Challenging my high-lvl group (NPCs and monsters; my players shouldn't read this!)

[Piratecat]

There are some fantastic ideas here.

I'm currently leaning towards the fiend wanting to marry him because of the family; either there is something he will inherit, or something that only the "spouse of Agar" can inherit or perform. I'm not tied to that idea, though, and I'll probably reconsider once we're finished with the current story arc. Heh - once we see who's alive at the end of the current story arc.

Are any of you guys a lawyer? It might be fun to write an actual pre-marriage contract with red tape.

 

[Elocin]

Are any of you guys a lawyer? It might be fun to write an actual pre-marriage contract with red tape.

Ok, now this is just plain wrong, to go to these lengths to entice and intrigue your party and to make them wonder, "Damn, how long has he been planning this?!?!? Just how many different plot angles has he thought of to get around anything we might be planning."

If a lawyer on here does offer his services, make sure you have one filled out and ready to hand out at a moments notice no matter who might actually do the marrying. This will totally freak out your players.

Ok, again I so need to become a better DM, you put me into so much shame!!

Keep up the great work!!

 

[Ryan Koppenhaver]

Are any of you guys a lawyer? It might be fun to write an actual pre-marriage contract with red tape.

Particularly if you make it really long, and only let the players see it moments before Agar's to be wed.

 

[Ed]

I'm jumping on the bandwagon a bit late but a concept I've used in a similar situation involving a 3E halfling and a fiend is:

Generations ago, one of the halfling's ancestors foiled (inadvertantly) a major scheme of the fiend. Several (Centuries/Decades/Whatever Timeframe is Apppropriate) of it's time were wasted, flushed right down the pooper.

The fiend, now having nothing to do with all this freed up time on it's schedule, slowly attacked the halflings family and surrounding friends in a variety of subtle ways, poisoning some, inflicting killing diseases on others, masquerading as potential mates for yet other lonely members and then abandoning them or leaving or humiliating them and forcing them into suicide, etc. etc. etc. The halfling who caused all of this was slowly made aware that something was targeting him indirectly and several years were ate up trying to deal with it when time permitted and finding little bits and pieces out about it.

Eventually, at the climax, the halfling discovered the truth of the matter, that all this grief and torment was indirectly his fault and that the plague of sadness that had fallen around his family and friend's ears was the result of a fiend's twisted sense of 'revenge', well, the guilt and grief was almost overwhelming.

But it's not done yet. In the climatic battle with the fiend, the halfling falls and the fiend Traps His Soul. The fiend then continues, over the next several centuries, to torment the halfling by inflicting grief and sadness of a truly twisted sort on the surviving generations, always leaving a few direct descendants alive to carry on the line.

The trapped halfling is forced to watch all of this. Over and over. He even watches the fiend indirectly save the lives of some of his family only to see them die later or live to continue a seemingly 'cursed' family line.

Since family to a halfling is so critically important in my 3E games, this was some good stuff.

It's also an interesting way IMO to make the PC a pivot point of a storyline while making him an indirect victim to a greater wrong. And it's kind of twisted to boot, gives you lots of good oppurtunities for asides and whatnot. Player characters tend to be an egocentric lot, they like that the story focuses around them and sometimes get a little surprised when they see that's not always the case. It's a good wake-up call.

Just my two cents,

Ed

 

[Hecabus]

New Greater Evil Idea

Don't make the marriage anything other than a regular marriage. Perhaps the father of the bride was a great Halfling adventurer who helped the fiend in question and in return required the fiend to find the best most suitable mate for his beloved daughter.

The fiend went on to divine that Agar was the best mate, being both fertile, loving, a good father candidate, successful and later on quite rich and famous.

Rat Bastard DM Rule #12
Be evil when the don't expect it, be nice when they are sure you are being evil. Paranoia makes you King!

 

[Spatzimaus]

Don't make the marriage anything other than a regular marriage. Perhaps the father of the bride was a great Halfling adventurer who helped the fiend in question and in return required the fiend to find the best most suitable mate for his beloved daughter.

