D&D 5E Running Horde of the Dragon Queen: Bard Wants to Join Rezmir!

[Aiden_Keller_]

I started running Horde of the Dragon Queen for the first time and a player who has rolled a chaotic gnome bard has decided that he wants to legitimately join The Cult of the Dragon and specifically work alongside Rezmir (he rolled to see if he was attracted to her...I gave him a 50% chance and he got it)

I already read the article below...

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/2ny5w7/hotdq_with_dragon_aligned_players_new_dm_how_do_i/

What I want to know is what would Rezmir require for someone to join the cult?
What kind of test or action...

I already had him go one on one with the guards outside her tent in the beginning camp and he successfully frightened him and sent him running. In my mind that impressed her (Rezmir)...enough that she will consider him joining the group...

In truth I needed time before the next session to think this through...any pointers?

 

[akr71]

My players never really met Rezmir. They got a glimpse of her during the attack on Greenest, intercepted some letters from her, and heard stories about her in Baldur's Gate, but never met her or had a chance to talk with her until they were on the giant's castle. At that point they were masquerading as low level cultists who were beneath her notice.

I only mention it because for my players Rezmir was a quarry that was always two steps ahead of them. They found a bunch of badly written dragon poetry by Frulam that intrigued them - they might have been swayed by her. They had a bunch of dealings with Talis and liked her until she blackmailed them...

Maybe Rezmir can send your player a secret message. A rendez-vous in Baldur's Gate? She gives him a secret mission to prove his loyalty... perhaps one that is contrary to the rest of the party's agenda.

 

[MichaelArkAngel]

I had a player go undercover, a joined the Cult of the Dragon. It was a tricky thing to run, but it got him close to Rezmir.

My question to you, what is this players reasoning for wanted to join "the other side?" And if they are playing with other adventurers, do they have a problem with this, because I think that could create a huge rift in the party?

The guy in my group did it to gain more information to aid the Council, but it seems like the player in your group wants to go "full Heel," though his endgame may differ from what Im thinking.

I would consider the rest of the party first, and how it will affect them if one of their party members just decides to join the group that is out to kill them.


PS: I have a ton of maps I made for this campaign, and have them uploaded on DeviantArt.com, FREE for download. If you think you could use them, feel free to download at your leisure!!!

https://www.deviantart.com/michaelarkangel/gallery/

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yes, the important thing is to remember the rest of the party. It's quite reasonable to say that a character can join the other side, but they become an NPC. Roll a new character.


The other way to tackle it, with a co-operative player who likes to role-play and doesn't mind being on the losing side is to run them as a mole. They secretly work against the other players whilst pretending to be a regular party member. I've done this as a player.

 

[jayoungr]

Has the player said anything about why he wants his character to join Rezmir and the cult? Is it just because he's attracted to her, or are there other reasons?

Knowing this would help us figure out the best suggestion to make everyone happy.

Also, [mention=6802808]MichaelArkAngel,[/mention] those are amazing maps! I wish I'd had them when I was running these adventures on Roll20 for my group. I'm going to put a link on the "Enhancing HotDQ" thread right away.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, my feeling on this is that it might be difficult to do it without either creating animosity at the table, or vast swathes of time where only the bard is getting screen time doing Cult of the Dragon things while everyone else sits around.

As for Rezmir’s goals and needs, it seems to me that her real concern in Hoard is getting that treasure collected and shipped to the Well of Souls. Maybe the gnome needs to act as a messenger, getting word to another Cult cell to deliver their goods to a certain place for pick-up.

But really, though I can’t speak as to how your campaign runs, I’d think that if the bard really is doing a heel turn, it’s “so long, see you, roll up a new character.” Maybe the PC gets a return at a critical point as a villain or suddenly betrays the Cult to become a hero again, but balancing one PC off doing their own thing for the rest of the module is a tall order to fill and have it be fun for the rest of the group.

My question to you, what is this players reasoning for wanted to join "the other side?" And if they are playing with other adventurers, do they have a problem with this, because I think that could create a huge rift in the party?

 

[Aiden_Keller_]

He honestly wants to join the cult because the others have been picking on his shortness and inability to do anything (constant low rolls...)
I assume at some point (maybe when he can start working with the Zhentarium) he will see that Tiamat is a bigger issue...

 

[Prakriti]

Give the player the option of having his character become an NPC, at which point his bard runs off to join the Cult, leaving the party behind. This does mean that the player needs to create a new character, however.

 

[jayoungr]

He honestly wants to join the cult because the others have been picking on his shortness and inability to do anything (constant low rolls...)

Is this in character or out of character? If it's out of character, have you tried telling the others to knock it off?

I assume at some point (maybe when he can start working with the Zhentarium) he will see that Tiamat is a bigger issue...

Oof. I wouldn't assume that. By then, he'll be invested in his decision and will not want to admit he was wrong.

I think I agree with those who say if his character joins Rezmir, he'll have to become an NPC. That might even be for the best; let him roll up a barbarian or something the others won't make fun of.

 

[Aiden_Keller_]

In character. He also made fun of them for being so tall. It hasn't hurt the actual players relationship and is simply good role playing.

 

[robus]

In character. He also made fun of them for being so tall. It hasn't hurt the actual players relationship and is simply good role playing.

The issue is that either this will split the party because Rezmir wants to keep him close, or he'll become an agent of Rezmir and work against the rest of the party (who are out to defeat Rezmir and the cult).

