D&D 5E Out of the Abyss -- Sarith as a PC?

[Werebat]

A friend of mine dropped by for our first session of OotA, and I let him play one of the NPC captives (Sarith the drow). All he knows about that character is that he was imprisoned for supposedly murdering another guard, but doesn't remember doing so, and thinks he was set up by a rival.

We did the demon attack and jailbreak thing, and the captives are about to take the plunge into the pool below (at Sarith's suggestion -- I told the player about the grey ooze and he reasoned that the more captives entered the pool, the less likely it would be that HE ran afoul of the ooze. He didn't mention the ooze to anyone else).

Anyway, now the friend wants to join the campaign and wants to continue playing Sarith, making him into a rogue/assassin. I can work with this, and with the number of players it would be good to pare back the NPCs a bit (only Ront has died so far), but I wonder how to handle Sarith's infection, madness, and potentially exploding head.

A couple ideas:

* Just ignore it. Sarith really WAS set up.

* Sarith is infected, but the party Warlock (a half-drow who chose Auramycos as a patron, using the Great Old One template, and is also a Hermit with proficiency in Medicine) can identify his spores and do something to keep the infection in check, or maybe even heal it. Stool already commented to the warlock that it didn't like Sarith's spores (It does not like, as Sarith captured it), that they were different from the warlock's spores. The player took this to be a curiosity of myconid phrasing, but there could be a different meaning, as both Sarith and the warlock are infected with the spores of Big Z and Auramycos, respectively.

* ???

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I’d go with the latter option. It seems more exciting and compelling for the PC to have to struggle against the infection and madness, finding a way to cure it.

One possible issue would be that Sarith knows the area very well – much of the adventure is predicated on the PCs being unfamiliar with the area. You could have the spore infection muddle his recollections, thus rendering this advanced knowledge useless, or even wrong.

Unless the PC really messes up, I wouldn’t go the head explodey route. Maybe migraines and headaches, until he gets cured.

 

[Werebat]

What about violent blackouts? He had at least one of those in the past...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

He did, but I'm hesitant about things that take control away from the PC...maybe if they occur while he would otherwise be sleeping, or are treated like a form of madness, i.e. the player gets told "you are consumed with the urge to beat the tar out of that cabbage seller."

What about violent blackouts? He had at least one of those in the past...

 

[Werebat]

Now I'm looking through the book to find the bit about Sarith's head exploding, and I can't find it. Where IS it?

Is there anything there about his infection, and how it might be cured if someone else catches it? Seems like it should be right there somewhere, and yet it eludes me.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think it's in the Neverlight Grove section, or thereabouts. As for the spore infection, that's in there as well, though I don't remember where. Maybe back with the monsters, or also near the Neverlight Grove section...

Now I'm looking through the book to find the bit about Sarith's head exploding, and I can't find it. Where IS it?

Is there anything there about his infection, and how it might be cured if someone else catches it? Seems like it should be right there somewhere, and yet it eludes me.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Neverlight Grove describes Sarith's head exploding. Zuggtmoy and the Myconid Statblocks describe the infection spores.

 

[UrbanZomB]

Now I'm looking through the book to find the bit about Sarith's head exploding, and I can't find it. Where IS it?

Is there anything there about his infection, and how it might be cured if someone else catches it? Seems like it should be right there somewhere, and yet it eludes me.

Page 91, 2nd paragraph on the right.

Sarith is a fun character and I think he works well to guide the players (unknowingly) to Neverlight. According to the book, his mind is already under control. Doesn't mean as DM it can't be changed, but he has an interesting encounter in whorlstone tunnels as well as a hook to Neverlight.

Edit: The "cure" is on pg 87 in the general features area. Although I believe Sarith is just fine until certain points for story purposes.

I'd be more inclined to having a new character rolled up for the player.

 

[Daern]

In my campaign which started a bit higher level, the cleric cast Restoration and cured Sarith. I think he'd make a great player character. He would still have all kinds of visions and dreams and an invitation to the Fungal Wedding.

 

[77IM]

Bribe the player with Inspiration to follow the mad visions.

Once the players figure out that Something Is Really Wrong with this dude, they should have a reasonable opportunity to cure him. Finding a cleric high enough level to cast greater restoration could be fun. I wonder what a cleric of Laodugar or Blibdoolploop or Lolth would want in return...?