Today, we'll be covering the first paragraph of "Lost Highway" in the book "Eureka: 501 Adventure Plots to Inspire Game Masters" by the authors of GnomeStew.com. It's a part of the "Recovery of a Lost One" dramatic situation located in the science fiction genre. In this article, I'm going to be reskinning this sci-fi adventure plot to fit the D&D 5e fantasy gaming system. The plot has a total of six paragraphs, so, let's dive in and see what we can do.
As the first paragraph states: "Examining an old website, the PCs discover an odd process running. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be an incredibly complex AI. Inspecting it causes it to open an interface and start asking about computer security and software. Shutting down the process proves impossible and prompts requests for the user to desist."
Oh, boy, is this sci-fi!
Okay, so the first thing the plot mentions is an old website. That old website could be a scroll the PCs had found in a previous dungeon, or perhaps they acquired it from a poor retired wizard trying to get cash for his next meal.
Examining it more thoroughly, the PCs can see it has the origins of a very complicated spell [an Intelligence (Arcana) check DC 20 could very well unlock the mystery of the spell]. The character who passes their Arcana check suddenly opens a doorway into another realm, which instantly draws them inside. If they fail, perhaps they recruit an NPC who can do it for them. Either way, they are getting transported away.
In this realm, a faceless being presents itself to the PCs and begins questioning them about their purpose.
Why are they here? Who sent them? How are they to return home away from here? It does this as it draws closer, almost to the point of melee range.
If the PCs feel threatened, they can attack, but the task will be impossible. The faceless being will defend itself, while simultaneously requesting for the PCs to stop attacking it.
So, you can see how easy it is to reskin the first paragraph from sci-fi to fantasy. However, I feel like there can be more to it than this. First of all the elderly wizard...
One of the websites I love to use is https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/
Again, the randomness of characters and descriptions are my favorite.
On this website, there is a Character description generator with options of either male or female descriptions. For the old wizard, I randomly generated this male:
Brown, long hair is pulled back to reveal a craggy, menacing face. Gentle brown eyes, set charmingly within their sockets, watch lovingly over the river they've come to appreciate for so long. An old tattoo of a small dragon is displayed just above the left side of his left eyebrow leaves a compelling memory of reclaimed lands. This is the face of Almon Wildoak, a true stargazer among elves. He stands towering among others, despite his delicate frame. There's something enthralling about him, perhaps it's his sensitivity or perhaps it's simply his attitude. But nonetheless, people tend to ask him about his latest victory, while spreading rumors about him behind his back.
With some editing and creativity, we can add the following to our description of the old wizard:
Brown, long hair is pulled back to reveal a craggy, menacing face. Gentle brown eyes, set charmingly within their sockets, watch lovingly over the scroll he's come to appreciate for so long. An old tattoo of a small dragon is displayed just above the left side of his left eyebrow. This is the face of Almon Wildoak, a true stargazer among elves. Although hunched, he stills stands towering among others, despite his delicate frame. There's something enthralling about him, perhaps it's his sensitivity or perhaps it's simply his attitude. It amazes you that he is homeless and trying to get by.
The faceless being the PCs first encounter could be in the form of a demon, which is probably why they would feel threatened.
On the website, there is a Demon description generator. and we get this:
A bellow in the gloom, a ring of bells, and suddenly you're challenged by a peculiar entity of darkness and flame. Two raging eyes stare at you with an apathetic death, and another bellow bursts from its concave mouth in a fit of rage. Dark tendrils adorns its thick head, which itself is devoid of any expression. A plume of shadow escapes the creature's large nostrils set within a massive nose. Its thick head sits atop a lofty, blubbery body. An oddly gorgeous robe covers its torso, perhaps the remnants of an encounter in a different world. The creature advances toward you, its two legs clumsily carry its reptilian body with a grim energy. A whip-like tail squirms behind it, a bright light on its tip dances like a lure. Four draconic wings extend themselves fully. Visible bones, and shadowy membranes stretch upward before curling up. The creature, disappointed or bored, breaks its gaze upon you for now.
We can take the above, and with minor editing, we have the below:
A bellow in the gloom invades your mind, a ring of bells, and suddenly you're challenged by a peculiar entity of darkness and flame. An eyeless creature faces you with an apathetic death, and another mind-bellow bursts in a fit of rage. "Who are you?" Dark tendrils adorns its thick head, which itself is devoid of any expression. A plume of shadow radiates from its thick head, which sits atop a lofty, blubbery body. An oddly gorgeous robe covers its torso, perhaps the remnants of an encounter in a different world. "Why are you here?" The creature advances toward you, its two legs clumsily carry its reptilian body with a grim energy. A whip-like tail squirms behind it, a bright light on its tip dances like a lure. "Leave this place!" Four draconic wings extend themselves fully. Visible bones, and shadowy membranes stretch upward before curling up.
As you can already see, the first paragraph is mostly window dressing. And with a little reskinning, this sci-fi adventure plot is becoming a fantasy horror.
Next week, I will tackle the second paragraph of "The Lost Highway," and continue this grusome science-fiction by tailoring it to the fantasy genre of D&D 5e. If you're interested in follow along on this adventure design, I'll be posting one of these every Monday. Until then, keep adventuring.
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