The first option is really a non-starter because you've in effect started two different campaigns, one for the player with Rezmir and one for the players in opposition. If the party's adventuring goals are not aligned it can get very confusing and very boring.

If you choose the second, you're risking some major trouble down the road as things come to a head. Again perhaps your group is experienced enough to roll with the punches, but if not people could get quite upset at the continual PvP.

Your best bet is to turn that character into an NPC and have the gnome player roll up a new character. The fun part then could be a future battle where the player's new PC faces off against their old PC (perhaps taking the place of one of Rezmir's lieutenants in Castle Nerytar (sp?) )

 

[Aiden_Keller_]

The issue is that either this will split the party because Rezmir wants to keep him close, or he'll become an agent of Rezmir and work against the rest of the party (who are out to defeat Rezmir and the cult).

The first option is really a non-starter because you've in effect started two different campaigns, one for the player with Rezmir and one for the players in opposition. If the party's adventuring goals are not aligned it can get very confusing and very boring.

If you choose the second, you're risking some major trouble down the road as things come to a head. Again perhaps your group is experienced enough to roll with the punches, but if not people could get quite upset at the continual PvP.

Your best bet is to turn that character into an NPC and have the gnome player roll up a new character. The fun part then could be a future battle where the player's new PC faces off against their old PC (perhaps taking the place of one of Rezmir's lieutenants in Castle Nerytar (sp?) )

They are all experienced players and have...at one point or another...played a character who has been seemingly working against the party (the party never knew!)

I really want to keep the role playing going and I think it would be interested to have the gnome bard constantly supplying information to the cult...that can be how "The Cult Strikes" episodes work out....

In the end...yes the bard might turn against the players...I think with all this help I will add a mercenary barbarian into the party (secretly played by the player who originally had the gnome bard) The gnome bard will actually be an NPC and the barbarian will be played by the character.

This could turn into the biggest jaw drop in the end....

I also plan to have an agent of the Zhent talk to the gnome and explain how if he continuous he could eventually reap the entire fortune of the Cult instead of brining back Tiamat...He will be a triple agent and turn against everyone.

Maybe...

 

[akr71]

They are all experienced players and have...at one point or another...played a character who has been seemingly working against the party (the party never knew!)

I really want to keep the role playing going and I think it would be interested to have the gnome bard constantly supplying information to the cult...that can be how "The Cult Strikes" episodes work out....

In the end...yes the bard might turn against the players...I think with all this help I will add a mercenary barbarian into the party (secretly played by the player who originally had the gnome bard) The gnome bard will actually be an NPC and the barbarian will be played by the character.

This could turn into the biggest jaw drop in the end....

I also plan to have an agent of the Zhent talk to the gnome and explain how if he continuous he could eventually reap the entire fortune of the Cult instead of brining back Tiamat...He will be a triple agent and turn against everyone.

Maybe...

The bolded part is the most important piece. If the players are ok with it, play along.

I would talk with the Bard Player separately. If this is what they want, then the Zhents, or their College call them for a 'secret mission.' The Bard meets with Rezmir and joins the cult - you two can role play important bits along the way separate from the main game - the player plays a different character for a while. The Bard mysteriously joins the party again in a time of crisis, only to double-cross them, die trying, or confess their transgressions and hope to make amends by giving info that helps take down the cult.

 

[hawkeyefan]

Have Rezmir reject the bard. Maybe she uses him and then laughs at the idea of a lowly gnome joining the cult.

It’d be a potentially powerful motivator for the bard to want to take her down.

 

[collin]

Funny you should mention this attraction to Rezmir, because my character's backstory was that he had previously had a fling with Rezmir and she was kind of trying to coax him into joining the Dragon cult, but as soon as things got weird, he dumped her and took off. It created an interesting and funny "reunion" when they met up later.

If you play Rezmir like she was portrayed in our adventure, then the bard could become a "toy" or "tool" for Rezmir. Lots to consider there, but as others have said, you need to take into account how this will affect the other players, their characters, and play at the table in future sessions.

 

[Oofta]

Others have given more specifics and I haven't run the mod yet, but in my campaigns I have a simple rule established during the session 0. No evil characters, no PVP.

This sounds like it would eventually violate both of those rules and the PC would become an NPC. This has happened once or twice (I've been DMing a long time) and it was actually quite fun for the group, including the original player, for the PC turned NPC to become a nemesis.

So ask the gnome's player if this would be a fun option for them. Have him be a double agent now and then and when he gets caught (or after the first PVP incident) the gnome becomes an NPC.

The tough thing is going to be this being a side-track so if you can do most of the coordination outside of game time that would be best. A lot of it would be RP in any case, something that I've dealt with via emails/messaging.

In addition, I never assume what players will do. So don't assume he'll eventually see the light. Good luck!

 

[Aiden_Keller_]

Funny you should mention this attraction to Rezmir, because my character's backstory was that he had previously had a fling with Rezmir and she was kind of trying to coax him into joining the Dragon cult, but as soon as things got weird, he dumped her and took off. It created an interesting and funny "reunion" when they met up later.

If you play Rezmir like she was portrayed in our adventure, then the bard could become a "toy" or "tool" for Rezmir. Lots to consider there, but as others have said, you need to take into account how this will affect the other players, their characters, and play at the table in future sessions.

This is going to be how I play it. For now he will think she actually wants him (in the cult and as a potential lover) and then after taking all his gold (because its for the horde...) she double crosses him.