GHOST HAMMER
Your quest begins in a smoky, loud, and bustling forge, where the smithing is dead serious and the heat is near lethal.
Almost all of the rarest weapons on this continent have been imagined, iterated, and brought to reality here in this very forge. To say the blacksmiths here are world-class masters is a grave understatement.
You overhear a couple of older smiths talking. One of them is going on about how he is “running out of time to forge the Ghost Hammer”, the legendary weapon that each of his smithing ancestors built going back hundreds of years. You learn it is a right of passage in his bloodline, and only they can create these hammers.
The pair notice you eavesdropping. Their eyes fall on you in sync and with a hint of anger. The uneasy looks on their faces on turn to smiles and wonder. “You look like you need something to do!” the older smith shouts heartily.
The elder smith walks towards you, the jewels decorating his beard reflecting the lights of the forge in all directions.
“You want a true measure of your mettle? I need your help collecting, uh, some ingredients, and finding some hard to procure parts needed to forge my family’s heirloom treasure. So I can forge the Ghost Hammer!”
The blacksmith, named Sallion, continues on speaking, telling you enough about himself and his family to write a series of tomes on the subject.
The family he comes from can forge only one of these great weapons in a lifetime. No one else know how but them. It’s more than a tradition for them. It is the final test they must take on their journey as smiths.
He concludes by handing you a list of what he needs. “If you get all of these items, I get to forge my destined work. You can keep the Ghost Hammer as payment for your service.
Will you help me?”
He quickly adds “The Hammer’s strike resonates at a frequency that sings to roaming spirits. It’s extremely useful, as you’ll discover. I promise it’s worth the hassle hah ha hah!”
☾ So, how will you proceed?
Take the offer and set off to gather the items needed to forge Ghost Hammer.
Apologize and ask for help upgrading your weapons and armor.
Politely decline the offer.
You could buy new gear with a handful of the jewels in Sallion’s beard. Steal some. Requires a dexterity check.
Say you need time to think and continue to tour the forge.
Leave.