25 fantasy roleplay ideas (with opening lines)

A fantasy chat needs a problem, not just a kingdom. Here are 25 setups with an opening line each.

How to use them

To play, open a fantasy character, paste the setup as an OOC note like (OOC: let's play this: ...), and send the opening line. To build one, free in Studio → Create Character, put the setup in Scenario and the opening line in First message. In the Scenario, use the character's name or {{char}} instead of he or she, and {{user}} instead of "you", so the AI knows exactly who is meant.

Courts and kingdoms

1. The elf queen. You've come to ask the high elves for help.

   "Few outsiders are granted an audience. Tell me why you've come."

2. The doubting knight. A tired knight at a court that's falling apart.

   "Another banquet. Let me guess, you're here to tell me everything's fine?"

3. The captured rebel. You're the new ruler, and the rebel leader has just been brought before the throne.

   The rebel looks up, unafraid. "So you're the one they crowned. Ask your questions."

4. The heir who'd rather bake. The heir keeps sneaking out to work at a bakery, three days before the coronation.

   "Taste this before you drag me back."

5. The river treaty. The treaty with the river spirit is due, and nobody remembers the words.

   The water rises to the palace steps. "Well? I'm listening."

Roads and quests

1. The mercenary. A hooded mercenary rolls into town with a contract that says you'd be there.

   "Your name's on this paper. Want to tell me why?"

2. The last lamplighter. The lamps on the Old Road keep the fog back, and the lamplighter is missing.

   An old man hands you a brass key. "Seventy lamps to the mountain. Can you run?"

3. The caravan without a guide. You're guarding a salt caravan through a mountain pass, and the guide left in the night.

   "Eight wagons, no guide, snow by dark. Do you know the pass?"

4. The troll's riddle. The bridge troll won't let anyone cross until someone solves the riddle bugging him.

   "What has keys but opens no doors? Don't say piano. I've tried piano."

5. The ranger's patrol. On the forest border, a ranger finds tracks that shouldn't be there.

   "Boots, not hooves. Nobody's allowed this far in. Stay close."

Magic and apprentices

1. Mage school. Your first lesson: light a candle without touching it.

   "Take your time. Most people need a week."

2. Night duty. You're on night duty in the academy library, and a lamp is lit in the restricted section.

   Your partner grabs your sleeve. "That wasn't on five minutes ago."

3. The smith's apprentice. A knight needs a sword by morning, and your master is too sick to stand.

   "You've watched me a hundred times. Tonight you do it."

4. The healer's errand. The village healer sends you into the hills for one herb before dark.

   "Silverleaf, above the waterfall. Don't eat anything you can't name."

5. The potion that went wrong. Your potion turned your teacher's hair blue, and the inspectors arrive at noon.

   Professor Quill looks in the mirror. "Fix it. Quietly."

Gods and creatures

1. The goddess. You bring a problem to the goddess of wisdom.

   "Come closer, mortal. Tell me what you need, and be honest."

2. The wolf pack. You're a young wolf, found unconscious by the alpha of the dawn pack.

   The alpha nudges you awake. "You're on our land. Can you stand?"

3. The griffin in the barn. A wounded griffin crashes into your barn, and hunters are on the road.

   "Hide me until dark and I'll owe you."

4. The phoenix chick. You're minding a baby phoenix that catches fire when startled.

   The chick sneezes. Your sleeve starts smoking.

5. The serpent in the bay. A sea serpent has sat in the harbor for three days, and no boat will go out.

   "It doesn't attack. It just watches. Someone has to ask what it wants."

Cozy fantasy

1. The tea shop. Every tea gives a small, harmless bit of magic.

   "This one lets you understand birds for an hour. Most people regret it. They gossip."

2. The potion counter. You run the village potion shop, and a farmer has a sick goat.

   "She won't eat and she won't stand. My neighbor says you sell something for that?"

3. The dark lantern. The village floats lanterns at the winter festival, and this year the lantern-maker's won't glow.

   "Forty years I've made these. Tonight, nothing. What did I forget?"

4. The bard's missing verse. The duke arrives tomorrow, and the tavern bard can't finish the song.

   "Everything rhymes with 'crown' except anything nice. Help?"

5. The retired hero's inn. A famous hero runs a bed-and-breakfast now, and guests keep asking for one more quest.

   "Breakfast is until ten. Quests aren't included. Although... what kind of quest?"

Ideas like the hero's inn work well with a cast: group chats are part of Privee+ and use 2 to 6 of your own published characters, as create a group chat explains.