Zombie Mummy #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt #pandemic

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Zombie Mummy

People in a fictional society were having a fictional pandemic. And the fictional leader suggested they inject cleaning products into their lungs. A disinfectant producer flat out tells people not to do this, but they do anyway. Really, what kind of leader would even speculate about injecting cleaning products into the lungs? But there you go, people doing it, and the poorest people eating and snorting soap. "I was only kidding!" the leader claims as his people die.

A wizard, who was banned from the kingdom by the leader, attempts a spell to end the pandemic. He doesn't know about the cleaning products. By chance, having soapy lungs is the only way this spell could possibly backfire. (But really, who would think someone would have cleaning product in the lungs? I mean, come on...) So everyone in the fictional land that was still alive or recently died and followed the idea of the leader turns into a zombie. Those who had died earlier in the week after following the idea become zombie mummies (walking around with bandages, because that's how the land cares for their dead). Oh, and anyone who ignored the cleaning idea has just been cured of the pandemic and now has to deal with zombies and zombie mummies.

Your party might include the wizard, adventurers from other lands, residents from the land...
Kill them? Try to cure them? Risk restarting the pandemic?
Side with the leader? Replace the leader with someone in your party?



Some people like to use a fictional game to make light of an impossible situation. Winning a fictional game can almost feel like regaining a little control. And rolling natural 20s while slaying fictional evil can be a healthy outlet for anger. All players should be aware of the premise beforehand, as many people are experiencing mental health challenges right now. The idea for the post was written in early March, not including the cleaning products. Originally the leader suggested drinking ogre milk and the party had to figure out if an ogre even could be milked... but, I mean... real life just outdid my idea, as you can see by the hyperlinks.

PLEASE do not ingest cleaning products. Follow the nice Wizard Sanders... 😉




And that's it for the A to Z Challenge 2020! Thanks to everyone who visited me. This is a personal blog, and 11 months of the year it's just me sharing my thoughts somewhere other than FB or Twitter.

Yesterday #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Yesterday

Due to a timewarp, everyone relives yesterday. Unlike Groundhog Day, you only relive the day one time. Monday Monday Tuesday Tuesday Wednesday Wednesday...

Fight the same monster twice (perhaps with a different outcome). Get another chance at the treasure.

How long will this timewarp last? What caused it? What if it stops? What if days start skipping and the dice determine what day it is now? The ultimate goal is to fix the timewarp... though anarchist characters might prefer things as they are... 😄

Forbidden Love Ends With X #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Forbidden Love Ends With X

There's a forbidden love. It resulted in the forbidden ones having se… well, you know the next letter. 😉 ❌

And now there are offspring. Half of your adventures are tasked with destroying the "abominations," the other half with protecting them and getting them accepted. Some party members might even be the parents, grandparents, half-siblings, aunts, and uncles of the offspring.

Wayfaring for Second Chances #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Wayfaring for Second Chances

No mounts are allowed. Everywhere the party goes, they must go on foot.

When creating characters, each player must have a horrible experience from their past, a moment where if they had just done one thing differently, made one different choice, they feel everything would be better.

However many adventurers there are, the chalice of second chances will grant the opportunity to one less. (5 players = 4 chances.) This is not known until they get there.

The chalice cannot be reached until the party has bonded, until everyone deeply cares that the others get the chance. The first player to drink must ask to grant the second chance wishes of all the others, but that player's character will forever become part of the chalice. To never live or die, to never be free, a magic that could only be undone if someone else went on the quest for a second chance to be the one to drink. Except the chalice of second chances only grants one second chance per being, ever, so none of the party members can be the one to do this.

While the second chance might go well (the dice determines that), the player swill forever be racked with guilt (regardless of alignment) at the loss of their party member.

Variating Weather Vane and Vials of Minor Inconveniences #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - (Or Party versus Party) -

Variating Weather Vane

(See letter K post or letter p post for details.)


It looks like a charm on a necklace. Give it a spin and think about the weather you'd like. Alters a 6-acre span of weather around you for an hour. Takes 24 hours to recharge.

Vials of Minor Inconveniences

An unlabeled pack of ten vials that cause minor inconveniences. When they're gone, they're gone. (The pack clearly held a baker's dozen- 13- vials at some point. These are the ones that remain.) Drink it and you'll be the inconvenienced one. Throw it at someone, they're inconvenienced. Doesn't do any actual damage. The GM should write ten possible minor inconveniences before the game begins, and seal them so they can be pulled out at random when the player uses one.

