I need some inspiration.
So I'm DMing a 5e game and the party ran across some monsters guarding some treasure who had clearly been there for a really long time. It has nothing to do with like the main adventure, it's just some random thing that happened along the way.
But instead of like, loot, or whatever, they just find a 1'x1'x1' black cube that weighs about 6 pounds. Doesn't seem to be any recognizable stone or other material, and it doesn't seem to have much powerful magic juju, but it seems impervious, and it's ominous just the same.
Only thing is, I don't know what to do with it. I just like the idea of finding some weird nightmare cube in some random place for no discernible reason. What should it be? What should it do?
What would you put in your nightmare cube, /tg/?
>>47344115
They did this in an episode of Doctor Who. A bunch of mysterious indestructible cubes appeared all over it. They did absolutely nothing, for the first year. They were actually filled with sensor devices, and we're studying Humanity. After the first year a bunch of them opened and produced different stimuli to map out the changes in Behavior among humans exposed to said stimuli. Once the alien race that created the cubes had properly mapped human physiology, the used the cubes as repeating antennas to transmit an electrical pulse across the entire planet specifically tuned to cause heart attacks in any human close to a cube. It was an attempt to painlessly euthanize the entire species
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemarchand's_box
>>47344115
The cube serves as a holy relic to a bunch of insane, murderous nomads who'll stop at nothing to get it back.
>>47344460
It's a magic puzzle box used to seal the Material Plane off from the insane demons of the Abyss.
It is actually a container for nuclear waste from a long lost alien species and has danger symbols written on it in an alien script in infrared. If one of the players casts the infravision spell they might see it.
It is an Ingot of a unique owl. 1000 years ago, and enterprising Morgan Smith and metallurgist invented a new alloy that is 100 times harder than adamantine and nearly impossible to fracture. It is said that once properly smelted and treated, an object made from this material would be impossible even for the Gods to damage. The cube is an Ingot he created as a test run. It is the only sample that exists. The dwarf was murdered by political rivals, or possibly the priesthood comma and his notes destroyed. It is a Priceless Relic that cannot be used for anything except a paper weight. Because of its unique nature and durability, it cannot be sampled alchemically because it does not react with anything. It even resists spells cast upon it, or even magic cannot penetrate it.
>>47344694
*alloy
I hate the voice recognition on this phone.
Don't do anything. Let it constantly drive them crazy. Feel free to being it up subconsciously from time to time. I.e quest/puzzle makes it sounds like it would work as a key or whatever. However actual key is found elsewhere and it's a bust with a square base.
>>47344115
>It sleeps
>>47344763
I like this idea. I was mostly just figuring I'd have it not do anything, just be something that is like a weird thing from the world but whatever keys might open it or activate it would be beyond the ken of anyone still living. But still, creepy mystery box
>>47344369
This guy gets it.
>>47344115
It's dried Modron shit. They drop cubical deuces.
Make it a key to a portal.
>>47344763
>The box that does nothing causes paranoia and violence because they think it should do something
genius
>>47344115
The Vantablack cube bestows a layer of vantablack upon every object it touches in proximity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuRTbGsVI0M
