Death + Say Yes + Disease Track + Shaddowfell = Fun! :)

[Scribble]

I don't realy feel I'm the type to enjoy killing characters, I'll give them a break when I can... But I also don't like to be a push over and just completely remove the fear of death. There needs to be something that keeps them on their toes.

So the other day a new character in my campaign died. She held on for as long as she could, but she was cut off from her allies, and eventually just couldn't keep rolling her death saves.

But fear not... as I said I like to give crafty players a break!

So the other players as soon as they could rushed over to their fallen comrade. They sued a potion of vitality, and prayed to the Raven Queen it would be enough.

I had them pick evens or odds, and then roll a d20. They picked evens, and rolled an 8. It worked... The potion was just enough. But then I thought about an adventure idea...

So the next time we game, at some point I'm going to start describing how she seems to be slightly "out of it..." As if she's been lost in her own thoughts...

The idea is that when she was so close to death, her soul began it's crossing into the shadowfell. It didn't completely cross, but part of it did. And while it was there, it attracted something's attention. Something big and mean, and scary. It wanted the soul for itself, so when she was brought back to life, it reached ot and tried to prevenmt the soul from going back. It still has a portion and is attempting to steal it away.

I want it to use the disease track. Maybe modified so instead of an endurance check she makes a wisdom check or soemthing? (Haven't decided.)

Eventually if she doesn't manage to fight the thing off, it will steal her soul completely away, leaving her as a husk. (with a permenent dazed condition maybe?) At that point the only course of action would be to go to the shadowfell and take the soul back...

 

[Simplicity]

I've done something similar once. The players were deep in bad guy territory, and one of the party was down. The only way to raise the player was to go to a necromancer, who later turned out to be the party's main nemesis.

After the player was raised, she learned that the necromancer had plans for lich-hood and he had a great location for his phylactery, an obsidian skull. He put it inside the head of a strong young adventurer with potential.

The player wound up having strange evil impulses which lead her to discover the skull. The new lich, however, wound up having strange good impulses, which lead him to track down the adventurers to correct his mistake of phylactery placement.

 

[Protagonist]

Great idee, but remember to talk to the player of this character about it.

 

[frankthedm]

Great idee, but remember to talk to the player of this character about it.

Talk-shmalk, character was dead and got a bargain basement raising. Anything short of killing the character is fair game.

 

[Phaezen]

Great idee, but remember to talk to the player of this character about it.

Let the player know at least some of it and give her some pointers as to how badly she is affected at any stage to help with the roleplaying.

Don't let her know everything though, also make it clear how much the character is aware of.

As for moving this forward in the campaign, just throwing some ideas out here, animals can sense it, the worse it is the more animals shy away from her. Possibly have a soothsayer/oracle/mad old crone give a prophecy about the soulless walking or somesuch, out loud as they walk past, then dissapear.

Possibly the entity wants to control her body.

Allow the party to eventually find out what is happening (contact an Eldarin sage who lives on the boder between the Fey Realm and the Realm of Shadow, or something along those lines) and confront the being. Give them options in dealing with it, allow her to continue fighting it by herself, let the party kill it or negotiate her soul for another.

Maybe the being isn't malevant, maybe it wanted to play with the new shiny thing entering its domain and got partialy pulled into her with her soul. It is in pain and all it wants is too be freed.

Hope this helps?

Phaezen

 

[Scribble]

Great idee, but remember to talk to the player of this character about it.

When I do things like this in the game, it's for one purpose... To make the game more fun, and give the adventurers something to adventure about... I probably won't talk to the player about this in the same way I wouldn't talk to them about whether or not a host of goblins attack them...

That said, if down the road it seems like it's doing the opposite of giving them something fun to do, then I'll back off.

it's my style, and it's worked since my basic days.

Lots of good stuff

Some good ideas there...

I think I will let the party cleric also be able to make a divine check or soemthing in place of healing. Maybe some sort of spiritual medicine that can help cure her. Or a ritual they can seek out as well before it's too late.

 

[El Mahdi]

I don't realy feel I'm the type to enjoy killing characters, I'll give them a break when I can... But I also don't like to be a push over and just completely remove the fear of death. There needs to be something that keeps them on their toes.

So the other day a new character in my campaign died. She held on for as long as she could, but she was cut off from her allies, and eventually just couldn't keep rolling her death saves.

But fear not... as I said I like to give crafty players a break!

So the other players as soon as they could rushed over to their fallen comrade. They sued a potion of vitality, and prayed to the Raven Queen it would be enough.

I had them pick evens or odds, and then roll a d20. They picked evens, and rolled an 8. It worked... The potion was just enough. But then I thought about an adventure idea...

So the next time we game, at some point I'm going to start describing how she seems to be slightly "out of it..." As if she's been lost in her own thoughts...

The idea is that when she was so close to death, her soul began it's crossing into the shadowfell. It didn't completely cross, but part of it did. And while it was there, it attracted something's attention. Something big and mean, and scary. It wanted the soul for itself, so when she was brought back to life, it reached ot and tried to prevenmt the soul from going back. It still has a portion and is attempting to steal it away.

I want it to use the disease track. Maybe modified so instead of an endurance check she makes a wisdom check or soemthing? (Haven't decided.)

Eventually if she doesn't manage to fight the thing off, it will steal her soul completely away, leaving her as a husk. (with a permenent dazed condition maybe?) At that point the only course of action would be to go to the shadowfell and take the soul back...

You Sir, are an EVIL MAN! . . . Nice Idea! You sound like a fun, but VERY EVIL, Dungeon Master. . . . (By the way, I meant the "you're EVIL" part in a good way.)

 

[Scribble]

You Sir, are an EVIL MAN! . . . Nice Idea! You sound like a fun, but VERY EVIL, Dungeon Master. . . . (By the way, I meant the "you're EVIL" part in a good way.)

Thanks! Hopefully it actually plays out in a fun way.

Evil in a good way... hrmm... prepair the hell of neverending fluffy bunnies and lolly pops?