D&D 5E Curse of Strahd - Plot Help Request (spoilers galore!)

[Savage Wombat]

So my PCs have gotten themselves smacked around in the Amber Temple sufficiently and are now ready for the Castle. HOWEVER -

One of my party NPCs (an Eldritch Knight named Cyn), who I wrote up deliberately as the kind of person that is tempted by dark power, has gotten into the Amber Sarcophagi and received a few powers. This includes the big one - the gift of the Vampyre. She took her reward and fled before the party could try to stop her.

So know I'm trying to come up with a good story resolution for her, so the players don't feel that this plot thread just got dropped. Cyn does not, at the moment, have anyone in Barovia that loves or is otherwise devoted and trusting of her - the PCs figured out her alignment shift pretty quick - so I'm having to brainstorm.

I'm hoping that someone has a clever idea or two to help me out.

 

[maxed]

Did she flee because of the newly added flaw? Was she already evil? The gift is only offered to someone that is already evil.

If it's because of the flaw, party members can always try to deceive or charm her into thinking they are still allies. That way she can play through the rest of the campaign.

Since she has no one in Barovia that loves her, she won't be able to meet the conditions right away.

4 of my 5 players accepted dark gifts. It's been...challenging.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Maybe she thinks she can overthrow Strahd and rule in his stead? She might team up with he other PCs in order to try and kill him.

And for the other PCs, maybe they think she can be redeemed? And maybe she can be...it's up to you and the player, I'd say.

I'd probably go that route...with the "fallen" PC working with the others to defeat Strahd; she'd play up the idea that she could be saved and use the PCs to help her, and they would use her to help them win and hope that in doing so they could help redeem her.

 

[hastur_nz]

Well, one of my players' PC ended up taking on a few too many dark powers, and then got carried off by the Roc by the bridge by the Amber Temple... he was rescued by Rahadin, and given the choice to swear fealty to Strahd. The player decided that was the most logical outcome, given the dark roads he'd gone far down by now... So later, the rest of the PC's found him at the castle - it wasn't obvious that he'd turned on them, until they met Strahd upstaris and that PC joined Strahd in kicking their butts... After that, my player took over van Richten as their new PC, and their old PC became an NPC (until the PC's eventually got their revenge).

In your case, this is already an NPC, so it's just a matter of deciding if they betray their old comrades (the PC's), or help them with a longer-reaching end-game in mind (e.g. betray the PC's after Strahd is dead). Either is a decent outcome, but personally as a player I'd see the betrayal coming a mile away so it may not be especially exciting... (I also don't like DM-controlled NPC's in games, but hey, that's another discussion...) Also, some players don't really like betrayal as a theme, although betrayal by a DM-controlled NPC is usually much more acceptable than betrayal by a fellow player's PC.

 

[Guest 6801328]

One of my party NPCs (an Eldritch Knight named Cyn), who I wrote up deliberately as the kind of person that is tempted by dark power, has gotten into the Amber Sarcophagi and received a few powers. This includes the big one - the gift of the Vampyre. She took her reward and fled before the party could try to stop her.

Out of curiosity, did you create the characters for your players?

 

[Savage Wombat]

Did she flee because of the newly added flaw? Was she already evil? The gift is only offered to someone that is already evil.

She already knows the PCs don't trust her any more because of the gifts, and (I'd have to check my notes) I believe one of the side effects made her not trust anyone any more. She wasn't evil before, but she sure is now.

Out of curiosity, did you create the characters for your players?

She's an NPC party member. Since I only had four players, I decided they might need extra help in the melee department, so I added three NPCs and allowed the party to bring one of them along at a time. (This rule also applied to Ismark and the Tarokka-chosen NPC, Victor Vallakovich.) To make things more Ravenlofty, I gave them each a secret that would make the party less trusting of them if revealed. Cyn was, as said, the one who would be tempted by offers of power if they arose. Gavin was the brave fighter who was a coward deep down - he got his neck broken by one of the vampires from the coffin shop. Reese, the most popular NPC, was actually a doppleganger - but they've befriended him, and he's been quite useful to them.

 

[Ganymede81]

Why not simply let the Saga of Cyn be resolved as a new adventure once the party slays Strahd and escapes Ravenloft?