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View Full Version : [3.5] Idea for critque: Tempt a bard with a wandering man and a golden instrument?



Pika...
2010-01-18, 10:55 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDm_ZHyYTrg

So I recently heard that song for the first time, and I am crazy about it. It also gave me an interesting idea for a future session as a DM.


Basic idea of how it would go (I am taking an harmonica as an example due to there being a Bard PC who uses one in the game I play in):

A PC who is either a bard (or in my games a character who chooses to invest ranks in an instrument for roleplaying) is playing an instrument somewhere. Preferably in commonly traveled path/road, or in the middle of a public square in a settlement of some kind where he is trying to perform.

DM Voice: "A young Human man with light blond hair and soft blue eyes wanders by and watches you performance attentively He watches so attentively in fact that he stands out to you from the crowd gathering to see you perform. You notice he is wearing tanned leather adventuring clothes. Around his neck is a string adorned with talons of various birds of prey, and suited on his righ ear is a large hawk's wing feather."

"Once you finish your ballet the young man approaches you, smiles, and offers you his hand and says 'Greetings bard. My name is Paz. Not a bad performance, but you are nothing compared to me boy'."

PC probably gets his ego hurt and maybe smack talks back.

DM Voice: "The man smiles again before reaching into his shoulderbag and pulling out a small rectangular hinged box. It glimmers in the sun as you realize it is made of pure silver. The man opens the box to reveal a harmonica made of solid gold with gems encrusted in all places but those which would impede it's use. He says 'I will tell you what boy. If you can beat me it's yours. But if I win, I get your soul."

PC and the party probably go "Whaaaaat?".

If the PCs agree; DM Voice: "'Well then. We go back-and-forth three times. Winner of two wins'." (Basically, winner of two apposed perform checks wins. The rival will have the same exact modifier plus the Skill focus feat in the instrument if the PC does not have it.)



Ending scenario A) PC wins. The rival puts the harmonica in the case, closes it, and them bows down respectfully and offers the PC the case. (In my game the PC now automatically has access to the Bard class as long as he posses the masterwork gold harmonica.).


Ending scenario B) PC loses. The rival puts away the harmonica back in it's case. And then turns to walk away. If the PC/another players asks something on the lines of "Now what" the rival will answer "Just wait until you die boy. You will see me again.". And then as a humorous DM I will probably have him just causally toss the harmonica at the PC as he walks away. (Again he gets access to the harmonica as long as it is in his possession.)




Thoughts?

Ideas to improve this?

IsaacTheHungry
2010-01-18, 11:32 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDm_ZHyYTrg

So I recently heard that song for the first time, and I am crazy about it. It also gave me an interesting idea for a future session as a DM.


You only just heard this song for the first time??? It's good isn't it.

you could make it if he loses you give him a level in (or replaces his current class level with) outsider type, chaos or evil subtype

EDIT: or you could give him a level in undead, fire subtype, that he transforms into when it is triggered. i was thinking like a Ghost Rider like thing with the mechanical downsides of lycanthropie

LibraryOgre
2010-01-18, 11:33 PM
Go to your local library and look in the children's section under Lloyd Alexander. Look specifically for "The Foundling and other Tales", and the story "The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper".

Pika...
2010-01-19, 12:12 PM
You only just heard this song for the first time??? It's good isn't it.

Well I am not one for country music. However, this guy is simply amazing.


you could make it if he loses you give him a level in (or replaces his current class level with) outsider type, chaos or evil subtype

EDIT: or you could give him a level in undead, fire subtype, that he transforms into when it is triggered. i was thinking like a Ghost Rider like thing with the mechanical downsides of lycanthropie

That could be an option.

The issue is I was not really planning on it affecting the PC mechanics wise. Not in a negative way at least.

More of the staying awake at night (possibly with a few demonic caused nightmares to get the fluff point across) "Oh crowd, I am going to the abyss when I die..." style. The kind where it might motivate the plot along while PC D (D for Damned) desperately tries to find a way to save/regain his soul before he dies, or becomes a complete coward in combat due to the fear of dying. Stuff like that. ^^



Go to your local library and look in the children's section under Lloyd Alexander. Look specifically for "The Foundling and other Tales", and the story "The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper".

