RP - What would your character give up?

[Sindal]

Hi yall.

So there's a 'campaign of dnd (that'we're leaving ambigious for spoiler reasons)' that involves sacrificing something very important to you. Could be limbs, abilities, items, memories, years of your life etc. Something that's going to hurt a bit.

That said, here's this week's question:

"If you were in the positioning to 'choose' something to sacrifice and it had to be something weighty (Ae, not offering one gold piece) and you HAD to do it.
What would your current (Or previous character with enough motif) willingly sacrifice."

-Note:
-Assume the situation that your in some kind difficult to escape dungeon trying to get out, or your in a very hard set of trials towards getting something you realy want and this just happens to be one of the trials. Either way, you have to give up something in order to progress, be it for survival or towards a big payoff should you succeed later.
-No 'gamey' answers. That defeats the purpose of the exercise. It must come from you. You can't give something that isn't yours, doesn't belong to you, or 'the future of someone else's life'. You

Feel free to explain your choice and why it's important if necessary.

I ask because I've had this campaign run for me (an altered version) and I had to make a choice. Kosh, my half orc gloomstalker, chose to give up memories of his past, specifically the early years of his life.

The reason it matters is because:
Kosh wants to find his parents again. He was separated from them at a youngish (teen) age due to weird magical caves that trapped him in the under dark for roughly 5 years. When he got out, he had no heckin idea where he was. Having lost his memories, he now no longer knows where to look, and has to start aaaallll over again if he wantrs to find them.

[Mellack]

What are we giving it up for? Some of mine would give up their existence to save the universe. Others would give up an arm for great personal power. Would it even have to belong to them? Can I give up the lives of those I kill? I just don't see enough info to really judge.

[Vorpalchicken]

His sense of morality? His sense of decency? His self-restraint? His tolerance of long-winded NPC speeches?

[Sindal]

What are we giving it up for? Some of mine would give up their existence to save the universe. Others would give up an arm for great personal power. Would it even have to belong to them? Can I give up the lives of those I kill? I just don't see enough info to really judge.

Pretend your character in SAW movie and the only way to escape 'the situation' is to give up something IMPORANT TO YOU. Alternatively, pretend that your in a trial dungeon and sacrificing something you have is towards getting to the goal and getting 'your prize'.

So either a big reward you REALLY want, or a life or death situation where if you don't give something your screwed.

It has to hurt you, either emotionally or physically (like an arm, memories, something you hold dear, an item you care about, . Otherwise the person on the other side says "Nope. not good enough"

[Sindal]

His sense of morality? His sense of decency? His self-restraint? His tolerance of long-winded NPC speeches?

Those work if your character values those traits about themselves (Patience, Temperence, etc) and the thought of being a different person (Say a paladin under oath) frightens them. If your character is already an arse then you aren't giving up anything

[Unoriginal]

My last character has already lost or given up everything he once considered important. Aside maybe from the survival of the world and its people which he fought to preserve, but he's not going to give that up no matter the reward or threat for himself.

So he wouldn't be able to survive this situation/get the reward.


Those work if your character values those traits about themselves (Patience, Temperence, etc) and the thought of being a different person (Say a paladin under oath) frightens them. If your character is already an arse then you aren't giving up anything

Those answers are character-specific, so...

[Laserlight]

"I sacrifice my desire to finish this campaign." Because if you're in that position, you're not a hero overcoming opposition, you're just a lab rat for a sadistic experimenter. That is a session 0 failure, where someone should have said "I don't want to be a hero, I want more horror. How about Call of Cthulhu, or Don't Rest Your Head?" Or perhaps Paranoia.

[Gilrad]

My character would be dishonest about himself and claim it's his good looks (because he believes he's quite a looker). The intelligence behind the spell would see through beyond even what he can see about himself, and take his voice, so that he can never again join in the party banter and feel a part of the team.

[HappyDaze]

I sacrifice the life of my longtime adventuring companion. If I must, I can repeat this sacrifice 3-5 more times...

