warping cliche plots in unexpected ways (and possibly expected ones at the same time)

[enderlord99]

Here's an example to get everyone started:

Spoiler

Show

A nation composed largely of gold dragons has been angered by a copper dragon appearing to pull a prank that went just a bit to far (You can decide the details yourself). That copper dragon was a princess in another nation, this one mostly made of copper dragons like her. The gold dragons' own princess seems to be hallucinating all the time, and attacking everyone in her parents' castle. The (currently undefined) prank has caused a war to break out between these draconic countries, when they should be making sure the nearby empire of red dragons doesn't extend its grasp over the whole world (it's trying). Although the players won't know this at first, the red emperor has a daughter that is a very powerful illusionist. Said daughter will, of course, be the bbeg.

[Arbane]

A bunch of Goblins hire adventurers to stop the marauding chickens that keep stealing their crops.

Said goblins are too dumb to tell the difference between chickens and ostriches.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Here's an example to get everyone started:

Spoiler

Show

A nation composed largely of gold dragons has been angered by a copper dragon appearing to pull a prank that went just a bit to far (You can decide the details yourself). That copper dragon was a princess in another nation, this one mostly made of copper dragons like her. The gold dragons' own princess seems to be hallucinating all the time, and attacking everyone in her parents' castle. The (currently undefined) prank has caused a war to break out between these draconic countries, when they should be making sure the nearby empire of red dragons doesn't extend its grasp over the whole world (it's trying). Although the players won't know this at first, the red emperor has a daughter that is a very powerful illusionist. Said daughter will, of course, be the bbeg.

I don't see how any of this is unexpected except that you have dragons instead of humans.

[Vitruviansquid]

I've wanted to pull this on my players for a long time since I bought that Bloodbowl game.

Spoiler

Show

The players descend into the Crypt of Forgotten Heroes, a place where an ancient civilization interred the bones of all its greatest warriors, sorcerers, and rulers. The players are charged with retrieving an artifact of great power from the crypt, with which they will overcome the darkness enshrouding the land, but their hearts are full of dread... they know they will be tested before they may obtain the artifact, and they know the test may only be passed by true heroes. When the players open a small door, like the countless ones they've passed already, they get not a room full of monsters or a trap, as they expected. Instead, they open the door to find a mind-bogglingly large room, built like some colossal arena. As our players step forward into the middle of the arena, they feel a shaking in the ground.

Up from the earth rises five figures, the corpses of men clad in robes of state, ornate armor, or sorcerous trappings. These are the greatest of the great Heroes buried here, set to guard the crypt and the artifact for an eternity, and reawakened to test those who trespass. "Halt!" The leader of the Heroes warns, in a booming voice. "If to pass this point ye seek, ye must be tested - that we may know your hearts are pure and your spirits forged by valor and tempered by wisdom."

The players will unsheathe their swords and brandish their staves, preparing for battle...

Then the Heroes will say "Sheathe your swords, young ones, we care not how well you fight, but... HOW WELL YOU JAM!" And as he does so, he holds out a large orange ball in a palm in front of him. The sound of bugles explode in the air.

In the center, the players face King Roderick The Tallstrider, the Thousand-Victor, who towers over even the party's fighter at eight foot six. It was his brave dunk over the Giant Warlord Mogg Longarm that secured the survival of his civilization.

The Heroes' point guard is the trickster Kegal Kayn, a beggar who, in his time, traded a daffodil for the hand of an elfen princess in marriage. His mind is quick, but his hands are quicker, and his ball-handling skills and sleight of hand are peerless in old kingdoms and new.

For a shooting guard, the players must contend against the noble Lonnegal Beastslayer. A famed hunter of monsters whose unerring accuracy was the bane of great serpents, lions, and other fell beasts, Lonnegal Beastslayer can easily put a ball through the net from a hundred paces. However, all the
beastblood on his hands also gives Lonnegal Beastslayer the terrible curse of lycanthropy. When his opponents least expect it, he may transform into a werewolf and make a savage drive toward the net.

The small forward position is occupied by Ogollend the Wanderer, whose glittering elfish eyes betray his fey ancestry. A powerful sorceror who traveled the land in search of dweomers and places of power, Ogollend the Wanderer is at home playing in any court, at any time, and his magic is as diverse as the lands he visited, for he has balled in every land and learned a spell in every game.

