Plot bunny thread

FemmeLegion

FemmeLegion

I have this setting and situation in my head, but I have no intention of building a campaign any time soon. So in the meantime, if anyone out there would like to borrow it, please feel free - I've tried to leave plenty of questions open so it can more easily be worked into someone else's campaign. I'd also encourage others to share any ideas they may have had that don't necessarily mesh well with their current campaign.

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It's a small town, with lots of farmland beyond it. From where you stand, the top of a tower just barely peeks over one of the rolling hills further down the road.

Walking through the town, the mood clearly indicates that *something* is happening or will happen soon - some people look excited and hopeful, some look fretful and uncertain, and some women are weeping silently as they go about their business. One rather young woman is in the middle of buying something from the greengrocer when she simply breaks down sobbing.

Eventually someone agrees to tell you what's going on, in exchange for a mug of beer, 'cause it's kind of a long story:

Some time ago, the Enchantress came along. Made a big ol' display of arcane power, scared the crap out of the Laird. She then told the Laird that she'd studied magic all her life, and in all that time it had never made her happy, and she'd finally figured out that what she really wanted could not be provided by magic. Well, not directly....

She cut a deal with the Laird. She would build her tower just within the bounds of his holdings, and she would come to his aid if the lands were ever threatened with attack. In return, the Laird and his subjects would supply her with a steady stream of young men to pamper and fawn over her. Every year on her birthday, any boys who've come of age within the past year are hauled off by carriage to her tower, and the Enchantress then frees an equal number of young men to return to their homes.

This agreement has been in place long enough that any menfolk in the village who grew up here can tell you stories of their time in the Enchantress's tower. She can be demanding and capricious, but she is not cruel, and she always sends the young men home laden with gifts. And the person telling you the tale is old enough to vouch that the Enchantress has kept her half of the bargain, more than once decimating armies sent to capture the town. A random passerby overhears the tale and compares the Enchantress to a dire tiger who has not been fully tamed, and it's only the steady petting of the young men that keeps her from turning on her "owner".

The Enchantress's birthday is tomorrow, and the carriage will likely be arriving at nightfall tonight. So many families are getting ready to either welcome their sons home, or bid them good-bye.