A Ring of Mind Shielding with a god trapped inside?
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Reminds me a bit of Fizban from the Dragonlance novels. Pretended to be an old senile wizard who couldn’t remember his spells half the time. In reality was a good god playing 5D chess to position the heroes to save the world from evil.
You could have him say a bunch of inane stuff and then throw in "Back in my day there was a powerful enchanter living that ruined castle. I wonder what happened to all the magical artifacts he made?"The heroes obviously jump at the chance for treasure but stumble upon cultists trying to resurrect an evil dead god that need thwarting.
If a player is about to die, he “remembers” a spell to help save them but needs to sleep for a few days after.
Yeah, could be a great deus ex machina opportunity. But I’d have to hold it in reserve most of the time or else the players will start doing reckless shit.
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Find a list of banal truisms, but then add something weird and sinister.
“If you keep your face to the sun, then the shadows are always behind you… waiting, hungry.”
“Success is 90% showing up. The other 10% requires a lot of blood from a virgin maiden… or possibly a whole baby.”
“Anything is possible as long as you believe in yourself. ‘Anything’ includes failure and doom.”
“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he eats for life. Teach a fish to man, and the fishmen will rise from the depths to seek vengeance.”
“The powerful will tell you that knowledge is power, because they don’t want you to know the true source of their power. Kill them and take it.”
Keep this list and roll for a non sequitur any time there’s a lull in the conversations. Refuse to elaborate.
This is masterful
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If you want to be really meta have him reference spells from older editions that don’t exist anymore. Especially as suggestions that they won’t even work for. The other interesting idea is have him be an expert on things so old but know nothing about recent events.
Mechanically, I can give them advantage on history checks from his era or something. And roleplay it.
I like the old spells thing. I have a book full of 2e spells converted to 5e. He could even teach the wizard random spells from that.
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I did something like that with my party. They killed a cult leader and didn’t know he had usurped an actual demigod in taking over the cult.
…they never put on the ring at all.
You can lead a horse to water…
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I second this.
When the god is lucid, is it benevolent or vengeful? If there is a magic user in the party, does Usmag want to help them learn and grow, or do they channel their despair at the lack of worshippers into that person?
I would also try to add a dash of bursar for flavor. Maybe some Malkavian Dementation - if the god was depressed or insane, can that be transmitted to the ring bearer telepathically? Osmotically? Usamagarusly? Maybe Usmag went insane and believed no one was worshipping them, killed itself, then people stopped worshipping because their god is dead?
He actually still has a cargo cult of worshippers who are blindly going through the motions, enacting banal (non magical) rituals, etc., but they’re largely being used as a power play by the current leader rather than actually worshipping him.
It would be a fun development if the wizard attuned to the ring were to usurp the cult, take upon the role of high priest, and convert them to actual worshippers or something. Then convince Usamagarus to depart the ring.
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If you want to be really meta have him reference spells from older editions that don’t exist anymore. Especially as suggestions that they won’t even work for. The other interesting idea is have him be an expert on things so old but know nothing about recent events.
Lol he definitely calls them Tanar’ri and Baatezu
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Yeah, could be a great deus ex machina opportunity. But I’d have to hold it in reserve most of the time or else the players will start doing reckless shit.
Let them. Just have the ring draw them into even bigger trouble every time they do. Like he saves you from being chased by a pack of owlbears by setting the forest on fire. Now you are being hunted by a circle of pissed off druids.
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Mechanically, I can give them advantage on history checks from his era or something. And roleplay it.
I like the old spells thing. I have a book full of 2e spells converted to 5e. He could even teach the wizard random spells from that.
You could also random or as requested use older rules for the same spell name. I.e. the fireball does volume now like from AD&D
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Lol he definitely calls them Tanar’ri and Baatezu
For sure. Lots of older lore and names. Especially unhelpful things
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Hi folks, DM here.
So my party is going through Goodman Games 5e conversion of The Lost City. They are level 5.
I had them encounter a random wayward rock gnome merchant, who was seeking gems. He sold the party a Ring of Mind Shielding.
One of the effects is that, if you die while wearing it, your soul becomes embedded in the ring. If there is a soul in the ring, it can communicate telepathically with its wearer.
I decided, on a lark, after they looted it, that there would already be a soul in the ring, making it a sentient item of sorts. However, when they asked me who, I stuttered for a second and named one of the “dead gods” of the campaign, Usamagarus. Who is the missing god of magic, wisdom, knowledge, etc. And, I decided to roleplay him as a senile, forgetful wizard, also on a lark when they tried to communicate with him. He claims he committed suicide voluntarily after he stopped being worshipped.
Okay, now I need ideas. You’re a senile wizardry God type character that’s been trapped in a ring for 700 years. I won’t goals, quirks, etc. assuming he has real no interest in being reincorporated.
So far I’ve mostly been pondering mannerisms, playing grampa Simpson “back in my day” stuff.
Anyway, should be fun
I did something similar, also on a whim.
It was an actual wizard, but a very high level one.
I treated the ring as a Magic Jar, and made him very keen on getting a body, he’d been dead and alone for 50 years.
I’d have the deus ex machina side of your god be possession, as well. Yours doesn’t want to keep the body, which is cool, but in a moment of desperation, he could still force his way in for a moment, cast resilient sphere or globe of invulnerability or whatever the situation called for, drop some wisdom, and return.
This would be an excellent way to prove benevolence if the party is suspicious also. Taking someone over, telling everyone “no having a body isn’t my vibe” and then leaving can help sell the godhood and also shows that they don’t have to worry he’s trying to trick them, if needed.