[Zakz3]

Here’s my liver do I get to go now

[terodil]

"I sacrifice my desire to finish this campaign." Because if you're in that position, you're not a hero overcoming opposition, you're just a lab rat for a sadistic experimenter. That is a session 0 failure, where someone should have said "I don't want to be a hero, I want more horror. How about Call of Cthulhu, or Don't Rest Your Head?" Or perhaps Paranoia.

To be honest, I'm tempted to agree with this.

I'd be OK with such a situation if
- it's been agreed upon in session #0 that such a massive mutilation of player characters was an inevitable part of the campaign,
- if there was a way out somehow that the characters could find, even with great effort, and/or
- if there was a way to repair the damage within the not-too-far future, perhaps unknown to the players.

If, however, none of the above apply I would consider this an inappropriate infringement on character choice and player agency and probably lose interest. It's just like telling a half-caster that he loses all ability to cast and is only allowed to whack stuff over the head from now on. No-go.

Mind you I'm not arguing against characters sacrificing things important to them, but their players should decide this of free will (e.g., as character development, e.g. heroic sacrifice for the sake of a village). 'You are trapped and will die and can only escape if you cut off your arm' is not a choice. I'd rather have rocks fall.

[Unoriginal]

To be honest, I'm tempted to agree with this.

I'd be OK with such a situation if
- it's been agreed upon in session #0 that such a massive mutilation of player characters was an inevitable part of the campaign,
- if there was a way out somehow that the characters could find, even with great effort, and/or
- if there was a way to repair the damage within the not-too-far future, perhaps unknown to the players.

If, however, none of the above apply I would consider this an inappropriate infringement on character choice and player agency and probably lose interest. It's just like telling a half-caster that he loses all ability to cast and is only allowed to whack stuff over the head from now on. No-go.

Mind you I'm not arguing against characters sacrificing things important to them, but their players should decide this of free will (e.g., as character development, e.g. heroic sacrifice for the sake of a village). 'You are trapped and will die and can only escape if you cut off your arm' is not a choice. I'd rather have rocks fall.

Eh, bad things can happen in a campaign even if it's not covered in session 0.

Some villains are sadistic, and some powers come at a cost.

As long as the PCs weren't automatically forced into it despite whatever they do but it's either something they can decide for themselves (ex: the character who always wants more power get the chance to obtain that... at a price) or a "natural" consequence for failing something that could have been avoided (ex: the PCs charged at the clearly powerful mindflayer group and didn't flee when they started to lose), I'd say it's legitimate.

Not my cup of tea by any mean, but legitimate.

SAW makes for terrible D&D because it relies on a virtually omnipotent villain (at least in the actions related to his particular M.O.) who will never face consequences or fail to capture his victims.

[terodil]

Oh, I don't disagree at all, Unoriginal. I'm not arguing against 'bad things happening' as a result of playing a round of idiot ball.

The crux of the issue is this, as you wrote above:


As long as the PCs weren't automatically forced into it despite whatever they do [...] I'd say it's legitimate.

It seemed to me that the OP was describing exactly what you put into the first part of the above sentence. And it seems we'd both take exception at that.

[Unoriginal]

It seemed to me that the OP was describing exactly what you put into the first part of the above sentence. And it seems we'd both take exception at that.

Well, I don't know, OP is asking us to imagine two very different situations, and even the SAW-like one "give X up or die" doesn't really tell us how we ended up here.

I'd definitively take exception if my PC was railroaded into this, yes.

[Sindal]

Ok. I'm sorry if i'm still being too vague (trying to be because it's technically a spoiler for a podcast)
Let me rephrase and put even more context.

-We had been to this situation because one of our companions was trying to get 'the big reward'.
He failed, and now we had to take the trial in an effort to try and save him, while still trying to get the thing he's after.
We did it because we cared about our party member, and so some of us had to take part in the trials-

What is something that your character cares about, that they would be willing to give away for a greater good to solve a problem.
And I know, this is a very character specific question. But that's what I want to find out.
I want to find out the kind of character everyone has and what they 'in their mind' would give in that question.
People are jumping to cutting off limbs and sacrificing each other and stuff. I know i gave the SAW example but that was only to give the example that the current party doesn't really have a choice. If you refuse, that's it. That you are 'currently' in an unescapable situation unless you give something.

