#RPGaDay2024 Day 18 – Curse

Day 18 of #RPGaDay2024. Happy Sunday! I continue posting about the alternative prompt challenge list by Skala Wyzwania. For more information on RPG a Day, see David Chapman’s Autocratik blog post for 2024.

The RPG challenge theme for today is Curse. Rolling a 1d10 for the quest. The result is 2: Create an NPC.

The Curse Bearer

The old man covered in tattoos is rumored to be the last person born before the Night of Weeping Fire, before the Constellations of the Nocturnal Potentates crept into the night. If you can find him, he can take their curse into him and free the other person of the dark stain upon their immortal spirit.

The Curse Bearer will ask the person for a trinket, a promise, or a quest, depending on their perversions’ shadow upon the world. Those unable or unwilling to pay the price will have their curse removed, but another curse the Curse Bearer has taken upon himself will be transferred to them.

The old man travels the world, living on the alms of others, rarely speaking, only revealing who he is to those who look for him and know of his curses. He will not answer how or why he became the Curse Bearer, but some sages claim that the man who bears this burden differs from the Curse Bearer decades ago. He will only say, “The burden remains the same since the beginning,” saying nothing more.

The image of a tattoo-covered old man came to mind when reading today’s theme. So, I generated the image first. I am not a fan of AI-created images in commercial products, as they take work from an artist, and how they are generated remains problematic. However, I’ve been using AI-created pictures for these posts since there is NO budget to get an artist to illustrate images, and there is nothing for sale here. I hope it is not problematic for our readers. Are you ok with that? Would you instead I not use AI images even if there is no illustration in the post? I want to know your feedback.

Join #RPGaDay2024. If you find a topic interesting, write about it, comment on it, or talk about it on your socials. The goal is to celebrate all the wonderful things tabletop role-playing games bring to our lives and the positive elements of the community. Don’t forget to tag your contribution with the hashtag and share it with us here, on social media, and in the #RPGaDay 2024 Facebook Group.