Killing your best friend for treasure

[Iron_Chef]

So in tonight's game, a PC killed his "best friend from childhood" when said NPC (a member of local law enforcement) threatened to turn the pirate treasure they'd just found in the sewers over to the local authorities as it was stiolen goods and needed to be returned to the city. The PC had hinted around twice to his friend prior to the fight that he'd like them to keep the treasure for themselves, but his friend was committed to the law (they'd diverged in career paths, the PC recently becoming a gladiator/sell sword for hire and ending up in the employ of a local crime lord, unbeknownst to the NPC friend). When the NPC refused his offer to share the treasure the third time, the PC shot his friend in the chest with sleep poisoned bolts, trying to knock him out, before another (thoroughly evil) NPC could gut him. He wanted to knock his friend out, tie him up, and then give him another chance to "reconsider". He made another offer to cease hostilities and give him a fair share of the treasure AFTER shooting him in the chest, but the guy refused, kept making his saves and quickly died (the evil NPC partially dismembered him).

This fight shocked the DM and another PC who did not participate in the fight but did nothing to stop it (it did happen in two rounds). Everyone was Neutral before the fight (except for the LN NPC friend and the CE NPC). Then the PC, seemingly without any remorse, dissolved his best friend's body in a convenient acid pit to "get rid of the evidence". The remaining PCs and NPCs then split the treasure, though everyone became much more paranoid about each other (except the one chaotic evil NPC, who treated the PC with newfound respect, LOL, but then, he's an anti-paladin). The session ended with the PC making jokes that he had a position open for a "new best friend", but he didn't get any takers.

The DM did a good job of making the Player feel guilty afterwards (and changed his alignment to Neutral Evil), but I wonder if the player would have done the same thing if the DM had done more to flesh out the NPC (who showed up in the middle of the campaign unbidden, seemingly as a DM afterthought, and only lasted 2-3 sessions as a brief walk-on before getting killed. Is this type of behavior common? I mean, I know players don't like anyone to get between them and their treasure, but...

 

[Sarellion]

Well, one member of a former group of mine wanted to kill me for my magic staff as it was powerful. And I think NPCs were fair game for some members of the group.

But there were also others who would take care of their NPC family even if they were introduced in one adventure.

 

[Telperion]

The DM did a good job of making the Player feel guilty afterwards (and changed his alignment to Neutral Evil), but I wonder if the player would have done the same thing if the DM had done more to flesh out the NPC (who showed up in the middle of the campaign unbidden, seemingly as a DM afterthought, and only lasted 2-3 sessions as a brief walk-on before getting killed. Is this type of behavior common? I mean, I know players don't like anyone to get between them and their treasure, but...

Hm...I remember this one NPC who was like the walking library, as far as the world around the PC's went. The party listened to him for a moment, took him to their room in an inn and cut him to pieces. Just like that. They thought him a spy or some such, although I don't quite remember anymore. The point is that this NPC wouldn't have posed no threat what-so-ever to the party, and could have been a major asset. It's just that the DM didn't get the message trough before the party slaughtered him.

NPC's are dime a'dozen, if you don't bother with proper introductions, skillful portrayel and loads of character. In other words to make an NPC memorable and important enough to keep around the DM had better do his background work and NPC creation well. The best of ideas go down the tube when a party of suspicious / greedy PC's get their hands on an NPC.

 

[Iron_Chef]

The PC had some great excuses for his behavior, such as:

"If he was really my friend, he would have let us keep the treasure";

"Devotion to anything other than yourself is a surefire way to get killed";

"I worked too hard to get that bloody treasure to let anyone stand in my way";

"I had to do it because my family needed the money";

"I have yuan-ti blood in my veins and couldn't resist my genetic impulses any longer",

and the best one:

"Sure, I already had pocketed a map to another (buried) treasure, and sure we would have gotten a reward and some fame for turning over the treasure to that stupid Duke, but everyone would laugh at us behind our backs for not being smart enough to keep it for ourselves, so I killed him for all our sakes! In our lives, we will have many friends, but only one pirate treasure! Come, let's hold a party in honor of my fallen friend and wish him well in the afterlife."

 

[MrFilthyIke]

I mean, I know players don't like anyone to get between them and their treasure, but...

Happened to me. 2ed D&D game...Dark Sun. I played a Half-Elf
Psionicist/Preserver(Mage). I had found a big green rock that gave
me a Wisdom of 25 for the purposes of resisting spells and nothing
else (basically, in 2ed I was immune to Charms and such). It didn't
even give me BONUS spells, as I was an Arcane user.

Well, a guy whom was playing a NE (unbeknowst to me) Fighter type
gets the drop on me from outta nowhere, poisons me and hacks me
to bits. For a rock. A FREAKIN' rock.

Well, I was pissed. In 2ed, I was multi-classed 7/7...in 3ed I think that
converted to like 10 or 11th level or there abouts. I think he did it cos
I was only playing with them every few months due to being out of
town in college.

Ah well, that was almost a decade ago, so time marches on.

 

[Kai Lord]

NPC's are dime a'dozen, if you don't bother with proper introductions, skillful portrayel and loads of character.

Unless of course, the players don't roll up homicidal maniacs or take pleasure in playing their characters that way.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Unless of course, the players don't roll up homicidal maniacs or take pleasure in playing their characters that way.

Amen to that!

 

[Iron_Chef]

The PC already had over 5,000 gp from his gladiatorial matches and bodyguard work. He was expecting another few thousand gold in a few days from another "high risk, short term" bodyguarding job he'd just pulled off. He didn't need the pirate treasure, although, admittedly, he did go through absolute hell trying to get it, and yes, he would have shared some of it with his family, and he had no intention of shafting anyone out of a fair share of the treasure, even during the fight when he made that offer to get the NPC to surrender (after repeatedly shooting him in the chest with poisoned bolts!).

His other excuses were:

"There must have been a curse on the pirate treasure that made me kill my poor friend in cold blood like that! I am as shocked as the rest of you, my friends... But there is nothing we can do for him now. We must live for the living, not concern ourselves with the dead. What a shame, but these things happen, eh?"

"That blasted unholy warrior with his strange, barbarous ways must have put a curse on me to make me do evil; we should kill him... and split his share of the treasure before he curses the rest of you!"

 

[Iron_Chef]

during the fight when he made that offer to get the NPC to surrender (after repeatedly shooting him in the chest with poisoned bolts!).

The really (unintentionally) funny part about that was when the NPC said "You shot me! Have you lost your mind?" and the PC 'hero' replied: "Don't worry about it; they're poisoned! They'll just make you go to sleep for a little while..." LOL

 

[Scarbonac]

Did the DM work out the relationship between the PC and NPC with the player, or did he just foist the NPC off on him with an "Oh, here's the guy with whom in your childhood you climbed hills and trees, learned of love and ABCs, skinned your hearts and skinned your knees"?


In our group's games, we tend to not do that sort of thing (although if the player leaves his background too vague "Uh, I think his family's all dead; there was a red-haired girl he liked once. I'm hungry." he could be in for a narsty li'l surprise or 5 later on).

It could be that the player didn't feel that the NPC was credibly brought into the game and felt no connection with him, at least not enough of one for him to not kill the dude. Maybe he was actually RPing a hard-bitten merc's attitude towards someone that he "used to know" before he came to the Age of Reason.

Or just maybe he was thinking of all those sweetsweet xp he'd get for kacking a cop.