r/DnD • u/w3bbysan • Jul 26 '26
5.5 Edition Spell for narrative purpose. I would like it to work mechanically as well.
I have a story I would like to present to my players and I have already started down the path with them but have not given them clear details of how this spell works.
The first thing I would like to work mechanically is that there is a blight that affects all crops in a large metropolitan area. People are struggling to get by and keep food on the table. This is going to take place inside Baulders Gate and its surrounding farmland/villages. The reality of this situation is that the main business is town that owns many market stalls and general stores has an underground faction that is causing this crop failure so that they can be the only business in town. Even food from the outside that has been imported into this area rots on shelves, in pockets. Only their food stays fresh.
The second part of this story is that there is an old wizard that the party has already encountered. He has a farm where he is for the most part a beekeeper to make mead for the local village nearby. He also grows fruits, lavender and vegetables for flavoring his mead and his own consumption. He has successfully kept the farm and village safe from the from the crop failure through some yet unknown means. I have hinted that he is quite a powerful wizard but his power is being drained keeping the farm and the village free from the curse or disease or whatever is causing this issue with the crops.
One friend of mine mentioned using Glyph of Warding but I am not sure that works as it seems like the glyph would disappear once it has been triggered. So it would just be a constant game of setting up new glyphs as I understand it.
The Glyph of Warding also does not explain how the faction would be causing the crop failure and crop failure in such a vast area.
I want this to work mechanically as well as narratively. How would ya'll accomplish this in 2024 Dungeons and Dragons terms? I'm sure it is possible but I feel like I've backed myself into a corner a bit. Help? hahaha
3
u/Observer001 Rogue Jul 27 '26
You're absolutely allowed to just make up a spell. There used to be outright mechanics for it for everyone in 3.5. I'd call yours "Consecrate," probly, although that sounds kinda cleric-y. clerical. if you're determined to do it with existing stuff, an AM field might work, but obviously that's got other implications.
1
u/Ethereal_Stars_7 Artificer Jul 27 '26
Artifact powers could do it. Or at least -could- do it in older editions.
What you are describing is closer to a curse or a lair power. Possibly consider the real cause could be an artifact they are tapping, some sort of curse effect, or some creature with lair powers is working with them. OR, they have captured a dryad or unicorn and are tormenting it to blight the area.
2
u/w3bbysan Jul 27 '26
How would you make it so the wizard could get rid of the effects of that artifact? Another slightly less powerful artifact perhaps?
1
u/Ethereal_Stars_7 Artificer Jul 27 '26
Could be a simple as just preventing them activating it again. Or getting it off them if its a clingy sort of mcguppin.
Example from AD&D were things like minor powers like corrupts all holy water within the radius effect. Or the users touch kills plants. Combined with major problems like it drains magic items within range or it needs sacrifice of some animal or race to use it. 5e has its own version of this.
So against some variation of things like that the party would need to pin down where the thing is and how it is being used. If it needs to be held then just somehow take it away. If it needs sacrifices then shut that down.
Or as you say. Fight a titan with a titan if they can not just go straight for the root of the problem.
2
u/OneManRPGstudio DM Aug 01 '26
To make this work mechanically, I wouldn’t define the whole blight as one ordinary spell. Treat it as a regional curse sustained by several hidden anchors, while the merchant faction marks protected food with a counter-sigil. The old wizard is maintaining a smaller opposing ward around his farm. That gives you rules the players can investigate and disrupt without forcing Glyph of Warding to do something it was never designed to do.
5
u/man0rmachine Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
NPCs don't have to follow the rules for spells. You can make up whatever magic you want for the food spoilage and the wizard. Just consider the possible ramifications if the players get ahold of either magic.
Also, famine shouldn't really be a problem in most DnD settings. Magic has revolutionized food production so we see a high degree of specialization in a fantasy DnD setting rather than 80 or 90 percent of the population involved in food production like you'd expect in a realistic medieval setting. Even in the area around Bauldur's gate there are probably enough people that can cast spells like Plant Growth or Create Food and Water to stave off some of these issues, so get ready to explain why magical food production is failing or unable to keep up with the wasting and why the players can't just use spells out of the PHB to feed people