A favor owed to Calistria


Advice


So, the player in my solo campaign owes a favor to Calistria.

I'd love to hear suggestions.

Some info which may be relevant:

- The player is female;
- The PC is female (level 9 elf druid, 2 mythic tiers)
- The player got Calistria to promise that the favor would not be harmful to her friends or allies.
- The campaign has occasionally dipped into R-rated territory, but is more usually PG-13.


Take revenge on a priestess, maybe a high priestess, who was killed by a lover and/or paying customer of a high priority or influential temple. Heck you can turn that into an entire adventure. She is the goddess of vengeance after all.

Priestess gets stabbed with an envenomed blade after coitus, with her dying breath curses the man and vows that her death will be avenged. Calistria might think it's a perfect time for some payback and to remind her followers that her temples (at least in areas with a heavy human population) are not just for profit brothels with a workers union. Sends druid after said scumbag and to bring him back ALIVE, and to offer this scumbag to Menotherian, and let the herald of the Savored Sting dole out the punishment.

Or just have the druid kill said scumbag, either one works.

Liberty's Edge

Yep. Vengeance is definitely the route to go. Details could be anything from stealing some humiliating letters and using them to blackmail or ruin a guy, to a complex con game designed to steal all a guy's money, to straight up murder.

Being very smart, it's unlikely she'll pick a target the PC is likely to sympathize with at all. Considering the PC's power, she's very unlikely to waste the favor on taking down a trivial foe. It'll be someone meaningfuly powerful.


I'm going to keep this as civil as possible given basic decorum, but this is where I would go with it....

The player and PC are both female and this is rare. So I'm inclined to use this IF the group is comfortable with that. My basic plan as a GM would be that Calistria comes and says "u must lay with X for Y reason". Calistria is the goddess of lust and revenge so if I'm role playing the deity I would bring these two together as I mentioned. The x and y are urs to decide but I would lay out the situation to where it is truly undesirable, if not outright revolting, to the player.

At the same time, allow for her and the group to not do the favor. Do not strike her dead immediately for this betrayal but instead, as Calistria, take vengeance through her living in pain and suffering of some kind. If the PC has family let many of them suffer and/or die so that the PC suffers. Keep stacking the pain and then finally set up a scenario where the REST of the group is in perilous danger but the deal maker is not (preferably watching the suffering). This presents a chance for roleplay where she must convince Calistria to ease up, the other heroes must step up and be true heroes, or maybe ultimately sacrafice herself, etc.

U could conceivably build subplots throughout dozens of adventures with this and it be enjoyable. U will likely have to dedicate one session to the climax though. Consequences would be the main theme here.

Oh and final note: if, for example, the seduce and slay x plot were used then bring around a consequence such as pregnancy just so that she regrets asking for favors. Make a lasting pain occur whatever the device used.

Liberty's Edge

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@Renegadeshepherd:

I completely disagree with everything you just said in the strongest possible terms.

Firstly...why is the fact that the PC is female relevant in terms of asking them to go seduce someone? Men can do that too, you know.

Secondly, coercing a PC into having sex is perilously close to raping their character which is never something you should do casually or without discussing it with the player first. So...just a bad idea, there.

Thirdly, that leaves the other PCs entirely out of the adventure at a critical time (unless there's an orgy or something), which is bad adventure design.

Fourthly, why in the name of all that's Good and Holy would Calistria even ask that? First, she's not a big fan of rape, which runs back into my second reason above...but more importantly, from a purely practical perspective, she's got an entire priesthood of people who are likely going to better suited to that task than the PC, why wouldn't she use the best weapon in her arsenal for something requiring seduction? It makes no sense, and damages the verisimilitude of the whole situation.

Besides...why in the world would Calistria care how her revenge was achieved precisely? I mean a mission like 'kill this guy' makes sense, a mission of 'sleep with this guy, then kill them' doesn't at all, since the sleeping with them doesn't serve any of Calistria's goals (especially since the person doing the seducing isn't actually experiencing lust...her actual area). Calistria is also known for not making her worshipers into victims, which forcing them to have sex certainly entails.


...Keeping this to a more mature and family-friendly topic, she could simply have the group go after a high-powered Succubus who was once a servant of Calistria but was either coerced or taken prisoner by one of the rival Evil deities and turned into the vile being that she is now as a gesture towards what Mr. BBEG thinks of Calistria's monarchy.

From there you could either have them kill the super-powerful succubus outright (if she was coerced into betraying Calistria, whom would then be damned to grovel as Calistria's feet), or take her back to base alive and perform an extensive ritual to cleanse the demon out, which can expand as a part 2 to what would otherwise be a very simple "Go kill X" quest, which is too boring and straightfoward to say the least.


6 people marked this as a favorite.
Renegadeshepherd wrote:

I'm going to keep this as civil as possible given basic decorum, but this is where I would go with it....