You know you want to watch an angry ogre have to stand in an imaginary line for a few minutes. Or there's this non-sense, as pointed out by Family Guy:

Underrated Bag #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - (Or Party versus Party) -

Underrated Bag

(See letter K post or letter p post for details.)

The underrated bag is like a bag-of-holding, except it's smaller (about the size of a baseball) and only holds certain objects. The underrated bag weighs one pound. Everything in the bag is replenished once per hour, if need be. Here are the items:

• chalk
• quill and ink
• 3 sheets of parchment
• wax, dark green
• small mirror
• soap
• whistle
• 2-ounce edible water bubble (Ooho)
• empty 20-ounce bottle
• empty  4-ounce vile
• 10 pounds of potatoes in a brown burlap sack
•  fire starting kit (flint & steel, matches & dry moss, Zippo & shredded newspaper; whatever is appropriate for the world)
• a cast-iron skillet
• a kettle
• a torch
• 5 throwing stars
• a bell
• 50-feet of string
• 20-feet of rope
• a lock with a key
• dark green bath towel 30″ x 58″
• dark green wool gloves
• dark green wool socks
• talcum powder
• a deck of playing cards
• a novel written in common (the same one if you put it back in the bag, a new one if you don't put the other back and an hour has passed) 
• a bucket
• 3-pounds of hay
• a fishing tackle with supplies
• wooden fishing pole

Nothing else can go into the bag, and nothing else can come out of the bag. If an empty container is filled, it cannot go back into the bag. Damaged items cannot be put back into the bag (but there will be a new one in the next hour). 

Trapper Cat #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - (Or Party versus Party) -

Trapper Cat

(See letter K post or letter p post for details.)

Nothing will kill this cat. In fact, no monster or creature will even attempt to harm the cat. This cat can kill a dragon, given enough rolls, because the dragon will not harm the cat (it might, however, fly away).

The cat is as loyal as a cat. It doesn’t come when called. It helps if it feels like it (or if the dice say it feels like it). Given proper food and the right amount of attention, the cat will follow your adventurer. (The GM should roll beforehand to determine how much attention and care the cat requires each day. There's no reason to tell the player the magic number. Cats certainly don't inform owners in real life.) Trapper cat has no gender (gender-neutral) and is asexual, so it will not run off to chase tail.

Trapper cat is so named because it detects every trap it encounters, 100% of the time. If it will bother to tell you depends on how happy you’re keeping the cat. (Roll. Cats are fickle.) Trapper cat can also disarm any and all traps with purrrrfect success, assuming that the trap interests the cat. (Roll for interest in disarming.)

If Trapper cat is so inclined as to follow your adventurer, it will grant a +9 to one roll per day or give +1 to an ability score if the day ends and the roll bonus wasn't used. Only one player per day may be the caregiver of Trapper cat. Should the adventurer die without a resurrection, other players may roll to see if the cat is willing to follow them. If not, the cat will return to the treasure area where it lives. Don't worry, Trapper cat can always get home, even through time, space, and dimensions.

If anyone tries to intentionally harm, neglect, abuse, or speak unkindly to Trapper cat, they meet with the nine lives curse. For that adventurer, their current life plus the next nine resurrections will result in every monster and creature seeking them out. Go to a tavern, get attacked by rats. Walk down a street, rabid dogs attack. Try to sneak, birds dive-bomb you from out of nowhere. Fish bite. Insects rise from the ground. Dragons burn you. Vampires and Trolls come out of nowhere to destroy you. Seriously, don’t bother to set your dice down because the attacks will be non-stop. And now you see why no creature or monster dares to mess with Trapper cat.

 

Sheep's Cloth Object #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - (Or Party versus Party) -

Sheep's Cloth

(See letter K post or letter p post for details.)

The player must already be worshipping one, and only one, deity for this to work. Otherwise, it's just a nice leg warmer.

This allows the wearer to worship two opposing deities. Must roll a d100 before each prayer/spell/use.

Roll a 1, anger the initial deity forever and receive a penalty from that deity at every turn. Roll a 50, anger the second deity, receive a penalty from that deity every turn for the next ten turns. Roll a 100, anger both. Be permanently stripped of the ability to worship, lose all wisdom and half charisma. Death and resurrection of any kind does not solve this because you cannot fool the gods again. All other numbers, you may proceed. If the Sheep's Cloth is taken off, the second deity no longer acknowledges the player exists, and that deity will no longer be selectable for worship (with or without this object, they're going to ignore you forever now); however, taking it off and putting it back on would allow you to select a different second deity. (Removal does NOT negate the anger effect.)

The Sheep's Cloth looks like a wool leg warmer. It's white with a dim glow woven in the strands. That's right, only one. The other from the set was destroyed long ago by a vein deity.

