A bit of a mixed bag of musings today; I will start out with a little homebrew monster environment encounter for you, then a little bit of world-building concepts that can really spice up your game.
Self-contained ecosystems are what most would consider a large and populated dungeon, not always the case, certainly, I love a good necromancer's tomb that is stocked with self sufficient undead horrors, including undead that have been turned into the actual architecture and furnishings, such as zombie head audiobooks lined up on shelves like a library, I wonder if you could connect a lot of zombie heads with some psychic undead and have it work pretty much like Alexa. Nobody ever considers that the modern necromancer home can be augmented with a smart zombie system. Why make the monsters wander when you can have psychic wifi?
I guess the theme of this chat today is Restrictions, a bit of a dirty word in 5th edition, which has been knocking down some we thought were pillars the game was resting on, only to discover they are just as open to being modified or removed as any other part of the game rules. Restrictions are the hallmarks of earlier editions; in fact, you often describe the game by what you can't do in that edition, such as D&D Basic making Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling both a race and character class, and things like restrictions on character attribute scores for certain character classes, such as the Cavalier in advanced dungeons and dragons, a subclass of Paladin that was really difficult to get a natural combination of randomly rolled attribute scores in order to even pick the class, then they had a whole strict code of knightly behavior they had to conform to, all to just charge a horse at your enemy. Restrictions on players' choices, restrictions on character capabilities, I can see how some are there to discourage players from picking a character that just has really narrow expertise and will end up sucking most of the time, and domination some situations so hard, it will suck the fun out of the game for the other players.
Restrictions on Monsters are one of the key aspects of homebrewing really interesting creatures that the players get to figure out, and adding some creative restrictions to your world building can quickly and remarkably change the entire tone of your game.
Before we get to that though, I have a weird Underdark creature encounter for you.
As you move through a naturally carved stream underground, breaking through into some ancient dwarven chamber of considerable size, you notice a bright rainbow gleam in mid air, shimmering with your torchlight. It looks for all the world like some sort of soap bubble, floating in the air, and there are more, soon quite a swarm of them, drifting in your direction.
They're not a magical effect, nor a plant or insect; these are Glistershells; they're like thin membranes, so translucent they shine and shimmer like soap bubbles in the dim light of the caverns, boosted into becoming dim floating lanterns because of the bioluminescent bacteria living symbiotically inside and the conditions those bacteria love also produce gases that are lighter than air, giving the Glistershells the power of flight.
Glistershells start out as tiny eggs, barely visible to the naked eye. Hatching from these eggs are wee little slug-like creatures, no bigger than a fingernail, with long antennae about twice their body length. They are blind but sense the world through vibration and taste the air. Those who remain in slug form are the females, the ones who do the bulk of the reproducing, they grow to about the size of a human fist and have slow metabolisms, they live for decades by chewing trails along the surface of the rock and making little pockets and dank pools of slime to rest in. They are tough and produce a foul-tasting slime, but easy to catch and can be boiled, skinned, sliced, fried and dried into strips that can add protein to a spicy stew, they combine well with some of the tough underground mushrooms, particular mushrooms that grow from the trunks of larger mushrooms, usually found at the drier edge of a fungus grotto, are the absolute best combination with Glistershell strip stew, a delicacy of the Svirfneblin, the deep gnomes.
Then you have the male Glistershells. They're the ones cultivating the glowing bacteria that light up the darkness. When fully inflated and floating around in their bubble-like forms, they are about the size of a human head, attracting insects with their faint glow; they also consume old spider webs, looking like some sort of creepy Christmas baubles decorating the Underdark's more infested areas. When they catch a meal on their sticky membrane, it is quickly absorbed, and they digest it and leave behind these goo pods on the ground; these pods are packed with nutrients and the semen of the males, they release pheromones that the female slugs sense with those long antenna and when they find the goo pods, they soak them up, using the nutrients to help pump out another large batch of eggs. As the females move around, they leave a trail of slime behind them which has the tiny Glistershell eggs scattered all through it.