The player and PC are both female and this is rare. So I'm inclined to use this IF the group is comfortable with that. My basic plan as a GM would be that Calistria comes and says "u must lay with X for Y reason". Calistria is the goddess of lust and revenge so if I'm role playing the deity I would bring these two together as I mentioned. The x and y are urs to decide but I would lay out the situation to where it is truly undesirable, if not outright revolting, to the player.

At the same time, allow for her and the group to not do the favor. Do not strike her dead immediately for this betrayal but instead, as Calistria, take vengeance through her living in pain and suffering of some kind. If the PC has family let many of them suffer and/or die so that the PC suffers. Keep stacking the pain and then finally set up a scenario where the REST of the group is in perilous danger but the deal maker is not (preferably watching the suffering). This presents a chance for roleplay where she must convince Calistria to ease up, the other heroes must step up and be true heroes, or maybe ultimately sacrafice herself, etc.

U could conceivably build subplots throughout dozens of adventures with this and it be enjoyable. U will likely have to dedicate one session to the climax though. Consequences would be the main theme here.

Oh and final note: if, for example, the seduce and slay x plot were used then bring around a consequence such as pregnancy just so that she regrets asking for favors. Make a lasting pain occur whatever the device used.

Don't make her gender a plot point. Just... don't do it. If she wants to take her story that route that's fine, but I can tell from experience that making your female player's status as a sex object play a pivotal role in your story is a fantastic way to make her feel alienated and want to leave.

I'd go the "completely and utterly destroy a patron who disrespected one of her priests" route. Make him someone high profile. Just killing the fellow wouldn't be enough; to complete the quest to satisfaction you would need to dismantle his reputation and social status so perfectly that he wishes you had just murdered him in his sleep.


If the pc is a druid, give them bonus points if they can figure out a way to 'off' the proposed offender with wasps.


Vert, that. Is. Brilliant! BTW I have been working on a concept for a male elf whose daughter was sacrificed to a Red Dragon against his will, wife refuses to have anything to do with him/or his obssession with vengeance estranged her. At the moment of his daughters death , he felt her leave and rent the air with a primal scream and supplication to Calistria for guidance and strength. Her spark enters his soul imbuing him with mythic power and he begins training to be an adventurer. His wife's coldness eventually became unbearable and he lay with others to sate his lust.


Arachnofiend wrote:
Don't make her gender a plot point. Just... don't do it. If she wants to take her story that route that's fine, but I can tell from experience that making your female player's status as a sex object play a pivotal role in your story is a fantastic way to make her feel alienated and want to leave.

Sound advice, and I will take it. The player has made herself a few ah, conquests, but I've done my level best to avoid anything rape-ish, because it's just too sensitive to

I'm thinking a vengeance quest sounds good. Succubi -- no, not this time. They can be good fun, but I've already got a succubus sub-plot going in another campaign, and I'd rather do something else.

Love the wasps idea. ^_^


Just clarify to all... I would NEVER advocate "rape" in a public forum in a game for fun. If I somehow put this image in ur head then I would like to say that I'm sorry my grammar was that horrid. I tried, and failed, to communicate that an option of refusing the act of X should be available. In this way I do not consider this rape-ish or anything else as.... Dark noir since there was a choice.

As for bringing gender into an idea, I hear what u the posters have posted and I respect their view or their preferences. I would only say that I bring gender into every campaign for both genders. Both genders are different and how they are viewed or treated in fantasy or historical genres is in my opinion a relevant thing to bring into a game. I do however agree that such things should be agreed upon between players and GMs as such things are not wanted by all.

Finally, in context of dealing with Calistria... Ur talking about a deity whose clergy are prostitutes and occasional murderers. The very nature of dealing with this deity is going to be very offensive to many. Rather than conventional "go stop rival clergy of deity X" quests I just offered an option that played to the portfolio of said deity. At the time I did not know y Calistia was the deity the favor was owed or the morality of PC.

Sry to offend.

Liberty's Edge

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
Just clarify to all... I would NEVER advocate "rape" in a public forum in a game for fun. If I somehow put this image in ur head then I would like to say that I'm sorry my grammar was that horrid. I tried, and failed, to communicate that an option of refusing the act of X should be available. In this way I do not consider this rape-ish or anything else as.... Dark noir since there was a choice.

"Have sex with this person or the Goddess of Revenge will be angry with you." is pretty much a worse threat than "Have sex with this person or I'll kill you." And that second one is clearly rape. So...I'd call that rape, yeah.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
As for bringing gender into an idea, I hear what u the posters have posted and I respect their view or their preferences. I would only say that I bring gender into every campaign for both genders. Both genders are different and how they are viewed or treated in fantasy or historical genres is in my opinion a relevant thing to bring into a game.

