Help thinking up a cool curse for my PC

[Terwox]

I don't have the ravenloft book on me, but another player in a game I'm in is using a version of haunted. Basically, a ghost is attached to you as a fetter. You can call on it, and have it do things for you (it can scout, etc) but when it talks to you, you start getting clammy and I've just seen a ghost looking. (-2cha pen for a bit.)

So, if you wanted to be haunted by the ghost of your mother, whose death caused you to become a warrior and give up your old carefree life, and who won't leave you alone, well, you could do that w/ this feat. Or without it really, the feat just makes the rules for you...

 

[Voadam]

Dark minstrel is a prc in both the two pdf books I cited before, it is basicly a bard who has been affected by a great tragedy. They have their own spell list and different darker bard powers. You need a good perform but you don't need to be a bard to qualify.

I think (going from memory) the haunted feat is you are haunted by a geist of someone with a connection to you, (family, dead spouse, best friend, etc.) Only you can see them and they can't affect the real world but they can provide a second set of eyes or what not.

 

[radferth]

One curse taken from the old magic realm board game: Ashes - all characters wealth is useless. In D&D terms is would be something like all coins and gems he acquires turn to lead or glass, thus he has little need to stay in town with no way to ever purchase anything.

Another interesting curse would be to have him unable to sleep except outside, in the wilderness, under the open sky. This would certainly turn a bard into a ranger.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

One thats happened in my campaign:

(Simply put) Character was killed by a *huge* giant spider bite (poisoned). A priest brought him back, but now his blood is posion, and blood is now poison to him. He's gotta imbibe some measure of poison each day. Cue lots of knock-on effects.

OR

Skin is slowly turning transparent (every time he heals, his skin becomes transparent, so eventually it'll be all over him).


<sigh> I'm going to bed.

 

[grimslade]

Curses! Foiled again.

A variant of a curse in a Living Campaign. A powerful evil spirit or demon constantly whispers in the ear of the PC. He plays music to try and drown it out. The spirit is constantly trying to corrupt the PC. Once per day the spirit lashes out a chaos attack at the PC. Since it is chaotic half the results are baneful and the other half are boons. Roll a d6 for results.
1- Slow per the spell
2- Hold Person
3- Doom per the spell
4- Bulls Strength
5- Bless
6- Expeditious retreat

 

[Gaius]

Kai Lord:
Even though he'll be a bard at first level, the tragedy and curse would have already happened and he'll basically be adventuring as a ranger, which is why his next level will be ranger. I just want him to have a life and a past that is totally divergent of his adventuring career, and will be jacking up his Perform (instrument) skill as his one tie to his past that he never lets go of.

Barendd Nobeard:
Think of the Ancient Mariner--cursed to wander the land, he must tell his tale...constantly. Whomever he picks, is compelled to listen. Once the tale it told, he does not have to tell it again until the next day.

I think that Nobeard has struck upon the perfect curse for you, Kai Lord. It's very similar to what I was thinking, but he beat me to it. Simply put, you are cursed to perform your tale each night to a different person. Thus, you must constantly wander the land, finding people who have not yet heard of your tragedy.

Create gameplay mechanics for it that make it more tangible in the sense of the rules. Perhaps you must make a Perform check at a certain DC to appease the curse. If you fail at this Perform check or for some reason cannot find a person to perform for, you incur severe penalties. Neglect the curse long enough and you die.

The specifics would be up to you, as would the backstory, but I think that this is a pretty cool idea. Too bad you aren't going straight bard for this, but I can understand. Bard's are kinda lame in some ways. Maybe a Bard/Fighter? I don't know. It's your character. But I think Nobeard's idea is a great one.

Gaius

 

[Numion]

He sees dead people!

Isn't that quite normal for D&D characters? How about:

He doesn't see dead people!

 

[Kai Lord]

Thanks for all the cool replies, everyone, I've chosen the "curse" for my character. Its partly inspired by a suggestion on this thread, with another twist thrown in for good measure. I might post the details of it in the Rogues Gallery when I've got it totally ironed out.