Long story short: I’m writing a series of D&D short stories. What are some interesting themes, character classes, and hooks that you think would make good premises for a series of one-shot stories?
Long story long: For the past two weeks, I’ve taken my two favorite activities–writing and dnd–and put them together. I’m writing a series of short-stories, each of which revolves around a larger theme (e.g., life vs death), compares and contrasts different character classes (e.g., difference between a fighter and barbarian), or tackles a common TTRPG trope (e.g., classic heist story). The stories will also range in tone, as they’ll run the gamut from the serious to the silly, from the epic to the tragic, from the thrilling to the brooding.
The stories are being written from the perspective of an NPC, a dragonborn bard with a perfect memory. Once the anthology of stories is complete, I’ll hand them out to my players and anyone else that’s interested in them.
Below are some examples of stories that I’ve started working on. I’m hoping you all might have some suggestions for topics, themes, or story-lines to cover. What do you think would make for an interesting one-short/short-story? Any interesting things that you’ve done in your homegames that might work?
Idea 1: A warlock has stopped receiving communication from his/her patron and is going to a cleric for advice. (In my world, the gods don’t speak directly to humans.) It will explore the theme of “faith in the unknown” by contrasting the cleric, who is used to relying on faith, with the warlock, who was used to communicating with his/her patron but now receives no reply.
Idea 2: a rogue has been assigned the task of stealing an ancient relic from a temple/museum that is protected by an order of monks–by which I mean both religious monks and the ninja-like monk class from 5e. This will be a classic heist/Metal Gear Solid tale of sneaking and subterfuge that will also showcase the different skillsets of monks and rogues.
Idea 3: An adventurer is journeying to a tribe of necromantic druids to try and revive a fallen ally. Imagine a Tim Burton-esque landscape of withered bushes, twisted plants, gnarled trees, and enigmatic shamans. This story will explore the themes of life and death along with guilt and forgiveness.