Actually...no, they aren't. Not in Golarion, anyway. Complete gender equality is the norm in most places there, and is certainly standard among worshipers of Calistria.

In a historical setting, such an attitude might make in-game sense, but not so much in Golarion. And anyway, I think people are complaining about your OOC attitude of "Oh, she's a woman...that means we can have her seduce someone!" which is...pretty problematic when you examine it.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
I do however agree that such things should be agreed upon between players and GMs as such things are not wanted by all.

This is a very good thing.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
Finally, in context of dealing with Calistria... Ur talking about a deity whose clergy are prostitutes and occasional murderers.

Not all of them. Both are common professions for her priests and priestesses, but she doesn't force them into anything. Which makes a big difference.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
The very nature of dealing with this deity is going to be very offensive to many.

Quite possibly...but what you suggested was potentially offensive or even traumatizing to, y'know, women, as well as quite a few men.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
Rather than conventional "go stop rival clergy of deity X" quests I just offered an option that played to the portfolio of said deity. At the time I did not know y Calistia was the deity the favor was owed or the morality of PC.

Calistria is the Goddess of lust, not sex per se. Being forced or pressured into a sexual liaison is actually not part of her tenets at all.

Renegadeshepherd wrote:
Sry to offend.

An apology is great...but you definitely still need to think about what you suggested and exactly why it offended people.


Important to note is that Calistria's prostitutes aren't slaves. They're, well, customer service, and have every right to refuse service to a disrespectful or disruptive customer. If you cause harm to your waitress at a restaurant you can be damned sure you're not going to be allowed back. Calistria takes it a step further of course, what with revenge being her thing and all.


Have you read Calistria's entry in Gods of the Inner Sea? That may give you some ideas. What is the mythic type of the druid?


A quest to supply a Temple with one or more Girdles of Opposite Gender.


Haven't got my copy of Gods of the Inner Sea yet, but I'm certainly going to be reading that entry.

The druid is a dual-path Guardian/Hierophant.

@Vod Canockers -- that is a really clever suggestion. I may very well do just that!


Can we not have a rape argument muddle this thread? Its interruptig the great ideas I'm definitely adapting to future games, heh.


Suits me fine.

I think I'm going to do the Girdle of Opposite Gender quest. There are three of them, currently in the possession of a devotee of Arshea, who stole them from a temple of Calistria.

The Calistrians were making regular use of these. Sometimes for purely prurient interests, of course, but occasionally they were used in acts of vengeance: forcing people to assume bodies they didn't want in retribution for assorted offenses. The Arshean sees this as a grave crime, and an abuse of the belts' power.

He believes instead that these belts are a blessing from Arshea, intended as a tool of self-discovery. They allow people to find the gender role they're most comfortable with and, once they've settled on one, assume a form to match. To use them instead to force people into roles they don't want is an abomination, no matter what the afflicted might have done. He therefore sees his theft as fully justified.

Calistria (and her followers) naturally disagree, and the goddess is going to task our heroine with retrieving the belts and punishing the Arshean. Bonus points for inventive use of wasps.

I really like this. It has ethical dilemmas built in. On paper, the PC is Neutral Good. In practice, based on her behavior, her alignment is more I'm Batman. So, high potential for drama here.


Tinalles wrote:

Suits me fine.

I think I'm going to do the Girdle of Opposite Gender quest. There are three of them, currently in the possession of a devotee of Arshea, who stole them from a temple of Calistria.

The Calistrians were making regular use of these. Sometimes for purely prurient interests, of course, but occasionally they were used in acts of vengeance: forcing people to assume bodies they didn't want in retribution for assorted offenses. The Arshean sees this as a grave crime, and an abuse of the belts' power.

He believes instead that these belts are a blessing from Arshea, intended as a tool of self-discovery. They allow people to find the gender role they're most comfortable with and, once they've settled on one, assume a form to match. To use them instead to force people into roles they don't want is an abomination, no matter what the afflicted might have done. He therefore sees his theft as fully justified.

Calistria (and her followers) naturally disagree, and the goddess is going to task our heroine with retrieving the belts and punishing the Arshean. Bonus points for inventive use of wasps.

I really like this. It has ethical dilemmas built in. On paper, the PC is Neutral Good. In practice, based on her behavior, her alignment is more I'm Batman. So, high potential for drama here.

I like it. Looks interesting and fun.


Renegadeshepherd wrote:

Just clarify to all... I would NEVER advocate "rape" in a public forum in a game for fun. If I somehow put this image in ur head then I would like to say that I'm sorry my grammar was that horrid. I tried, and failed, to communicate that an option of refusing the act of X should be available. In this way I do not consider this rape-ish or anything else as.... Dark noir since there was a choice.

As for bringing gender into an idea, I hear what u the posters have posted and I respect their view or their preferences. I would only say that I bring gender into every campaign for both genders. Both genders are different and how they are viewed or treated in fantasy or historical genres is in my opinion a relevant thing to bring into a game. I do however agree that such things should be agreed upon between players and GMs as such things are not wanted by all.

