Getting Rid of an NPC

[Kesnit]

I am running a 3.5 game set in Skyrim. My wife started off running the game, but decided she would rather play than run. Since I had already helped her with encounter-building, I took over the game.

One thing my wife did before I took over was introduce the party to Barbas (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Barbas). (For non-Skyrim players, Barbas is the conscious of the Elder Scrolls version of a Demon Lord. He takes the form of a large dog.) Her intent was to get the party to do the quest associated with Barbas, but the party has put that on permanent hold, and now has an immortal dog following them around. I would like to get rid of Barbas, but the party is not inclined to do so. (In the words of a player, "he's a good distraction for enemies.") My wife agrees with getting rid of Barbas, so I am not risking marital strife by doing this. :smallsmile:

I've tried making Barbas somewhat useless (by not having him hit very often, and having him do very little damage when he does), but that does not seem to matter. He's still a body, and since he can't be hurt, the party has no problem sending him in to take up space and draw attacks.

I need some ideas for ways to convince the party to get rid of the dog. I've considered sending the Elder Scrolls equivalent of demon hunters after them, but I suspect that unless I send really powerful enemies, the party will just steamroll them and take their stuff. In the game, there is 1 item that will kill Barbas, but it would be rather immersion-breaking if it suddenly appeared. (It's an artifact of the Demon Lord, so the demon hunters would not have it.) Help... :smalleek:




Elf Bard 10
Homebrew race (version for the ES Khajiit) Rogue 5/SORC 5. He will be rebuilding to be a Daggerspell Mage once the NPC Artificer finishes his second dagger.
Human Spirit Lion Totem BARB 2/Clawlock 8
Human Factotum 3/Psion ??/Slayer ?? (The player is building a new PC and I haven't seen the exact breakdown yet.)
Human Druid 10 (this is the PC that is being replaced by the Factotum/Psion/Slayer)

[georgie_leech]

As I recall, Barbas is looking to rejoin with Vile, and if the party is showing no signs of actually doing the quest that Barbas wants help with, why not have him just leave? It's not like they'd be able to kill him if he tries it.

[Karl Aegis]

Have him go back to the dream world. Boom. Done.

[Blackhawk748]

As I recall, Barbas is looking to rejoin with Vile, and if the party is showing no signs of actually doing the quest that Barbas wants help with, why not have him just leave? It's not like they'd be able to kill him if he tries it.

Ya i mean the whole reason he follows you is so that youll help him. I mean ya i finished up the quest i was on, then did one en route to Vile's shrine, but i was working towards doing it. I mean if they're not hes just gonna leave, probably with a snarky parting remark.

[Bronk]

Is he literally the dog, or is he possessing the dog somehow? If he's just possessing it and conferring immortality to the dog that way, you can just have him give up and leave. Then, the next time they use the dog as bait... well, no more dog. Obviously, if he can phase into the dream world, that would be the way to go. It just sounds cool.

[Maglubiyet]

What attracted him to the PC's in the first place, their apparent power and ability to help him? If they're not getting it done what's to say he won't join up with the first group he sees who will actually help him?

Maybe that will be a powerful enemy of the characters and they'll suddenly find themselves fighting an immortal dog. Give them a taste of their own medicine.

[Hiro Quester]

Give them hints that Barbas is fixing to leave if they don't help him on his quest. Have him start to express frustration with the players. Have him steal their food or unattended items and hide them. Or take a dump on the fighter's armor while he's sleeping.

Then if they still choose not to help him, have him just disappear one evening while they are sleeping, or while out hunting.

Or have him make friends with another NPC the group meets, e.g. a friendly druid who shared their campfire one evening an can talk to the dog, and who does agree to help him with his quest.

[Hellborn_Blight]

It sounds like you have a Geas/Quest (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/geasQuest.htm) situation on your hands. He is a demon dog, thinking he would play fair is their mistake.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Barbas is only "essential" for gameplay so the whole quest with him isn't one long agonizing escort mission. There is nothing in the lore to suggest he's immortal except by one weapon.

[Crake]

It sounds like you have a Geas/Quest (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/geasQuest.htm) situation on your hands. He is a demon dog, thinking he would play fair is their mistake.

that just smacks railroad all over it, which i doubt is what the DM wants. He wants to get rid of the NPC, not make him an annoyance.

[Hellborn_Blight]

that just smacks railroad all over it, which i doubt is what the DM wants. He wants to get rid of the NPC, not make him an annoyance.

It may be calling in a choo choo, but it makes perfect sense within the context of the NPC's inspiration, and when players are clearly taking advantage of something by behaving in a somewhat metagame way, then they really placed themselves on the tracks to begin with.

After all, this spell exits for a reason, and while it may not end up satisfying OP 100%, it is clearly an option that could be rolled into something else. Like the NPC having a conversation with them about it them not helping him, and then the next day when they wake up they make fortitude saves from him casting it in their sleep because he wasn't happy with their answer. That is a pretty organic way the character he is biased on could behave in. The method of implementation of Geas/Quest is just as important as what it does.

[atemu1234]

Put him in a kennel?

[OttoVonBigby]

It may be calling in a choo choo, but it makes perfect sense within the context of the NPC's inspiration, and when players are clearly taking advantage of something by behaving in a somewhat metagame way, then they really placed themselves on the tracks to begin with.
Gotta agree with this. I mean, if they met Brother Verulus and asked him to follow them, then never got around to bringing him to Eola, wouldn't Verulus eventually say "Um, guys, I sort of have a temple I gotta get back to..." and/or wouldn't Eola eventually hunt them down and be like, "Yo: sacrifice? While we're young?" I don't feel that it is integral to the nature of the Skyrim setting that actions can't have consequences, although I can understand why one might think that ;)

[Necromancy]

Have him linked to a location. The farther he gets from his "quest area", the more he starts to act like a normal bigarse dog. Begs for food, poops in inappropriate places, sneaks into the ration pack and eats every crumb, uses wizards spellbook as a chew toy, etc