Dizlag
2016-08-18, 10:08 AM
The Setup:
This is an Adventurer's League campaign for Curse of Strahd at my local gaming store. I have a new teenage player who is playing a 3rd level Half-Elf Warlock who has a Pact with a Great Old One. Not a complete team player as he took the bolts out of the cabinet in the Death House hunter's room to sell to the rest of the party while they were up a couple floors fighting the animated armor. His character is a bit greedy, independent (doesn’t like to be told what to do), and kind of out for himself. So naturally, I've picked this character out for Strahd to "groom to be a successor" as he would be the easiest to tempt and use against the party. =)
And oh boy did I last night! The party was escorting Ireena to Vallaki from the Village of Barovia near the western gate to Barovia when I had the Black Carriage appear a couple hundred feet ahead of them taking the road up to the castle. The warlock used his eldritch blast to stop the horses and the carriage. He went up to the door on the carriage to open it and that was the moment I decided Strahd was in it. *evil snicker*
As a half-elf, he got advantage on the Charm checks Strahd used on him to compel him to get in the carriage and go up to Castle Ravenloft for a “drink”. The warlock saved three times! And Strahd raised an eyebrow and smiled at that. The warlock used detect thoughts to sense that Strahd was genuinely interested in him and wanted to get to know him better. Strahd replied in kind with detect thoughts and probed deeper into the warlock’s mind … the warlock rolled a “1” on his save and I asked him what Strahd could offer that would get him to enter the carriage.
At this point I was very proud of this new D&D player because we spent a few minutes talking out of character about the warlock’s true motivation. He said gold was good, but not the right thing. That surprised me a little bit considering how he had played this character up to this point. He really was trying to find out the true motivation for this character, something he’s never really thought about. I asked my probing questions and it came down to knowledge about The Great Old One would do it. Well, Strahd said he has a vast library in the castle and a couple of books on The Great Old One he could study … if he got in the carriage. Sure enough, the warlock said “see ya” to the rest of the party and got in the carriage. Hehehe
So, during the carriage ride up to the castle we roleplayed the conversation between this 3rd level Warlock and the devil Strahd himself. Strahd made it clear to this young warlock that he wants him to help him win the love of Ireena and to become his ally in this realm. Now, this young player looked at me and started to talk about how “anything can happen playing D&D, right?” He told me a story about his friend playing D&D and wrestling a big cat like a tiger or something … “something he shouldn’t be able to do, right?” And I told him, you can do anything in this game but you’ll have to suffer the consequences … good or bad … for your choices. This kid is starting to think outside of the box and I want to reward him for that!
The session ended with the other two characters in the party letting the warlock get into the carriage, chasing after Ireena, and getting her to the Town of Vallaki safely. The warlock is currently in the carriage at the courtyard of Castle Ravenloft with Strahd. =)
My Questions:
First, sorry for that setup being so long, but I truly want you all to understand where I’m at with this as a DM running Curse of Strahd as an Adventurer’s League game and wanting to help this new D&D player enjoy this truly awesome game of D&D. I want to reward him, yet also want to stay true to this adventure. I don’t want to kill the character (right now >:), but would love to play this out with the new player to really see how he handles it and what he can do with it. Your opinion on what I should do next is very important to me and I truly value any and all suggestions.
What kind of reward with what kind of drawback should I give? Strahd told him he’s got a book(s) on the Great Old One. I was thinking early and partial access to the 6th level ability – Entropic Ward and by partial, the first part of the ability to only give disadvantage on the attack roll as a reaction only. Or maybe early access to his 3rd Invocation? Strahd also promised great power and I think this power should come at a cost. With the “early access” to The Great Old One, would a Dark Gift be too harsh or would a madness effect be more appropriate? I was leaning towards a madness effect of some type until he reaches the 6th level if I give him a partial Entropic Ward or 5th level if I give him a 3rd Invocation.
Would a magic item be appropriate here instead? Remember, this is the Adventurer’s League, so I’m already breaking some rules if I do the other reward above … but that early access to Great Old One granted abilities just seems like a good fit.
My Dilemma:
The other player in the group last night knows this is happening. And we will let the player that missed last night know as well. These other two players are older and have played previous versions of D&D before. There is an 11 year old that had to leave before all of this happened, so there is opportunity to teach “player knowledge vs character knowledge” to another new D&D player. =) What can I do or what would you do to make the other players work with the warlock player and I on this?
I have a good idea on how to get him back to the party. It involves him having that “holy crap, my mind is going to explode now that I’ve learned what I’ve learned about my Great Old One patron! <lost of time> What am I doing in a bed, in a tavern, in a town called Vallaki?” hehehe
Could the Dark Powers that turned Strahd into a vampire and that created the realm of Barovia be an extension or a tentacle of The Great Old One? Ooooo … I like that a bit!
I want to use this warlock as an ally to Strahd to help the vampire lord win the love of Ireena. How would you do it?
How slippery of a slope am I making this situation for myself, this new D&D player, and the other D&D players? Or am I not making a slippery slope and I should just go with it? How would you feel being one of the other players?
One last question, should I just scrap all of this and just kill the warlock showing the player (and the other players) just how brutal and cruel Strahd really is?
For all of you who have read this far, thank you! Again, I truly do value the opinions on this board from the plethora of experience here. You are all awesome!
