Mythology Roleplay Prompts

Twenty original mythology roleplay prompts drawing on Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Celtic, Mesopotamian and Japanese mythic traditions. Each has a hook and a first message ready to paste. These scenarios are new stories inspired by mythology, not retellings, so you can bend the myths however you like.

Mythology roleplay lets you sit across the table from beings who've been keeping score for thousands of years. The fun is in what mortals can offer gods, and what gods can't do for themselves.

A note on myths

Myths vary enormously between sources, regions and centuries. There's rarely one "correct" version of a god. Use what serves your story, and treat these traditions with respect: they're the living heritage of real cultures, not just fantasy settings.

Greek

1. The ferryman's day off. The ferryman of the dead has taken his first day off in three thousand years. You've been handed his oar.

A pale figure in a hooded cloak presses the oar into my hands. "One day. Everyone pays. Nobody swims. And whatever you do, don't look back at the shore."

2. The oracle's apprentice. You've been apprenticed to an oracle. Your first prophecy is about her.

The smoke clears, and the words come out before I can stop them. "Before the next full moon, you'll lose your sight." She doesn't look surprised. "Yes. I've been waiting for someone to say it."

3. The muse who lost her inspiration. A muse appears in your flat, desperate. She's forgotten how to inspire anyone.

"I used to inspire epics." The muse slumps on my sofa. "Last week I tried to inspire a poet and he wrote a grocery list."

4. The labyrinth's other prisoner. You're lost in an ancient labyrinth. You're not the only one.

I hear footsteps in the next corridor and freeze. "Hello? If you're the monster, I'd like to negotiate."

Norse

5. The tree's caretaker. You've been chosen to tend the roots of the great world tree. Something has been gnawing at them.

I hold up a lantern to the vast root, scored with bite marks. "These are fresh. Whatever's doing this, it's getting closer to the surface."

6. The hall of the slain. You've arrived in the hall of fallen warriors, but you weren't a warrior. Nobody knows how you got here.

A huge bearded warrior squints at me over his drinking horn. "You died in battle?" "I died in a library." "…Which battle?"

7. The trickster's wager. A shapeshifting trickster bets you can't tell which of five strangers in the tavern is him.

Five identical cloaked figures sit at the bar, all smiling the same smile. "One of you is lying about being human. I have three questions."

8. The end-of-the-world planner. The prophesied end of the world is scheduled for next week. You're the mortal assigned to organise it.

I unroll a very long scroll. "So. Wolves first, then the serpent, then the fire? Or should the fire be earlier?"

Egyptian

9. The embalmer's apprentice. You prepare the dead for the afterlife. Tonight, one of them sat up and asked for directions.

The linen-wrapped figure on the table turns its head toward me. "Which way to the hall of judgement? I'd like to get there before my brother does. He'll lie about me."

10. The scribe of the dead. You're a scribe in the underworld, recording souls. One name in the ledger is yours, with tomorrow's date.

I set down my reed pen. "Sir. I think there's a mistake in the book." I turn it toward him. "Or there's about to be one."

11. The sun boat's stowaway. You've snuck aboard the sun god's boat for its night journey through the underworld.

A cat the size of a horse finds me behind the cargo. "You're not on the manifest." "Can I be?"

12. The tomb that wants to be found. You're an archaeologist. A sealed tomb has started sending you dreams.

I press my hand to the sealed door. "I heard you. Every night for a month. I'm here. What do you want?"

Celtic and Irish

13. The crossroads bargain. At a crossroads at midnight, a fairy offers you anything, for a price you won't hear until it's due.

The fairy holds out a hand, fingers too long. "One wish. Paid later." "How much later?" "That's the fun part."

14. The well of wisdom. An ancient well grants wisdom to anyone who drinks, but every sip costs a memory. You've just had your first sip.

I lower the cup and frown at the well-keeper. "I know the names of every star now. But I can't remember my mother's face. Was that the price?"

15. The changeling. You've just discovered you were swapped at birth with a fairy child. Your "twin" has come to visit.

They look exactly like me, but their eyes are too green. "Hello, sibling. I've been living your life. It's terrible. Want to swap back?"

Mesopotamian

16. The flood builder. A god has warned you, and only you, that a great flood is coming. Nobody in the city believes you, and the god has stopped answering.

I set the clay model of the boat on the council table. "I know how it sounds. But I need wood, pitch, and every one of you to stop laughing."

17. The tablet of destinies. A clay tablet that controls fate has been stolen. You're the one who found it in a market stall.

I set the tablet down at the temple steps. "I paid two coins for this. The merchant said it was a cookbook."

Japanese

18. The umbrella spirit. An old paper umbrella in your grandmother's attic has come to life after a hundred years, as household objects sometimes do in Japanese folklore. It's very offended about the dust.

The umbrella hops off the shelf on its single leg and glares at me with its one eye. "A century in this attic. Do you know how many rainy days I've missed?"

19. The river spirit's lost name. A river spirit has forgotten its own name, and without it, the river is drying up.

The spirit rises from the shallows, half water and half mist. "You. You speak to rivers. Help me remember what I'm called."

20. The night parade. Once a year, spirits march through the town at night. You've accidentally joined the parade.

A paper lantern with a face nudges me forward. "Keep walking. Don't look human. And whatever you do, don't stop before dawn."

Making mythology roleplay work

• Gods should be vast but specific. Ancient power, petty grudges, strange rules.
• Bargains are the best plot device. Every deal with a god has fine print.
• Mortality is your persona's superpower. Gods often envy what's brief.

For guides to specific mythic types, see grim reaper and shinigami characters and angel characters. For a mortal marked by fate, see chosen one, and for divine-mortal romance, forbidden love.

Mythology characters on Minkplay

The gods & royalty world has fourteen: Anubis weighing your heart, Hades in his crystal garden, Freya claiming the honoured fallen, Morrigan appearing on the eve of battle, and Inanna returning through the seven gates. More are listed below.