You could also give like, a +1 sword that you'd give away or something? A treasured family heirloom? A memory of a loved one? Something lore/plot related, -1 to str?

[Unoriginal]

Well, as I said, my last character would have nothing to give.

He was a wizard, a martial artist and a mechanist. He started out with big ideas and even bigger ambitions, and enormous desire and respect for power. By the end of the last arc, he left his manor, his titles, the admiration people hadfor him as one of the heroes, his position at the court, his extensibve research papers, his inventions, his money, his contracts and his magic items, and disappeared without a word to anyone. Nobody knows where he went or if he's even still alive.

What, then, could that trial ask of him?

For my character before this one, it could have been giving up rescueing the paladins of his order who had been soul-trapped by a Balor. But he'd have given his life before giving that up.

[ImproperJustice]

Hmmmm......

Well, I have been running a Forge Cleric for some time who is very young. Their parents were killed at a young age, while the Pc was a bit of a shiftless layabout.
They were taken in by the Temple of Reorx and “Reforged” into the divine champion the group knows today.

At level 10, upon gaining Divine Intervention they tried to ressurect their parents.
The GM role played out the scenario by having the deity appear in person and explain what was taking place.

Their sacrifice was having to give up the quest to revive their parents, and accept that there is a greater purpose at work, even though they may not understand it.
In return, in their Darkest hours, the Cleric can now call for Divine assistance.

Does that count?

[Lunali]

Hmmmm......

Well, I have been running a Forge Cleric for some time who is very young. Their parents were killed at a young age, while the Pc was a bit of a shiftless layabout.
They were taken in by the Temple of Reorx and “Reforged” into the divine champion the group knows today.

At level 10, upon gaining Divine Intervention they tried to ressurect their parents.
The GM role played out the scenario by having the deity appear in person and explain what was taking place.

Their sacrifice was having to give up the quest to revive their parents, and accept that there is a greater purpose at work, even though they may not understand it.
In return, in their Darkest hours, the Cleric can now call for Divine assistance.

Does that count?

Sounds like the player got rewarded and the character got screwed.

[Mellack]

It all sounds too deus ex machina for my taste. To say that having to give up something "valuable" as judged by a random outside entity as the only way to pass the event doesn't blend with my playstyle. Adventurers are always about finding a way to save the day against the odds. Killing the "unkillable" lich. Fighting insurmountable odds. Solving the Gordian Knot. Why can't I claim that this iron spike was the only remembrance of my childhood home that burned to the ground killing my family and offer that? Or just grab the McGuffin and dimension door away? Or cast an illusion of something to give? Or dispel whatever is holding it? Or.....

[Naanomi]

Of my two current PCs... one is ultra-Lawful and wouldn’t ‘think outside the box’; and would immediately jump to something physical... a hand, an eye, something like that... more out of lack of creativity than from these being the ‘most important’

My other... would refuse, try to find a loophole, and then (if the scenario is played out fully) die still trying to cheat the game

[TheYell]

Yeah I'm inclined to say this is an odd "request".

My characters would probably sacrifice their time and effort in agreeing to perform some good quest for the benefactor. Or maybe cheat and volunteer their left testicle and "roleplay" that until the table told me to stop it.

[Laserlight]

-We had been to this situation because one of our companions was trying to get 'the big reward'.
He failed, and now we had to take the trial in an effort to try and save him, while still trying to get the thing he's after.
We did it because we cared about our party member, and so some of us had to take part in the trials

My current character would give up the character who got into that fix. She's a noblewoman, who has a lesser cousin and a couple of PC hirelings, and was assigned by her clan to collect the PC Divine Soul and convey him across our lands...and then we took a left turn into Barovia. She has realized she might have to sacrifice herself or her followers to get back out of Barovia and fulfill her duty. Sacrificing herself isn't a problem (she reincarnates and remembers past lives) but sacrificing her people would bother her. In this case, "how much would it bother her" would probably be inversely related to "how foolish did they have to be to get into that situation."

