Thajocoth
2009-11-16, 03:06 PM
I was writing some notes for the next session of a game I'm running, and I realized... This one character who's bluffing about her entire history, if the players catch her, only reveals that she's lying, but not what the truth is. It doesn't reveal that she's another person entirely, and all they have is their word vs hers that she lied. There are ways to find out what's going on (delay her for a minute while someone else uses Arcana to identify what magical effects are on her, get a ritual that can see an item's history and take something of hers, ect...) But through conversation alone this might be impossible. I had already written up a lot of conversation info too...
A little back-info to understand what I wrote up:
In his history, one character, Tier, fought with Taela's armies against Fahlarn. That's why he's getting a bonus to Insight about Fahlarn.
Xeviria is known to only a few people. Through most of those people, she controls the rest of the mob. The others who know are the PCs, her children, and Lirinthiell. Her son let slip to the players that some mages transformed her and that she's on the surface, despite the fact that she normally never goes to the surface for any reason. The players suspect she's disguised as Veralynn. (They're right.)
Lirinthiell is King Arinthius's best friend and trusted adviser. He's an Eladrin spellcaster. Arinthius is Human. Since Arinthius is single, Lirinthiell is currently next in line for Nerusia's throne.
The players are on the payroll of the city guard. As the guard's top elite forces, they answer directly to Lirinthiell for special missions.
What the players know about the current situation:
* Well known: Within the week you were gone, Veralynn became King Arinthius's fiancé. She's incredibly attractive and has some wealth. She seems to have a collection of artifacts, gems and magic items with no apparent source of income. They met at a party for rich people. She paid her way in. She caught the king's eye there.
* From Lirinthiell: Lirinthiell doesn't trust her. He can't find any shred of history about her, and she's consistently in the king's presence. He's advised the king on this matter, but the king says she's harmless. He wants you to find and tell him anything they can glean about her while guarding her.
What I wrote up:
Meeting her: "Hello" *Courteous bow* "You're my assigned bodyguards?" "This is so silly. I can't think of any reason anyone would attack me."
*continues friendly conversation*
Once out of earshot of Lirinthiell: "Is he always so rigid? Or does he just hate me?"
"Maybe I worry too much, but everyone knows that right now, Lirinthiell is next in line for the throne, and because of me that's about to change. As an Eladrin, he would certainly outlive Rinthy. I love Rinthy, and I know not everyone will like me... But I just don't feel safe around Lirinthiell."
If asked about anything to do with her past: "I... I really don't want to talk about it... Especially not in public."
If pressed further: "Alright, fine, but let's wait until we get to my room in the castle."
--- AMBUSH! ---
"I guess having guards is not as silly as I thought. Thank you so much for saving me from those brutes! Why would anyone attack me though?"
Back at the castle: *She goes over to one of her boxes and starts looking through it* "Here, I have to give you each something for saving me." *she pulls out one very wanted item from each player's wishlist*
If pressed on the issues, her story is: (All lies, Bluff vs Insight. Tier gets +5 to Insight checks about Fahlarn.)
"Well, have you heard of Aldedge?"
History: Aldedge was a town in Fahlarn. Taela's armies burned it to the ground. (+5 to Insight checks about Aldedge, doesn't stack with Tier's bonus about Fahlarn.)
If the PCs say that they haven't heard of it: "Aldedge was a town in Fahlarn. It's where I'm from."
If pressed on that: "It's rubble now. Taela burned it down after I left."
"My parents and three of their friends would leave for long periods of time. They would always come back with gold, jewels, and amazing ancient artifacts. Now I collect these sorts of items."
If pressed on income: "Well, I collect artifacts, gems and magical items. I'll usually do some research to find out about something I want and hire a group to go get it for me, taking a percentage of the wealth they find along the way, of course."
"Whenever my parents weren't around, I stayed at the school. If they were taking particularly long, I'd have a local mage send them a short note that I'd write for them, and they'd send a message back, so we were always in touch."
If pressed on why she left Aldedge: "It was during the war with Taela. They had been advancing and Aldedge was going to be along the front lines pretty soon. I packed up what I could and left. I was only 13, but I was able to fit everything my parents left me in the Haversack and bags of holding, which included a basket of Everlasting Provisions. I wound up staying when I reached Nerusia. I later learned that Fahlarn was burned to the ground."
If pressed on friends: "Everyone I was close to passed on... Violently... It took a while before I could put myself in a social situation again. I'm glad I finally did, or I'd never have met Rinthy."
If pressed on parents now or why she didn't want to talk about any of this: "Well... When I was 10, the message wouldn't send. So I had him scry on them. When the image came up, the mage quickly covered my eyes with his hand, but not before I saw it. The room was poorly lit. There was blood everywhere... A few limbs... My mother's shield lying on the ground... And some big, grotesque, slimy beast sleeping..." Towards the end of this, she turns around, pulling out a small cloth from her pocket. She dabs her eyes with it. When they next see her face, she's crying.
When they see her face, they can Insight vs Nature to know that her eyes are chemically irritated, not emotionally irritated. Her cloth is actually laced with something to induce crying.
When Lirinthiell checks on the players, and the players tell him what they know, if the players didn't Insight her or consistantly failed, Lirinthiell passes his Insight "It's awfully convenient that her story would explain why there's absolutely no record of her existence anywhere or anybody that knows her... She's hiding something. Try to find out what it is."
-----
What good is Insight in politics? Also, I've been told not to figure out how the players can solve things, to let that be the player's job... But I'm wondering anyway: Am I giving my players an impossible situation?