Grey Gavann occupies the Heroes' power forward position. Little is known of this warrior but his skill on the court, which cannot be denied. It is said that every time Grey Gavann wins a game, he takes an opponent's little finger and wears it as a grisly trophy on his necklace. As a testament to his skill, Grey Gavann's torso is almost covered by various necklaces of fingers lying on top of his steel mail.

Now, I'll tell the players the rules we're using to play a friendly game of basketball using our RPG system.

[Rallicus]

My last campaign involved a homebrew world that was nearly destroyed by arcane magic, the result of which was the destruction of most magical creatures, demons, undead, etc. All that remained was humanoids and a few select beasts (not counting docile animals and the like).

The hook I presented the players with ended with a prophecy that foretold of a group of adventurers banding together to make the world whole again.

Of course the players assumed it was them, not the guys trying to summon demons and revive ancient dragons. I had to drop the campaign mid-way through due to my schedule, but at the rate they were going, I'm fairly certain they would have slaughtered all the other guys and doomed their world forever. The elves, who suffered the least after the cataclysm, would take over, exterminate all non-elf humanoid races (including half-elves) and live in some sort of elf utopia.

If they figured out the little twist, which was unlikely given their play style ("if someone attacks me, I'm gonna kill them!"), the creatures would be brought into the world and the humanoids would be forced to band together to drive them out. The elves would suffer the most and balance would be restored to the world.

Would have been interesting to see how it turned out, but oh well.

[enderlord99]

I don't see how any of this is unexpected except that you have dragons instead of humans.

"Save a princess from a fire-breathing dragon" is the original.

"Save a dragon from a fire-breathing princess" is a common parody.

My idea twists it way beyond that.

[Zombimode]

Here's an example to get everyone started:

Spoiler

Show

A nation composed largely of gold dragons has been angered by a copper dragon appearing to pull a prank that went just a bit to far (You can decide the details yourself). That copper dragon was a princess in another nation, this one mostly made of copper dragons like her. The gold dragons' own princess seems to be hallucinating all the time, and attacking everyone in her parents' castle. The (currently undefined) prank has caused a war to break out between these draconic countries, when they should be making sure the nearby empire of red dragons doesn't extend its grasp over the whole world (it's trying). Although the players won't know this at first, the red emperor has a daughter that is a very powerful illusionist. Said daughter will, of course, be the bbeg.

Hmm, as a general advice: if you can replace all instances of any give entity in a story outline with "human" then your use of non-humans is not very convincing. Either just use humans instead or change the situation where not all instances can be replaced by "human".

Your outline could build up to an interesting premise, though: That sometimes our petty rivalies and conflicts (regardless of how important they seem to be at the moment) make us oblivious to our surroundings.

But I can't see what cliche is being "warped" here.
But oh well, I think that many people tend to emphasize things as "cliches" or "tropes" way to often instead of casting a deeper look to percieve the uniqueness.

[Morithias]

My last campaign involved a homebrew world that was nearly destroyed by arcane magic, the result of which was the destruction of most magical creatures, demons, undead, etc. All that remained was humanoids and a few select beasts (not counting docile animals and the like).

The hook I presented the players with ended with a prophecy that foretold of a group of adventurers banding together to make the world whole again.

Of course the players assumed it was them, not the guys trying to summon demons and revive ancient dragons. I had to drop the campaign mid-way through due to my schedule, but at the rate they were going, I'm fairly certain they would have slaughtered all the other guys and doomed their world forever. The elves, who suffered the least after the cataclysm, would take over, exterminate all non-elf humanoid races (including half-elves) and live in some sort of elf utopia.

If they figured out the little twist, which was unlikely given their play style ("if someone attacks me, I'm gonna kill them!"), the creatures would be brought into the world and the humanoids would be forced to band together to drive them out. The elves would suffer the most and balance would be restored to the world.

Would have been interesting to see how it turned out, but oh well.

Could you mind explaining how a race WHOSE FAVORED CLASS IS WIZARD suffered the LEAST from the destruction of magic? Shouldn't the races that don't rely on magic, like the dwarves and orcs be taking over?

Seriously this whole plot just screams "Our elves are better", unless I'm REALLY missing something.

[enderlord99]

Hmm, as a general advice: if you can replace all instances of any give entity in a story outline with "human" then your use of non-humans is not very convincing. Either just use humans instead or change the situation where not all instances can be replaced by "human".

Your outline could build up to an interesting premise, though: That sometimes our petty rivalies and conflicts (regardless of how important they seem to be at the moment) make us oblivious to our surroundings.