Ah, the "Sagiro" method of RBDMness. This would work great, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be an option. Witness Velendo's Commune immediately after the first encounter with the Pit Fiend (dated 04/01):

"Well," says Velendo, "enough of our own theories. Let's see what Calphas has to say on the subject." Velendo casts his prayers out towards heaven. They are filled with questions, and Calphas' divine will answers them.

* Was the pit fiend sent by Belle's family to collect Agar? YES.
* Was the pit fiend sent unwittingly by Belle's family to collect Agar? NO.
* Is Belle a devil? YES.
* Has Agar's family unwittingly contracted Agar to marry a devil? YES.

Velendo pauses. "Well, isn't that interesting."

That third one pretty much nails it down.

 

[Ryan Koppenhaver]

That third one pretty much nails it down.

Well, she could turn out to be a really nice devil, not really into the whole "evil" thing much. Heck, maybe that's why her family's trying to marry her to Agar-- they don't want anything from him, they just want to be rid of her!

Ok, that's probably a little on the silly side.

 

[Greybar]

Well, she could turn out to be a really nice devil, not really into the whole "evil" thing much.

If it's levity, perhaps that's whay the Defenders will need after the whole Underdark thing.

If it is not, consider the redemption angle. Heck, Sep's SH has a not-evil demoness that has huge repercussions. However, I'd guess that PC and his players wouldn't want to trod down the path travelled by someone else. Heck, I'd be scared to try and follow in Sep's footsteps.

john

 

[Ryan Koppenhaver]

If it's levity, perhaps that's whay the Defenders will need after the whole Underdark thing.

Well, there's certainly room for that too: Make the Defenders deal with obnoxious caterers and the like. I think that portraying devils in a lighthearted way is likely to compromise the seriousness of the overall game. Besides, the DoD are perfectly capable of making their own levity, even in the face of ruthless evil: "We've got your bra!", etc.

If it is not, consider the redemption angle. Heck, Sep's SH has a not-evil demoness that has huge repercussions. However, I'd guess that PC and his players wouldn't want to trod down the path travelled by someone else. Heck, I'd be scared to try and follow in Sep's footsteps.

john

Well, the demon/devil redemption concept certainly predates Sep's SH, and I doubt that there'd be any more than superficial similarites if PC took this concept and ran with it...

But back to the rat-bastardly brainstorming: Maybe Agar's bride isn't "good", per se, but she's really, really likeable. She's attractive*, good-natured, has a sense of humor, shares a lot of Agar's interests (maybe even has a level or two of alienist herself), and generally keeps the whole "evil" thing under wraps.


* Unfortunately, barring an extreme level of immersive roleplaying, just telling the players this doesn't evoke the kind of visceral reaction that it would in a real life situation. If you want to be a real rat bastard, find an attractive woman to step in and play the character. Be sure to train her to cry if the PCs are mean to the bride. (Obviously, this isn't very effective if Agar's player is female, married, not into women, etc. It might still be funny, though.)

 

[Spatzimaus]

* If you want to be a real rat bastard, find an attractive woman to step in and play the character. Be sure to train her to cry if the PCs are mean to the bride.

Now that's just cruel. Heh. Heh. I have to use that one in my campaign...

Unfortunately I think the "he/she/it is an outcast from an evil society for being good" angle has been done far too many times. Good drow, good succubi, good kobolds, it's old. Besides, if she was really a nice person, would she have sent a Pit Fiend to drag Agar back against his will just to ensure the wedding happened on time? Or insisted on having the marriage in the first place without telling the groom what she was?

Now, she should still be played as a nice halfling girl. She's smart, funny, pretty, a good cook, everything he would want in a wife. But, like a Twinkie, she has a core of pure, banana-flavored Evil, the kind that can't be destroyed with fire or weapons. Your only option is to bury it in a remote location, salt the earth, and never speak of it again.

Anyway, I see the whole marriage thing as going back to the Eversink style of adventuring, where brute force is meaningless in the face of a massive bureaucracy. Except, of course, that the situation won't last nearly as long and won't end with so many plot hooks.
After all, they can't nullify the marriage contract by attacking the bride's family, and who knows how many Pit Fiends are on her side?