Imperial summons and ceremonial gear

Plot armor. Literally.

For the purposes of plot, all kingdoms aligned or at least neutrally trading with the "X" Empire  must from time to time provide liaisons to the empire for special purposes. The duration of liaison service is subject to change, and often does. The emperor's augurs select the liaisons during days long, complicated ceremonies, and the kingdoms are only made aware of the liaison selection when a delegation arrives to retrieve them. No spells of sending, no ravens, just an imperial delegation at the front gate.

You (or your group) receive summons to appear before the emperor of "X" to represent your respective monarchs. The delegation will accompany you on your journey to the empire's capitol, complete with ceremonial armor and weapon kits.

There are appropriate armor kits and weapons for whatever is needed to complete your (or the group's) "theme". Each time there is a summoning, the theme can be different. Use your imagination here. Perhaps the emperor of "X" will decide on elvish craft work on one occasion, and troll-ish on the next, and maybe dryad after that. Retinue members insist that Emperor "X" is absolute in expectations of appearance, so the equipment is more of a uniform than anything else.

The armor and equipment are of exquisite detail. The retinue will explain that their emphasis has been placed on aesthetics, not combat. The equipment will all be almost too beautiful to use for their intended purposes, but fully functional if needed. None of the items provide a statistical bonus.

If detected, all kits will glow with a dim enchantment. If identified properly, it will be discovered that the kits are all enchanted with specialized cantrips/spells of cleaning, purification, and mending. Should anything damage the equipment in any way, the mending spells will be triggered. If soiled or damaged in any way, the cleaning/mending/purifying spells will be triggered. The effect is immediate, and extends to 1 foot from all equipment surfaces, but does not apply to living tissue (creative use of this is encouraged.) If combat occurs while equipped, the triggered spells occur in the following round. There is no limit to how many times the effects can be triggered. In essence, this creates uniforms that are always presentable, regardless of circumstance. This is the limit of the enchantment. Craftsmanship should be considered to meet or exceed masterwork, but in appearance only.

Depending on the circumstances and outcomes of the duration of the liaisons, it may be possible that characters are gifted with their "uniforms", and can keep them when they return from the summons.  However, neither the equipment nor the enchantment may be purchased. Emperor "X" had the enchantment researched and created specifically for this purpose, and they do not share the knowledge.

If items were gifted (or retained through other means), and properly researched, reverse engineering is possible, though very difficult.

Drawing of lots

Someone in the group of heroes participates in a drawing of lots, and wins. Or gets approached by a local that has done so.

Either way, the heroes travel to the lottery turn in location which is days away in an unfamiliar town or city. The drawing of lots is a scam, there are no winnings to be had.

Hilarity ensues. (or not)

x-ray / gamma ray lensing/shuttering

Transmitting from other starts would take enormous amounts of energy to be detected here on Earth, yes?

Let's say we eventually are able to make a probe that could remain viable until reaching another star. What good would that do us if we could not get information back from the probe?

How would we send signals back to Earth without energy sucking powerful transmitters? How about using the star itself as part of the transmitter?

For my hypothetical, let's assume that the last step of getting to said star is to maneuver itself in to orbit around that star.

Then the probe deploys an x-ray / gamma ray lens and shutter system, whereby the lens ensures a focused beam of x-rays / gamma rays are pointed towards Earth during optimal orbital positioning, and the shutter modulates the x-rays / gamma rays to carry intelligence.  High speed Morse-code, if you will, where the shutter is the tapping mechanism, and the x-rays / gamma rays are the copper lines.

Something similar could be set up around the Sun for communicating back to the probe, if needed.

Hammer and Sword

Long ago, Hammer Lord was the undisputed ruler in the realm.  His hammer was strongly enchanted, his legions were true, and there were none to challenge his largely benevolent supremacy. The Hammer Lord's legions were filled with knights whose hammers were inspired by their Lord's hammer, and they were a frightful force to behold on the battle field. Their hammers were lightly enchanted and crafted with care, and only one with the resources of landed Knights could carry the hammer's cost. These Hammer Knights were strong, loyal, and proud.

But a jealous Trade Lord sought to attain supremacy of the realm for himself.  Successful trade had made him rich and powerful, but he wanted more.  Using his vast trading wealth, he commissioned wizards from an exotic and far away land to make for him a weapon, a sword, worthy of challenging the Hammer.

