What would you do if you were a skeleton who just got his memories back?

[unseenmage]

No really. Character is a skeleton cursed with amnesia by his prior master the demi-lich Acererak. He quests to find a cure and finds one.

What I'm stumped on is how he should react when he remembers. He knows he is a skeleton, of course. He knows he was controlled once upon a time. He hides what he is well and has a charming demeanor and attitude. He's the hero, if a bit self serving.

He's going to remember all the horrors of the tomb. All the indignity of being sentient and aware but under someone's complete control. He's going to remember his master's cruelty and his master's promise that if he ever remembers his master will be coming for him...

He can't cry. He can only speak because DM fiat/magic. He can't pull at his hair or tear at his flesh. What's worse, were he to try either of those reactions, he would reveal himself for what he is. Which could be a VERYBADTHING if not handled delicately.

Thoughts?

Edit: Sorry for not being clearer, this guy is True Neutral with leanings towards good. Is also a pretty cool dude. He knows his consciousness was likely made via the spell Awaken Undead and that the person he was when he was alive is gone.
His living memories are not the one's he is getting back. He is getting back the memories of when he was a skeleton under the command of a particularly evil and Gygaxian Lich. The Lich made him forget all of the secrets of the tomb but with them he forgot who he was back then too.
He's been adventuring for a good long time now, long enough that he's perfected pretending to be alive via judicious use of Bluff, Slight of Hand, and baggy clothes.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Go insane from horror. I had my flesh, my life, STOLEN from me, was enslaved more intimately than we can comprehend, and now am cursed with the weakest form of unlife with the knowledge of my destruction and no idea what will happen to me if I die?

If I survive the insanity I, personally, would quest to become a much more powerful form of undead, probably a nightshade of some kind. I would want to be terrifying to the living and anyone foolish to try enslave me again. I would want to revenge myself upon EVERYONE who touched the powers of necromancy to send them a lesson that their foolery WILL NOT BE TOLERATED.

So, on a quest to become power mad in short. I would probably pick up the worship of a god who would support to wanton destruction of living in pursuit of greater undead power, probably Cas or Orcus.

[Asrrin]

Considering by RAW skeletons are mindless creatures, I wouldn't be thinking much of anything. I know Huecuva are skeletal or zombie like undead that have intelligence and so may fit the bill. Not sure how the spell Awaken Undead would fit inm but might be worth looking into.

Assuming I was a good aligned character when I died and my soul somehow got back to my skeletal and undead body, I'd want to destroy the thing that created me and then myself, and/or get a real resurrection. If I were of the evil inclination, I would look for ways to usurp my master and transform into a better undead.

[unseenmage]

Wow. Not unreasonable.

I probably should have mentioned that 1) this character's a pretty cool dude. He's Neutral Aligned with leanings towards Good. And 2) the memories he's getting back are only his skeleton memories. He knows that whoever he was in life isn't who he is now. His consciousness was created whole cloth by the spell Awaken Undead. He was just forced to forget all of the secrets of the tomb, and with them all of his past as a skeleton.

[Flickerdart]

A tomb's guardian hardly does more than stand around all day, and Acererak's tomb gets remarkably little traffic. I can't imagine he'd be very phased by recovering memories of centuries of standing around doing nothing. If he did end up doing nasty things to various adventurers that managed to make it his way, he will have forgotten most of the details over however long he spent there. Sure, Acererak's threat is scary, but that's really about it.

[ZamielVanWeber]

Okay, skip the worship of an evil deity (for now... maybe). Wanting to evolve into a stronger undead is something that would be high on my priority list. "The Great Nightwalker Sage" is going to garner a lot more respect than "That There Walking Pile of Bones."

[Psyren]

There's a lot of different ways you could take this and they'd all be plausible. What do you want to happen?

It'd probably be easier for us to say "nah, that's too farfetched" or "yeah that's reasonable, and I would tweak this bit..."

[TheIronGolem]

This kind of reminds me of Robocop (the 80's one, haven't seen the remake).

What does Alex Murphy do when he wakes up and realizes what he is? He makes halting, futile efforts at reconnecting with his old life, eventually trying for a clean break once he's forced to accept that he can't go home again - either literally or figuratively. I would play a character in this situation the same way; check in on loved ones, but keep a distance, and linger on a little too long despite the risk of causing further horror and tragedy.

EDIT: Oops, missed the part about only regaining post-undeath memories instead of living memories. This doesn't apply.

[unseenmage]

A tomb's guardian hardly does more than stand around all day, and Acererak's tomb gets remarkably little traffic. I can't imagine he'd be very phased by recovering memories of centuries of standing around doing nothing. If he did end up doing nasty things to various adventurers that managed to make it his way, he will have forgotten most of the details over however long he spent there. Sure, Acererak's threat is scary, but that's really about it.
Well, this version of Acererak is actively up to no good and was never just sitting around waiting for adventurers. A Big Bad in the truest sense. The kind of guy who would awaken a skeleton minion, torture it psychologically, then release it into the wild to watch it struggle. For fun.




There's a lot of different ways you could take this and they'd all be plausible. What do you want to happen?

It'd probably be easier for us to say "nah, that's too farfetched" or "yeah that's reasonable, and I would tweak this bit..."
Well of the potential reactions that sprang to mind there was the going mad, the reverting to an Evil alignment, and the kick to Good alignment as he asks his friends and allies to pleasepleaseplease stay away run and save yourselves.

I'm also a bit stuck on the imagery of such a scene. As I mentioned he can't cry or do a lot of other sadness themed things a living person could do. Though i suppose a skeleton wracked with sobs could be even more heartbreaking...

[ZamielVanWeber]

I'm also a bit stuck on the imagery of such a scene. As I mentioned he can't cry or do a lot of other sadness themed things a living person could do. Though i suppose a skeleton wracked with sobs could be even more heartbreaking...

I have a sudden urge to find this skeleton and smash him to tiny bits. Get mad skelly man! REVENGE! GROW STRONGER! GROW SOME GUTS (literally. Mohrg's are way deadlier than skeletons). I suppose friendship would be a good start though.

[Flickerdart]

I'm also a bit stuck on the imagery of such a scene. As I mentioned he can't cry or do a lot of other sadness themed things a living person could do. Though i suppose a skeleton wracked with sobs could be even more heartbreaking...
He can always Polymorph into a body with the necessary organs.

[unseenmage]

I have a sudden urge to find this skeleton and smash him to tiny bits. Get mad skelly man! REVENGE! GROW STRONGER! GROW SOME GUTS (literally. Mohrg's are way deadlier than skeletons). ...

Made me smile. Thanks for that.

[Psyren]

I have a sudden urge to find this skeleton and smash him to tiny bits. Get mad skelly man! REVENGE! GROW STRONGER! GROW SOME GUTS (literally. Mohrg's are way deadlier than skeletons). I suppose friendship would be a good start though.

Skeletal Champion (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/monster-listings/templates/skeletal-champion-CR-1) says hi, you keep your class levels :smalltongue: Actually that would be more fitting for this guy since they're intelligent.

[unseenmage]

How famous is Acererak and the Tomb of Horrors in their gameworld exactly? Are they known only to those in the know or are they as famous in their gameworld as they are to us players?
Common tavern gossip everywhere or just common tavern gossip for those taverns which are nearby to the place?