A new adventure idea that I am working on...

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Dimirag
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Re: A new adventure idea that I am working on...

Post by Dimirag »

Eric42 wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:18 pm I want the adventure to have a quite lighthearted feel to it, so I am going in the direction that I have come up with. In fact, the quests that I mentioned, I want to be more lighthearted as well.
Change the kind of "jokes" the demon is doing, make the town either cartoonish*, or full of practical jokes, nobody gets sick or dies, but their lives can't continue like this.
*people are constantly slipping, getting stuff falling on them (bricks, buckets, even cows), they can't die, but they feel the pain.

What the Demon wants from the adventurer? To fill its need of further "jokes", it can give the party some "jobs" (going to next town and set every chicken free, throw rotten fishes on their water well)
If the party came with their own jokes even better!

You can even add a point system, the better the joke, the more points, and put a required value of points so the demon feels satisfied.
Sorry for any misspelling or writing error, I am not a native English speaker
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Blorpy
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Re: A new adventure idea that I am working on...

Post by Blorpy »

This sounds like a fun adventure! I look forward to hearing how it turns out.

One thing I would consider is how the demon might react if the PCs refuse him, and if he is indeed a coward, what his exit strategy would be. Given that he is vindictive it seems like he would target them if it came to it, and make working for him their best option. Even if the demon is cowardly, he still needs something to bargain with or the PCs might just make a piñata out of him.

As for demon jobs, let’s see... I think the demon would want the PCs to do things he would have difficulty doing himself—things that would be easier for an insider. A prankster demon might want the PCs to set people against each other in a series of hilarious misunderstandings. Stealing things and placing them in the possession of others, writing forged love letters, spreading false rumours, ruining birthday parties, etc. Petty vandalism could be good too. Or even little things like switching sugar with salt or sticking tacks on door handles. Basically just finding big and small ways to be a nuisance.

The other question I would ask is how are the PCs going to go about keeping up the facade that they’re still looking for the demon when they are in fact working for him? What kinds of lies and bluffs will they have to make? And what happens if one of the villagers suspects this band of outsiders is in league with this demon? The PCs could find themselves in hot water quickly which could be amusing to resolve. Maybe it could culminate in a mock trial?
Dorrak
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Re: A new adventure idea that I am working on...

Post by Dorrak »

I love this idea, but after looking through the core rules and field guides, I couldn’t find a demon that fit the profile. However, if you read the description of Sapient Glyph in field guide 2, it would work perfect for this and the “Scooby Doo” idea put forth by another commenter, where one or more of the townspeople are involved in the “pranks”.
I’m thinking of trying this with my party. If I do, I will share the results here in the forums.
sean8223
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Re: A new adventure idea that I am working on...

Post by sean8223 »

Another reference here might by the villain Mxyzptlk from Superman comics. He's an interdimensional trickster who is possessed of great powers, but is also petty and kind of stupid, and uses his abilities primarily to torment Superman. Other villains make alliances with him from time to time to advance their own nefarious purposes, but Mxyzptlk is really all about messing with the Man of Steel. If Mxyzptlk can be made to say his own name backwards, he is immediately banished to his native dimension, which is usually how he ends up being defeated.

I would suggest that the demon needs a weakness and an adversary. Perhaps the adversary is the village itself, even if only as a proxy for whoever put him in the tomb long ago. The weakness could be anything, but should be exploited by deceiving the demon into doing something contrary to its own interests, such as saying its name three times or somehow being own-goaled by one of its tricks.

The quests that the demons doles out to the party are just wild goose chases dangled in the hopes of getting it to leave, but really done to amuse the demon, who always sabotages the party's efforts behind the scenes. During these episodes the party will learn more about the nature of its weakness and have opportunities to turn the tables on it.
Shadowslayer
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Re: A new adventure idea that I am working on...

Post by Shadowslayer »

Kinda curious if you've gotten anywhere on this. The idea of the demon needing quests made me think of Needful Things by Stephen King, where the shopkeeper (the demon) tell his customers that they can have their heart's desire, but they have to play very particular little pranks on other particular townsfolk. It starts out small but the motivation is to poke nerves...get neighbors etc to get upset with each other. The pranks get bigger till the whole thing blows up and escalates till all the townsfolk are at war with all the other townsfolk.
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