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Hello there, welcome to my humble thread!
I come up with lots of prompts when reaching out to partners in PMs, trying to attach a hook to their pairing, and the number of those that actually get used is either zero or one, usually the former unfortunately. I thought it might be fun to look at what I came up with in 2024, dust some of them off, and give them one final chance to take form in this new year! So, fair warning, the pairings are ones that another person on Blue Moon came up with, but all of the details afterwards are 100% mine. So, take a gander, note which ones really inspire you, and by all means, I want to hear from you! A busy inbox is a happy inbox.
Dragon Riders - The Riders may be peace keepers, but few folk find themselves actually wanting peace, and the keepers are being stretched more and more thin. After all, how can those so haughty as to impose their will upon a noble dragon be trusted to guide the fates of the other races, too?
Elf Queen x Human - Her daughter had absconded with a human, to her dismay. When a new man brought their bodies back, she nearly had him beheaded, only his claims of these being his deceased brother and now sister-in-law stayed her fury.
Elf x Elf - They had played in the misty forest for nearly a century together, a place that would keep them eternally young. One day, however, sight of a traveler at its edge piqued her curiosity led her to venture beyond the threshold, and her clock finally began, not stopping even once she had returned. After a year, she could not be swayed to stay in their cradle with him any longer, and he would have to either give up his best friend or join her wanderlust in the beyond.
Goddess x Mortal - A cataclysmic event is approaching the world, something that would make a plague look mild, or famine like a late harvest. The goddess might be trying to prevent the situation wholesale, or she might be trying to shepherd her followers to weather it the best they can. Either way, she needs an Oracle, and decides to depend upon somebody very dedicated to her ideals.
King's Sorceress - In this kingdom, there are multiple groups of magicians that one could court. The lethargic druids have never been able to bring agricultural prosperity to his barren landholdings, and the pesky oracles keep insisting that the problems in his kingdom are of his own making and constantly herald his downfall. So, the wizards are now his favored group, on virtue of being the last to effectively abandon him. He might task her to find some way, any way, for his country to build itself up between the anvil and hammer of surrounding nations. Perhaps he shouldn't quite have asked her for anything.
Light x Dark high fantasy creatures - An archon and a tiefling? A fae and a devil? A high elf and a drow? Is one trying to deceive and connive the other? Have they hatched a plan to make a profit, that they couldn't achieve with a partner of a more amicable race? Are they the only two who are skilled enough or have the required destiny to fulfill some duty?
Pirate x Tavern Wench - A scoundrel is trying to dazzle his favorite harbor girl with trinkets and doodads. Perhaps competing with another character for her affection as well, such that she's built up a small collection of odds and ends in her room. At first it might be items that he scavenges from captures ships, then the items become more and more exotic. The pen of a ransomed local governor. A cursed doubloon. A gourd with just a tiny sip of water left at the bottom, said to be from the fountain of youth. The scales of a mermaid, or fang of a leviathan. What would it take to impress her?
Necromancer x Adventurer - Quite likely a humorous setup, where the necromancer is actively encouraging the adventurer into tough situations, so they can get themselves killed and then there will be a powerful new vessel to raise. Yet the adventurer keeps succeeding, growing in strength and baffling the necromancer with each victory.
Second Chance Romance - There was a choice between her dreams and a relationship with him. She chose dreams, and went off to a (grand temple/merchant company/military academy), became a (high priestess or inquisitor/trading vessel captain/mercenary captain), expecting to land far, far away from home, but instead gets assigned right back to her roots.
Sorceress x Sorcerer - Once one reaches a certain level of proficiency, most ordinary ingredients will no longer do to power one's talents properly. His salves remained ever so potent, even on her, but a reputation as large as hers could still make a person... hesitate at the thoughts of the consequences a poorly thought out transaction.
Sorceress x Apprentice - It was difficult to attend to her chores. She did not keep a tower, as many self-respecting mages would, and he had to operate most of her logistics from the back of a wagon, even if it seemed to move even when there were no pack animals attached. But she was certainly considerate enough to find alternate ways to reward his dedication to her craftwork.
Succubus/Witch/Sorceress/Vampire - A newly empowered being flaunts her power, not understanding the consequences of making enemies that will come to challenge her later on.
Character concepts - Female:
I come up with lots of prompts when reaching out to partners in PMs, trying to attach a hook to their pairing, and the number of those that actually get used is either zero or one, usually the former unfortunately. I thought it might be fun to look at what I came up with in 2024, dust some of them off, and give them one final chance to take form in this new year! So, fair warning, the pairings are ones that another person on Blue Moon came up with, but all of the details afterwards are 100% mine. So, take a gander, note which ones really inspire you, and by all means, I want to hear from you! A busy inbox is a happy inbox.
Pairing concepts:
Dragon Riders - The Riders may be peace keepers, but few folk find themselves actually wanting peace, and the keepers are being stretched more and more thin. After all, how can those so haughty as to impose their will upon a noble dragon be trusted to guide the fates of the other races, too?
Elf Queen x Human - Her daughter had absconded with a human, to her dismay. When a new man brought their bodies back, she nearly had him beheaded, only his claims of these being his deceased brother and now sister-in-law stayed her fury.