But I can't see what cliche is being "warped" here.
But oh well, I think that many people tend to emphasize things as "cliches" or "tropes" way to often instead of casting a deeper look to percieve the uniqueness.

The whole thing is based on saving the princess (who is also a fire-breathing dragon) from the (other) fire-breathing dragon (who is also another princess). I then made them former allies, and added a third fire-breathing-dragon/princess as the true villain.

[Zombimode]

The whole thing is based on saving the princess (who is also a fire-breathing dragon) from the (other) fire-breathing dragon (who is also another princess). I then made them former allies, and added a third fire-breathing-dragon/princess as the true villain.

Yeah, but what is the cliche here, and how you are "warping" it?

It is this?:

"Save a princess from a fire-breathing dragon" is the original.

It's an old motif, or rather a subtype of the general "saving a damsel in distress". As such it can be used in varies contexts for various effects.

By just switching the contigent parts arround, you do not change anything.

Lets analyse this example:

You can only save someone who is in danger.
If it is possible to save a dragon from a waif-ish princess, then the princess must pose some sort of threat to the dragon, such that the dragon could not free itself.
If thats the case, then you haven't changed anything substantial. You could use this situation interchangeable with any oridnary "save princess from dragon" scenario.


If you want to twist this motif, you would have to subtlety change its structure.

For example:
Big mean red dragon flies into village, grabs local beauty (who is, naturally, totally virgin...) and flies off to its mountain lair, all while cackling maniacally.
But, as it turns out, the girl is very adapt at influencing the minds of others. And while the physical balance of power is clearly in favor of the ancient gigantic dragon, the girl manages to build up a subtle and brittle manner of control. Through her influence (she has deep seated emotional problems) the dragon turns from a second rate villian who terrorizes the surrounding villages once in a decade or so into a nation-wide threat.
Of course the king responds and sends his knights. But is there mission to save the girl from the dragon, or the dragon from the gril...? Dun, dun, DUN...

[Rallicus]

Could you mind explaining how a race WHOSE FAVORED CLASS IS WIZARD suffered the LEAST from the destruction of magic? Shouldn't the races that don't rely on magic, like the dwarves and orcs be taking over?

Seriously this whole plot just screams "Our elves are better", unless I'm REALLY missing something.

Destruction of magic? What are you--

Oh... yeah, you are missing something. It's called reading comprehension.

[Morithias]

Destruction of magic? What are you--

Oh... yeah, you are missing something. It's called reading comprehension.

No need to get rude.

[Gettles]

I've wanted to pull this on my players for a long time since I bought that Bloodbowl game.

Spoiler

Show

The players descend into the Crypt of Forgotten Heroes, a place where an ancient civilization interred the bones of all its greatest warriors, sorcerers, and rulers. The players are charged with retrieving an artifact of great power from the crypt, with which they will overcome the darkness enshrouding the land, but their hearts are full of dread... they know they will be tested before they may obtain the artifact, and they know the test may only be passed by true heroes. When the players open a small door, like the countless ones they've passed already, they get not a room full of monsters or a trap, as they expected. Instead, they open the door to find a mind-bogglingly large room, built like some colossal arena. As our players step forward into the middle of the arena, they feel a shaking in the ground.

Up from the earth rises five figures, the corpses of men clad in robes of state, ornate armor, or sorcerous trappings. These are the greatest of the great Heroes buried here, set to guard the crypt and the artifact for an eternity, and reawakened to test those who trespass. "Halt!" The leader of the Heroes warns, in a booming voice. "If to pass this point ye seek, ye must be tested - that we may know your hearts are pure and your spirits forged by valor and tempered by wisdom."

The players will unsheathe their swords and brandish their staves, preparing for battle...

Then the Heroes will say "Sheathe your swords, young ones, we care not how well you fight, but... HOW WELL YOU JAM!" And as he does so, he holds out a large orange ball in a palm in front of him. The sound of bugles explode in the air.

In the center, the players face King Roderick The Tallstrider, the Thousand-Victor, who towers over even the party's fighter at eight foot six. It was his brave dunk over the Giant Warlord Mogg Longarm that secured the survival of his civilization.

The Heroes' point guard is the trickster Kegal Kayn, a beggar who, in his time, traded a daffodil for the hand of an elfen princess in marriage. His mind is quick, but his hands are quicker, and his ball-handling skills and sleight of hand are peerless in old kingdoms and new.

