Magic Item Idea

The Case of Catnapping was built by the ratfolk wizard Jerimus as a ploy against his rival archmage. It appears to be an ordinary box, perhaps made from thin wood or cardboard, but it's imbued with arcane herbs and runes are hidden in the very fibers. When the Case of Catnapping is open, any cat or tabaxi who is within 30 feet must make a save against the Compulsion spell or approach and sit inside. If more than one possible target is in range, the first who can get in the box does so, then the others gather around and can choose to either close the box and sit on top, or pretend they have no interest in the item at all.

The Harmonium says that they know how to keep everyone safe and happy - by uniting them under one harmonious system! They are the officers of the watch, patrolling Sigil from their base in the City Barracks. Their color philosophy is Red/White, as they aren't afraid to get their hands dirty if the end result is order.

The Mercykillers say nobody is too powerful, or too good, or too unimportant to escape the wrongs they have done. They carry out sentences and deliver swift justice in Sigil's Prison and across the planes. Their mana color is Black/White because their strict code of judgment pairs with a bounty hunter's attitude.

The Revolutionary League says the system is broken. Every system. But especially the ones that make a few people powerful at the expense of the many. They infiltrate other factions and plot in dark corners all over the multiverse. Their color is Blue/Red, as they gather information for the anarchist cause.

The Sign of One says the whole multiverse, all of it, is a dream. Is it your dream? Is it mine? Or maybe some butterfly on Arcadia? They're not sure yet, but they are making an effort of mind over matter to find out for certain. Debaters and diplomats, they run the Hall of Speakers where factions negotiate and vote on Sigil's future. Their meditative, self centered philosophy tends to the Blue/Black mana colors.

Planescape Factions by Magic Color

I hope to get some responses on this, because I’m not super familiar with Magic lore. But here’s some of the Planescape organizations - the philosopher gangs and guilds who run Sigil and clash across the multiverse.

The Athar say that the gods aren’t truly divine and should be subject to the same rules as anyone, despite their power. They represent Blue/White with their focus on logic over faith and their organized printing presses and alchemists.

The Believers of the Source say all things are being tested and eventually, with enough determination, we mortals can achieve reincarnation into a higher state. In their foundries, they build tools and vehicles and fine trade goods. They represent Black/Green with the focus on growth and personal development, and the drive to become something new.

The Bleak Cabal says there’s no meaning or purpose to existence, and even accepting this lesson is just a temporary distraction from the endless, hopeless mess. In the Gatehouse, they care for the many poor and unhealthy citizens of Sigil. They represent a very odd flavor of Black/White as they turn their empty lives to a social mission.

The Doomguard say everything is going to end eventually, so why not enjoy the view of all the destruction? They push the entropic process forward by forging all kinds of weapons in the Armory. They exemplify Red/Black in their reckless disregard for the fabric of reality.

If this sparks some interest I will keep it going - there’s fifteen factions, so there might be color overlap between them. And keep in mind, there’s all kinds of alignments and ideals within these groups to inspire NPCs and adventure hooks!

Monster Manual Meals 1

Idea: make a delicious stew from the bulb of the psychic Udoroot! It’s a Huge creature, so the stew feeds at least a dozen people. Make sure you have some mushrooms and garlic on hand, and most recipes also recommend dried red pepper to cut through the earthy root flavor.

Udoroot Stew really sticks to your ribs, and it pairs well with all kinds of drinks. Increase the duration of any potion you drink in the next 8 hours by 50%. Psionic adventurers also report a limited ability to mimic the Udoroot’s split mind. Once during the next 8 hours, they can manifest two powers with a single full-round action (paying power points for both).

Combat Rule Idea

Probably best to try this with a one-shot first: Set up several dartboards, or paper targets on a wall you don't care about.

