Story Seed - What Lay Within

Image Source: http://4dpaul.deviantart.com/art/Crystal-egg-round-mist-fire-196187086

This Story Seed follows up directly from Unexpected Find.

Lorugan and I basked in the golden light for a while, I think we both lost track of time. Occasionally he would utter "wow" but otherwise there was just quiet and the sound of wind outside. Quite until I heard something, a tiny voice, calling out to us.

"Hey," I said, "snap out of it." Lorugan shook his head, looking confused. "Do you hear that?" I asked, "That little voice?" He shook his head. I listened, shushing him as he tried to ask what I had heard ... it was coming through the golden barrier through the astral. No wonder he couldn't hear it.

"Wait here. I don't think we can take it down, but ..." I looked up at him, "you're not going to like this, but I think I can go beyond it in the astral."

"Like hell," he snapped.

"What could possibly be of danger beyond a barrier like this?" I asked, stumping him into sullen silence. "Thought so, I'll be back soon." I settled my rucksack and then faded, merging completely into the astral.

"Be careful," I heard him say dimly.

In the astral the voice was much louder, stronger, and very clearly coming from the chamber beyond. The barrier here was not solid, but still glowed with a clean and healthy light that was as warm as I had ever been in my whole life. If grandmother had been able to play entire days in sunlight like this I could see why she and other old folks wept for the lost world before the war.

The old stones were alive with power here, with even the most worn of the old sigils blazing with power. The room beyond was bright with the golden light and stepping into it made me feel uncomfortably hot, and yet it felt good, revitalizing. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness, and I was still left squinting. This room had probably once been an armory, or storage, I saw no other exits, and the walls were lined with empty shelving.

The center of the room was far from empty. A large egg, nearly a pace and a half tall, took up a large portion of the room. It was broken, a section missing, but still it radiated power and warmth. It wasn't the source, but it was saturated with the same light. On the floor curled up among the shards of its egg was the source of the warmth and light, a celestial child. It looked up at me and asked for help.

Suddenly the warding stone seemed like a paltry trinket.

Back Issues #15 - Take a Vacation, Do a Side Quest

When originaly write this I had taken a vacation from work the week prior. To paraphrase from Office Space; I did nothing, and it was everything I dreamed it could be. Some might say that I wasted the opportunity, by not traveling, or doing copious amounts of home improvement work, but I didn't take time off from one form of work just to do other work. It makes me wonder why adventurers put up with side quests. Here's a life and limb threatening adventure that will do nothing to help you vanquish the evil overlord. Nah, I'm good, I like my +4 sword thanks...

Issue #15: Take a Vacation, Do a Side Quest

So there you are, on the trail of the artifact that will help you kill the evil lich, or tracking down the only shadow-runner to ever survive contact with an AI in digital combat, or ... well, any number of "main quest-y type things." You arrive in a new town, new planet, or new airport (hey, not every game has teleportation and space ships). You think, "OK, now we just have to find this guy and get the goods," but the GM says, "You see a child, perhaps five years old, looking alone and scared. What do you do?"

Well, crap.

Yeah, you just stepped into a side quest, and there isn't a stick or a garden hose that will help you scrape or wash it off. Your hero, all corded thews of muscle or arcane cosmic power, sees the child and you get sucked in, no save required (sorry rogues). Next thing you know you're tracking down a kidnapped mother, or locating some long lost temple. You might even be enjoying it, and you do get some experience at least, right?

The question then is why can't the side-quest feed back into the main quest? I don't mean the "go fetch" kind of side-quest either; I mean something less obvious, and more optional.

GMs have a tough job, and sometimes they need more time to prepare for the next big download of plot and XPs. Side quests came out of this need to stall. It's easy to grab a handful of goblins, robots, or a ready made villain with a penchant for calendar themed crimes and seven (or twelve) thematic minions, and toss together a quick side mission, something unrelated to the story, that buys the GM a week or two of extra prep and keeps the players from forming a brute squad. As games and gamers get more sophisticated though, the transparent charm of the simple side quest can begin to tarnish. "OH, John isn't ready for this week's game so I guess we're gonna hack up a bunch of gobbos again." Ouch. Player groups lucky enough to have multiple GM class people can avoid this by having multiple games running in parallel, but not all are so lucky.

So what can a GM do? Use call backs. That is have an NPC or a piece of loot from a prior side quest take a larger roll in the main plot. The NPC that the heroes assisted turns out to have a key item or information for them. The magic thingamabob they got off an earlier side villain turns out to be a rare and powerful artifact with a one use power which will aid the heroes greatly. The (nearly) inescapable prison the characters were in (and maybe escaped from) turns out to be the perfect holding place for a major baddy. The sky's the limit really, perhaps the annoying chant that an insane ork shaman wouldn't stop muttering is a protection spell against the evil mage the party must face...

The reward need not be obvious, and in fact, the more obscure is often better. Call backs are also not something to use for every side quest, but occasional use will let your players know that a side quest isn't always just an excuse to buy more time, nor always a way to provide a "concealed bonus" to the group.

Have you ever used call backs as GM? How were they recieved? As a player has your GM ever done this, and if so did it make you appreciate his efforts more?

Story Seed - Unexpected Find

Image Source: http://shadaan.deviantart.com/art/Imperial-Warren-Concept-502237299

Though the outpost had long since fallen into ruin there was still power here. Floating observation posts still hovered above their ancient anchoring stones, and the wardings against the Great Enemy could be felt; a slight pressure all over your skin, like being under water. I trudged through the snow, my two curved short swords at the ready; the wardings would not serve to keep out thieves and bandits. Beside me Kaallin stepped lightly over the snow and barely leaving a track; her form shimmering, partially transparent, as she kept herself partially within the astral.

I pointed, the main structure of the outpost was still mostly intact. Kaallin nodded, and sped forward toward the structure. She was confident that any bandit ambush would be unable to harm her, and it was likely that she was right; Kaallin was a wraith, born with the ability to shift between our world and the astral, it made her very capable, even if the downsides were real downers. Here, within the wardings of the old outpost, she must have felt positively giddy however, these places were some of the few left in the world where the Great Enemy's touch on the astral was absent. I can only imagine how it felt for her to be here.

I slogged on, thankful that my boots were well made and proof against the wet and cold. The Everwinter was a little weaker here, its power checked by the wardings, and the air was absent of its usual chilling bite. The wardings were why we had come; the old stones could sometimes be moved without destroying the ancient enchantments. If this outpost's warding stone was intact it might be movable, and if we could move it to the village the old stone could protect the people better than any wall or garrison.

Ahead of me I heard Kaallin's voice, I couldn't make out her words, but after a moment she shouted back to me, "Lorugan, I think you need to see this!"

Cursing I lumbered into a run, the snow was only a hand a half deep, but it made running awkward; on the other hand I had no desire to see Kaallin harmed because I couldn't hustle myself to her aid. Turned out I didn't need to be worried, at least not the way I expected. I approached the old barracks command warily.  From the outside I couldn't hear anything but I could see that the room was lit from within; I thought that maybe there was somebody living here after all.

The barracks' doors were in surprisingly good condition, the hinges free of ice, and the wood undamaged by the continual frost of the Everwinter. I noticed that right around the time I noticed how warm it was. The wardings shouldn't have been capable of this, but there was no way that somebody could keep a fire going constantly, and besides, we hadn't seen any sign of smoke from outside.

I found Kaallin just inside, standing before a barrier of golden light. It felt like what I'd heard the old timers say that sunlight had used to feel like; it was warm, and golden, and comforting, and it made me just want to stand there and let it soak into me. We stood in silence, unsure how, or if, we should proceed.