Creamsteak
Explorer
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Help me develop a serial killer...
Psychotic Jim
First Post
Why does a 1st level commoner have all 18? 
Well there are several classoc "genres" of serial killers:
There is your classic random loony or crazy man.
There is the fanatic, killing off people for some obscure "crime" that they did, real or imagined (you might want to have your madman be a fanatical, nature-worshipping, modern-man-hating druid wannabe considering his ranks in the knowledge (nature) skill. He was so fantical in his devotion to nature and so mindless in his enforcement of Nature's Will even the Shadow Druids would not take him. So he fights Nature's fight alone without any help from the "Pretenders".
There is you crazed, misguided cultist bent on getting blood sacrifice to some Dark God or Overlord. Perhaps that is what granted his mind-bogginly high ability scores.
There is your paranoid schizophrenic, thinking everyone is out to get him; the guy who looked at him funny was certainly an assassin hired by the Ominous Lizard People.
Then there is the serial-killer wannabe, whose motif is just a cheap rip-off of some great, *real* serial killer, and this guy just does it because it makes him get a sense of power he cannot get in his everyday pathetic life.
Or what might be cool is to figure out a combination of the above. Perhaps he is a paranoid, fanatical slave to some dark nature goddess (real or imagined or maybe even a demon lord just playing around with the guy) trying to imitate some long-dead serial killer he believes to be serving nature. Serial killers are known for their calling cards- maybe some ritual scars that mimic a local druid groves tatoos or magical signs; this helps the plot in that the killer unknowingly places the blame on the local druids. Of course the druids don't want to talk because they threw this loony out and it is an embarrasment. Or maybe leaving behind some sort of herb.
Well there are several classoc "genres" of serial killers:There is your classic random loony or crazy man.
There is the fanatic, killing off people for some obscure "crime" that they did, real or imagined (you might want to have your madman be a fanatical, nature-worshipping, modern-man-hating druid wannabe considering his ranks in the knowledge (nature) skill. He was so fantical in his devotion to nature and so mindless in his enforcement of Nature's Will even the Shadow Druids would not take him. So he fights Nature's fight alone without any help from the "Pretenders".
There is you crazed, misguided cultist bent on getting blood sacrifice to some Dark God or Overlord. Perhaps that is what granted his mind-bogginly high ability scores.
There is your paranoid schizophrenic, thinking everyone is out to get him; the guy who looked at him funny was certainly an assassin hired by the Ominous Lizard People.
Then there is the serial-killer wannabe, whose motif is just a cheap rip-off of some great, *real* serial killer, and this guy just does it because it makes him get a sense of power he cannot get in his everyday pathetic life.
Or what might be cool is to figure out a combination of the above. Perhaps he is a paranoid, fanatical slave to some dark nature goddess (real or imagined or maybe even a demon lord just playing around with the guy) trying to imitate some long-dead serial killer he believes to be serving nature. Serial killers are known for their calling cards- maybe some ritual scars that mimic a local druid groves tatoos or magical signs; this helps the plot in that the killer unknowingly places the blame on the local druids. Of course the druids don't want to talk because they threw this loony out and it is an embarrasment. Or maybe leaving behind some sort of herb.
wolfpunk
First Post
I think the reason he does it is important to the DM. However, for the sake of gameplay. The details by which his killings happen is going to draw the players more into the campaign.
Is he going to use the same routine? Does he only kill a certain type of person. Does he leave some sort of callling card?
Perhaps the serial killer kills them by removing their heart through the back of their chest. Furthermore he replaces the heart with some odd item, could be something morbid, could be something rare and unusual, could be a riddle that would lead to his capture if it was solved.
What time does he kill? During the day, at night? In public places? In private?
Think about the details that will be evident in game play and then work backwards from there.
Is he going to use the same routine? Does he only kill a certain type of person. Does he leave some sort of callling card?
Perhaps the serial killer kills them by removing their heart through the back of their chest. Furthermore he replaces the heart with some odd item, could be something morbid, could be something rare and unusual, could be a riddle that would lead to his capture if it was solved.
What time does he kill? During the day, at night? In public places? In private?
Think about the details that will be evident in game play and then work backwards from there.
LostSoul
Adventurer
Make a guy who has had some kind of traumatic event happen to him. Extrapolate his MO from there. This guy does not feel any grief, remorse, or any emotion like that; he has no concience. His attitude toward suffering would probably be "interesting."
Watch American Psycho.
Give him some ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, too. He's got to be able to get away with it. I'd make him a higher level expert as well.
Watch American Psycho.
Give him some ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, too. He's got to be able to get away with it. I'd make him a higher level expert as well.
Well, I would suggest reading Thomas Harris, author of Silence of the Lambs. Watching any serial killer movie would take less time and offer some insights as well. Patricia Cornwell also likes to write about serial killers.
this link has real life serial killers, who I am sure can be adapted:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serialkillers.htm
But the basics, as I see them:
The serial killer is smart and careful.
You need some pattern that isn't instantly noticeable.
And while the clues should be there, they aren't going to be easily identifiable.
this link has real life serial killers, who I am sure can be adapted:
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serialkillers.htm
But the basics, as I see them:
The serial killer is smart and careful.
You need some pattern that isn't instantly noticeable.
And while the clues should be there, they aren't going to be easily identifiable.
Think about what would make you scared of someone.
Build the 'killer' background, fill in the blanks as you see them, give him a face and personality. Place on an index card questions and HIS answers. Such as Q? "What do you do when you enter a room?" A) "Scan the room for a victim." Q) "What is a victim?" A) "Anyone with green eyes, wearing a red cloak." So on and so on.
Think about the villian: Is he a creep, a mastermind, a thug, a side kick?
Build the 'killer' background, fill in the blanks as you see them, give him a face and personality. Place on an index card questions and HIS answers. Such as Q? "What do you do when you enter a room?" A) "Scan the room for a victim." Q) "What is a victim?" A) "Anyone with green eyes, wearing a red cloak." So on and so on.
Think about the villian: Is he a creep, a mastermind, a thug, a side kick?
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