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So, I am nearly finished building my CN Possessed Oracle(later Titan Mauler/Rage Prophet).
She will be worshiping Lamashtu, as she believes she is blessed with gifts from the Mother of Monsters, and helped her survive the Worldwound.
This is further supported by the Outer Rifts Mystery, and the Twisted Flesh feat.
Thing is, I am not sure the effects of worshiping Lamashtu in Rise of the Runelords.
1) How will this be a detriment?
2) How will this be a boon?
3) How will this effect the story/encounters?
4) How should I handle these effects?
I think your GM is either crazy or is planning on majorly changing certain things to accommodate you.
In general, Lamashtu is going to be very unpopular around Sandpoint.
If I was in your party you would die in the first chapter of the book...You meet as strangers and then realize your fighting Lamashtu worshipers, and there's a possessed servant of her in the party, roll initiative and let the slaughter begin.
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Well, I am coming in as a mother of a dead PC.
The party is about a third of the way through the first chapter.
I was thinking of having a peculiar way of worshiping her, and seeing many other worshipers as "doing it wrong".
Perhaps focusing on a particular part of her portfolio, and/or having a different name to which I refer to her as.
Any ideas?
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1) How will this be a detriment?
Most of the townsfolk you meet will not take kindly to your religion. Best case scenario would be quiet disapproval all the way up to outright hostility. Sandpoint especially has some unhappy history with Lamashtu.
2) How will this be a boon?
I'm sure there are some nice mechanical combinations.
3) How will this effect the story/encounters?
Badly. As said by Gwaihir, you'll be working directly against some of her agents/plans and that will create some dissonance and/or party conflict.
If you go with the peculiar worship path, what aspect of the Chaotic Evil Demon Lord of Madness, Monsters and Nightmares are you going to focus on that will be palatable to others? How is your worship so vastly different that you would oppose your goddesses plans? If it is that different, why aren't you worshiping a different deity?
4) How should I handle these effects?
I'd talk to your DM and see if they are okay with adapting things for your character or have ideas for ways to tweak your story and build to work with the AP a little more smoothly.
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Well, to be fair, this is an Oracle, who THINKS her power come from Lamashtu.
But now someone killed her baby and needs to PAY.
Oooh, that is a good jump point.
Perhaps believing that the worshipers must be purged.
This PC has low wisdom, so an insane view on how to worship her Goddess works.
Different sects of the same religion kill each other all the time in the real world, so the idea of those worshiping a CE Goddess killing each other is more than probable.
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I love the twisted motherhood idea.
The dead PC was a lovable Half-Orc, who was, for the most part, raised by Gnomes. All the other party members are said Gnomes, and his adopted dad is one of the PCs.
She will be coming in, looking for her lost son.
Perhaps, connecting with her new Gnome allies as if they were her own children.
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Hmm... the Gnome "papa" is actually a sort of relentless Goblin hunting maniac Ranger.
If he is wise enough to blame Goblins(who are sorta at fault), then she might push her wrath more towards them, and maybe demand that he make amends by helping her slay every Goblin involved(which he likely to do anyways).
As part of the "worship", advocating strict parenting, more violent reactions to slights, and the joys of cross-species relationships might also fit well into there.
What Karg said. That sounds delightfully insane (if you like that sort of thing) for the first part, but quite a bit later you'll have some real difficulties. If you were a paladin, it would be one of those crappy situations where you fall no matter what you do. Being insane is your best defense against the situation, and it'll still probably get you whatever a demon's version of smiting is.
Not necessarily... as this is an Oracle.
She will be worshiping Lamashtu, as she believes she is blessed with gifts from the Mother of Monsters, and helped her survive the Worldwound.
OK, I guess I was reading this differently than intended. Being insane should be sufficient, then. Just never ask yourself the question of where your powers really come from.
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Well, I did also choose the Outer Rifts Mystery to fit the flavor.
Also, I plan to pick up some flavorful magic items like the Demon Mother's Mask, which will allow me to smell nearby creatures that are in heat or otherwise especially fertile, and interbreed with animals that are within one size category of my size.
In fairness, does a worshipper of a chaotic evil goddes need validation for any of their choices? I don't see a conflict here. Much as the Runelords themselves learned from their predecessors and then deposed them, worship (which isn't even the right word for an oracle who is chosen by the deity, not vice versa)of Lamashtu. Also, any party member who questions my motives... well I would just claim to be possessed (exorcism spell isn't available for a while) and detect lie can't overcome insanity- if you believe it it ain't a lie!
So, I am nearly finished building my CN Possessed Oracle(later Titan Mauler/Rage Prophet).