From the swarms of male and female juvenile slugs that hatch from the slime trails, occasionally you will get a male that doesn't absorb or gestate the same glowing bacteria inside itself as the other males. These darker slugs have tough, sharp antenna whips and their body grows to the size of a large dog, plus, those whips can deliver a wicked pulse of radiant energy, only when the Rogue Male Glistershell is seriously injured or threatened though, otherwise they are fairly defenseless creatures that populate some regions of the Underdark, restricted to being more of an environmental encounter location feature that may interact with other creatures or be used by the player characters in unexpected ways. Why they tend to be attracted to torchlight, I am not sure; perhaps they are just drawn to any light source in the Underdark in order to use it to sort of camouflage their own glow.
Not much of a threat, perhaps they get left out of the pages of monster manuals because they are just interesting creatures found in the Underdark, but I think they are worthy and, you know, in case anyone asks what the tasty, strangely meaty noodles are they are eating with their Mushroom Stew.
OK, monster ecology, underground ecology, and the gastronomy of subterranean gastropods aside, here is an idea for you: a campaign concept for those who enjoy their homebrew and world-building.
Take your entire list of Spells for whatever edition of Dungeons and Dragons (or other fantasy game including magic) you are using; now randomly pick or make a table and roll for a large bunch of those spells, say 30% of all the spells, and in your campaign setting, your fantasy world, all of those selected spells are lost magic, they are rumored to exist, but are generally known to be either lost or legendary spells that nobody has seen in many years. The players who have magic-using characters are the only ones who either know some of them or can find, decipher, and replicate those lost spells!
Now, you have a different viewpoint on spell and ritual knowledge by the spellcasters in your game. And just knowing a simple spell like Prestidigitation or Heat metal or Mage Hand when nobody else does, oh that is hugely fun! Now you have factions hunting down any whispers of new or rediscovered magics, relic hunting for spell casters is almost an obsession, and player characters who demonstrate they know some lost magic will become famous or infamous if they make no secret of it and flash their lost magic around for all to see.
I know that introducing this scarcity of certain spells and rituals among the non-player characters can create a power imbalance on paper, but in actual play, it just adds another dynamic of conflict from which to derive story hooks, plots, opportunities, folklore and enemies, all fodder for a great roleplaying game. Rediscovering lost spells and rituals can become a central theme in quests and adventures. Players may embark on epic journeys to uncover ancient texts, decipher cryptic clues, or seek out elusive mentors who hold the key to forgotten knowledge.
All the best and most iconic monsters hoard something, dragons, liches, even mindflayers, not that you really want to have what they covet, but still, seeking out the massive pile of treasure held by a mighty dragon, defeating it or somehow stealing from it, those scrolls and spell books that show up on the random treasure tables suddenly get WAY more interesting.
The possession of rare spells and rituals can become a lucrative business for player characters. They may choose to monetize their unique abilities by offering magical services to wealthy patrons or selling their knowledge to the highest bidder. Lost spells and rituals are not merely arcane secrets but also pieces of cultural heritage and history. Rediscovering these lost arts can lead to the revival of ancient traditions, the restoration of forgotten civilizations, and the rekindling of cultural pride among various factions and societies.
The control and dissemination of lost spells and rituals can become a source of political leverage and intrigue. Factions may vie for control over ancient tomes or artifacts containing forgotten knowledge, using them to manipulate allies and enemies alike in pursuing power and influence. We saw this very tool be used against the civilization of Netheril by use of the ancient Nether Scrolls, long lost and then planted for discovery by an ancient immortal, manipulating events for their own purposes.
The quest to uncover lost spells and rituals provides ample opportunities for character development and growth. Players may undergo transformative experiences, learn valuable lessons from ancient mentors, and rediscovery of lost spells and rituals may raise ethical dilemmas for player characters. They must grapple with questions of morality, responsibility, and the consequences of wielding ancient powers that were lost for a reason. Perhaps there was a catastrophic war long ago, between the forces of Law and Chaos, and it was all because of a legendary, now lost spell called Wish.
Already the cogs and gears in your mind are pondering which spells would be the most interesting to restrict in this way.
Heh heh
I will leave you to it, thanks for listening and as always, I will be back with more for you, very soon.
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