Will do. I will first se if I can find them on the net, though.

ShneekeyTheLost
2010-01-19, 12:16 PM
Ending scenario B) PC loses. The rival puts away the harmonica back in it's case. And then turns to walk away. If the PC/another players asks something on the lines of "Now what" the rival will answer "Just wait until you die boy. You will see me again.". And then as a humorous DM I will probably have him just causally toss the harmonica at the PC as he walks away. (Again he gets access to the harmonica as long as it is in his possession.)




Thoughts?

Ideas to improve this?

On this scenario... if you have not seen Ghost Rider, you need to. PC becomes the Bad Guy's... tool. Then has to figure out how to control it, and use it against the Bad Guy.

Pika...
2010-01-19, 12:19 PM
On this scenario... if you have not seen Ghost Rider, you need to. PC becomes the Bad Guy's... tool. Then has to figure out how to control it, and use it against the Bad Guy.

Second person to recommend that. Hmm...

But would that really be "Paz"'s style? I thought he just abandoned people once their souls were his.

Sinfire Titan
2010-01-19, 12:24 PM
Second person to recommend that. Hmm...

But would that really be "Paz"'s style? I thought he just abandoned people once their souls were his.

It wasn't a bad movie. It just doesn't compare to Spiderman 2, the Dark Knight, or Iron Man. It's a decent movie in it's own right, but it's in a different league than those three.

Pika...
2010-01-19, 01:05 PM
It wasn't a bad movie. It just doesn't compare to Spiderman 2, the Dark Knight, or Iron Man. It's a decent movie in it's own right, but it's in a different league than those three.

Huh?

I am confused.


ps. All those movies are awful by my personal tastes to be honest. Sardior I can not stand super hero movies. :smallsigh:

Telonius
2010-01-19, 01:19 PM
DEMONhunter made a homebrew monster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10380&highlight=Shiney+Demon) awhile back, might be helpful to you. (More Tenacious D than Charlie Daniels, but still).

ShneekeyTheLost
2010-01-19, 01:24 PM
Second person to recommend that. Hmm...

But would that really be "Paz"'s style? I thought he just abandoned people once their souls were his.

Watch the movie. He sees the souls he takes as resources to be used, not merely hoarded. This is a perfect example of how the Devil Himself can use such souls which are already his... and how such a soul can free themselves from being under his power.

Just letting the Bad Guy win makes for a DMPC or a Plot Screw later on (Oh, you died? Well guess what, write a new character. You can't be Rez'd, Someone collected on his due, and your soul is no longer in a position to be accepting any resurrections). But give the PC's an 'out', a way to gain nifty new abilities and use them to free themselves from a bad deal? Now that, my friend, is an epic story

Pika...
2010-01-19, 01:35 PM
Watch the movie. He sees the souls he takes as resources to be used, not merely hoarded. This is a perfect example of how the Devil Himself can use such souls which are already his... and how such a soul can free themselves from being under his power.

Just letting the Bad Guy win makes for a DMPC or a Plot Screw later on (Oh, you died? Well guess what, write a new character. You can't be Rez'd, Someone collected on his due, and your soul is no longer in a position to be accepting any resurrections). But give the PC's an 'out', a way to gain nifty new abilities and use them to free themselves from a bad deal? Now that, my friend, is an epic story

Well, perhaps. The thing is this is not the devil. It is an actual D&D canon major NPC I would love to use/bring back in my games, so I need a reason why he would go from his normal strategy/habits and bother "using" this one particular soul he has already tempted the soul away from. (I love it when i get a chance to bring official NPCs I like into a game, so I try to stay as faithful to them as I can)

And like I said above the idea of the PC regaining his soul is a possibility. It would just require some plane traveling I imagine. :smallwink: (Hence the plot furthering potential)