The Aurany -
 

 

There exists a statue, known as the Aurany, at the centre of a kingdom with the explicit purpose of providing protection from the bloodthirsty "barrens beasts" outside of the kingdom borders. The beasts come in many forms and skulk around at the edge of the Aurany's influence, unable to pass but patiently waiting for any foolish human to leave the domain of safety. More often than not, though, the border appears peaceful, and the barrens look anything but - they appear enchanting, even.
The knowledge of how the Aurany came to be is vague, and there is no knowledge at all of how it works. Nevertheless, it is maintained by an order of priests - the Aure.
For a long time now, people have lived safely within the kingdom, and they only are thrust from its safety as part of a punishment, one that is understood to mean near-certain death. Very rarely, people leave willingly in hopes of finding riches but are never seen again.
In spite of all this, some people have begun to wonder if the domain of the Aurany isn't just an elaborate prison. The barrens were not always infested with monstrosities, in fact, the land long ago belonged to a prosperous empire, sprawling far beyond what the comparatively meek kingdom does now - an empire that with no need for the Aurany. Somewhere in the wilderness, with the legacy of that empire, could be a solution to dealing with the creatures, permanently.

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The barrens are full of all types of nasty creatures that we can create, humanoid or otherwise with all sorts of ways to kill humans - let your imagination run free.
Characters to play could include (but are not limited to) some "intrepid explorers", someone that has been exiled from the kingdom recently or perhaps not-so-recently and has somehow survived, the more humanoid forms of beasts and I've also toyed with the idea of the empire having a bloodline that has survived in a tight group of people living far beyond the kingdom/Aurany. Their trick to having survived so long could be their knowledge of barrens beasts weaknesses (or they may indeed manipulate them). They might even have ambitions to reignite their empire in some form or even sabotage the kingdom; by knowing both what keeps beasts at bay but also what feeds/creates them, they have valuable knowledge they can exploit. On the other hand, they might not succeed at all or we could decide this group doesn't exist. Then the discovery of the barrens origin/how it works falls entirely in the laps of our characters.

 

 

Cursed -
 

 

Cursed people are nothing new in the Wysn province. For a long period of time, there had been no reports of any being found, but in the last ten years or so, they have been resurfacing - people previously thought to be ordinary have had their abilities awakened, whether they wish for it or not. These abilities are extremely varied in both their nature and power. They can be as trivial as the ability to snuff a small flame from afar or as tremendous as acute insight into the intentions behind an action or object. Whatever the case, the appearance of cursed people has coincided with numerous afflictions on Wysn and its largest city, Wystorn.
Thought to be the cause of these problems - plague, corruption, increasingly ferocious storms and any other misfortune - if someone is identified as cursed they are sent to be executed. Embarrassed by its many troubles, the rule of law has been harsh, yet secretive, in an effort to root out all of the cursed.
However, there is a problem with the plan. The cursed may be undesirable to many, but for a select few they represent an excellent resource. There are some well-guarded secrets that say if one of the cursed is ritualistically killed, the actor will inherit their abilities entirely...on top of any of their own they may already have. Knowing this, a black market has been created. Buyers, also known as collectors, are cursed people themselves that seek to accrue more abilities. The wealthier collectors even are in the practice of hiring hunters to do the menial work of retrieving cursed people for their purposes. Of course, there is the other issue...the more abilities you attain, the more valuable you are dead than alive.

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Some character ideas could be one of the cursed fleeing persecution, a buyer/collector, hunter, an inquisitor of sorts, any of the 'normal' people in the city keeping a watchful eye out...or someone that discovers one of their nearest and dearest is cursed and simply doesn't know how to cope! The city of Wystorn also has a well-known problem with corruption at the grave expense of its people, it is possible that the cursed or their pursuers are involved in the higher ranks of nobility and even manipulating the capture of other cursed people. On the other hand, some of the cursed will be cooperative and be seeking shelter, figuring it's safer to be connected and informed than isolated and vulnerable, they might have created protective groups. What is the end scenario of this hunt? How many cursed people are there, will their powers eventually all be amassed into one cursed person, and to what end?