Instead of rolling dice for your attack and damage, test your real-world accuracy by throwing darts or using a Nerf gun (not sponsored) to hit the targets! The reason you have multiple targets is because you can throw from a greater distance to increase your potential damage. Let's say your 1d4 target is 7 feet away. Your 1d6 target is 9 feet away, then 1d8 (11 feet) and 1d10 (12 feet) and 1d12 (13 feet). You could even put a d20 target at a truly impressive distance. The targets have rings that show how much damage you do, with smaller rings having higher numbers.

Obviously, change the distances and size of the targets to fit the skills and mood of the game!

Fun Fact: there is a mansion in Malaysia called Carcosa because the British dude who commissioned it was a nerd. But apparently not enough of a nerd to consider that it's a terribly ominous name for anywhere you plan to spend time in. He thought the name might be derived from Italian "cara casa" or "dear house".

I can just name the planets in my LANCER setting after nerdy shit like Ecaz or Carcosa and justify it by saying that the people who named these planets in-universe were probably also massive nerds

Nobilis game where everyone is playing characters like The Death Of The American Dream and A Muse For Poor Songwriters and The First Time You See The Ocean but the antagonist is someone (something) incredibly specific and immutable like the god of Dust.

Idea: play a dragon who's convinced that every adventurer is a dragon. Yes, really. No way would a real gnome put on armor and go up against the fleshless hordes of Mount Howlstab! Those guys only live a couple hundred years, they're not going to throw away their life delving into the underdark.

No, this dragon knows that only dragons are brave enough to do that. Someone told them there's a bonus reward of gold if you can keep your humanoid disguise longer than anyone else - it makes the game more challenging! So they have to use regular humanoid tactics, while trying to get their friends to slip up and reveal their draconic powers...

“Wait, you two legs give each other gold for hunting down monsters and stealing their wealth? Where do I sign up?” The massive towering dragon that was just about to burn down the town said to you.

While exploring an ancient cemetery, your party discovers a mausoleum 100 feet tall. Though at first you think it must have dozens of rooms inside, you enter to find a single huge, vaulted chamber. Ominous rattling and moving shadows on the walls make the place feel even more haunted than it should be.

The resident of this sepulcher is a brontosaurus who became a vampire millions of years ago. It can become an immense swarm of giant dragonflies, summon rolling thunderstorms, and even split the earth to entomb victims for future devouring. This ancient creature, if awakened, will begin plans to buy a house in the kingdom of the giants, the only land with enough blood to keep it active for a new reign of terror.

Idea: make your own solo scenario with a Powered by the Apocalypse game! Some good ones would be Monster of the Week (an investigation into something strange in your neighborhood) or Apocalypse World (give yourself a cool wasteland to survive in! Solo hexcrawling, anyone?)

The benefit of this is that any roll could have three outcomes instead of two - failure, success, or success with consequences. It seems like a really good way to expand the possibilities of the story!

Together Against The World

Perhaps one of the best reasons to do a correspondence campaign: Play one of the Call of Cthulhu solo scenarios! The ones I've heard of are Alone Against the Dark, Alone Against the Flames, Alone Against the Static, and Alone On Halloween.

You could get a group of friends together and play through all of these simultaneously, taking your solo investigators into dangerous mysteries and updating the group with letters (or emails, for the sake of not waiting on the postal system). It's sort of in the spirit of Dracula Daily, to keep the story timeline in sync with the real world timeline.

The pseudonatural Kraken has “tentacles” that have bones and joints inside. It can stand up and walk on these like stilts faster than normal Krakens can move on land.

Aberrations

Making an unnatural version of a creature? People are always like “extra eyes” or “lots of mouths” but that can become familiar and therefore not scary.

You know what you should do to suggest corruption and horror? Describe the animal bending or moving in completely awful ways. The bird cocks its head at you and then takes flight, but rather than flapping its wings up and down the limbs whirl like helicopter blades.

But it's cursed! The toe steers your right foot so you keep stubbing all your other toes...