Rapid Search Eye object #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

Hey! It's my thirteenth wedding anniversary today! 👰🤵💕💍💐

Okay, back to the expected post:

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - (Or Party versus Party) -

Rapid Search Eye

(See letter K post or letter p post for details.)

The ugliest ring ever seen. Oh, it'll fit. That's not a metal band, it's veins that wrap around the finger and connect to your blood supply.

Close, but it's way yuckier than this.

Tapping the eye allows a player to see, without touching, anything and everything in an indoor area in one quick glance. (So if in a library, a player could see every book in a room in a second, but not be able to open them during the scan. Similar to photographic memory combined with using a drone to take a video of the room.) Up to four uses per day. Detects traps if the player has that skill. However, after using it, the player is blind for a brief time. The larger the area scanned, the longer the blindness lasts.

If the player is poisoned, the ring causes visual hallucinations until the poison wears off, even in the player is immune to poison. Attempts to remove the ring when poisoned will stop the wearer's heart(s).

The ring dies when not connected to a living blood supply for fifteen minutes. If the ring is allowed to die, the stench will reach 100 miles in every direction (like a bubble of stink, it gets under the ground and up in the clouds, there is no escape in range, including magical hideouts) and lasts for a week. Creatures will likely flee the stink. All in the area do a constitution check four times a day; failure can mean regurgitation or stench madness. Thus, once the ring is on, removing it isn't suggested. No glove or gantlet can cover the ring. It's about the size of an apricot protruding off the finger. It cannot be stolen any easier than a finger could be as it is connected to the wearer. (Obviously cutting off the hand would work.) Ring has god-level armor class, but that only protects the ring and the skin it directly touches. Will not work as a weapon. Do not throw a punch with the ring hand, as the ring will turn out of the way, causing the finger to stick up awkwardly.

#AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt Quick Pinterest Break

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

And now... a QUICK look at Pinterest!

https://www.pinterest.com/JamieWriter7/pins/

 

 

 

When you're in need of an extra story prompt or RPG idea, there's always Pinterest! Take a break from your usual thought train and see what inspiration others have left behind. Then use it or modify it for your own fun purposes.

Party versus Party #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Party versus Party

Similar to The Amazing Race. Compete to win a big prize.

Starts with all players rolling 1d100, highest to lowest gets to pick one thing from the cave of magic. Item choices are made prior to revealing object details (other than visually seeing the object). Print or draw the items on cards for players to pick from.

You might tell the players what their items are. You might send them on a quest where they need to correctly use the item to complete the objective.

This campaign is all about clues and seeing who can win first. Different starting points, one same ending test. The players might all get to the ending at the same time, or maybe not. They might all live, or maybe not.



This campaign might follow the Knowledge Kidnappers Quest as a chance to use the rest of the powerful items. Or you might use it instead.

There will be more items next week, so be sure to check back!

Olive Draft #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - Object

(See letter K post for details.)

Olive Draft

This vile doesn't look like much. It's about the size of 3D6 stacked up.

Once olive oil is added to the vile, it produces the olive draft. The stopper is made of a piece of olive branch. The vile is full when the player first gets it. It can be refilled over and over. The draft can be added to any liquid, including magical potions. Once it is drunk, ingested, or injected, the player who poured the liquid from the vile is the new best friend of the person who has the liquid in them. Unlike other potions, there's no immunity to this. 

A new best friend doesn't outrank a spouse, special such someone, or close family member. The weight of the words and suggestions of the new best friend do carry as much influence as any long-time friends, other best friends, or not-especially-close family members. (Here, close references the relationship, not the separation distance. A cousin might be closer to the target than a brother. Feelings are the factor.) 

The best friendship lasts until the pourer drinks the draft and whispers "friendship with [whoever] over," at which point the two become acquaintances with no positive or negative feelings toward one another. They remember having been friends, but it's not sentimental. 

The vile has enough draft for two uses, after which it needs to be refilled with olive oil. There is no flavor or scent of the draft, it's completely undetectable, even by magical means. If the vile breaks, the magic is gone. There's no repair. 

Other than potential jealousy or others questioning your friendships, there's no real drawback of the draft. The pourer might even be the worst friend of all time, but the target will still forgive them and love them as unconditionally as one would a best friend. 

Increased use of the draft has been known to turn evil characters good and chaotic characters lawful. Roll a 2D100 to determine how many uses are too many for you, if either of those alignments applies.

Nightingale Necklace #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - Object

(See letter K post for details.)