Elf x Elf - They had played in the misty forest for nearly a century together, a place that would keep them eternally young. One day, however, sight of a traveler at its edge piqued her curiosity led her to venture beyond the threshold, and her clock finally began, not stopping even once she had returned. After a year, she could not be swayed to stay in their cradle with him any longer, and he would have to either give up his best friend or join her wanderlust in the beyond.
Goddess x Mortal - A cataclysmic event is approaching the world, something that would make a plague look mild, or famine like a late harvest. The goddess might be trying to prevent the situation wholesale, or she might be trying to shepherd her followers to weather it the best they can. Either way, she needs an Oracle, and decides to depend upon somebody very dedicated to her ideals.
King's Sorceress - In this kingdom, there are multiple groups of magicians that one could court. The lethargic druids have never been able to bring agricultural prosperity to his barren landholdings, and the pesky oracles keep insisting that the problems in his kingdom are of his own making and constantly herald his downfall. So, the wizards are now his favored group, on virtue of being the last to effectively abandon him. He might task her to find some way, any way, for his country to build itself up between the anvil and hammer of surrounding nations. Perhaps he shouldn't quite have asked her for anything.
Light x Dark high fantasy creatures - An archon and a tiefling? A fae and a devil? A high elf and a drow? Is one trying to deceive and connive the other? Have they hatched a plan to make a profit, that they couldn't achieve with a partner of a more amicable race? Are they the only two who are skilled enough or have the required destiny to fulfill some duty?
Pirate x Tavern Wench - A scoundrel is trying to dazzle his favorite harbor girl with trinkets and doodads. Perhaps competing with another character for her affection as well, such that she's built up a small collection of odds and ends in her room. At first it might be items that he scavenges from captures ships, then the items become more and more exotic. The pen of a ransomed local governor. A cursed doubloon. A gourd with just a tiny sip of water left at the bottom, said to be from the fountain of youth. The scales of a mermaid, or fang of a leviathan. What would it take to impress her?
Necromancer x Adventurer - Quite likely a humorous setup, where the necromancer is actively encouraging the adventurer into tough situations, so they can get themselves killed and then there will be a powerful new vessel to raise. Yet the adventurer keeps succeeding, growing in strength and baffling the necromancer with each victory.
Second Chance Romance - There was a choice between her dreams and a relationship with him. She chose dreams, and went off to a (grand temple/merchant company/military academy), became a (high priestess or inquisitor/trading vessel captain/mercenary captain), expecting to land far, far away from home, but instead gets assigned right back to her roots.
Sorceress x Sorcerer - Once one reaches a certain level of proficiency, most ordinary ingredients will no longer do to power one's talents properly. His salves remained ever so potent, even on her, but a reputation as large as hers could still make a person... hesitate at the thoughts of the consequences a poorly thought out transaction.
Sorceress x Apprentice - It was difficult to attend to her chores. She did not keep a tower, as many self-respecting mages would, and he had to operate most of her logistics from the back of a wagon, even if it seemed to move even when there were no pack animals attached. But she was certainly considerate enough to find alternate ways to reward his dedication to her craftwork.
Succubus/Witch/Sorceress/Vampire - A newly empowered being flaunts her power, not understanding the consequences of making enemies that will come to challenge her later on.
Character concepts - Male:
- He was a novice at a temple, when it was raided. He was shunted away into the storage room, and was never discovered before the attackers dispersed. When he crawled out, the place was devastated beyond repair, and not knowing what else to do, he stuffed its few remaining treasures into a chest, and hauled it out on his back.
- A courier of a prestigious service, he was assigned to deliver a set of components to a magician's tower out in the wilderness. When he arrived, the doors would not open, and when he peered inside, all sorts of walking machines and animated objects were scurrying about, never paying him any mind. Three days and nights he waited for the wizard to return to the "unoccupied" building, but on the third night he was approached by some prowling fellows who were most interested in his delivery sack, and still haven't given up since he first escaped their clutches.
- He was the squire of some landed knight, and war had taken the toll on his family. The knight had received word mere days ago that after a raid against his estate, and the fall of his older brother in a separate skirmish, he was the last of his name. The unlucky noble fell in battle himself the next day, and gave the squire his pendant and the commands of his last wishes, not wanting his home to be torn apart by opportunists or his family's rival, once they learned there was no head of power left to command it.
Character concepts - Female:
- The group encountered her quite late in their adventure, and she promised she had talents that seemed impressive, but turned out worthless. She could have claimed she could "see sights unseen", and the party thinks that means she can sense invisible obstacles, wards, ghosts and the like. What it really meant was that with a few hours of preparation, she could peer into a crystal ball to monitor a place she's familiar with or some such, which doesn't really help when the villain's final fortress is practically just over the hill.
- Adventuring groups have logistics issues to solve, right? They can't carry an entire armory on their backs, but they can hire some underlings to spread the burden around. Our poor girl could have been one of those, but a clumsy nature meant she'd often let something she was supposed to be carrying slip away, during those many long hours of marching about. When the keys to defeating the demon prince are the rainbow drop, the quicksilver arrow, and the containment sphere, and you've accidentally sorted that arrow along with all the rest of the mundane ones, lots of unfortunate warriors are going to eat some hellfire while you try to identify which is the right one in the heat of battle.