Sixty-nine More Questions For Your Ttrpg Characters!

Adventure: An Icy Expedition

“I’m not sure what the foreman means when she says “ Shift’s over, head out and warm yourself up” do you? The whole thing’s buried under a glacier and half the canyon’s still coated in ice. I haven’t been warm since we started this damn excursion! “ 

Setup: The ancient goliath enclave of Emendurana once surveilled an Edenic valley of delights, but was covered over with glacial ice and buried millennia ago. Little now remains beside stone and the chill of ages, but some vaults may yet hold the secrets of ages past, hidden away from the march of time and empire in the outside world. 

Too large and of too historically significant for any one adventuring party to delve, Emendurana has been taken over by the Nhilari Expeditionary Coalition as one of their premiere dig sites. Too often characterized as a “ roving army of mercenary Archeologists”, the coalition has taken careful pains to negotiate with both the dwarven clanhold who hold territorial claim over the ruin as well as those goliath herds who descended from Emendurana long ago. 

With Hard weeks of travel through snowy foothills behind them, the N.E.C. Has set up a village-sized basecamp at the opening to the glacial caverns, and is ready to begin the first real forays into the ruins proper. 

Adventure Hooks: 

Plenty of adventuring groups get their start apprenticing with the coalition, who work hard to assemble synergistic teams of scouts, scholars, technicians, and “strongbacks”. Drawn from their disparate lives by the promise of adventure or steady payment by the N.E.C. recruitment officers, the party will bein their journey by helping their employer to break new ground in Emendurana’s frozen halls.  

When a nobleman with a fondness for ancient curios is petrified in his own home by an ancient goliath artifact he recently obtained, the reliquarian who is now at blame for the incident hires the party to help clear their name. The investigation leads to a shifty fence, and a smuggling ring that may be working within the ranks of the N.E.C. to siphon off relics and other treasures beneath the organization’s nose. Ousting these outlaws will require the party to travel far north to the digsite itself, as well as dealing with their agents in the city. 

Seeking council from a mystic oracle on their current adventure, the party receives a prophecy that the answers they seek are “beyond the deepest gates of Emendurana”. Research gives the party the location and the history they’ll need, but convincing the coalition that they’re more than simple teasure hunters looking to loot the dig site will take some negotiation. 

Keep reading

Jason Isaacs as Colonel William Tavington in “The Patriot”

Art by KJKallo. If it ever becomes possible to play as a skeleton, I think they should be flimsy, tireless, and reliable: a sentinel that keeps watch for the party but can often get bonked down in combat. Here's a crack at it - with an entire lore section based off a wint tweet lmao

GET BOOKT

A guide of books to gift the people in your life and yourself!

For the person who made a 200+ slide powerpoint about Neon Genesis Evangelion for a presentation party… Also for those who attend presentation parties…

The Archive Undying by @emcandon

For all former and current theater kids (affectionate)...

Will Do Magic for Small Change by Andrea Hairston

For the reader who prefers their off-the-wall science fiction tempered with social commentary, or enjoys social commentary in a space opera font…

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━

For the friend with the SHUDDER account…

Piñata: A Novel by Leopoldo Gout

For the burned-out chosen one who’s so, so tired…

The Saint of Bright Doors by @adamantine

For the tumblr mutual that fell down the wuxia cdrama hole…

The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang

━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━

For the gamer who fondly remembers their confrontation with Rayquaza atop the Sky Pillar…

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

For the “smash first, questions later” friend in your life…

Ebony Gate by Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle

For a tragic superwholockian in dire need of restorative sapphic fiction…

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older

━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━

For the reader who wished Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was actually Jonathan Strange/Mr Norrell…

The Last Binding trilogy by @fahye, including: 

● A Marvellous Light

● A Restless Truth

● A Power Unbound

━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━

Not enough books? We agree. Check out our other GET BOOKT guide.

Figuring out your OC's 'voice' and physicality/characterization

I often struggle with creating distinct characters, so I came up with some questions about your OCs that I haven't seen in any other lists.

I recommend answering these for each character once you've already spent some time with them on the page.

What irks other people about the way they converse?

What kind of conversations do they usually have?

Are they a good listener?

How do they react to confrontation?

How do they react to being corrected?

How do they correct others?

Do they tend to speak in long sentences, short & clipped sentences, or somewhere in between?

How likely are they to heed social cues when talking to others?

How likely are they to use body language rather than words to express discomfort and other emotions?

Do they care more about getting their way, or more about how others feel?

What's their favourite skill?

What niche thing are they competent at?

What trait immediately draws them to other people?

What trait immediately repels them?

Even if they haven't met (or even if they're not even in the same universe!), what would your other OCs' first impression of them be?

What makes them angry?

What makes them sad?

What makes them happy?

What's their posture like?

How do they want others to see them?

How do they move through a room?

Do they prefer being barefoot, and if not, what kind of footwear do they usually like best?

What kind of climate do they prefer?

What would make them distrust somebody?

What would they consider the greatest betrayal?

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I've had a campaign idea for a while where the party chases after a monster/demon that's taken the appearance of a giant fox and they have to hunt it down or trap it, I'm unsure of how to run it as of now, but any ideas are appreciated!

Monster Hunt: The Smoke-Tailed Fox 

“Listen, the magistrates are already at eachother’s throats as how to classify this mess....  Is it grave robbing if the victim wasn’t buried yet? Is it attempted regicide if she was already dead?  All I know is that the court’s willing to pay extra to see this over and done with as soon as possible”

-Roderik Tull, Bounty Officer. 

