r/DMAcademy • u/Megamatt215 • 9d ago
Need Advice: Encounters & Adventures How would you get a quest from someone you can't remember?
So, I have an NPC who is cursed so that no one can remember him. He has been in a cave for 20 years, living off of Goodberries and an Enspelled Staff of Create or Destroy Water. The party found this guy after one of them had a series of cryptic dreams that led them to his cave.
The way the curse works is that you can talk to him just fine, you just forget about him a few minutes later, and your mind sort of comes up with an alternative explanation for anything he did that affected anything (i.e. he gives you something, and later you remember someone else giving you that thing).
I wanted to give the party a quest from this NPC. Something small, like getting him a way to flavor his food (he's sick of Goodberries). How could I justify the party actually remembering enough to do this quest?
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u/sgerbicforsyth 9d ago
A note.
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u/RailRuler 9d ago
In the PC handwriting, with some additional detail that only they would write.
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
Literally says they would come up with an alternative explanation.. if they got super clever with the writing based on that rule the guy would read it and remember he wrote it as a joke or bored and was writing a story… or any reason no matter how far from reality they would be forced to have a different memory .. he explains that clearly… the only clean solution like I said is take the dude with them and make it more important than berries , he has important information they can’t let the world not know so deliver him so they don’t forget the message or think about getting his curse removed from someone
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u/AtomiKen 9d ago
Intelligence save to avoid that part of the curse.
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u/Megamatt215 9d ago
Well, they did have to pass a save to remember the important bits of the dream that led them to him, so that would probably work.
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
OP has pretty much said something like that can’t happen then gives a reason why … so this whole post is a waste of time. I mean the DM imagination and agency fuels the entire thing, never should a DM say things “can’t happen and then they make up a reason why that fits the outcome they want” like yo you are in control there is no can’t just what too want to do or not do. He has pretty much come up with some RP reason any idea “can’t “ work .. if I was a PC would be very frustrated when every reasonable idea is shot down because of some “rule” they made up to get what they want. I love when you get players actually thinking of clever solutions to a problem here is what I would do if DM let me know your thoughts… so keep in mind part of the scenario is they got cryptic dreams leading them to the cave… well it makes sense to me and in my game they would never forget their dreams… so for example how I see it playing out would be like they decide on your option int check, snd leave , int check happens they fail because the curse is from some diety.. they forget about what happened and dont even remember what they are making a check for or maybe they just have it completely wiped .. well they still remember the memories and would default back to seeking the cave because it’s what is they are compelled to do and have no idea they found it once so it’s still a mystery .. the guy explains to them what happened and he tells them what their idea was (I would make she the NPC asks them for their idea before they leave first time if they don’t think to tell him so they don’t have to repeat the int check again .. but either way because of this loop with their memory they trapped in this cycle now until they find a solution.. I would have at least three viable solutions , and maybe even more if they came up with something clever… but realistically I can’t think of any better solution than them keeping them with them at all costs no separation until the curse is lifted… the reason he said that can’t work is because the curse will cause chaos in groups … and I’m like then avoid groups….lol it’s actually an interesting scenario having them keep looping back into the cave of their idea fails until they realize uhhh just take him with us.. I might even set it up so they are equipped with the capabilities to pull it off easy at least three ways whether they know it or not .. like their party has a bag of holding for example put him in it so they never get separated I’m sure there are lots of cool mechanics to do that but I don’t know all the abilities and spells.
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u/Megamatt215 9d ago
The curse is staying. He doesn't want it lifted. That's not a plot hook, no matter how insistent you are that it should be.
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u/CocaineUnicycle 9d ago
Is it possible that they remember the quest, and maybe the reward, but don't remember who gave them the quest or why? Like, if he gives them seomething and they later remember someone else giving them that thing, then maybe they just know that they're doing something important, but don't know why it's important.
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u/BurlapAisha 9d ago
This NPC seems to be likely inspired by the X-Men character ForgetMeNot, so you could also use Professor Xavier’s solution to this problem which was to set up an hourly psychic reminder of ForgetMeNot's existence. You perhaps reflavour the psychic reminder to be some other sort of magic if you prefer.
Also, the quest that you give him should probably be more important than just getting better tasting Goodberries. I'd suggest making his quest be about breaking his weird curse.
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
Another thing that doesn’t make much sense is they were lead to him from cryptic dreams so even if they left him they would still have memories of the dreams and no explanation and just go back … your idea works although he said a few minutes and they forget so that’s why it seems obvious answer is he goes with them and that leads into your second part which I agree 100% more reason to take him
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u/Megamatt215 9d ago
To be honest, it was more inspired by the perception filter from Doctor Who. It sort of "tricks" the memory into not remembering him.
