[DL] Plot Ideas part 2

[Munch Wolf <munchwolf@yahoo.com>]

Dumb shows are a great source of plot ideas.  Recently
watched an episode of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The
Lost World ... which is a really long name.  Ok, I
didn't exactly watch it ... mostly I had the TV on
while I was vegging on computer games, so most of the
plot was lost.  What I did get was a weird idea:

A mystical artifact in the middle of a swamp, which
when removed cause the local toad population to turn
into people, and anyone who touched the artifact to
slowly turn into an animal.  The interesting part was
the toad-people wanted the artifact, but not to
replace it.  They liked being humans.  They just
didn't want anyone else replacing it, because that
would turn everyone back their normal state.

Now as far as that plot goes I think it sucks.  Why
would an artifact sit in the middle of the swamp with
the sole purpose of turning frogs into people and
people into animals if removed, but do nothing if it
stays put?  What purpose does that serve?  Wouldn't
some day someone remove the object, become an animal,
and then not be able to return it?  Seems silly.

A better device would be some cultists in the swamp
making an item that turned the local toads into
people, and if the item is destroyed they revert back
to being toads.  In the meantime, the new toad people
have killed the cultist, and have learned a neat
trick.  Anytime they kill someone near the artifact,
as a group they gain all the skills and knowledge of
that individual (or probably have some members gain
some skills).  The basic plot of the adventure would
be smart people disappearing and some towns.  The toad
people would appear and behave like normal humans. 
They also wouldn't go to far from the artifact (which
they can't move) in fear that someone might destroy it
and return them to being toads, but would try to blend
in with the local societies.

-Munch Wolf

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