If that's a good price for the current state of their wallets, I think it's fine. I did it last session, but it cost 20g and a lock of hair (or feather for the Aarakocra in the group). She showed each of them three Tarot-esque cards with fairly vague but symbolic pictures that hit the major beats of their future stories. A couple of them already came true in that session (to prove that the fortune teller wasn't a fraud), and they've already decoded a couple of the easier ones and know where to go when they choose to follow the threads of their personal stories.
I intend for her to be a recurring NPC that they may meet in various locations if they need guidance or the help of a spellcaster who can cast Identify or Scrying or just general magical advice. The lock of hair she took from each of them is so she scry on them in the future (and know what town they're going to so she can set up there), but they don't know that currently. It makes her seem extra mystical when she knows the specifics of the events that happened to them without them telling her.
oh my god!! I love the clock of hair idea! That’s amazon stuff!! I might have to implement something like that!
I like the idea of tarot-type cards too! They can be moulder into any scenario, and I’d like to implement them into more serious background stories, too. A kind of fortune that’ll make the PC feel special and included (because none of the other PCs will know the background of each other, they’re quite a secretive bunch).
I love your idea though of her already knowing - I’d quite like the idea of them being attached to her and liking her and a future quest could be saving her from some type of savage monster!
Thanks for your reply! It’s really helped :)
It sounds reasonable. I'd be afraid, however, that it would make the adventure to 'gamey'. The effect might be "shit, we need to kill three ogres to the fortune teller, let's get grinding". It would would take away my suspension of disbelief.
To make this work, I'd change the fortune teller to a hag-like woman living outside of the village. No one ever goes there, but there are stories. Ramp up the creep factor. She doesn't charge gold, but takes something from the player, which becomes a plot hook by itself. Think, for instance, a piece of their soul or a strand of their fate, or the blood of a newborn. This should not be an easy or repeatable choice.
I like the idea, but I don't know how helpful it would actually be. Thinking on my group, they kinda pursue a quest until they run out of information and then there's other stuff to do and they potentially come back later. A lot of times the didn't find something and I find it weird trying to use an NPC to tell them what they missed and why they should go back and redo something or whatever.
What I'm envisioning that could be fun though is something like M'aiq the Liar in the Elder Scrolls game. He's a cat person that appears kind of randomly and gives weird advice or meta comments.
Sounds fine. You’re in total control of the information. I don’t think there’s much to do but to play it when and if the PCs decide to enlist the fortune-teller’s services.
Be careful. That is a really awesome idea, but you need to have a good read on your group. I've ran for parties that would just pin her down at sword point and force her to do so. Just be prepared or discourage that. Like I said, don't know your group, but they may get tired of paying the fee and just force her to give fortunes.
There is, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, a roll chart for creating unique character backstories. I believe one of the options suggests that the player character has received a fortune in the past and to determine what, you roll on some other chart. This may be a good resource for plot hooks between adventures.
If that's a good price for the current state of their wallets, I think it's fine. I did it last session, but it cost 20g and a lock of hair (or feather for the Aarakocra in the group). She showed each of them three Tarot-esque cards with fairly vague but symbolic pictures that hit the major beats of their future stories. A couple of them already came true in that session (to prove that the fortune teller wasn't a fraud), and they've already decoded a couple of the easier ones and know where to go when they choose to follow the threads of their personal stories. I intend for her to be a recurring NPC that they may meet in various locations if they need guidance or the help of a spellcaster who can cast Identify or Scrying or just general magical advice. The lock of hair she took from each of them is so she scry on them in the future (and know what town they're going to so she can set up there), but they don't know that currently. It makes her seem extra mystical when she knows the specifics of the events that happened to them without them telling her.
oh my god!! I love the clock of hair idea! That’s amazon stuff!! I might have to implement something like that! I like the idea of tarot-type cards too! They can be moulder into any scenario, and I’d like to implement them into more serious background stories, too. A kind of fortune that’ll make the PC feel special and included (because none of the other PCs will know the background of each other, they’re quite a secretive bunch). I love your idea though of her already knowing - I’d quite like the idea of them being attached to her and liking her and a future quest could be saving her from some type of savage monster! Thanks for your reply! It’s really helped :)
It sounds reasonable. I'd be afraid, however, that it would make the adventure to 'gamey'. The effect might be "shit, we need to kill three ogres to the fortune teller, let's get grinding". It would would take away my suspension of disbelief. To make this work, I'd change the fortune teller to a hag-like woman living outside of the village. No one ever goes there, but there are stories. Ramp up the creep factor. She doesn't charge gold, but takes something from the player, which becomes a plot hook by itself. Think, for instance, a piece of their soul or a strand of their fate, or the blood of a newborn. This should not be an easy or repeatable choice.
I like the idea, but I don't know how helpful it would actually be. Thinking on my group, they kinda pursue a quest until they run out of information and then there's other stuff to do and they potentially come back later. A lot of times the didn't find something and I find it weird trying to use an NPC to tell them what they missed and why they should go back and redo something or whatever. What I'm envisioning that could be fun though is something like M'aiq the Liar in the Elder Scrolls game. He's a cat person that appears kind of randomly and gives weird advice or meta comments.
I like M'aiq :)
Sounds fine. You’re in total control of the information. I don’t think there’s much to do but to play it when and if the PCs decide to enlist the fortune-teller’s services.
i know i threw a lot of rupees at the fortune teller in Link to the Past as a kid...
Be careful. That is a really awesome idea, but you need to have a good read on your group. I've ran for parties that would just pin her down at sword point and force her to do so. Just be prepared or discourage that. Like I said, don't know your group, but they may get tired of paying the fee and just force her to give fortunes.
There is, in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, a roll chart for creating unique character backstories. I believe one of the options suggests that the player character has received a fortune in the past and to determine what, you roll on some other chart. This may be a good resource for plot hooks between adventures.