The Hollow Children (DnD Story)
From D&D Wiki
many people have sought out ancient power. after the great war most of the literature was lost. magic studies were seen more as a useless hobby over survival and hard labor. thus in the Farritin Kingdom the magic age died and the industrial age flourished. the only ones who sought out this power, in secret, was the council , leading to teaching artifact hunting to some of the citizens. who through training and experimentation developed a magic sense, some with psychic powers, but all of them could use some of hindsight that allowed them to relive a moment from the last time something was touched, while hindsight was common, some developed it even further. some could see any moment from the relics past, while others sought to commune with the powers themselves rather than the item. some sought to try to recreate them some are even speculated to be able to reach in and affect the relics past itself.magic turned taboo since it was seen as lazy and those who studied magic were weak. not that many of the citizens could use it but those who did have a talent were shunned, killed, or turned into one of the "hollows" no one knows quite what happens but the story is theyre taken in the night by some monster that sucks out their magic and their life force leaving behind their hollow husks which are capable only listening to the most simple commands making them the labor force to everyone, theyre not even slaves, or even chained, its said that if you give them something of equal value theyll do anything for anyone.
intro to the story begins with a hollow giving a player a letter with a runestone and promptly slitting its own throat the note simply says: help them. find the source. use this to find the rest .before its all for naught. you must fine relicist to decipher the runestones
isa pride/humility ansuz envy /kindness perth gluttony/abstenence uruz lust/chastity navthiz patience/wrath gebo liberality/greed thurisaz diligence/sloth
you meet the 3 factions trying to find the runestones as well: "The Shard" a dark sect that worships a god that is said to have gain sentience and broke free of the goddess he is known as "the god who laughs" may historians have wagered on his name and his past but the god has shown itself as other gods and goddesses and many demons all to toy with the citizens of the world all that is known is that he laughs.. "the shard" is notorious in their dealings with the dark as well as the light.. even going as far as helping other factions all in the pursuit of chaos. the shard has a hierarchy system.. 8 "fingers" of the god who laughs whos name are secret even within the sect itself and its public followers known as hands of the shard
"Soldarians" followers of the goddess trapped in the crystal known as "sloandra" their only goal is to free the goddess who they believe has been cursed and trapped by an ancient long forgotten race they follow 1 woman who is said to be blessed by the goddess "the Voice" chosen from a ritual of virgin women.. the ritual however is far from pure the voice is taken from the chosen of all the virgin women of their followers. a contest is held where the young women are set against the young men and the last one to remain a virgin becomes the voice and the man her protector.. the other chosen become married to the male who "caught" her. though many this may seem barbaric its really just a group marriage and the women have already consensually chosen before the ritual itself. afterward the voice and her knight disappear to commune with the goddess and the rest of the town parties til the voice comes out with the goddesses words.. blessing everyone and the kingdom
The council of the Farritin kingdom also sought to use the rings said to able to attune to the crystal to use its power against the king. as the king got weaker they simply used the king as a puppet blaming both the shard and the soldarians while enacting incredible cruelty on the people and experimenting on the hollows
at the end of the story you see the king a broken shell of a man, almost could be mistaken for a hollow himself. he wearily looks upon the party awaiting his fate "I know what you may be thinking but it was i who sent that letter to you" he tells them of his kingdom and the purpose of the hollows ''" It is a cursed kingdom and i the devil. we are a beautiful and rich kingdom in the middle of the barren wastelands. an oasis for us and the plains people and our power keeps the other kingdoms in check. it may not look it now but we were once a hideaway for runaway slaves and criminals. a place where no dared to enter unless you were looking for death. While digging for water we came upon a great crystal, it quite beautiful. even when it spoke it had a gentle voice it said:
thank you for finding me. in return i shall bless this area for you so that you may live comfortably.
my ancestor was the first to touch the stone so it took favor with and so did the people from then on. we became rulers.and the crystal worshipped. the king, you see, is burdened with not only protecting the kingdom but also the secret to our home. the crystal was not a goddess but a curse on us. youve noticed no one has an affinity for magic right? that's because the crystal that powers our city and the machines and protects people has a high price. we must sacrifice magic users so it may absorb the magic. this was easy at first, being a city of criminals. once there was not enough crime, we had to choose.. life or murder. after that it was slaves and refugees. then as the city grew, hunger grew. the council and i made a pact.. the moment magic would no longer seek us we would tell everyone the terrible truth and let them decide our fate.. we even tried to help by banning magic, casting out any who cou use it under the guise as "inferior" but now even i am starting to be drained away. i d not wish for mercy. only ill ask you as a king trying to save his people, take the crystal and end this curse. i could not make the choice myself, but there are 2 temples 2 choices. 1 from the dark faction that you have been attacked my times by who have a device that will pull magic ower from other kingdoms, sacrificing them instead of us. and the crystal temple who have a device that will purify and destroy the crystal once and for all but the people of the kingdom and the kingdoms who rely on us will die. i leave this to you and the treasure of our kingdom as payment
the kings shaky bony hand drops a key,a ring, and a rolled up letter explaining everything, his dying wish for his people to be safe and passing the title of king to the bearer of the letter ..the king is left a hollow.
(.. the ring at a touch floats in the air glowing white a unfolding appearing like rings forming a ball with one spot glowing red the relicist screams in agony after they touch it screaming "you have to find them,,all of them..it cant happen again..the ring will lead you to others..please..before its too late" and dies from shock....) {this is more of a me thing, leading to a bigger adventure you can leave the ring part out if you want}
there are 7 runestones total the players to find some will be in dungeons or tombs others stolen, fought for, or broken pieces needing reforged all ending with you either backing the kingdom or saving the hollows in 2 final dungeons light/ dark alignment each room sacrificing a runestone to open a door to a room with a puzzle corresponding to the 7 heavenly virtues / 7 deadly sins or you side with the kingdom and figure out how to destroy the other factions
the hollows are freed if you destroy or purify the crystal OR become an army if you help "the god who laughs" OR continue existing within the kingdom as mindless slaves if you help the council