Other than that? "One year at the old age end of my natural life, with notice two years in advance" or "I die at age 180 instead of whatever additional years I would otherwise have lived (for a half elf)". Of course, an adventurer isn't likely to live out his allotted span, and even if she did, that would be well past the end of the campaign, so it''s pretty much a nonissue for the player.


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[Mortis_Elrod]

My current Necromancer would give up anyone's life, including his party members, his left arm, 15% of his phalanges, and up to 20% of his soul (sold in shares) for sufficient amount of power. He really should have been a warlock.

Thankfully for my party he hasn't run into anything willing to give the corresponding amount of power such sacrifices would require. But of course he's only level 3.

[No brains]

What if I gave up my pathos? I won't be able to say woe is me and act the edgelord all the time. It's a huge thing to give up, but it's also probably something a lot of people want gone.

[Dr. Cliché]

This question seems a little too vague. Mainly in that there seems to be no sense of scale.

As in, how much am I expected to give up? Let's take a sorcerer and consider his most important mechanic - spellcasting. How much would suffice as a sacrifice:
A sorcery point?
Half his sorcery points?
All his sorcery points?
A single known spell?
Half my known spells?
All my known spells?
1 Lv1 spell slot?
All my lv1 spell slots?
My highest level spell slot?
My ability to cast spells at all?

Do you see what I'm getting at? All these things are important, but they are not equally vital. Some will hurt a character, some will hurt a character a lot, and some will cripple a character entirely. :smalltongue:


To my mind, it would seem more logical to present a character with several options and let them pick which one to sacrifice.

[ImproperJustice]

Sounds like the player got rewarded and the character got screwed.

I abbreviated some bits.
There was a conversation about the parents being at peace after seeing their child to grow to become a force for good that brings honor to hearth and home, so that did take the sting out some.

[Kane0]

You mean like this (http://jadeempire.wikia.com/wiki/Quest:_the_Scientist)? Actually Jade Empire seemed to have a couple good ones. What would you give to be king of the arena? What would you sacrifice to drop a dungeon on your enemies? Who would you kill to bring prosperity to your empire?

[Sindal]

This question seems a little too vague. Mainly in that there seems to be no sense of scale.

As in, how much am I expected to give up? Let's take a sorcerer and consider his most important mechanic - spellcasting. How much would suffice as a sacrifice:
A sorcery point?
Half his sorcery points?
All his sorcery points?
A single known spell?
Half my known spells?
All my known spells?
1 Lv1 spell slot?
All my lv1 spell slots?
My highest level spell slot?
My ability to cast spells at all?

Do you see what I'm getting at? All these things are important, but they are not equally vital. Some will hurt a character, some will hurt a character a lot, and some will cripple a character entirely. :smalltongue:


To my mind, it would seem more logical to present a character with several options and let them pick which one to sacrifice.

-
While the campaign has you roll dice to see what you 'could' give up (such as an item, a bit of hp, memories, some years of your life etc) there is one option to 'choose' what you give up. That was the crux of my question.
A spell slot or a known spell (or one of their foci if the sorcerer knew he had a spare, if given the option) would have sufficed I would imagine.
-
Hmmm
I suppose the choice im asking just doesn't make sense without all the context of the campaign it was in.

A bit silly of me to pose an incomplete question...Sorry everyone:smallsigh:

Could we let this thread die out? I feel a bit embarrested asking it in a poor format.

[Ganymede]

How do people not get this?


My High Elf Barbarian would give up her spellbook. She saved it as a memento from her time as a wizard's apprentice and it is filled with her notes, research, and trial-and-error attempts to transcribe spells (the only functioning spell in the whole book being Prestidigitation). While she ultimately failed in that endeavor, she kept the book as a reminder that all of that effort was not for naught.

[qube]

Ok. I'm sorry if i'm still being too vague (trying to be because it's technically a spoiler for a podcast)
Let me rephrase and put even more context.

-We had been to this situation because one of our companions was trying to get 'the big reward'.
He failed, and now we had to take the trial in an effort to try and save him, while still trying to get the thing he's after.
We did it because we cared about our party member, and so some of us had to take part in the trials-

...

