Built on a Pun

[Bit Fiend]

Hi there!

After reading quite a few threads containing occasional posts like this one I thought it would be interesting to see some more RPG-ideas built on puns (as horrible as you wish).

Quests built on puns.

Adventures built on puns.

Campaigns built on puns.

Even builds built on puns.

Actually used in a game or made up on the fly doesn't really matter.

One for the tax:
A spelljammer ship arrives on the PC's homeworld. The ship is just the first of a whole fleet, all loaded with zealous followers of St. Cuthbert. Will the heroes be able to stop them from putting the world into the iron grip of their deity's uncompromising law? Will the planet stay safe for chaotic characters? Fight or get bashed by the Mace Invaders!

[DaMullet]

A man by the name of Hukdon discovers a ritual to summon and control a legendary fire spirit. Prepare yourself for the Hukdon Phoenix!

I did run that, though it was d20 modern so 'ritual' became 'computer program'. they didn't spot it until way after the campaign ended, but it was so worth it when they noticed.

[Lifeson]

My girlfriend found a map of a town shaped to look like a bust of Shakespeare. The town that followed pretty much wrote itself.

Chaucer's Saucer is the inn, run by Sir John Milton, retired bard. The temple is run by Mother Wollstonecraft. The store is name "Cents and Sensibility" and run by Emily Bronte.

I could keep going all day.

[Timberboar]

I'll play. Forgive me.

I once ran a d20 Modern detective game. A notorious jewel thief heisted the infamous pink Love Diamond, but set off some alarms on his way out. The PCs chased him to the Wong Toy Factory, where they apprehended him after he had stashed the gem somewhere along the assembly line.

The rest of the session was spent *ahem*...

Looking for Love in all the Wong Playsets.

[Bit Fiend]

I'll play. Forgive me.

I once ran a d20 Modern detective game. A notorious jewel thief heisted the infamous pink Love Diamond, but set off some alarms on his way out. The PCs chased him to the Wong Toy Factory, where they apprehended him after he had stashed the gem somewhere along the assembly line.

The rest of the session was spent *ahem*...

Looking for Love in all the Wong Playsets.

Just out of curiosity: Was the acronym of "Wong Toy Factory" on purpose or pure coincidence?

[Timberboar]

Just out of curiosity: Was the acronym of "Wong Toy Factory" on purpose or pure coincidence?

Pure coincidence, I'm afraid. Had I noticed at the time, I probably would have named the thief something along the lines of Oswald Michael Galloway.

[navar100]

I'll play a paladin, immune to fear, with Skill Focus (Use Rope). I'm afraid not!

[Coplantor]

Not sure if this counts as a pun, it's more of a word play, but I have a silly campaign setting in which the players can visit the Forest of the Psimians. Being it a silent P, people usually wont notice anything strange until the telekinetically thrown poo hits them in the face.

[Dr. Yes]

In a campaign I'm planning, I'm going to have the party either escorting or questing on behalf of an NPC based on the first post of this thread. That character will be a well-respected mage with inborn arcane power, known to be particularly skilled with conjuration and crafting magic items. Curiously, he has rarely been seen for more than a few hours at a time, and has an intense aversion to being touched.

His appearance is a fraud, of course. He doesn't allow himself to be touched because it would endanger the delicate magic-enhanced disguises he constantly wears. The magic isn't UMD or anything, though; it's really his, and he's legitimately a pretty powerful sorcerer.

Or, more precisely, he's a pretty powerful horserer.

[zorba1994]

Arguably, every campaign ever can be described as "Of Dice and Men"

[Starscream]

I have featured giant zombie bees (Zom-Bees), invisible werewolves (Where-Wolves), a quest to retrieve a political treatise written by a famous hired killer (Assassin's Screed), and an Orc from the kingdom of Mork. Groan-worthy stuff.

Yeah, I used to read Piers Anthony books, why do you ask?

