greg kaye
Explorer
Just before session zero for Phandelver and Below, a player dmed me the following:
I'm hoping for suggestions on who the entity/ies might be and how they might be involved.
I replied:...
I was thinking of playing a bard in the game tonight - albeit one who relies on poetry and jokes/puns, rather than singing or musical instruments...
But I was hoping you'd let me add something unusual to my character, for flavour purposes...
I would like to have been cursed by a demon/devil...
During my days at Bard College, the aspiring bards had to occasionally put on shows for audiences, and one of these had some local visiting dignitaries. I would like for one of these to have been a mischievous demon or devil in disguise, who thought I was terrible on stage, so cursed me that any time I tell a joke, or recite a poem, a little imp/gremlin will appear next to me, and critique the "performance" - with a mini drum set for a "ba-dum-TISH" for a pun, a mini trombone doing the sad "wah-wah" trombone noise if a joke or poem falls flat... and occasionally (but rarely) wild cheering and applause for a "good" performance. ...
I then got to wondering about an entity that, in the context of being pissed off with the pressures of its duties, it loves the escapism of tuning in as an audience for its favorite stress doll/reality personality. I'm now also thinking that the entity might play/broadcast the live streams for a wider audience. It also occurs to me that the situation can allow the input of an NPC but without an NPC being physically present.
- Its definitely a demon/devil........ but who knows what? It's certainly also a joker and an appreciator, among other things, of "it's so bad it's good" school of comedy. I don't like the idea of a physical imp being directly involved as that's another character potentially added. I'm not directing but I'm imagining that the entity might be listen in. This is currently the way I think this could work. Perhaps you're cursed so that you begin any planned item >you< think would be funny-performative with something like an "ahem". This would cause the entity to switch channels so that s/he can observe... and react. Effects could be via prestidigitation which could include a visual of fruit being thrown and the commensurate soiling of clothing. Up to you but you could introduce your character with tomato stains. As your bard increases in levels, in place of magic items, your character might be able to add other magical effects via this situation.
open to ideas
I'm hoping for suggestions on who the entity/ies might be and how they might be involved.