You could also give like, a +1 sword that you'd give away or something? A treasured family heirloom? A memory of a loved one? Something lore/plot related, -1 to str?To save a fellow PC that I wanted to save? -4 on a primairy stat, easily. (as a tank, that could be STR, but also CON)

[Gydian]

I have characters that don't want for much. They have single goals or desires. If they were to give up something that is important to them they would give up the only thing important to them. When it comes to character creation I don't get to complicated.

An aasimar sorcerer that looks for danger and a good drink.
An aasimar sorcerer that is searching for a connection to his god.
A warforged monk that loves to clean.
A warforged cleric which holds the life of his party higher than his own and wants to know what love is.
An aasimar warlock that wants to get back to his jewelry shop.
A warforged wizard that searches for knowledge and cares for his son.

These are the characters I play.

A tiefling warlock that is trying to survive and find his place in life.
A warforged warlock that is a spy.

These are characters that I have planed for future campaigns.

I seem to have a preference for a certain type of character.

[Ganymede]

I have characters that don't want for much.

One fun thing to do is to roll a random trinket and then try to retroactively justify why your character is hanging on to this weird tchotchke.

[Desteplo]

In dnd 3.5 my wizard gave up her favorite spell (the spell she based her whole career on)
Summon monster (badger)
-through the campaign she’s summon it just to talk to it etc afterward though she’s cast it but would end up empty. So she felt a part of her break and loneliness settle

She became crazy and eventually summoned it back as a familiar from a grotesque plane. It was covered in boils and tentacles. She cried she was so happy

[dragoeniex]

His violin.

It belonged to the young daughter of a noble family he stood guard for. The little girl befriended him and insisted he let her teach him music lessons as she learned. He gave her lessons with a dagger in exchange. They became like family.

Then the noble family and entire guard unit was killed in the same, abrupt shadow attack that crippled him. He's carried and channeled his magic through that violin for decades since.

But he would trade the most valuable item from his past if it kept the people with him now safe.

[rahimka]

My favorite old (Pathfinder) character was a Bard/Paladin Archer. Confronted with this scenario, he probably would have offered up his levels in Paladin. On a mechanical level, even replacing those with Bard levels would be a huge hit to his awesomeness due to the synergy he got out of the 2lvl dip. And in terms of RP, that was like THE CORE of his personality and motivation (a natural born CG Bard who had made the choice to be absolutely dedicated to living by a LG code so he could emulate the heroes of legends).

That is basically how he died anyway. In a situation where he was forced to work with an Evil Necromancer against a literal Doomsday Cult, and obliged to swear an oath to hand over the Cult's demonic book on how to end the world to said Necromancer, he took the only path he felt was right once the cult was defeated: betray his party, break the oath he swore by destroying the book, and face the necromancer's wrath alone. He fully expected to fall as a Paladin for what he did, but the Gods deemed his action/sacrifice noble enough to let him keep his status in death...

[Man_Over_Game]

My character cares about two things: his knowledge and his brother (another character in the team).

He was always seen as the runt under his brother, who was naturally adept at magic and who was very charming and kind. My character was very jealous, and spent a lot of time trying to understand and trying to become better. My character was never any good at magic, and despite going to Bard school, never actually learned how to skillfully use bard magic (he cheated and paid a wizard to teach him how to cast rituals to pass school).

He finally got his first level into a real magic class; the Arcane Trickster. He loves it. He loves everything about it. He's incredibly intelligent, and incredibly talented, but he still tries to use magic to solve every problem, because MAGIC.

And there's nothing he'd give it up for... except for his brother's life. He'd probably become depressed and retire from being an adventurer, but he'd do it.

[Waterdeep Merch]

Her future.

My character began her quest to save her best friend, always believing that the two of them would go home together. She secretly fears that her journey might make that impossible. Still, if it means protecting those she holds dear or restoring her friend, she's willing to sacrifice even a happy life surrounded by friends and family.

She's too afraid to admit that this is actually very likely, but brave enough to make this decision anyway.

[KorvinStarmast]

"If you were in the positioning to 'choose' something to sacrifice and it had to be something weighty (Ae, not offering one gold piece) and you HAD to do it.
What would your current (Or previous character with enough motif) willingly sacrifice."

I'd willingly sacrifice the party's gnome.