[Bagelson]

Arguably, every campaign ever can be described as "Of Dice and Men"

Only if you use a dice mechanic.

The legitimacy of an entire religion hinges on a single precious artefact granted them by their gods; a small golden coin with all manner of miraculous powers.

When the religion finally collapses, the artefact vanishes. PCs find clues to where to find it and thus achieve the ultimate power in Heaven Cent.

[Bit Fiend]

Being inspired by the early modern martial art of canne de combat I decided to build a gentleman swashbuckler type of character around fighting with a walking cane. Seeing as magical canes are rarely to find in your standard weapon shop I guessed he had to bring his own magical cane to the table. The weapon in question was a sentient item containing the soul of a long forgotten Dread Pirate. It wouldn't talk much out of combat, as the pirate had grown tired of his existence as a walking stick, but in combat he would be reminded of his glorious days and make very pirate-y noises on each hit. Meet gentleman-swashbuckler Adrian Vast, master of the Arrrr Cane.

[The Glyphstone]

I've never gotten it formally written down to paper, but my nebulous proto-campaign setting features a huge city built on both sides of a bay and river on the coast called Kym, which was divided during a civil war and is now effectively two independent cities adjacent to each other, Old Kym and New Kym, each ruled by a Duke who considers himself the ruler of the entire 'city' and his opposite number an usurper. The Old Duke is a political schemer and manipulator, the New Duke is a retired elite soldier who's addicted to a tobacco-like gum product made from the sap of a rubber-tree analogue in the distant tropical land of Bubali. The primary quest of the area would be stopping the nefarious Old Duke from cutting off his rival's supply of narcotic gum.

[Okizruin]

I've never gotten it formally written down to paper, but my nebulous proto-campaign setting features a huge city built on both sides of a bay and river on the coast called Kym, which was divided during a civil war and is now effectively two independent cities adjacent to each other, Old Kym and New Kym, each ruled by a Duke who considers himself the ruler of the entire 'city' and his opposite number an usurper. The Old Duke is a political schemer and manipulator, the New Duke is a retired elite soldier who's addicted to a tobacco-like gum product made from the sap of a rubber-tree analogue in the distant tropical land of Bubali. The primary quest of the area would be stopping the nefarious Old Duke from cutting off his rival's supply of narcotic gum.

“It’s time to kick ass and chew bubblegum…and I’m all out of gum.”

[The Glyphstone]

Yup. An entire city, a mysterious foreign island, and a major historical event all created solely for the sake of the Duke of New Kym, who used to kick ass but now chews Bubali gum. And he's about to run out of gum.

[ArcGygas]

Both of these puns got books thrown at me, so be forewarned.

Hidden deep in the mountains, guarded by dwarves and their grand vaults, is a library of great power...

Little do the adventurers know that the dwarf clan guarding it are master chefs, and hidden in the library are the cookbooks of legends; The Demonomnomnomicon, the Book of Exalted Dishes, and the Book of Vile Parsnips.

Of course, to get access to the vault, they'll have to deal with clan's greatest chef in a contest; The Mithril Chef Competition!

***

The local temple of Thor was recently caught putting together a small party, but when the rest of the village found out, they cancelled it. After all, it was supposed to be low key...

[Mystify]

Its not really a pun, but:

Add "born of the three thunders" and "Fell frighten" to lightning bolt.

Its a thunder bolt of lightning; very very frightening.

[hydraa]

I have started with my set of encounters, hosted by Mr. Poe E Tree and his raven companion Nevermore. He was reciting poems (the raven) when approached. Did I mention that he was a undead Treant.

He was a former druid that tried to escape from the red death and the exit tree for his tree stride died with him in it.

[Killer Angel]

Even builds built on puns.

Does PunPun counts?

[Bit Fiend]

Does PunPun counts?

Nope, but a character who could punish PunPun sure would...

[Killer Angel]

Nope, but a character who could punish PunPun sure would...

punching him, you mean?

