Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
EN Publishing
The Ragman
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="MarkM" data-source="post: 8165466" data-attributes="member: 7025557"><p>We are starting a Zeitgeist campaign. Of the 100+ pages of player information, backstories, NPC info, etc., the one thing that my party has collectively seized on prior to the campaign is one of the very few hooks that leads absolutely nowhere -- The Ragman. Because of the energy they are putting there even in their own backstories and "session Zeros," I want the Ragman to connect to the greater story.</p><p></p><p>We already have one serial killer in the campaign, so I started with Olivert Boone. He ritually sacrifices people, but isn't in Risur. His cursed pistols might be, though! </p><p></p><p>To start, I added some records of war crimes that have been hidden by the military-- a decorated officer who snuck out at night and murdered Danorans (initially just soldiers, but eventually killed some civilians as well). His pistols eventually made it back to Flint where they were picked up by a wealthy young nobleman (connected to a character backstory) who collects rare weapons.</p><p></p><p>One theory of Jack the Ripper is that he was a nobleman and was actually caught but it was covered up to save his family embarrassment. I stole that concept. He takes the trolly in from the North Shore to where his family supports a Salvation Army/Thrift Store charitable depot near Parity Lake. The young nobleman puts on the tattered clothing there as a disguise. He is attracted to young men, but is driven by the pistols to kill them. He does this, but then is gripped with self-loathing. Eventually he gets caught, but his influential family will cover it up so the newspapers and common citizens don't know the danger has passed. He kills himself while under house arrest after being separated from the pistols. Fell's men continue to use the Ragman as cover for their killing, but alert constables can notice that the style of killing shifts.</p><p></p><p>The pistols then make there way to the Kaybeau Arms and Technology Exposition for a quick cameo, where an alert party member might notice them. If they get interested in buying them, the shopkeeper will tell them they have already been sold to a Tiefling gentleman.</p><p></p><p>The showdown with Boone happens as in the module. The papers reporting the killings might call them Ragman copycat murders.</p><p></p><p>When the spirits of victims come out of the gun, spirits of the past owners and their victims will also emerge. This will provide some opportunities to fill in whatever blanks the characters haven't figured out in their Ragman investigation.</p><p></p><p>The final twist is that instead of having the pistols be possessed by a demon they are cursed by the Voice of Rot. The spreading of the entrails and organs (as described in Boone's killings) is his way of laying out the body to rot. There will be other people (one from a backstory, later minions in Bole) who do human sacrifice in a similar way as an offering to the Voice.</p><p></p><p>There's a bit more detail (mostly connected to people's backstory npcs), but that is the outline of how I'm making the Ragman more centrally connected to the plot.</p><p></p><p>Thoughts? Problems? Plot holes? Ways this will create inconsistencies or problems down the road? Unmitigated praise? Ideas or things I've missed?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MarkM, post: 8165466, member: 7025557"] We are starting a Zeitgeist campaign. Of the 100+ pages of player information, backstories, NPC info, etc., the one thing that my party has collectively seized on prior to the campaign is one of the very few hooks that leads absolutely nowhere -- The Ragman. Because of the energy they are putting there even in their own backstories and "session Zeros," I want the Ragman to connect to the greater story. We already have one serial killer in the campaign, so I started with Olivert Boone. He ritually sacrifices people, but isn't in Risur. His cursed pistols might be, though! To start, I added some records of war crimes that have been hidden by the military-- a decorated officer who snuck out at night and murdered Danorans (initially just soldiers, but eventually killed some civilians as well). His pistols eventually made it back to Flint where they were picked up by a wealthy young nobleman (connected to a character backstory) who collects rare weapons. One theory of Jack the Ripper is that he was a nobleman and was actually caught but it was covered up to save his family embarrassment. I stole that concept. He takes the trolly in from the North Shore to where his family supports a Salvation Army/Thrift Store charitable depot near Parity Lake. The young nobleman puts on the tattered clothing there as a disguise. He is attracted to young men, but is driven by the pistols to kill them. He does this, but then is gripped with self-loathing. Eventually he gets caught, but his influential family will cover it up so the newspapers and common citizens don't know the danger has passed. He kills himself while under house arrest after being separated from the pistols. Fell's men continue to use the Ragman as cover for their killing, but alert constables can notice that the style of killing shifts. The pistols then make there way to the Kaybeau Arms and Technology Exposition for a quick cameo, where an alert party member might notice them. If they get interested in buying them, the shopkeeper will tell them they have already been sold to a Tiefling gentleman. The showdown with Boone happens as in the module. The papers reporting the killings might call them Ragman copycat murders. When the spirits of victims come out of the gun, spirits of the past owners and their victims will also emerge. This will provide some opportunities to fill in whatever blanks the characters haven't figured out in their Ragman investigation. The final twist is that instead of having the pistols be possessed by a demon they are cursed by the Voice of Rot. The spreading of the entrails and organs (as described in Boone's killings) is his way of laying out the body to rot. There will be other people (one from a backstory, later minions in Bole) who do human sacrifice in a similar way as an offering to the Voice. There's a bit more detail (mostly connected to people's backstory npcs), but that is the outline of how I'm making the Ragman more centrally connected to the plot. Thoughts? Problems? Plot holes? Ways this will create inconsistencies or problems down the road? Unmitigated praise? Ideas or things I've missed? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
EN Publishing
The Ragman
Top