The other terrible implication is that if the Pinky Toe of Vecna is an important and relevant artifact, it has to be included in his unholy symbol. The hand with the eye in its palm and then a single toe.

the right pinky toe of vecna, adds 5 feet to your movement speed

Image ID: Ryan Stiles from the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”. He is making a goofy yet deadpan expression and has a caption saying: “You guys wanna start a fight?”. End ID.

The Disjoined Duchies are always on the brink of some sort of conflict. One summer will see the people of West Lozenge allying with Gronimar to raid towns in the hills of Ragnell. But if the Duxe of Gronimar dies that winter, West Lozenge might break their treaty (if they even had one) to support someone's claim to the throne in spring. All the internal and external conflicts could result in Gronimar disintegrating entirely! If someone had a provable claim to the throne of the Evil Empire, we could see something truly terrible. Most of the dynasties ended in an unpleasant fashion (right before the start of a new evil dynasty), but if there's a potential emperor, they would be able to activate some long-dormant artifacts, call on elemental allies, and bring the Empire back to life. That just might be enough to get the quarreling Duchies to unite against it for a real once-in-a-millennium war.

What’s one thing that your world’s political leaders could do to instanstly start a war or coup?

Idea: play Monster of the Week but all of the characters are the crew of a sailing ship in the modern ocean. Maybe a historical vessel like the Gotheborg or a private charter owned by the group’s patron (or a PC using the Expert playbook to have the ship as your haven). You sail the seas looking for umibozu and the Chesapeake Bay monster and those freaky whales from Iceland.

What kind of character would you play in this game? Maybe a wannabe sea witch or a vengeful harpooneer?

Land cryptids: We think it was probably a wolf with mange.

Sea cryptids: So it turns out there really is a creature of the abyss with glowing skin and fifty-foot barbed tentacles that somehow evaded reliable documentation for several thousand years, but we're going to act like these two cases are equivalent because anecdotal descriptions of its appearance have historically been somewhat inaccurate.

Play the Modiphius Dune RPG in a new campaign which examines the implications of a new discovery. Spreading through the poor and downtrodden folk of the universe, a virus is altering human DNA to make powerful telekinesis possible. This leads to a few new factions emerging and a lot of involvement from the powers that be - the Guild Navigators are shaking in their tanks because some of the mutants are able to bend space in a certain degree.

Will uncontrollable mutations lead to the end of space feudalism? Will telepathy triumph over telekinesis? What role are the Bene Tleilaxu playing in this game? And what funky eye color do you get when you become a mutant?

Film Student Bard who has boosted abilities but at the cost of irresistible stage fright. They can use their performance powers as if they were 4 levels higher, as long as nobody else is looking. Some day, when their movie is ready to release, it will inspire the whole world and give all audiences a bonus to attacks and saves against fear!

Dice with altered numbers and buffs/debuffs based on the alterations.

This is a cool idea! Depending on what you mean by "altered numbers" there could be many different ways to go with it.

Emoji d20 that gets rolled when you attack with a special weapon! The flame 100 emoji lights your opponent on fire and the looking respectfully eyes emoji gives you truesight for one round...

Or what about a terrible bargain you make in a Blades in the Dark game? Your character sells their fate to Gshinish the ice demon, allowing you to stop time for an instant once per scene. However, for the rest of your character's life, they have to use dice that go from 0 to 5 instead of 1 to 6.

Idea for your players' Warlock Patron

There are rumors among occult scholars of an astral creature who can grant nearly unlimited power - not just to warlocks, but to anyone. The desperate and the jealous claim that this spirit is a half-formed god, or a gestalt of ideas that has gained sentience. But those who wield its magic don't have a clue what it really is...

The Last Unknown. It can only hear you if you haven't thought of it. It can only empower you if you seek power without knowing where it comes from. The Last Unknown. Called into being by a ritual once upon a time, performed by children who didn't understand the words they spoke and combined the herbs and sigils at random. The Last Unknown. It is the space between stars and the cracks in your walls. It is anything that has never been seen or heard, and it wants nothing more than to grow quietly, without scientists and explorers and ever-expanding life pushing it back.