For a shooting guard, the players must contend against the noble Lonnegal Beastslayer. A famed hunter of monsters whose unerring accuracy was the bane of great serpents, lions, and other fell beasts, Lonnegal Beastslayer can easily put a ball through the net from a hundred paces. However, all the
beastblood on his hands also gives Lonnegal Beastslayer the terrible curse of lycanthropy. When his opponents least expect it, he may transform into a werewolf and make a savage drive toward the net.

The small forward position is occupied by Ogollend the Wanderer, whose glittering elfish eyes betray his fey ancestry. A powerful sorceror who traveled the land in search of dweomers and places of power, Ogollend the Wanderer is at home playing in any court, at any time, and his magic is as diverse as the lands he visited, for he has balled in every land and learned a spell in every game.

Grey Gavann occupies the Heroes' power forward position. Little is known of this warrior but his skill on the court, which cannot be denied. It is said that every time Grey Gavann wins a game, he takes an opponent's little finger and wears it as a grisly trophy on his necklace. As a testament to his skill, Grey Gavann's torso is almost covered by various necklaces of fingers lying on top of his steel mail.

Now, I'll tell the players the rules we're using to play a friendly game of basketball using our RPG system.

I've actually done something like that once. Where the party to to defeat the local champions in order to acquire a macguffen only to it to turn out to be a basketball game.

[Kitten Champion]

Your company of adventurers get sucked through a magical vortex only to land in the middle of D&D-styled theme park in southern California. The team quickly learns the value of gold is substantially greater in our current recession economy.

The fighter dwarf quickly learns the value of investment banking in a regulation friendly economy, the bardic elf is to star in the next Twilight-esque movie, the human cleric has converted to Scientology and is moving up the ranks quickly, and the rogue halfling is currently being treated for kleptomania while awaiting trial.

[Stubbazubba]

+1

This forum needs a 'Like' button.

[The Boz]

I've wanted to pull this on my players for a long time since I bought that Bloodbowl game.

Spoiler

Show

The players descend into the Crypt of Forgotten Heroes, a place where an ancient civilization interred the bones of all its greatest warriors, sorcerers, and rulers. The players are charged with retrieving an artifact of great power from the crypt, with which they will overcome the darkness enshrouding the land, but their hearts are full of dread... they know they will be tested before they may obtain the artifact, and they know the test may only be passed by true heroes. When the players open a small door, like the countless ones they've passed already, they get not a room full of monsters or a trap, as they expected. Instead, they open the door to find a mind-bogglingly large room, built like some colossal arena. As our players step forward into the middle of the arena, they feel a shaking in the ground.

Up from the earth rises five figures, the corpses of men clad in robes of state, ornate armor, or sorcerous trappings. These are the greatest of the great Heroes buried here, set to guard the crypt and the artifact for an eternity, and reawakened to test those who trespass. "Halt!" The leader of the Heroes warns, in a booming voice. "If to pass this point ye seek, ye must be tested - that we may know your hearts are pure and your spirits forged by valor and tempered by wisdom."

The players will unsheathe their swords and brandish their staves, preparing for battle...

Then the Heroes will say "Sheathe your swords, young ones, we care not how well you fight, but... HOW WELL YOU JAM!" And as he does so, he holds out a large orange ball in a palm in front of him. The sound of bugles explode in the air.

In the center, the players face King Roderick The Tallstrider, the Thousand-Victor, who towers over even the party's fighter at eight foot six. It was his brave dunk over the Giant Warlord Mogg Longarm that secured the survival of his civilization.

The Heroes' point guard is the trickster Kegal Kayn, a beggar who, in his time, traded a daffodil for the hand of an elfen princess in marriage. His mind is quick, but his hands are quicker, and his ball-handling skills and sleight of hand are peerless in old kingdoms and new.

For a shooting guard, the players must contend against the noble Lonnegal Beastslayer. A famed hunter of monsters whose unerring accuracy was the bane of great serpents, lions, and other fell beasts, Lonnegal Beastslayer can easily put a ball through the net from a hundred paces. However, all the
beastblood on his hands also gives Lonnegal Beastslayer the terrible curse of lycanthropy. When his opponents least expect it, he may transform into a werewolf and make a savage drive toward the net.

The small forward position is occupied by Ogollend the Wanderer, whose glittering elfish eyes betray his fey ancestry. A powerful sorceror who traveled the land in search of dweomers and places of power, Ogollend the Wanderer is at home playing in any court, at any time, and his magic is as diverse as the lands he visited, for he has balled in every land and learned a spell in every game.

