Magical Compulsion

[The Extinguisher]

So I'm working on a new character concept for the campaign I'm in, and I'm looking for something to finish them off. The character is going to be evil, but as punishment for some crime they did, are being forced to help out the party on their quest.

So I'm wondering what the best way to long term magically compel someone like that. I was thinking Geas, but the problem is that what the party is working on is pretty open ended and not something easily geased.

I'm at a bit of a loss so I need some help.

[atemu1234]

Mark of Justice is a classic, an item with a permanent version that can only be suppressed temporarily works nicely.

[Dysart]

Not everything needs to have a specific item.

Maybe you've been marked by some sort of Divine figure who is much stronger and will know when you've done bad. They can also teleport to you and give out punishment when ever they want.

A Ghaele (Elf Angel) would manage all of the above super easy.

[Flickerdart]

Mindrape works quite well - the caster can leave the character's old alignment, but add an overriding desire to help the party to the victim's personality.

[Sliver]

Does it have to have a mechanical basis? If you don't intend to use it against someone, then just asking your DM about it might work just as well. Work together to arrange for something you both find agreeable and don't sweat over the rules?

[Barstro]

Is there a RP reason it needs to be an item, or even a spell? Can it not just be because your character is lawful (assuming he is), or that he is compelled by the fact that his punisher has his family in captivity or was forced to take a slow but incurable poison and can get the antidote only by assisting?

[pwcsponson]

Punishment by whom? A god can just do it willy nilly as stated above, but what about a Good aligned city-state or territory?

A City State has been trying a new method of rehabilitating criminals for the better good of the world.
The state has employed wizard and cleric jailers to be watching over prisoners via Greater Scrying. As part of the punishment he must serve field time actively helping the greater good. He must not resist the Scrying attempt, doing so means a Wizard and Cleric pays him a visit via Teleport. He is also on parole so he will periodically be summoned to a court, where Paladins with Detect Evil will ascertain if he has been rehabilitated or not. Should he ever come up non-evil, then he has been successfully rehabilitated and is free to go. If he does not become non-evil within a certain time limit the rehabilitation attempt ends and he is sentenced to standard punishments (jail time, death), so he must actively better himself.

He would be closely monitored. Attempts to do evil would first have a telepath tell him that it's a bad idea. Egregious screw ups would cause a Wizard and Paladin to pay him a visit via Teleport.

That being said, you'd never be able to slip anything past the jailers, and you'd never actually be able to play an evil character.

Hell, having a wizard, cleric, and paladin watching my every move and breathing down my back would non-magically compel me to help.

[The Extinguisher]

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate the options.

I think I'm going to go along the Mark of Justice root but with less of a rules basis. It also fits them pretty nicely into the setting.