She will be worshiping Lamashtu, as she believes she is blessed with gifts from the Mother of Monsters, and helped her survive the Worldwound.
This is further supported by the Outer Rifts Mystery, and the Twisted Flesh feat.
Thing is, I am not sure the effects of worshiping Lamashtu in Rise of the Runelords.
1) How will this be a detriment?
2) How will this be a boon?
3) How will this effect the story/encounters?
4) How should I handle these effects?
I would not have allowed this PC concept in my campaign.
Without spoilering too much, servants of Lamashtu are recurring villains in the game, and the cult of Lamashtu is portrayed as being disgustingly vile with no redeeming qualities. Having a PC that's sympathetic to Lamashtu, even in a heretical sense, would be disruptive to the overall plot, in my opinion.
On a broader level, I have found that PCs that serve Chaotic Evil patrons tend to be disruptive to gameplay. I have also found PCs that are insane in some way to be disruptive to gameplay. Both in the same PC? I'd reject this character for those reasons, even without the Lamashtu connection.
Of course, I'm pretty up-front anout wanting to GM for heroic characters. I honestly don't enjoy running a game for evil PCs or even for self-centered mercenary PCs.
Huh, moved thread.
Any suggestions for attuning this worship to minimize negative impact upon the campaign?
I was just going to say, since it's not a cleric no tie to this god.
I think I like the angle the character THINKS her powers come from lamashtu, and now because the minions of lamashtu have killed her child TIME TO PAY, leading into rage prophet....awesome sauce.
Her powers could easily be from consorting with some outerworld entity who is masquerading as Lamasthu, or, the character misinterprets is lamashtu.
Of course lamashtu is CE, and her own followers fight and kill eachother all the time, for supremacy and they right be be favored. This could all just be a trial on her way to become the favored of lamashtu, what's the cost of a few giants and humanoids?
Huh, moved thread.
Any suggestions for attuning this worship to minimize negative impact upon the campaign?
I was just going to say, since it's not a cleric no tie to this god.
I think I like the angle the character THINKS her powers come from lamashtu, and now because the minions of lamashtu have killed her child TIME TO PAY, leading into rage prophet....awesome sauce.
Her powers could easily be from consorting with some outerworld entity who is masquerading as Lamasthu, or, the character misinterprets is lamashtu.
Of course lamashtu is CE, and her own followers fight and kill each other all the time, for supremacy and they right be be favored. This could all just be a trial on her way to become the favored of lamashtu, what's the cost of a few giants and humanoids?
That was my initial thoughts as well. The key to all of this being she thinks the powers come from Lamashtu. That gives the DM and the rest of the party enough wiggle room that they don't have to automatically kill the new character.
As another alternative, it wouldn't be that hard for the DM to make the Lamashtu related NPCs diplomatic challenges rather than combat encounters; after all, while Lamashtu is important to the campaign, she's not the main threat, and could easily enough be treated as a potential, if rather uncomfortable, and very unconventional, ally. (Something akin to how the Turks fit into the Final Fantasy 7 game keeps coming to mind; not really allies but not really enemies at the same time, more like the occasional thorn in the side that the PCs learn to tolerate, if not really like.)
Whether any of this actually works or not depends largely on the DM and the rest of the party; some groups would find that kind of twist quite interesting, others would avoid it like the plague. I for one am running a campaign with a worshipper of Asmodeus, and it works fine as long as everyone is on the same page as to what to expect and how to approach it, so I would say talk with the other players and the DM, and see how they feel about it.
In all events, it would be wise to keep her beliefs about where her powers come from, since most NPCs are going to very uncomfortable and frequently outright hostile.
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After reading even more on Lamashtu, it seems that followers are actually quite protective of their children, and highly focused on having more children.
It is like the Goddess is woman who feels her biological clock is constantly ticking.
Oh, by the way, I do not plan on a "chaotic stupid" PC. Also, no plans for PvP stuff.
As for dealing with Religious Good NPCs, I plan to put a number of ranks into Bluff.
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Well, my current PC died, in a random, non-metagame manner.
Seriously, we are using critical failure cards, and I impaled myself on my own spear.
So, she is coming in, looking for her son(now dead) after being gone a long time(captured by Orcs).
Any good advice for introducing her to her son's adopted Gnome family?
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Well, I decided her connection to Sandpoint runs deeper, and was a daughter of one of the Sczarni families, and was raped and captured by a raiding Orc tribe when she was 12.
I think having her recently got into contact with Titus Scarnetti, looking for her son is a good way to connected and introduced.
I decided to take the Black Sheep Campaign trait to reflect that.