Adventure Hooks: 

The Funeral procession of the recently departed queen was attacked while on its way to the royal sepulcher for last rites and entombment. While not even the most desperate bandits would attempt this daring feat, the honor guard present were unprepared to deal with the appearance of a tremendous white fox that emerged from the forest to strike their caravan with lightning-quick speed.  Throwing the defenders aside, the fox beast sundered the wagon carrying the queen’s body and savagely mauled the body with one of its claws. Witnesses report seeing the fox “drinking” an unearthly light from the royal remains before taking off once again into the woods. Everyone is pretty sure this is a bad omen, but few can agree exactly what it portends. 

Burial rights within the kingdom involve the priests invoking various rituals in order to “sign” which deity has taken up the departed soul, usually this is a chance for the gods to speak, and provide veiled commentary on the life of the lost, but upon the attempted buriel of the queen, it appears as if none of the gods have claimed her. People have begun to whisper that the Fox-beast stole their monarch’s soul, which again.. can’t mean anything good for the fate of the kingdom. 

Hunters going after the fox have reported that the woods it fled into have become a haze choked labrynth, with even the most well trod paths suddenly becoming winding meandering things that don’t lead you to their customary exits. A trapper fears for her partner who’s been lost out there for a few days, caught out in the woods when the Fox decided to lay down it’s curse.. or whatever type of spell it’s woven over the landscape. 

Setup:  Though Psychopomps come in many forms, they are all spirits preoccupied with shepherding mortal souls to the afterlife, ensuring that they do not tarry on among the living become ghosts. While some peruse this task with a solemn determination,  and others with a warmhearted cheer,  these entities help to maintain the balance of the cosmos, and ensure that the shades of the departed do not overwhelm their descendants. 

What happens then, when a Psychopomp abandons their duty? This is what happened to Ruvo, a vulpine steward of the dead who was sent to watch over the ailing health of the queen. Taking the form of a simple grey fox or unremarkable house servent, Ruvo watched over the queen as she spent her last remaining months tending to her gardens, never tarrying to far from her side lest her frail old body finally give out.  Newly appointed to this grim task, and not yet assigned to watch over the soul of one yet to perish, Ruvo developed a fondness for the resilient monarch,  which over time grew to a protective attachment as he cared for the woman who he was eventually supposed to escort off the mortal coil. 

The fox-spirit has made off with the queen’s soul, emotionally paralyzed at the thought of his “ friend” leaving him and perhaps fading away forever. Now perused by hunters, royal guard, and agents of whatever death deity he shirked in the queen’s favor, Ruvo has hidden the two of them away in an isolated spot in the forest, shrouding the surroundings in magic and hoping the whole mess will blow over if he just stays hiding long enough. 

Art 1

Art 2

As war grips the land, a group of warriors band together to protect a population of displaced peasants and towsnfolk as they winter in an ancient mountain fortress.  

Led by the veteran warleader Voadicia, the warriors have amassed a sizeable force of skilled fighters and eager recruits to their cause. Little interested in the goings on of the wider war, their group of holdouts has none the less attracted the attention of the embattled monarchs of the region, who see this rogue warband as a needless complication in their plans of conquest. 

Quest hooks: 

The party is made up of the initiate members of the warband, tossed together from deserters and aspiring peasants who wish to put themselves between the innocents in their charge and the horrors of the war. Their tasks are endless, scouting, exploring the reaches of the ruins, searching for more supplies. Should they cultivate a reputation as trustworthy and capable warriors, they will be brought into Voadicia’s councils about how best to defend their crumbling fortress, and what to do AFTER the war has passed. 

Allied with one faction in the war, the party is sent to negotiate with Voadicia’s warriors after several raids are made on their patron’s supply train. With careful persuasion the warband could be turned from a liability into a powerful ally, if only the party can mind their manners against a disillusioned band of brigands, or get past the fact that their patron is Voadicia’s former leige lord, who would more than happily see her in irons or with her head on a pike as an ally. 

Though the ruins the warband has taken as their home are said to have belonged to a line of forgotten kings, they are infact the last edifices of an ancient empire that spanned the continent and far eclipsed the development of the barbaric present. Vast treasures still remain undiscovered within its vaults, as do powerful artifacts of a forgotten age. Should they be discovered and put to use, it might just be enough to turn the enclave of warriors and refugees into a kingdom of their own, and Voadicia into a reluctant queen. 

Dare: The Glittering Reef: 

“While the dragon may long be dead, there’s more than one predator in these waters. You best be quick if you wish to claim your prize.“

Setup: Generations ago the crystal clear waters of the Ildathan coast ran red with blood, as a terrible archdrake terrorized the trade routes and savaged any merchant ship it caught eyes on. Known to locals as Hullraker, this beast would use its powerful claws to crack open the body of ships to gorge itself on sailors and treasure alike. 

While its a myth that dragons eat gold, they do sometimes devour valuable objects to spit up into their hordes later. This habbit would eventually lead to the drake’s defeat, as a group of clever pirates tired of the drake’s meddling caste a series of golden cannonballs, then hollowed them out and filled them with black powder, and an alchemical compound that would ignite after being exposed to the drake’s insides for some length of time.  Loading up a dummy ship with their deadly decoys and piles of coin as bait, they watched in glee as the drake’s belly exploded mid air, showering the sea with golden shrapnel and sending Hullraker plunging into the reef below. 

The Challenge: Since the time of its death, treasure hunters have paddled out to the glimmering reef in the hopes of  reclaiming a portion of the dragons last, fatal meal. Having stripped most of the upper reef clear of coins. Now after years of plundering only the strongest of divers can make it down to the dark, shark infested shelf of the reef where the dragon’s bones and the bulk of its treasure remains. Tradition is that each diver only takes a single coin, and while one gold piece isn’t much to an adventure, a “drowned queen” (one of the particular printing of coins the pirates used for the bulk of their bait) is a mighty prize among sailors and other folk of the sea, said to confer the luck and cunning of the pirates that took Hullraker down.