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Tennic
2011-02-11, 12:44 AM
This is a 4e game set in the Forgotten Realms. The NPC in question, Harston, is an assassin (I needed a way for him to be able to get out of some sticky situations); and I originally saw him as essentially evil.

Long explanation, sorry:
Much of the campaign centers around Harston's family. His father died and left a goodly sum of money to his mother, Dreia. Dreia's sister had passed away, and as a matter of convenience on her part, and because her sister's widower, Tremin, needed money for his merchant exploits, Dreia and Harston moved to Harrowdale and the two married.

Tremin has a son, Pramus, who is a paladin, and the two sons don't really get along. Dreia is disdainful of Pramus as well (though not in front of Tremin), because Pramus is more often then not in the spotlight while her son ends up being overlooked, and she of course thinks Harston can do no wrong. BTW, none of the NPCs know that Harston is an assassin, or at most it's a vague rumor that circulates around the sleazier parts of town.

As the campaign began, everyone in the family except Pramus was being used/blackmailed/seduced in some way by a sinister group, unbeknownst to each other: Tremin had a major shipment hijacked to force him to obtain an evil dagger that was in the possession of a warlock using an abandoned tower sitting on land he owns; Dreia had been seduced and was giving information to the group with the hopes of making some money off Pramus' abduction and ransom (at least that's what she thought) since Tremin looked like he was going to blow her inheritance on risky ventures; Harston was being fed stories of great power and glory, things he dearly desires; and Pramus had rebuffed attempts to sway him and ended up with a target on his back.

The PCs retrieved the dagger which is given into the care of Tremin (they also found some books giving hints as to what the dagger is used for which the Temple of Oghma is slowly deciphering). They stopped an attempt on the lives of Pramus and his fiance, Celedine, where Harston shows up at the end and kills the last of the enemies to keep her from talking (the PCs don't know he's involved in the attack). Tremin then commissioned them to get his shipment back- also, to avoid having to relinquish the dagger to these people- after a report came in with information on where the ship was being held.

The PCs begin to learn more about the dagger. It whispers to its wielder to cut him/herself. The blood then draws up the blade, turning the black hilt crimson and the rime-touched blade an inky black. Once "activated" the blade weakens anyone the wielder cuts. When used to kill, it imbues the wielder with power; however, the power gained from killing mortals is particularly ephemeral. The books the PCs found contain rites for summoning and caging powerful, immortal forces in a humanoid's body, thus allowing the dagger to steal massive amounts of power- power that won't fade- when said humanoid is murdered.

Pramus and Celedine accompany the PCs out of town and they are eventually waylaid and Pramus is abducted. The PCs get back to town and eventually find clues as to where he's been taken. They manage to fight their way to where Pramus is being held, in the process seeing Harston making a getaway (they had chased- and lost- Harston after he stole the dagger from Tremin, but they still don't know the extent of his involvement in all this). They find Pramus who has had the aforementioned rites performed on him and all the ritualists have been torn apart. He appears dead, with runes carved into his flesh; however, when his fiance touches him (she of course went along to save him) he comes to life seemingly fine and the runes seem to melt into his skin, leaving him unmarked.

They bring him back and Tremin is happy. Celedine is not, and asks the PCs to find proof of Dreia's complicity. The PCs learn from a priest of Oghma that Pramus' condition is likely due to the rite being unfinished and that he was probably chosen because the ensuing mental battle between the imbued force and the good "vessel" would make it easier to subsequently use the dagger on him/it/them.

At this point I felt like Harston was more of a bad seed who was starting to have second thoughts about some of nasty goings-on (I figured in a fit of conscience he stopped the completion of the rite and escaped, leading to the deaths of the ritualists- though not before memorizing the final passage of the rite). He buries the dagger and returns to Tremin (sort of like the prodigal son) who sends out announcements that he's throwing a party because his sons have returned (quite surprising the PCs).

They find proof of Dreia's treachery and tell Celedine, telling her they'll bring the proof to the party that evening. Dreia, learning of this, confronts a couple of the PCs, offering them money to keep it a secret and explaining it was her desire to retain some of her fortune before Tremin fritters it away that led to her actions(she can't just take it herself without repercussions, she is after all a married woman in a medieval society).

Deciding to have pity on her, they agree to hold onto the evidence. It's almost party time and they seek out Celedine to try to stop her from making a scene at the party. However, they catch sight of her as she's entering Tremin's house and burst in just in time to see her stab Dreia in the heart, screaming that she'll never be able to hurt Pramus again.

Harston, mad with grief, speaks the final command of the rite. Pramus begins to transform, screaming as the runes resurface on his flesh. Growing in size, a crown of horns sprout around his head and wings of fire and billowing black smoke erupt from his back. Harston makes his escape and after a brief tussle, Pramus/Theophagus smashes through a window and flies away.

In a surprise turn of events (for me at least), the PCs decide to stick to their word and keep to themselves the evidence against Dreia, and Celedine is arrested for murder.

