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A Ring of Mind Shielding with a god trapped inside?

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  • TroyT Troy

    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 😊

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    chonkyowlbear@lemmy.world
    wrote last edited by chonkyowlbear@lemmy.world
    #8

    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.

    TroyT 1 Reply Last reply
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    • A a_union_of_kobolds@lemmy.world

      Lol fun, I like it. Off the top of my head:

      • He’s 100% forgotten the names of body parts. It’s a routine stumbling block in conversation.

      • Use random tables full of sentence fragments to MadLibs his stories. Ask for a moment or two to stitch it together properly so it almost makes sense, your players won’t mind.

      • You’ll have to let him do huge wizard shit once in a while when its needed most. It’s okay, even if it feels like cheating. If they’ve put in the effort to maintain the relationship, its a Chekov’s Gun and it has to go off sooner or later.

      • He calls everyone by the wrong names

      I’ll try to keep adding as they come to me

      TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
      TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
      Troy
      wrote last edited by
      #9

      Ooh, good call on the occasional magic nova. I like the mannerisms. I shall prepare a table that isn’t a script. 😉

      I’m hoping the players can convince him to live again. That would be cool. Casting true resurrection on a god or something, once they have access to the spell.

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      • C chonkyowlbear@lemmy.world

        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.

        TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
        TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
        Troy
        wrote last edited by
        #10

        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. 🙂

        C 1 Reply Last reply
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        • T themeatbridge

          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.

          TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
          TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
          Troy
          wrote last edited by
          #11

          This is masterful

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          • D dumples@midwest.social

            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.

            TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
            TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
            Troy
            wrote last edited by
            #12

            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.

            D 1 Reply Last reply
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            • P pronell@lemmy.world

              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.

              TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
              TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
              Troy
              wrote last edited by
              #13

              You can lead a horse to water…

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              • I i_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org

                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?

                TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
                TroyT This user is from outside of this forum
                Troy
                wrote last edited by
                #14

                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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                • D dumples@midwest.social

                  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.

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                  a_union_of_kobolds@lemmy.world
                  wrote last edited by
                  #15

                  Lol he definitely calls them Tanar’ri and Baatezu

                  D 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • TroyT Troy

                    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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                    chonkyowlbear@lemmy.world
                    wrote last edited by
                    #16

                    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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                    • TroyT Troy

                      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.

                      D This user is from outside of this forum
                      D This user is from outside of this forum
                      dumples@midwest.social
                      wrote last edited by
                      #17

                      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

                      1 Reply Last reply
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                      • A a_union_of_kobolds@lemmy.world

                        Lol he definitely calls them Tanar’ri and Baatezu

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                        dumples@midwest.social
                        wrote last edited by
                        #18

                        For sure. Lots of older lore and names. Especially unhelpful things

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • TroyT Troy

                          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 😊

                          K This user is from outside of this forum
                          K This user is from outside of this forum
                          khanzarate@lemmy.world
                          wrote last edited by
                          #19

                          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.

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