Some help and opinions needed for my Ravenloft game...
I'm thinking of having my players meet a character that I want to scare the players, but not just in the "we will die if we annoy it" sense, but because it creeps them out.
For some reason, I have the image in mind of it appearing like a little girl, probably in dirty, blood-stained clothing, with a sweet face and angelic voice. I'm kinda imagining the girl from "The Reaping" that you wonder if she's good or evil until the end (except in this case I want her to be so irredeemably evil that the group Paladin will get a nosebleed the moment they get within her "aura of evil" area).
What I have in mind is that this character is supposedly truly ancient "she was here since the birth of the land" and wise - but spoken of only in whispers. The players will need to convince her to help them on a quest - but what price will she demand in return? Will the price be worse than allowing the great evil they are trying to stop occurring?
What I need help with is WHAT to make this character. Since I don't expect the players to actually be dumb enough to pick a fight, levels are no problems (if it's that ancient, I'd expect level 20 if not epic), but what I'm debating is:
- a human who became corrupted because of evil, and became a monster... in the process gaining immortality (e.g. a monk or sorcerer)? My issue with this is that this might make the character a darklord... when I actually prefer it to NOT be one.
- a fiend that is trapped in Ravenloft, and has bound itself to the land (anyone knowing Ravenloft will understand how fiends can bind themselves to the land - making it harder to ever leave, but growing in power). In which case, which? Most of the Demons are "killing machines" and I'm tired of always pitting Succubi/Incubi against the players as demonic antagonists. And most Demons are likewise killing things or can't change shape. Yugoloth's are possible, as are Rakshasa... but Rakshasa don't feel right for "ancient evil" theme.
- The "girl" is actually a really sweet, innocent child that powerful mages bound the fiend into. So whilst it's a truly evil creature, it's fairly powerless inside the girl (her innocence holds it in physically). This can also have the players sense great evil, but great innocence. They'd learn that the girl must be living eternal hell-on-earth anguish to keep this thing inside, but to "help her" would mean releasing the full power of the evil on Ravenloft. This would throw an interesting moral dilemma at the players (especially since the price the fiend may demand is a way of releasing iself from its human prison).
- or anything else you wise sages out there can pull out of your evil minds that would be nice
Ideas and comments really appreciated!
Thanx!