Grey Gavann occupies the Heroes' power forward position. Little is known of this warrior but his skill on the court, which cannot be denied. It is said that every time Grey Gavann wins a game, he takes an opponent's little finger and wears it as a grisly trophy on his necklace. As a testament to his skill, Grey Gavann's torso is almost covered by various necklaces of fingers lying on top of his steel mail.

Now, I'll tell the players the rules we're using to play a friendly game of basketball using our RPG system.

Stealing this. Stealing this SO HARD.

[Giegue]

Here's one for tippyverse or higher-tech settings....

There is a giant evil megacorp that is destroying the planet with their heavy industry and corporate greed. Monsters have awakened around the planet and the earth-friendly types have cried that this is the planet's vengeance and that the evil corporate pigs are to blame. The adventurers, Eco-terrorists who fought the corp long before the monsters awakened spend much of the campaign trying to bring down said corporate pigs, only to find out that...

Spoiler

Show

Said corporate pigs where actually the only people that cared about the human race. The planet, you see, is actually a sentient creature and it's substance is souls. To feed itself the planet unleashes powerful monsters that act as it's agents every *insert large amount of years here* to cause mass extinctions so it can gorge on the souls of all the creatures that die.

The company had known this truth, and have been trying to destroy the sentient world and sustain human life through technological means so these horrific purges would never again occur and mankind could survive instead of being food for their sentient world. The corp had been doing a great job of it too, until you showed up...and the monsters would have never been unleashed if it where not for you Eco-terrorist "heroes " destroying so many of the corp's facilities.

However, it is not to late to save mankind, and the corp gives you the opportunity to join them....the PCs can now choose their path, join the corp's efforts and maybe save humanity, to give those corrupt businessmen the dirtnap and assure humanity's destruction.

[Kuma Kode]

Here's one for tippyverse or higher-tech settings....

There is a giant evil megacorp that is destroying the planet with their heavy industry and corporate greed. Monsters have awakened around the planet and the earth-friendly types have cried that this is the planet's vengeance and that the evil corporate pigs are to blame. The adventurers, Eco-terrorists who fought the corp long before the monsters awakened spend much of the campaign trying to bring down said corporate pigs, only to find out that...

Spoiler

Show

Said corporate pigs where actually the only people that cared about the human race. The planet, you see, is actually a sentient creature and it's substance is souls. To feed itself the planet unleashes powerful monsters that act as it's agents every *insert large amount of years here* to cause mass extinctions so it can gorge on the souls of all the creatures that die.

The company had known this truth, and have been trying to destroy the sentient world and sustain human life through technological means so these horrific purges would never again occur and mankind could survive instead of being food for their sentient world. The corp had been doing a great job of it too, until you showed up...and the monsters would have never been unleashed if it where not for you Eco-terrorist "heroes " destroying so many of the corp's facilities.

However, it is not to late to save mankind, and the corp gives you the opportunity to join them....the PCs can now choose their path, join the corp's efforts and maybe save humanity, to give those corrupt businessmen the dirtnap and assure humanity's destruction.

I like that idea a lot, actually. I think my players would, too.... I might steals.

[Angry Bob]

Save the Princess! The princess has been conditioned with a frenzied berserker rage mode that activates when she's in immediate danger and doesn't stop until shut off by the people that put it in place. When the adventurers get there, the bandits or goblins or whatever are in pieces. New objective: Go find her and get her back to the palace so her defense mode can be deactivated. She'll be frenzying when you find her, and deep in the negatives from a fight with a dire bear, so you can't end her rage by other means until she's healed up, unless you're in a setting where resurrection is common.

The Tarrasque Appears! And it's accompanied, though admittedly given a wide berth, by NE druids, nature clerics, and totemists who see it as the avatar of nature's wrath. You're going to have to fight through them before worrying about the big guy.

Have a room of Caryatid Columns. The players know they're going to animate and try to kill them. Have their weapons animate as dancing weapons, have their clothes animate as raggamoffyns as well as the statues themselves coming to life.

[Arbane]

The dragon has kidnapped the princess! The king is offering her hand in marriage and half his kingdom to any brave adventurer who can rescue her!

The dragon fancies itself a long-term social engineer, who has decided that the current aristocracy is leading the country in a direction it doesn't like. It's set up various trials along the way to see if the would-be rescuers have the right stuff to make a suitable ruler - if they don't, it plans to just eat them, but if they do, it'll retreat. The minor hoard it'll lose in the process is merely an investment in the Master Plan...

