Plotting Romance?
February 15th, 2011
Hello every one and welcome to Grave Plots, where we provide you with new and exciting plot hooks and adventure Ideas each and every week. This week is Romance Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and so this week’s plots will all contain love, obsession, or loss as a central theme.
The Matchmaker
This romantic plot is ideal for bringing a little romance into the game without directly involving one of the PCs in as a romantic interest, and is best suited for groups with players who feel less than comfortable role playing romantic situations. If desired, this hook can be made to encourage romantic roleplaying simply by switching one of the named NPCs for one of the PCs.
The Lady Isabella Gruidae is turning seventeen in two months’ time and, as is tradition with her family, she must find a husband before her seventeenth birthday; if she doesn’t, she will be disinherited, leaving her foul half-sister and her wicked husband to lay claim to her lands and titles. Fearing for both herself and the welfare of her people should this awful fate come to pass, Isabella has spent the better part of the last two years searching for love but finding only self-serving ambition and unabashed lust. She had given up all hope of finding some semblance of happiness when she heard tale that the PCs would be arriving in her lands later that very day. Knowing of their many great and noble deeds, Isabella felt a spark of hope for her future and sent for the PCs at once. Once the PCs are in Isabella’s presence she explains to them her many tales of misery and woe regarding romance and that she no longer trusts herself to find for her a man worthy of her love and admiration, and so she begs the PCs, who have made their reputation on helping others with their problems, to be her matchmakers. Should the PCs require some incentive to help her find true love, she is disappointed but shows no hesitancy in offering them all a considerable sum of gold. When asked what she is looking for in a mate, Isabella relates that she trusts the PCs to find her someone who is noble of heart, intelligent, and capable of loving her for the person she is, not merely for her estate or beauty.
Hitting the town the PCs find no shortage of potential suitors for her ladyship. Lord Raymond Haris of Hartshire desires Lady Isabella’s lands and is not shy about it; he offers the PCs a substantial bribe if they will set him up with Lady Isabella. William Refford, a young knight in training, has spent too much time reading poetry of the day, and while he won’t marry Lady Isabella he is more than happy to become her consort. A bard by the name of Elam is actually a prince in disguise and could be potentially motivated to marry Lady Isabella. A poet named Gerald may make a perfect mate for Isabella if the PCs can reconcile with his eccentricities, which are outlandish and many. A traveling lord and scholar by the name of Bartholomew seems perfect for Lady Isabella, though in fact is a fey in disguise hoping to use her in some obscure scheme to sow chaos in the land. Finally, after it becomes clear the PCs are to be the Lady’s matchmakers, they receive a pair of letters from the kings of Earlwich and Rouldrey. Devin the king of Earlwich has long been an enemy of Isabella’s father, and while he claims that his proposal was made purely out of love for Isabella, who, he says, is the only Gruildae that doesn’t sour his stomach, he may have less than pure motivations for wanting to marry her. The PCs however, will have to dig deep to find whatever his specific plans may be, and perhaps in the meantime the king and the lady could be happy together. Hload the king of Rouldrey is less obscure with his intentions, outright claiming to use his marriage to Isabella as pretence to conquer the lands of her extended family; however, he also promises to love and respect Isabella as his rightful queen and hopes that, should they be wed, she will bear him many strong children.
Whatever the PCs choose, the fate of Isabella’s love life is in their hands.
Harriet and Osmurd
For those of you who have had the pleasure of seeing or reading Romeo and Juliet, you might recognize this fantasy adventure twist on one of humanity’s most beloved romantic tragedies.
Harriet is the daughter of his honored lordship Sir Harold Revield, governor of the most esteemed township of Revsmene. She has spent her whole life either cooped away in her private wing of his lordship’s castle or else being put on display at court. The only people she sees all day are servants or family, and forget about courtly romance – the only men she ever meets are a bunch of do-nothing nobles halfheartedly courting her to curry favor with her father. She had nearly resigned herself to her comfortable misery, when something wondrous happened: one evening, while singing in the garden, Harriet met the love of her life.
