hear mentions of a wild mage scholar in a different human city.. that kind of thing. Can you help me come up with some useful bits of knowledge that partially answer her questions, but leave more to be discovered later?


Thank you for your thoughts!