Cue the drum roll, the build up of suspense, for today’s “sure is late mister”, #RPGaDAY2020 topic…
“I’ll send an SOS to the world
I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my message in a bottle, yeah
Message in a bottle, yeah”
Ok now that’s out of the system, and I’ve hopefully planted an ear worm, let’s get on with the real post.
For me I think a message is another way to deliver a secret or clue to the party. Whether it is something scrawled on a wall in paint or giving it a more sinister tone blood, to a messenger person running up and handing over a scroll. Although the messenger person could be replaced by a pigeon/owl/bat etc.
But to steal, sorry be inspired by something from Greek legend and movies like Jason and the Argonauts statues could come alive and have the Gods talk to a chosen one. Or like the famous seen from the Bible have a flaming bush.
Which ever way the message is delivered to the party, it will be something that may or may not help them with their current adventure, maybe even send them off in a new direction distracting them from their current task.
Once our campaign starts back up again. I have a message from the past that the party will discover in the form of a journal at a long lost dwarven mine. The plan is to have two copies of the text to give to the players. If one of the party discovers it that does not know dwarven then they get the dwarven rune version of the text. Which will just appear as jibber is to them. However if a dwarf or some-one who can read dwarven discovers it, they get the English version of the journal, with instructions that they need to paraphrase the contents of the journal to the rest of the party (if they wish to share it with them).
The journal will warn the party of the perils they will be facing if they choose to progress deeper into the mine. I borrowed the idea from Tolkien and Lord of the Rings when the Fellowship of the Ring come across The Book of Mazarbul. I hope that the players get and like this little Easter egg.
See you in tomorrows post.