I'm almost afraid to ask...

[TwinPeaksGuy]

It's simultaneously absurd and creepy, played right. So is turning D&D into a horror game at all, as we're doing this season. I imagine you're unhappy about that too.

Since I only play AL in 2 FLGS a thousand miles away from you, I really appreciate your dedication to the tone of tables you will never sit at, your ardent defense protecting people you apparently don't believe can speak up for themselves.

I'll clear the idea next time I talk to the shop owners and DMs I work with. I have a Tiefling Vengeance Paladin ready to go for Suits of the Mists this coming Saturday, so puppet dude may never get played. I wanted to see what the obstacles might be, and now I see what they are.

 

[TwinPeaksGuy]

Duplicate posting, deleted

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Since I only play AL in 2 FLGS a thousand miles away from you, I really appreciate your dedication to the tone of tables you will never sit at, your ardent defense protecting people you apparently don't believe can speak up for themselves.

Hey, that's the Golden Rule after all: Treat others the way you would want to be treated.

If I was one of those other people sitting at that table, I would want there to have been someone on the internet making sure that this rando doesn't show up with misguided intentions to derail the game. It's way easier to call people out on their shenanigans over the internet, and they're way less likely to flip out and make a scene than if you confront them in person.

 

[Steve_MND]

Yeahhhhh, i think we're all done with this thread now.

 

[Ovinomancer1981]

It's simultaneously absurd and creepy, played right. So is turning D&D into a horror game at all, as we're doing this season. I imagine you're unhappy about that too.

Since I only play AL in 2 FLGS a thousand miles away from you, I really appreciate your dedication to the tone of tables you will never sit at, your ardent defense protecting people you apparently don't believe can speak up for themselves.

Not sure if directed at me, but if it is; I neither implied nor suggested that people are afraid to speak up, nor will I tell you how to play your character.
You asked for advice, I gave my objective opinion, exactly what you asked for.

I really do like your concept, I do. But you asked how to make it work.
I hope you will have fun with that characters and your fellow players will enjoy it as much as you do!

PS "Yeah, you will never play at our tables, so your argument is invalid" is not a valid argument

 

[TwinPeaksGuy]

not directed at you. Kalani pointed out the mechanical compromise that might be needed in the first few posts.

The only problem seems to be one of tone. The puppet needs to be creepier than he is funny, he needs to work in the milieu (unless the whole table is down with a little laughing gas). That makes sense. Saelorn's tone was kind of over the top, but whatever.

 

[kalani]

Since I only play AL in 2 FLGS a thousand miles away from you, I really appreciate your dedication to the tone of tables you will never sit at, your ardent defense protecting people you apparently don't believe can speak up for themselves.

Speaking of tone - I am not sure what you meant by the bolded part of this post (that you indicated was directed toward me). Was this meant as praise, sarcasm, or condescension (it could be read in any of these ways).

In any case, its not that I don't think people can speak for themselves - as I don't like to misinform people. I think this is a fantastic idea that can either work fabulously to help create the right tone of Ravenloft, or it could end disastrously (I hope for the former). There are a lot of ways you can cosmetically change your musical instrument so that the music can come from your dummies (a music box that you wind with a crank also works).

If all else fails, keep a component pouch as a backup in case one (or more) of your DMs don't like the idea - and also remember to write it on your character sheet as the type of instrument it is (pick one that is from the PHB and just cosmetically alter it to suit).

 

[TwinPeaksGuy]

Sarcasm, aimed at Saelorn. Kalani, your suggestions have been quite constructive and well grounded in the RAW.

I agree the way it gets played needs to work for everyone at the table. That's a very reasonable point to make. Rather than make a reasonable point reasonably, Saelorn seemed to just be throwing rocks at the whole idea out of hand and only very belatedly making a point that could have been made without the dismissal and condemnation. The idea that nobody should ever re-skin anything from an RP standpoint seems pretty extreme.

In case anyone cares, the DM and FLGS owner thought it was an interesting idea that they didn't object to, and I've already opened a discussion with them on setting tone to match the table. I can pretty easily roll with things like having the puppet and puppeteer seem to have different personalities or have the puppet seem to be in charge in a weird and creepy way, or have the puppet have a slightly manic insanity like the Joker. We'll see what shakes out from brainstorming.

 

[Iolo Morganwg]

Regarding CoS tone, I get that it's gothic horror, but even the authors have have injected silly humor here and there, especially the WFRP 1E-esque names in the Ravenloft crypt.

Sir Klutz Tripalotsky

Elsa Fallona von Twitterburg: "She had many followers."

Artista DeSlop - Court Ceiling Painter

Good stuff, and no more off-putting than a ventriloquist bard. (And this is coming from a guy who doesn't get the appeal of Jeff Dunham or Terry Fator.)

YMMV. Expect table variation. Results not typical.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Anybody here ever heard of a Jester's Bauble or Marotte? AKA "that funny looking stick fools carry"? Potentially solves a lot of issues, here.

Wikipedia
A marotte is a prop stick or sceptre with a carved head on it. Jesters usually used a Marotte. The word is borrowed from the French, where it signifies either a fool's (literal) "bauble", or a fad/craze.

Typically carried by a jester or harlequin, the miniature head will often reflect the costume of the jester who carries it. Modern marottes typically have music boxes or other machinery built into the head. Older marottes may utilize swivel heads with bells.

1) Historically, a jester could use a Marotte a lot like a ventriloquist would use a puppet. So that element of the concept is preserved in altered form. Playing off the suggestion upthread, perhaps the actual head is removable- carved by the Bard himself, perhaps- so he has a bag of little heads that resemble a wide variety of people. (Creepy enough?)

2) As noted, old baubles have bells (or rattles or other noisemakers) attached, and modern ones have mechanical musical devices within them. Either option works in a FRPG as a musical instrument. Don't like that? Have the staff of the bauble be some kind of simple flute. Or make it a rain stick. Or a rhythm stick. (The rhythm stick idea would require a second stick- smaller or even of equal size- with which to strike or rasp.)

3) The bauble is a stick, remember? Well, wooden sticks of a certain size are also called clubs (or batons, or nightsticks, or escrima sticks, etc.). Or they can conceal spikes or blades, either flick/spring/twist deployed or as disguised sheaths. And a metal bauble- and yes, they do exist- could be constructed to be used as a mace, just like those some nobles would model on their scepters. Being whacked in the head by someone with a (weighted) wooden or all-metal bauble would really define "getting clowned". Ditto being stabbed by the spike or blade that popped up through the bauble's head. Bonus points for style if you can get the thing enchanted to laugh or fart if you do enough damage to someone with it. So there's your weapon covered.