(I usually don't pre-write any dialog as it's usually a bad idea, but this time there's a lot of story to remember (even if it's false). Obviously she can say other things and I'd try to keep it flexible, but I need these for reference.)
A little back-info to understand what I wrote up:
In his history, one character, Tier, fought with Taela's armies against Fahlarn. That's why he's getting a bonus to Insight about Fahlarn.
Xeviria is known to only a few people. Through most of those people, she controls the rest of the mob. The others who know are the PCs, her children, and Lirinthiell. Her son let slip to the players that some mages transformed her and that she's on the surface, despite the fact that she normally never goes to the surface for any reason. The players suspect she's disguised as Veralynn. (They're right.)
Lirinthiell is King Arinthius's best friend and trusted adviser. He's an Eladrin spellcaster. Arinthius is Human. Since Arinthius is single, Lirinthiell is currently next in line for Nerusia's throne.
The players are on the payroll of the city guard. As the guard's top elite forces, they answer directly to Lirinthiell for special missions.
What the players know about the current situation:
* Well known: Within the week you were gone, Veralynn became King Arinthius's fiancé. She's incredibly attractive and has some wealth. She seems to have a collection of artifacts, gems and magic items with no apparent source of income. They met at a party for rich people. She paid her way in. She caught the king's eye there.
* From Lirinthiell: Lirinthiell doesn't trust her. He can't find any shred of history about her, and she's consistently in the king's presence. He's advised the king on this matter, but the king says she's harmless. He wants you to find and tell him anything they can glean about her while guarding her.
What I wrote up:
Meeting her: "Hello" *Courteous bow* "You're my assigned bodyguards?" "This is so silly. I can't think of any reason anyone would attack me."
*continues friendly conversation*
Once out of earshot of Lirinthiell: "Is he always so rigid? Or does he just hate me?"
"Maybe I worry too much, but everyone knows that right now, Lirinthiell is next in line for the throne, and because of me that's about to change. As an Eladrin, he would certainly outlive Rinthy. I love Rinthy, and I know not everyone will like me... But I just don't feel safe around Lirinthiell."
If asked about anything to do with her past: "I... I really don't want to talk about it... Especially not in public."
If pressed further: "Alright, fine, but let's wait until we get to my room in the castle."
--- AMBUSH! ---
"I guess having guards is not as silly as I thought. Thank you so much for saving me from those brutes! Why would anyone attack me though?"
Back at the castle: *She goes over to one of her boxes and starts looking through it* "Here, I have to give you each something for saving me." *she pulls out one very wanted item from each player's wishlist*
If pressed on the issues, her story is: (All lies, Bluff vs Insight. Tier gets +5 to Insight checks about Fahlarn.)
"Well, have you heard of Aldedge?"
History: Aldedge was a town in Fahlarn. Taela's armies burned it to the ground. (+5 to Insight checks about Aldedge, doesn't stack with Tier's bonus about Fahlarn.)
If the PCs say that they haven't heard of it: "Aldedge was a town in Fahlarn. It's where I'm from."
If pressed on that: "It's rubble now. Taela burned it down after I left."
"My parents and three of their friends would leave for long periods of time. They would always come back with gold, jewels, and amazing ancient artifacts. Now I collect these sorts of items."
If pressed on income: "Well, I collect artifacts, gems and magical items. I'll usually do some research to find out about something I want and hire a group to go get it for me, taking a percentage of the wealth they find along the way, of course."
"Whenever my parents weren't around, I stayed at the school. If they were taking particularly long, I'd have a local mage send them a short note that I'd write for them, and they'd send a message back, so we were always in touch."
If pressed on why she left Aldedge: "It was during the war with Taela. They had been advancing and Aldedge was going to be along the front lines pretty soon. I packed up what I could and left. I was only 13, but I was able to fit everything my parents left me in the Haversack and bags of holding, which included a basket of Everlasting Provisions. I wound up staying when I reached Nerusia. I later learned that Fahlarn was burned to the ground."
If pressed on friends: "Everyone I was close to passed on... Violently... It took a while before I could put myself in a social situation again. I'm glad I finally did, or I'd never have met Rinthy."
If pressed on parents now or why she didn't want to talk about any of this: "Well... When I was 10, the message wouldn't send. So I had him scry on them. When the image came up, the mage quickly covered my eyes with his hand, but not before I saw it. The room was poorly lit. There was blood everywhere... A few limbs... My mother's shield lying on the ground... And some big, grotesque, slimy beast sleeping..." Towards the end of this, she turns around, pulling out a small cloth from her pocket. She dabs her eyes with it. When they next see her face, she's crying.
When they see her face, they can Insight vs Nature to know that her eyes are chemically irritated, not emotionally irritated. Her cloth is actually laced with something to induce crying.
When Lirinthiell checks on the players, and the players tell him what they know, if the players didn't Insight her or consistantly failed, Lirinthiell passes his Insight "It's awfully convenient that her story would explain why there's absolutely no record of her existence anywhere or anybody that knows her... She's hiding something. Try to find out what it is."
-----
What good is Insight in politics? Also, I've been told not to figure out how the players can solve things, to let that be the player's job... But I'm wondering anyway: Am I giving my players an impossible situation?
(I usually don't pre-write any dialog as it's usually a bad idea, but this time there's a lot of story to remember (even if it's false). Obviously she can say other things and I'd try to keep it flexible, but I need these for reference.)