----

The dragon has kidnapped the princess! The king is offering her hand in marriage and half his kingdom to any brave adventurer who can rescue her!

The princess has already been eaten. The one the PCs "rescue" is an evil shapeshifter on a mission to rip the kingdom apart from the inside.

[zanetheinsane]

Cliche: A town of humans/humanoids is looking for adventurers to help kill a band of kobolds that have taken over and are occupying a nearby mine.

Twist: The kobold mine actually turns out to be originally owned by the kobolds who are rather peaceful and have no interest in fighting with the town. The settlers just recently established the town and want some adventurers to kill all of the kobolds so that they can have the mine for themselves.

Players might discover clues, like the fact that there are no human remains or property of any kind inside the mine.

Most players don't think twice about charging in a killing some kobolds and never really stop to think if they actually did anything warranting genocide.

[nedz]

Cliche: A town of humans/humanoids is looking for adventurers to help kill a band of kobolds that have taken over and are occupying a nearby mine.

Twist: The kobold mine actually turns out to be originally owned by the kobolds who are rather peaceful and have no interest in fighting with the town. The settlers just recently established the town and want some adventurers to kill all of the kobolds so that they can have the mine for themselves.

Players might discover clues, like the fact that there are no human remains or property of any kind inside the mine.

Most players don't think twice about charging in a killing some kobolds and never really stop to think if they actually did anything warranting genocide.

I like this, but you forgot to mention that all of the passages etc. in the mine are very narrow.

[Doorhandle]

Dammit, I was going to do the entire "Save the dragon from the princess, but they're both dragon princesses, which one do we save" thing!

A group of cultists is trying to summon/resurrect a demon lord to destroy this mortal plane: The players are already in the abyss, chasing down the Big-Bad Demon lord who is trying to resurrect his greatest mortal cleric, so that the latter can finish the ritual to summon the former to the material plane!

Bonus points if they have to track down the seven fragments of the evil cleric soul-gem or whatever.

Alternately, the supposed "evil god" was actually a good or neutral one with bad publicity, and is in fact much more interested in saving the world from the cult, rather than destroying it FOR them.

Alternate alternate: Ragnarok is overdue, and you're trying to prevent the "good" organizations of this world from summoning an angelic overlord for the same purposes.

The dwarves dug too greedily, too deep, and are now fleeing an aberration from the very pits of the world
A whole bunch of gribbly monsters, neolithids, mind-flayers, drow ECT are fleeing the underdark to the surface in blind panic. If the players arrived in their abandoned citadels, it turns out they were fleeing from an invasive dwarf army, who tunneled and killed their way from the opposite side of the world.
Because dwarves are insanely stubborn like that.

Bonus points if the dwarves are also fleeing an outside threat: an invading ELF army, who are fleeing demons who were fleeing angels before being locked into this plane of existance.

Ice/fire/whatever themed dungeon. Actually made entirely of enemies of the OPPOSING type, just colored, disguised, or otherwise changed into their elemental opposites.

Alternately, they are all completely unrelated to the dungeon they are actually in.

Prince polymorphed into an X, to be released by true Love's first kiss. The X is actually a pryohydra! Roll initiative!

[Alcyius]

The princess is kidnapped by a dragon!
When the players arrive, the princess begs them not to kill the dragon, saying that she has fallen in love with her.

A bard with a sense of humor pretends to be a knight and gets a job from the local lord to slay a dragon.

Spoiler

Show

[Giegue]

Here's a rather adult take on the dragon and princess scenario for those tables who are not afraid to get a little dark...

The Princess has been kidnapped by the dragon!

Spoiler

Show

The King is actually a dirty old pedophile who's favorite victim was his own daughter. The Princess faked her kiddnapping, pretending to be kidnapped by the dragon who has his own grudge against the kingdom(Due to being constantly harassed by their knights.) so she and the wyrm could team up and take down the king in the name of revenge. The party is offered the oppertunity to join the princess and the dragon in their revenge plot.

[Zale]

A demon worshiping cult has taken up residence in some local ruins. Rumors say they've kidnapped some innocent girl to sacrifice in some unholy ritual!

Spoiler

Show

Turns out that cult is really a disguised order of Paladins. The girl is a powerful demon they've snared and compressed into a harmless form. They plan to destroy it once and for all soon with a powerful holy ritual.

If the PCs don't figure it out, then the demon will probably skin them alive.