Aside from a few other sub-plot developments, that's about where the campaign left off. We took a three week break for Christmas and one of the regulars is now working for a cpa (and is working a lot of late hours), so we're extending the break until mid-April while one of my players runs a short Eberron campaign for the rest of us.

So, that pretty much accounts for most of the broad strokes I'd written to start the campaign. Call the next part Chapter 2.
Now, I'm not sure where to take him from here. The PCs will be searching for a way to reverse what's been done to Pramus, and Harston is still on the loose. Part of me wants to either reform him/have the PCs use diplomacy to prevent him from using the dagger on Pramus/Theophagus... only to find out that prophecy says Harston must kill his step-brother or seriously bad $#!% will happen (or somesuch). Turn him into Judas, forced to be the betrayer at the cost of his soul, something like that.

Heck, he might still end up as the BBEG in Ch. 3. However, doing some thinking towards the end of CH. 1- and reading through a thread about alignment here on the forums- I find I'd like to explore the conscience of someone who in D&D would be considered evil, but is still just a morally struggling human being.

And before it's remarked that he's an assassin, what does he care for his step-brother, whatever... let me just point out that assassin is a PC class (and I'm sure not everyone playing one decides to play evil) and poisoning political figures, or people who've made enemies, etc... is a far cry from shoving an evil dagger into a family member's heart (Pramus has never actually been anything but kind to Harston, and Harston is just jealous, really; it's the old good son/bad son trope).

I tend to come up with the broad strokes, which usually gives me a few good cinematic moments, and then just mold the fine details as the game progresses, at which point I alter or refine (part of the reason Harston has changed to the degree he has).

Serious, considered suggestions and comments are greatly appreciated.

Amnestic
2011-02-11, 02:57 AM
Dreia's sister had passed away, and as a matter of convenience on her part, and because her sister's widower, Tremin, needed money for his merchant exploits, Dreia and Harston moved to Harrowdale and the two married.

Wait, Harston married his mum? I'm not sure whether to go with :smallyuk: or :smallconfused: for that.

Way I see it, Pramus' fiance murdered Harston's Mum/Wife(?) who he seems to care for a fair bit. He'd probably be remiss if he didn't assassinate her (or at least try to do so) at some point in the near future. The threat of Demon Pramus has to be contained, and if the PCs sit around for too long, another group of adventuring types might find him first and, not really knowing the backstory, stick a sword in his gut. Of course, Harston still needs to be caught on top of that, not just foiled in an assassination attempt.

I hate using definitive prophecies to tie story points together. If nothing else, it makes the PCs feel like they have less effect on the outcome of things.

I don't think you ever came back to the "sinister group", what're they up to? They clearly wanted the dagger for a reason, and Harstons actions and their previous story-feeding would probably lead them to shelter him for a while if he needed it. An environment like that of friendly Evildoers could twist his alignment to the more negative side of the spectrum. Could be a classic Darth Vader moment, where he sees evil as normal, justified or simply not actually 'evil' on a grand scale. Perhaps in Chapter 3 it could be the now cured Pramus to help see the Dark Side sinister group for what they are and give him his Crowning Moment of Awesome before dying.

Few ideas there, dunno how helpful they'll be :smallredface:

Tennic
2011-02-11, 02:52 PM
Stupid maintenance ate my response last night. Anyway, here it goes again.


Dreia's sister had passed away, and as a matter of convenience on her part, and because her sister's widower, Tremin, needed money for his merchant exploits, Dreia and Harston moved to Harrowdale and the two married.

Wait, Harston married his mum? I'm not sure whether to go with :smallyuk: or :smallconfused: for that.

Sorry, that was worded poorly. What I meant was, Dreia and Harston move and she marries Tremin.

You're right that he should probably at least make an attempt on Celedine to avenge his mother's murder.

Yes, the PCs will be trying to reverse what was done to Pramus. That will likely take up much of Ch. 2.

I agree with you about prophecies, it was just good way to illustrate idea-wise where I'm going with this.

The sinister group- Cyricists trying to sow chaos, with the Netherese dabbling their fingers in the mix and interested in the outcome of all this- have no way of getting large groups into town without drawing major attention. They have infiltrated the town with a few agents and some shadar-kai (some of whom the PCs have come up against). Add to that the fact that the campaign has sped along- in 15 sessions I believe just less than a month has passed in-game- and the way I see it, the people in charge of these groups are either setting up plans or willing to let things play out a little longer or they're still reacting to current events.

I love the idea of Harston being harbored by the "dark side" and subsequently being influenced by them. And this "Perhaps in Chapter 3 it could be the now cured Pramus to help see the [S]Dark Side sinister group for what they are and give him his Crowning Moment of Awesome before dying." is just perfect. If I can make it happen, I will.

Thank you for your insights, Amnestic, it can be hard to step back and be objective about one's own ideas, and I really appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully respond.