Geas for One Year with a Behir

[cooperjer]

The command to the behir was "Obey me." While almost too open ended for the spell, as the meaning of obey me is not "carry out some service or refrain from some action or course of activity," I'm willing to experiment with this for the story and character development potential. In addition the player doesn't want to give up the control she feels she has on the monster.

I agree 100% that the behir will be more of a low intelligent slave. My current thought is something similar to Lennie Small from Of Mice and Men. I like that the idea that it will want to devour creatures alive, and maybe that is what it will do a lot. The next area they are traveling to is the Earth node while traveling through the Fane of the Eye. I replace a few of the monsters to be more interesting for the level 13 party so I can imagine the behir spending time focused on devouring a monster rather than directly helping in the combat. I can also imagine a misplaced fireball from the sorcerer breaking the spell.

This particular Drow sorcerer has Draconic as a language.

 

[Tony Vargas]

In the olden days, a lightning breath weapon worked something like a lightning bolt spell, and lightning bolts that hit a thick stone barrier rebounded. Even if it's not trying to - or even trying not to - catch party members with it's breath weapon, a not that bright creature, it could easily happen.


Also "One Year with a Behir" is a great title, maybe she could publish a travelogue.

Also, there was a motivational meme a while back (they mightn't've been calling 'em memes yet at the time): "Be Here Now."



Anyway, "Obey Me" should fail* as a Geas, but, hey, maybe a Sorcerer who's never mis-cast Geas before wouldn't know that. And, maybe the Behir wouldn't know that... or would just figure it was best to play along, since the party can probably kill it, and it'll give it an opportunity to eat somebody it's left alone with at some point... I know, not that clever a monster, still, if it figures out "hey, while I'm obeying her, she'll keep the others from killing me..." well, that's just an Evil-monster-working-for-an-evil-monster relationship like BBEGs have with their minions all the time.

Behir working for a high-level Drow Sorceress?
Not that strange, really.
Behir eating said Drow the moment she shows weakness?
Likewise.

Welcome to the villain biz.



* Edit: just occurred to me, if "Obey me..." were taken as just the first to words of the Geas, and the first command she gave it as the rest, the Geas could have succeeded - and possibly be completed already.