The most important horse race of the year is fast approaching, thousands are expected to attend. Too bad that the horse favored to win has gone missing...
Being full time adventurers generally means that said adventurers seldom have time to attend such liesure events as the horse races. The races run generally year round, and garner a fair share of attention, except for this year. There are three major races, that if a single horse can win all of them, the party owning the horse (owner, trainer, jockey, etc.) all gain something really impressive, aside from the accolade of winning a grueling tour of some of the largest, and most famous of the horse tracks in the realm. To those of us not lucky enough to actually live in a fantasy realm, we call it the Triple Crown.
Excitement ran high when Spellshaper won the (insert large city name here) Derby. He is an undefeated two year old, fielded by a young trainer, jockey, and owner.
Fans packed the (Insert City name #2 here) stands to watch Spellshaper absolutely destroy the competition in the (City #2) Stakes. For the first time in 100 years, it look like someone will win the coveted Triperfecta!
The last race, the longest and most punishing of the stakes is less than a week away. The (City #3) Stakes makes or breaks a grand champion. The King and Queen are going to attend, as are almost all of the nobility. Seating is being built to accomodate the thousands coming to the race to see Spellshaper become the first Triperfecta in their lifetimes!
The Problem, Spellshaper has vanished into thin air! Officials are panicked, and are afraid that if the public finds out, and Spellshaper doesn't race, there could be riots in the streets, or worse. Was he kidnapped by a competitor? Worse yet, has he been stolen by another party? Is there a radical group who thinks that racing is cruel and they released Spellshaper to run away?
Now, finally, the twist. Everyone knows horseracing is just a bunch of horses running in a circle really fast. What happens when its pegasi being raced, or hippogriffs? 1200 pounds of flying horse, enjoy yourself.
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Use alongside
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WWMWBI - There were no horses?
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
Confucious
I love it when reality and fantasy collide violently. Orson Scott Card. paraphrasing Gibson, once said, the best sci-fi/ fantasy stories are those of the real world taken just a touch farther.
Updated: Updated: Added freetext
Cool idea. Did you intend for the twist to be used on the quest? When you said horseracing, I simply assumed it would be with mundane horses. It's cool to adapt a common real-world event into fantasy, though. However, I would like some details as to who could have stolen the horse, who is involved in the races, etc. Oh, and I like the name ;).
Simple yet interesting all at the same time. I like the difference of making it fantasy creatures instead of your basic horse race. Kind of like the Triple Crown meets Quiddich.
I like that this would give the PCs both a personal interest quest and a light hearted quest.
Idea: What if they are hired to find Spellshaper, and track him to some dangerous maze somewhere (dungeon, catacomb fortress etc). They manage to secure the horse, but then they have to get it back to race on time and uninjured. Combat when you have to protect a big dumb supernatural animal as well as yourself could provide a unique challenge.
Nice little plot!
I kind of like this. A solid, useable quest. Depending on who actually did the taking, this could be a quest for all levels of PC.