Osmurd is goblin, of clan Axer; for that matter Osmurd was the son of Axer himself and stood next in line to be clan chief, that is if after fighting off all his rivals there was still a clan to be chief of. Osmurd is a warrior, the best in the clan besides his father. For Osmurd, life was good and simple: he had plenty of food, a soft pile of rags and blankets to sleep on, and one of the biggest chambers in the cave system. Osmurd never questioned his beliefs – he knew that the surface world was dangerous, full of horrifying monsters eager to devour him and all his kindred. He knew of the awful beings that dwelt in the world above, and like all good clansmen he hated them all. Above all, Osmurd, like his father, hated humans, tyrants who horded wealth and waged never-ending war with the goblins. But one day that all changed: while raiding the world above, Osmurd’s ears picked up a sound of beauty like he had never heard before, and overcome with a mixture of curiosity, nervousness, and anticipation new to him, he quietly approached with great caution, weapons at the ready and a nervous smile on his face. When he saw her for the first time, Osmurd dropped his sword (another first), struck dumb with shock and then held in rapture by the extraordinary radiance of this beautiful human woman. It took but a moment for Osmurd to reconsider his beliefs while he stood paralyzed, and he was suddenly overcome with a sense that something wonderful was about to happen.
The first few moments were strange for Osmurd and Harriet; after all, it’s not everyday a goblin warrior creeps out of hole and then throws his sword at the feet of a singing noblewoman. But once Osmurd recovered his poise he made his introductions to Harriet, who was so taken aback by Osmurd’s obvious sincerity and honest bluntness that for a moment she was able to see past his often belittled heritage to the man he was, and rather than call for the guards as she might have, she returned his introduction and the two began talking. They became fast friends and began to see one another on an almost daily basis. They were forced to keep these meetings a secret from those who knew them, for if their relationship was discovered then their families would surely disapprove – perhaps violently. Then as they shared stories of their lives they became confidants, trusting one another with their closest secrets. Soon after that the two became lovers, and together they were happier than they had ever been, until one day fate decided to rear its cruel head.
Once during a visit to see Harriet, some of Axer’s goblins decided to secretly follow Osmurd on one of his surface raids. Keeping to the shadows a short ways behind him, the squadron pursued Osmurd on his regular path to meet Harriet. The goblins then spotted Osmurd in the princess’s room and misinterpreted the situation, believing Osmurd to be held prisoner. They attacked the estate to try to free him, and when the castle guards moved to defend the homestead from them a battle ensued, during which there were casualties on both sides prior to the goblins' retreating to their homes to report their findings. Curious about the commotion, Harriet goes to see what happened, and after hearing the new grows worried that if their secret’s been discovered it might mean the end of their relationship. After hearing what happened Osmurd explains that it’s much worse than that: if his father hears that the guards killed some of his own men or thinks that he’s being held prisoner, it will surely mean war between the Axer clan and Revsmene. Soon after that skirmishes between the people of Revsmene and the goblins began to occur, and as time goes on it is becoming clear that the situation is only going to escalate.
The PCs arrive in Revsmene after hearing about a call for adventurers to help in a war against a vicious goblin clan which has taken up residence the surrounding area. Their reputation preceding them, the PCs are conducted to the court at Castle Revsmene, where they are lauded by various nobles and even the governor himself to be the heroes who will save Revsmene. Following a series of pompous speeches by men who clearly couldn’t care less about the fate of the farmers and peasants who live in Revsmene, a banquet is held in the honor of the PCs. As the banquet is dying down, Harriet comes to the PCs and asks their help with a dire problem; when they agree she takes them to her rooms in her wing of the castle. After introducing them to Osmurd, who has been staying with her since the night when the goblins followed him, she explains about their relationship and how this situation came to pass. The couple just wants to be together in peace, but they don’t want their families to suffer for their love, so they ask the PCs to bring an end to this fighting and save both peoples, after which they will flee to some far-off mountain where their love won’t hurt anyone.
Taking up the couple’s request, the PCs take on the role of mediators between two unreasonable men: the stuffy, arrogant, and slightly xenophobic Revield, and the hot-headed, warmongering Axer. Convincing the two sides to lay down arms won’t be easy, especially if they mean to keep Osmurd and Harriet’s relationship a secret from their families. Ultimately, with patience cooler heads will prevail and the two sides will lay aside arms for rational reasons, like expense in resources and troops, and will agree to pay one another token reparations. Particularly successful diplomats might be able to arrange a mutual defense pact or even an alliance between the Axer goblins and the people of Revsmene.
Finally, depending on the results of their negotiation, the couple may request the PCs’ help in escaping to some remote region where they can live their lives in peace. In addition to needing the PCs’ to help them sneak past the guards, the couple will also need some kind of excuse as to where they are that won’t simply spur their families on to war again.
Well that’s it for this week’s Grave Plots; I hope to see you next week. Until then I would like to wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.