Nightingale Necklace

Charisma boost when worn around the neck. (The chain magically stretches to accommodate.) The wearer gets +30 to any impassioned speech meant to convince or persuade others. Those who are the target and hear the speech get +10 strength and +7 constitution for twenty-four hours.


Songs and performances get a +27. The wearer always has a +5 to intimidate and +8 to bluff.

The necklace cannot be stolen or removed without consent. Those who try will lose the limb used in the attempt. (It vanishes, leaving a stump.) If the thief was using a tool when trying to remove it, that tool vanishes as well. If the removal attempt was magical, the thief cannot perform any magic for ten days and loses a finger (or similar appendage).

Does -70 charisma, -30 strength, and -20 dexterity, lasting 80 days (sunsets), to the wearer if used in conjunction with, or for the purpose of, direct seduction. Also, the necklace will remove itself and that wearer will never be able to touch it again.

Mapping Rocks #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - Object

(See letter K post for details.)

Mapping Rocks

When rolled onto blank map parchment, they map the surrounding area, including traps, enemies, treasure, and the position of the sun (if your world has one or more). The ten square rocks (known outside the game as 10D6) might land in any shape. You'll see an accurate drawing of whatever is inside that shape.

Roll to determine how far it maps. Your position is always dead-center between the farthest dice.

It takes five minutes for the rocks to draw. It requires half a day to recharge the rocks between use.

The green mark is centered in the above image. The blue lines represent the outline of the shape that would be revealed on a map.

Lady Capherhim's Comb #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest - Object

(See letter K post for details.)

Lady Capherhim's Comb

While running this through one's hair, charisma is boosted +50. Anyone who sees the player using the comb, and who has the letters "p" or "h" in their name, takes a 20 point hit to dexterity for 24 hours; those named with the letter "f" take a 40 point hit to dexterity for 72 hours and needs to roll for every action, including walking or drinking, as they are so enamored by the beauty they have seen that they can barely function.

Misuse - If the comb is used in a way that ruins the life of another (to take the consent of someone or to destroy a true love), the user drops to negative 20 charisma for all time, and no items, spells, or enhancements can improve it. The misuser becomes hideous, and any who look upon them feels revolted and overcome with thankfulness that they look better. Even the blind are somehow aware that they're in the presence of someone disgusting. The comb gives a warning, sending a telepathic message to the player, asking them to rethink their choice before that dreadful use. Time-traveling back and stopping the user is the only way to undo the misuse curse.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Knowledge Kidnappers Quest

The greatest scientists, artists, teachers, librarians, etc of the realm have been taken. Along with them, most of the books, art, research, etc.

An old adventurer, an advisor to the king, has called the party members together. Though he cannot go on the quest, he has objects from his questing days that he's willing to loan. These are exceptionally powerful objects. There was a book detailing what they do but, of course, that's gone. His memory is sketchy at best. So each object might have as many benefits as it does drawbacks.

Perhaps only one object per party member. Roll to determine who will select an item and in which order. Or create cards with each item and let players fight over them. Assigning items is also possible.

Whatever items they pick should have an impact on the quest. (A cat that can detect traps isn't fun if there aren't going to be any traps.) The next few posts will focus on some ideas for the powerful objects.

Just do Recon #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt #LGBTQIA+

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

(The following campaign and prompt are pro LGBTQIA+ and diversity. If you aren't, you can click away from my blog right now, bu-bye.)

Just do Recon


The party is from a cis-gender land where only "male" and "female" are recognized, and women are looked down upon as lower in value.

The party is hired by their ruler to explore a recently discovered land. The ruler intends to destroy the people living there so as to conquer the area and expand the country. Just do recon for a given time period and report back.

However, the party learns that the people of the other land are vastly different. The culture of your ruler's land forbids most of what makes these people enhanced.

• Will your party end up fighting them or ask to join them? 
• Will it turn out that any of your party has been hiding a truth that will give them an enhancement?

The Discovered Land:

Enhancement or gifts are all given via a blessing. Each morning, the spiritual leader sits in a large triangle in the center of the land. (Similar to a plaza.) Any of-age person who comes and declares they are worthy, if that is their truth, receives the enhancement or gift permanently.

• Trans +5 wisdom 
• Bi and Pan +5 intelligence 
• Gave birth +3 strength 
• Raises multiple children +5 dexterity
• Not reproducing +5 constitution 
• Asexuals +4 charisma
• Aromantic +2 charisma, +2 wisdom
• Demisexual +2 charisma, +2 intelligence
• Questioning +1 intelligence, +1 wisdom
• Gay men are given better shields 
• Lesbian women are given better armor
• Gender fluids, intersex, and non-binary get better weapons and spells
• Gender-neutral get two additional skills and are immediately ranked competent (or mid-level proficiency term of the game)  
• "Plus" (for whatever isn't covered here) an extra skill of competent rank and +2 for the attribute of your choice 
• Anyone who is disabled, permanently injured, or differently-abled receives an animal companion
• Elders are blessed with +7 to ability scores, an animal companion, and impenetrable armor that weighs almost nothing (this is in addition to the above enhancements)

(Cis characters aren't looked down on, but they also don't get any special bonuses for just existing.)