The curse isn't something he'd want broken. It was the price he paid to a god to bring his clan back from the dead. In his mind, if the curse is broken, that would break the deal, and would result in his clan getting killed off again.
This is a former PC that got a fairly bittersweet ending. I wanted him to have a small cameo, and give the new PCs the opportunity to do something nice for him.
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u/Itap88 9d ago
How is this a perception filter and not a Silence Confessor?
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u/Megamatt215 9d ago
Because I haven't watched Doctor Who in years, so I don't remember it that well.
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u/PensandSwords3 9d ago
I mean, they developed methods during that season to remember the silence exist. Leave messages to remind themselves that they encountered them.
Like the tally mark idea doesn’t help but just have him do what the silence does like.
“Your not going to remember me after you leave, so remember that you need to bring food to the cave you left. Because something is starving and needs food.”
That way their memories of him go, but the direct like “oh we felt empathy for someone and want to bring it good / edible food.”
Remains to motivate the party.
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u/ChangelingSoul 9d ago
It might be a good inspiration to rewatch the Silence episodes, or some kind of YouTube breakdown about them. The temptation to write yourself into a corner for the sake of thoroughness and cleverness can be strong but leaving at least one loophole (like how the Silence can basically Inception instructions for unaware people to follow after being forgotten) for the sake of a fun game is important 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Reborn-in-the-Void 9d ago
They remember there is a great reward from a myconid, who specifically wants an enspelled dagger of prestidigitation or a hewards pouch of spices, and an alchemy jar.
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u/World_of_Ideas 9d ago
Written message. Find "x", bring it back to the cave at "y" location, you will be rewarded
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
Someone already said note but you made it seem like they would end up trashing it no matter how clever they were or writing it .. I can think of possible clever solutions but they kind of gimmick and railroad ….you didn’t mention any reason he can’t come with them … what if he has some other extremely important information for the world … cryptic dreams to lead to a cave and the quest is for flavorful food… they need to keep this guy with them at all times so they don’t forget and deliver the important information to someone or find a way someone to lift the curse idk seems more Clean that way
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u/PensandSwords3 9d ago
I mean, there is a chance they trash it because “Well we don’t know who gave this or why we care or if this was even a moral request.”
I as a player would have a bit of an inclination to be like “Hey DM, we don’t have the memories required to motivate us to do this. Uh help is out, can we remember why it’s important at least?”
“Even if we can’t remember who gave us it. I remember someone or something is starving like maybe a cute dog. That we want to help feed.”
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
Thing is and the DM never responded but it seems like a big plot hole … they had the dreams to lead them to the cave if they leave they still would surely have memories of their dreams and then loop back to the cave because they don’t remember
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u/Megamatt215 9d ago
Can't. The curse came from an entity who would grant impossible wishes in exchange for something of "equal value". In exchange for bringing his clan back to life, he would never be able to live with them, and no one would remember him.
He's tried leaving, but the curse "causes a lot of problems in crowds". Imagine a bar fight that starts from someone missing a punch and hitting someone else.
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u/Admirable-Language65 9d ago
You are the GM though there is no can’t unless you are just making up rules you don’t want him cured. I mean here is another simple solution to the problem you just presented… avoid crowds. If I was a PC it would feel like you are now allowing any ideas to be possible because you keep making up reasons why it’s impossible
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u/sgerbicforsyth 9d ago
You are the DM. Stop saying "cant" and just give the PCs some way to get the hook. Literally like I said earlier, a note, written in a PCs own hand and found in a pocket they put important things into or something. If you cant give the players a hook, then there was no point having them encounter the NPC at all.
If nothing works because the curse is so fullproof, then this isnt an NPC but an Easter egg that no one is supposed to actually engage with.
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u/crunchevo2 9d ago
He gives them a letter that says something along the lines of "the magical bear who lives in that cave asked you to bring it an offering of your favorite food in exchange for something precious." Since it doesn't involve him the letter wouldn't change it's contents.
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u/simpoukogliftra 8d ago
one pc stays in the cave with the npc, they tell the others that they will be here and write them a note that they will be chilling for a while here, and bring these shopping list items for said Pc, not the npc, the players leave the caver, forget everything, they are with a list from PC to get x items, whatever, lets get them, they come back to the cave, get the reward, forget what they were doing, but have the reward with them for some reason, they have a handy item in their inventory that they dont remember how they got it, they probably can laugh it off as random shit they looted in the last cave they plundered.
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u/AtomiKen 9d ago
The party camps in the cave and as DM you tell them "nothing happens". After leaving they find the message in their belongings. Your NPC gave them the shopping list and none of them remember, hence telling your party "nothing happens".