ZEITGEIST Is there any more information on the RHC's "magical inquisition" for new recruits?

[ovolizar]

I am planning to GM Zeitgeist this year, and my players are already excited about making their characters. One of them wants to make kind of a "hero of the people" type of guy, who fights for the oppressed and wants to rebuild the corrupt system. He wants this character to be very inflexible about his morals and hate the richer folk of Flint who look down on the poor and destitute. He said he even might go as far as letting a prisoner go if he thinks that person was arrested unfairly.
My first concern is that the RHC might simply not hire him. However he doesn't seem to explicitly want harm to come to the kingdom or its leaders, and is very devoted to protecting the common people, so from what is described in the player's guide, it's possible that the mind reading simply wouldn't pick up on his more radical intentions. So I'd like to know if this inquisition is detailed anywhere else in the adventures so i can be more certain, because the information I currently have is very vague.
The second concern I'd have is it might be harder to develop an arc for this character. An important part of the adventure seems to be uncovering how deep rooted Lanjyr's corruption truly is, so if his experience with the story is just his character going "I was right all along!" it might be kind of uninteresting. One thought i had is the player could make his character very optimistic and bright eyed so he could later come to face with the darker realities of the world and how hard it is to change it, but that might be too much of a bummer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[W'rkncacnter]

the only information on the inquisition i know of is found in the player's guide. mainly i think it's just meant to be a reason why A. the players start loyal to risur and B. the ob members within the RHC (i.e. saxby) don't have any info to give on the ob.

for your first concern, i'd start by asking him to be more specific by what he means by "rebuild the corrupt system". he could probably still get in the RHC if he's just a reformist or even if he's willing to let prisoners go on ethical grounds (though he might need someone on his side - more on that in a bit!), but if he's willing to bend the law to arrest people simply because he thinks they deserve it without actual evidence of breaking the law, or if he wants to outright burn the government down, that's probably a no go. having the inquisition just not find his intent is also probably a no go, since that's literally the entire point of the thing (and the text pretty explicitly states that it will find malicious intent).

as for your second concern, he sounds like a perfect target for the ob to try to induct into their ranks as a double agent later on in the AP. that could serve as a nice twist on his story - does he stick with risur, or defect to the ob? if he does defect to the ob, what happens when he finds out how they're responsible for so much of the corruption in lanjyr? not only that, but you could also have someone in the RHC - probably stover - need to convince saxby to let him be a constable to begin with due to his views. that could possibly have him start questioning if risur really is as corrupt as he thinks it is, if someone as high up as stover is willing to put his career on the line just to give him a chance. it'd probably endear him to delft a bit, if nothing else.

 

[arkwright]

I believe the specifics of the magical screening is kept vague, to be system-agnostic. Have a think about what mid-level mind-reading might be available in your system.

I'd say he'd probably pass the test. The RHC might perceive his rich person-distrust as an asset, since it means he will be much more difficult to bribe. They'd want to manage his inflexibility through leadership, if he's a promising enough candidate. To put a personal note on it, maybe Delft was the tiebreaker in getting the PC hired.

While it's not what you want, my suggestion for the arc would be to remember that this is an AP, and it's important to have a party of players and PCs willing to follow the railroad through to the end. Motivation is a two-way street, and the AP will go smoother if the PC is willing to follow orders and suggestions and proceed along the plot of each book, without requiring/relying heavily on a personal arc. That aside; given the variety and complexity of the AP's many discoveries, I'd say you and your player should focus on improvising the PC's reaction to each reveal, rather than trying to line up their reactions into a rigid arc.

 

[MrsMongoose]

I think if inserted into the right backgrounds correctly the character will be a great fit, and you don't even need to involve the Ob: basically make them have some connections to the Dockers maybe? (or some other faction?)

Probably recruited as a liaison or somesuch initially between the moderates in the "insert faction here" and would probably want to keep people such as Thames Grimsley or Gale alive, may know Rock Rackus, or go to the pub meetings with the servant from the Embassy or the druid's nephew etc...

apologies if the link isn't totally correct but it has at least some of the spirit of the Docker mentality...

Docker

Flint’s industrial docks—with their unusual conflux of peasant workers, educated engineers, and constantly-arriving refugees from the wars in the border states between Danor and Drakr—have in the past decade given birth to an unorthodox social movement. Graffiti artists brighten soot-cloaked...

zeitgeistier.fandom.com

 

[ovolizar]

Update: I think we found a way for his character to work. We cleared some stuff up and made him a bit more loyal to the RHC, and having Delft be his advocate was a good suggestion, we're definitely going to implement that. We're also considering making Rock Rackus be his brother, i think it could be quite interesting.

 

[RangerWickett]

We're also considering making Rock Rackus be his brother

Rock is the character equivalent of 'a great place to visit, but you wouldn't like to live there.'