Anyone who steps into the triangle and is a pretender is cursed by the spiritual leader. Negative 5 to all attributes, loss of all weapons, armor, shields, and mounts, and becomes inept at three skills forever.

Ignorance is Bliss Campaign #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Ignorance is Bliss Campaign

The party is formed by a group of adventures who have noticed the balance of luck seems to be off.

At first, rolls requiring a 1d20 instead get a 2d20. Use the lower score.
(Variation- one player gets to always use the higher score. Might be the hero of the group, might get killed because "maybe they're at fault.")

Every 'day' it takes to solve the problem, another d20 is added.


Lucky Objects
There are lucky objects to find along the way. Is the object good luck or bad luck? Roll a d6. An odd number means it's a bad luck object, even means good luck. 🍀🐇🦗👞🐟😺

• A good luck object takes away the lowest d20 roll, so use the second-lowest. 
• A bad luck object subtracts half of the highest roll from the lowest roll.

(Rolled a 16 and a 10? Half of 16 is 8. 10 minus 8 is 2. Your score is a 2. You might even get a negative score! Rolled a 15, so half is 7.5? Round UP to 8! )

Players can decide to use their lucky object after any d20 roll to attempt to change their fate. A lucky object can be used only once. You don't find out if it's a good or bad luck object until after you opt to use it.



Figuring out why the luck is off balance is up to the GM. This is just a different motivation for players to start (instead of monsters, money, glory, honor, or a kidnapping). It also adds a twist to any campaign.

Ignorance is bliss, because if the players didn't notice the luck imbalance, they wouldn't be in this mess.

As a story prompt, the main characters just have everything going wrong. An inordinate amount of activities go wrong. Mention the luck imbalance and a plan to fix it early on, or you'll lose your audience. 

Hope Died #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

For this campaign, the players are living in the time of a terrible ruler. The ruler has oppressed everyone, has killed any who openly oppose the new laws, has outlawed several races, sold a species into slavery as part of a trafficking network owned partly by the ruler, destroyed education for children, has cut off most communication, and has secretly teamed up with a wizard to create a plague upon the land to reduce the population.

The adventurers have to decide what they'll do. Try to kill the ruler? Take out the wizard? Help victims of slavery trafficking get free? Restore communication? What if one or more adventurer is from the outlawed race?

Plenty of fires to put out in this campaign. The big question is, how will the Game Master keep the players from quitting? Because part of this adventure is that it's hard. Really hard. And hope dies a little more with every roll. That's why the name of the campaign is:

Hope Died

---

The following is NOT part of the challenge.
This is my damn blog and I'll include whatever message I please. :


What do we want?!? 

Healthcare for all. A guaranteed minimum amount of money for everyone here. Decent pay for the "life-sustaining essential workers" who survive the pandemic. A border patrol that doesn't follow a Nazi regime. An end to human trafficking. A leader who doesn't have a sexual assault record. Unions to make safer workplaces. A clean environment with real regulations so our food stops getting recalled. Clean water for the people of Flint, MI, and really everywhere. Protection for the rights of women and children. Addressing homelessness. A national minimum marriage age of 18 or 21, because marriage should require at least the same consent level as a legal contract or credit card. The best education for everyone in this country no matter what. A properly staffed government instead of firing people for positions that were obviously important and never freaking replacing them. Net neutrality! And the abolition of the Electoral College.

When do we want it?!?
Apparently 2024 or whatever. No rush. Let's see if any Americans are still alive in four more years.

Battle Grandma #AtoZchallenge #rpg #fantasy #prompt

My theme is a month of prompts and ideas for tabletop role-playing games or prompts for fantasy writers.

Battle Grandma

Use whatever base campaign you like. But all the adventurers are grandmothers. (Not modern-day ones. The classic stereotype of old women.) The weapons aren't swords and arrows. Instead, you have knitting needles, an army of cats, slippers, frying pans, etc. Also, players start with much higher stats, because they have life experience. Dexterity might take a hit from arthritis. Prune juice might give a boost to constitution.

Maybe a dragon doesn't need to be slain... perhaps it just needs a scarf and booties.