[Bit Fiend]

To puncture him might also work...

[navar100]

There could be punitive damages though.

[Bit Fiend]

There could be punitive damages though.

but the damage would be puny...

[Aotrs Commander]

I once ran a pirate adventure who's premise was based off a skit in the obscure BBC comedy Captain Butler, which was the highlight of the entire series...

The PCs solved the complex riddle on their treasure map, and with mad old Cap'n Beard¹ and found the treasure, which consisted of:

• A wooden spindle with a piece of twine wrapped round the centre, with a loop at the lose end, appearing to be some sort of child’s toy.
• A long-handled gardening implement, like a pitchfork, but with a rectangular piece of metal across the end.
• A bottle of some alcoholic beverage, unopened, perhaps grog or maybe rum.

Thus, the treasure they had sought consisted of

...a yo-yo, hoe and a bottle of rum.

I am a bad person.



¹Who was something of a joke himself; he had a beard of quite unremarkable colour, and wore an eyepatch, which he tended to lift up to look at people, and change which eye it covered... He was, as my adventure text sufficently put it "a complete nutter"...

Actually, that whole quest was mostly a lot of comedy gags strung together... More Monkey Island than Pirates of the Carribean (not surprisingly, since the latter had not been released yet.)

[EccentricCircle]

Where to begin.
I use a lot of Puny character names in my games the most recent of which were Reg and Lars, the most common patrons of the local tavern.

a recuring character in one of my games, an information broker was once asked what his name was and replied "my name has a price" he has been called Yasar Price ever since, even canonically.

at one point a character in one of my games was put on trial. the court was told to stand for the right honourable Judge Durian Xavier Zachusna.

then there was the master biologist of the wizard's guild who was rather fond of puns, and when asked to build a magically sealed riddle door to protect the school's treasure vaults chose to assemble a statue of a small orc made of iron, which could only be opened when the blood of an ox had been poured into the vial in its hand. He was famous for discovering how oxygen is carried by the blood, and its no suprise he chose to build an

Spoiler

Show

Oxyhaemogoblin

.

I'm waiting for a party in a sci fi game to get into a situation they can't find a way out of so that they can be saved by a squad of marines lead by one Major D.S.X. McKenna.

I actually wasn't responsible for naming a Minor nobleman Lord Elpas. but I definitely approved.

and last but by no means least, doesn't anyone else think that Indices is a great name for an ancient greek Librarian?

[EccentricCircle]

Where to begin...

I use a lot of Puny character names in my games the most recent of which were Reg and Lars, the most common patrons of the local tavern.

a recuring character in one of my games, an information broker was once asked what his name was and replied "my name has a price" he has been called Yasar Price ever since, even canonically.

at one point a character in one of my games was put on trial. the court was told to stand for the right honourable Judge Durian Xavier Zachusna.

then there was the master biologist of the wizard's guild who was rather fond of puns, and when asked to build a magically sealed riddle door to protect the school's treasure vaults chose to assemble a statue of a small orc made of iron, which could only be opened when the blood of an ox had been poured into the vial in its hand. He was famous for discovering how oxygen is carried by the blood, and its no suprise he chose to build an

Spoiler

Show

Oxyhaemogoblin

.

I'm waiting for a party in a sci fi game to get into a situation they can't find a way out of so that they can be saved by a squad of marines lead by one Major D.S.X. McKenna.

I actually wasn't responsible for naming a Minor nobleman Lord Elpas. but I definitely approved.

and last but by no means least, doesn't anyone else think that Indices is a great name for an ancient greek Librarian?

[Axinian]

All these puns are unBEARable!!!

What? Bearington Bearman the Bearbarian is relevant to the topic...

[Bit Fiend]

One of my favorite traps is locking the characters in a room with a machine that produces severe cold in said room. The machine is nigh immune to physical damage but vulnerable to elemental damage. So in order to survive the PCs have to nuke the fridge.