Take care,
Dizlag
This is an Adventurer's League campaign for Curse of Strahd at my local gaming store. I have a new teenage player who is playing a 3rd level Half-Elf Warlock who has a Pact with a Great Old One. Not a complete team player as he took the bolts out of the cabinet in the Death House hunter's room to sell to the rest of the party while they were up a couple floors fighting the animated armor. His character is a bit greedy, independent (doesn’t like to be told what to do), and kind of out for himself. So naturally, I've picked this character out for Strahd to "groom to be a successor" as he would be the easiest to tempt and use against the party. =)
And oh boy did I last night! The party was escorting Ireena to Vallaki from the Village of Barovia near the western gate to Barovia when I had the Black Carriage appear a couple hundred feet ahead of them taking the road up to the castle. The warlock used his eldritch blast to stop the horses and the carriage. He went up to the door on the carriage to open it and that was the moment I decided Strahd was in it. *evil snicker*
As a half-elf, he got advantage on the Charm checks Strahd used on him to compel him to get in the carriage and go up to Castle Ravenloft for a “drink”. The warlock saved three times! And Strahd raised an eyebrow and smiled at that. The warlock used detect thoughts to sense that Strahd was genuinely interested in him and wanted to get to know him better. Strahd replied in kind with detect thoughts and probed deeper into the warlock’s mind … the warlock rolled a “1” on his save and I asked him what Strahd could offer that would get him to enter the carriage.
At this point I was very proud of this new D&D player because we spent a few minutes talking out of character about the warlock’s true motivation. He said gold was good, but not the right thing. That surprised me a little bit considering how he had played this character up to this point. He really was trying to find out the true motivation for this character, something he’s never really thought about. I asked my probing questions and it came down to knowledge about The Great Old One would do it. Well, Strahd said he has a vast library in the castle and a couple of books on The Great Old One he could study … if he got in the carriage. Sure enough, the warlock said “see ya” to the rest of the party and got in the carriage. Hehehe
So, during the carriage ride up to the castle we roleplayed the conversation between this 3rd level Warlock and the devil Strahd himself. Strahd made it clear to this young warlock that he wants him to help him win the love of Ireena and to become his ally in this realm. Now, this young player looked at me and started to talk about how “anything can happen playing D&D, right?” He told me a story about his friend playing D&D and wrestling a big cat like a tiger or something … “something he shouldn’t be able to do, right?” And I told him, you can do anything in this game but you’ll have to suffer the consequences … good or bad … for your choices. This kid is starting to think outside of the box and I want to reward him for that!
The session ended with the other two characters in the party letting the warlock get into the carriage, chasing after Ireena, and getting her to the Town of Vallaki safely. The warlock is currently in the carriage at the courtyard of Castle Ravenloft with Strahd. =)
My Questions:
First, sorry for that setup being so long, but I truly want you all to understand where I’m at with this as a DM running Curse of Strahd as an Adventurer’s League game and wanting to help this new D&D player enjoy this truly awesome game of D&D. I want to reward him, yet also want to stay true to this adventure. I don’t want to kill the character (right now >:), but would love to play this out with the new player to really see how he handles it and what he can do with it. Your opinion on what I should do next is very important to me and I truly value any and all suggestions.
What kind of reward with what kind of drawback should I give? Strahd told him he’s got a book(s) on the Great Old One. I was thinking early and partial access to the 6th level ability – Entropic Ward and by partial, the first part of the ability to only give disadvantage on the attack roll as a reaction only. Or maybe early access to his 3rd Invocation? Strahd also promised great power and I think this power should come at a cost. With the “early access” to The Great Old One, would a Dark Gift be too harsh or would a madness effect be more appropriate? I was leaning towards a madness effect of some type until he reaches the 6th level if I give him a partial Entropic Ward or 5th level if I give him a 3rd Invocation.
Would a magic item be appropriate here instead? Remember, this is the Adventurer’s League, so I’m already breaking some rules if I do the other reward above … but that early access to Great Old One granted abilities just seems like a good fit.
My Dilemma:
The other player in the group last night knows this is happening. And we will let the player that missed last night know as well. These other two players are older and have played previous versions of D&D before. There is an 11 year old that had to leave before all of this happened, so there is opportunity to teach “player knowledge vs character knowledge” to another new D&D player. =) What can I do or what would you do to make the other players work with the warlock player and I on this?
I have a good idea on how to get him back to the party. It involves him having that “holy crap, my mind is going to explode now that I’ve learned what I’ve learned about my Great Old One patron! <lost of time> What am I doing in a bed, in a tavern, in a town called Vallaki?” hehehe
Could the Dark Powers that turned Strahd into a vampire and that created the realm of Barovia be an extension or a tentacle of The Great Old One? Ooooo … I like that a bit!
I want to use this warlock as an ally to Strahd to help the vampire lord win the love of Ireena. How would you do it?
How slippery of a slope am I making this situation for myself, this new D&D player, and the other D&D players? Or am I not making a slippery slope and I should just go with it? How would you feel being one of the other players?
One last question, should I just scrap all of this and just kill the warlock showing the player (and the other players) just how brutal and cruel Strahd really is?
For all of you who have read this far, thank you! Again, I truly do value the opinions on this board from the plethora of experience here. You are all awesome!
Take care,
Dizlag