The sword came to the Trade Lord with several requested advantageous properties. Among them were near indestructability, follower enhanced wielding force, and leader to follower force enhancement. The more followers the wielder had, the more they all increased in force. There was only one catch; each follower would also need to carry a complimentary sword and ONLY that sword, which could only be obtained from the Trade Lord himself.

He sought out individuals to grow his army. He took advantage of populations far from the ruling city, which were mostly indifferent to power struggles.  As long as they had food in their bellies and safety from invading hordes, they could have cared less who ruled. He sold his vision on lies and easy promises, and swelled his ranks.

Renaming himself as Sword Lord, he finally felt he could start is war for the realm. But when the early battles enjoined, his legions were lacking in numbers and were soundly defeated by the Hammer Lord's well oiled machine.

However, the complimentary swords could be had for the asking, were better quality than most could afford otherwise, and came with the promise of enhanced social standing if Sword Lord were ever to take the day.  It didn't take long to sell the vision to more and more people, and the ranks grew large and powerful.

War had come to the realm, from within the realm itself.  For the first time, Hammer Lord feared capitulation might lay in his future.

Hammer Lord learned of the Sword Lord's unique weapon, and had his guild wizards create similar enchantments for his hammer, and the hammers of his Hammer Knights.

Since that time, Hammer Lord and his forces have been engaged in a long, terrible struggle with Sword Lord, with supremacy of the realm hanging in the balance.

For quite some time, it appeared Hammer and Sword were equally matched, but eventually Sword Lord began to win more matches than it lost. Hammer Lord and his forces would take devastating losses, with Hammer Lord himself barely escaping each tilt, leaving him weaker and weaker with each retreat.

The balance of power was shifting, and Hammer Lord foresaw the end of his rule, so had his guild wizards perform a second enchantment on his mighty Hammer. The secondary hammer enchantment was that on command, the hammer head would fly apart in thin leaves of metal, with each leaf becoming both template and material seed, complete with instructional runes, for making hammers duplicate of the original. Interpreting the runes and following their instructions would not easy tasks, and exotic materials would have to be gathered, but no further enchantments would be needed.

Hammer Lord and his forces lay dying after a final and fatal battle. He uttered a gasping command and released his grip on his prized hammer. In a hail of sparks, the hammer head fanned apart into hundreds of leaves of metal. Each leaf wended its way on the wind, to corners of the realm unknown. The guarded secrets of recreating Hammer Lord's hammer had been laid open for those with the will to try. This could change everything.

For 20 years, Sword Lord and his forces maintained absolute rule in the realm, but the Hammers may yet come...

Less a story idea...

... than it is a character/race/ruling class idea.

Ageless Slumber

A person, or a family related by blood, maybe even an entire culture, where aging, or anything else, be it positive or negative, does not occur during sleep. While sleeping, there are no bodily needs. Illness, injury, healing, and poisons all are halted.

Could be a genetic trait, a blessing/curse, or a desired/afflicted spell effect.

If we go with a single character story idea, let's say he or she is a plain, normal Human, but older than he appears by roughly a 3rd, depending on sleep patterns. Not a huge game changer, but makes the character a bit unique. May or may not be the last of their kind.

For a bit more epic story idea, we could say that in the distant past, a family line learned to use their Ageless Slumber to obtain prominence, and once attained, to keep it. Perhaps the king/queen and their court of family members are purposely placed in to unnaturally long periods of sleep.  The crown and their court are only awoken for 3 hours a day, to be made aware of current events and issue resulting edicts, before being returned to their ageless slumber. In this manner, the crown and their court's lives could be extended by more than 500 years. Perhaps to support the crown and court, an entire cadre of elite librarians, scholars and spies gather and maintain sensitive information, and organize that information for quick consumption by the crown and court. Using the crown and court's long memories and experience affords them riches and power, along with some bitter enemies.

It could be that our heroes (story or roleplay) encounter the crown lands just as some of the court finally begin to die, creating a struggle for lines of succession, and talks of open war, unheard of for hundreds of years. Maybe enemies see this as an opportunity for upset, and surviving family members also begin feuding over whether or not to alter the sleep governance to 1 hour a day, which could extend the lives of future Kings and courts up to perhaps 1500 years.

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Kiev