Hi...oh, I forgot, a question about Amnesia

Hi All. Firstly, I would like to say a big hello to everyone on this board. I'm quite an avid gamer and look forward to discussing D&D with you all. I've been playing for years, and with the onset of 3E, I have decided to start a new campaign. I guess, I could start by asking for some advice.

I'm going to start a Planescape campaign where the players will begin washed up on the shores of the River Styx on one of the Lower Planes. Basically, they will have trapping of a past profession where they may of been important high ups in a Blood War army and hold some important secret about something I'm yet too determine. I'm trying to get a handle on how I should handle the memory draining effects of the Styx and what impact it will have on the PCs. I've been thinking that they will start out as 0 level characters and the memory loss will be attributed to their personal backgrounds. But I'm also thinking that primitive, intuitive type of information should be retained, such as the need to eat, sleep, drink...self preservation, speech etc. I may also rule that the PCs can remember certain aspects of the multiverse around them...such as the alignment paradoxes that make up the outer planes, the primordial aspects of the inner planes, the mental highways of the astral and ethereal...and maybe even sigil and its politics such as the factions. I've been thinking that maybe the memory loss only effects the PCs ability to remember themselves and their place in the world. This way, they may search for their past and find out who they where/are?

any thoughts on how I could hande this?

Welcome to the boards!

Retrograde amnesia can reach back a certain number of years, effectively erasing all memories within that timeframe. This would let them know things they learned a long time ago (speach) but not more recently (how they got there).

Beyond this, I don't know much... any ideas out there?

Play Planescape: Torment.

Have them regain certain memories at key points along the way. Do not tell them that they remember about the factions of the planes until they encounter a reference to them and then they instinctively recall it.

If you can come up with a decent plot, this would be an interesting way to tell the story.

Like Hong said...


Planscape: Torment

Welcome to the boards!

This is an incredibly cool idea. You can occasionally have strangers attack them on sight, and there's a lot of plot potential in the attempt to find out what they did that was so incredibly important. I assume you're starting them as first level characters; make sure that they aren't all young. If you want to have some real fun, occasionally give them a +10 competence bonus on certain pre-selected skills.... and don't tell them why. "Odd. You might have done this before; it seems really easy."

These suggestions are all quite good.

Hong and Someguy, I have played Torment, and is where I got some of the inspiration to do this...

From memory, the Nameless One recalled things only when they where presented too him. It seemed that he kind of needed a trigger to relate things back to his past...This kind of ties in with what Wicht says. I think I'll use this....this also alows me to introduce plot elements and hooks merely by triggering a past memory...brilliant, thanks Wicht.

It might be an idea for me to make time to play Torment again...might give me more inspiration, apart from being a damn fine game.

Since the other players haven't played Torment yet...I'm actually going to have them start out in the possession of a bound and sealed chest that contains Morte, the mimir. Chances are I'll put warning labels all over it not to open the chest, don't trust the skull etc etc...

If the players release Mort, he can help them get off Baator...as well as tell them something about themselves and other key secrets...but there'll be repurcussions cause Morte will probably double cross them later...

If they don't release Morte, their going to remain alot more clueless but will at least be safe from his questionable motives...

Piratecat said:

I assume you're starting them as first level characters; make sure that they aren't all young. If you want to have some real fun, occasionally give them a +10 competence bonus on certain pre-selected skills.... and don't tell them why. "Odd. You might have done this before; it seems really easy."

Click to expand...

I'd actually been thinking about starting them at 0 level...maybe using the adept rules from the DMG or something...
I know this might seem a bit harsh, but IF they play their cards right...they won't actually get into a fight before 1st level anyway...but thats a big IF.

I like your idea about the competance bonus from past skills. I can use this to subtly provide clues into their past...

hmmm...now its time to detail some of the specifics about their past lives...

(donns diabolical cap)

thanks for the help guys.

You know, 3E doesn't even have rules for 0-level play - even peasants are 1st level.

Well, they need to know basical needs and language, otherwise they aren't going to make out of Baator alive unless someone picks them up. For the zero level thing, you could start them as 1st level commoners, and then allow them to switch class to whatever they want when they get a chance to train, which will make them remember some of their previous abilities.