Finally, in context of dealing with Calistria... Ur talking about a deity whose clergy are prostitutes and occasional murderers. The very nature of dealing with this deity is going to be very offensive to many. Rather than conventional "go stop rival clergy of deity X" quests I just offered an option that played to the portfolio of said deity. At the time I did not know y Calistia was the deity the favor was owed or the morality of PC.

Sry to offend.

This character has MYTHIC tiers. They are Eons ahead of having to sleep with someone because they happen to have boobs. There's nothing Mythic about that.

Also, how can you be so oblivious to how awful your grammar is? THis was a pain to read, literally, my eyes hurt.


Tinalles wrote:

Suits me fine.

I think I'm going to do the Girdle of Opposite Gender quest. There are three of them, currently in the possession of a devotee of Arshea, who stole them from a temple of Calistria.

The Calistrians were making regular use of these. Sometimes for purely prurient interests, of course, but occasionally they were used in acts of vengeance: forcing people to assume bodies they didn't want in retribution for assorted offenses. The Arshean sees this as a grave crime, and an abuse of the belts' power.

He believes instead that these belts are a blessing from Arshea, intended as a tool of self-discovery. They allow people to find the gender role they're most comfortable with and, once they've settled on one, assume a form to match. To use them instead to force people into roles they don't want is an abomination, no matter what the afflicted might have done. He therefore sees his theft as fully justified.

Calistria (and her followers) naturally disagree, and the goddess is going to task our heroine with retrieving the belts and punishing the Arshean. Bonus points for inventive use of wasps.

I really like this. It has ethical dilemmas built in. On paper, the PC is Neutral Good. In practice, based on her behavior, her alignment is more I'm Batman. So, high potential for drama here.

I'd keep the potential of rejecting Calistria's request open if you're going to do this. This would naturally put Calistria and her followers in Primary Antagonist territory but rewards from Arshea could help balance out how bad it is to get on the Goddess of Vengeance's bad side.

Maybe the player plays the quest straight and none of that is necessary but I'd personally be empathizing with the Arshean and want to find a way to help him/her.


Yes, clearly the player has to have the ability to reject the quest. And in the ordinary course of things, Calistria would be supremely pissed and put the PC squarely on the revenge list.

However, the PC's actions in the course of this campaign have pleased Calistria mightily. Mostly on the vengeance side of things. So this once, she may let a rejection slide, and simply keep the favor for now. She can call it in another time.

Just once, though. Nobody turns Calistria down twice running.


Tinalles wrote:

Yes, clearly the player has to have the ability to reject the quest. And in the ordinary course of things, Calistria would be supremely pissed and put the PC squarely on the revenge list.

However, the PC's actions in the course of this campaign have pleased Calistria mightily. Mostly on the vengeance side of things. So this once, she may let a rejection slide, and simply keep the favor for now. She can call it in another time.

Just once, though. Nobody turns Calistria down twice running.

I'm confused. If someone has pleased a deity so much as to be able to reject without immediate consequences, then why is a favor due at all? Wouldn't a deity say "uve done well" and call it even.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I will freely admit that I haven't done much more than skim this thread so far, but it seems as though only two of Calistria's purview's have been addressed here, Lust & Revenge. Bear in mind that Calstria is also the Goddess of Trickery...

Are you going to tell me she couldn't make use of a Mythic druid for some serious pnkage?


The favor was incurred for a specific piece of information that Calistria had that the player wanted. Namely, [homebrew]the hiding place of Cocidius, fallen herald of Curchanus, who helped engineer[/homebrew] Curchanus' fall at the hands of Lamashtu ages ago.

That particular piece of information was too valuable to hand out just because she liked the PC.

And the trickery suggestion is interesting, too. Any concrete suggestions? I have no time frame for this quest -- there's plenty of regular material in the campaign, so I can tinker with Calistria's favor for some time.

And of course it's always interesting to have a bank of hooks for deific favors.

Liberty's Edge

Well, the idea implied previously of methodically ruing someone's reputation, finances, and every other aspect of his life before killing him suits both vengeance and trickery...

That'd be my inclination, anyway. On someone fairly despicable, because (as mentioned) Calistria is smart, and wouldn't ask someone she knows to be Good aligned to do all that to a relatively benign person. Never give an order you know will be disobeyed, after all. It erodes your authority.


Arachnofiend wrote:
Tinalles wrote:

Suits me fine.

I think I'm going to do the Girdle of Opposite Gender quest. There are three of them, currently in the possession of a devotee of Arshea, who stole them from a temple of Calistria.

The Calistrians were making regular use of these. Sometimes for purely prurient interests, of course, but occasionally they were used in acts of vengeance: forcing people to assume bodies they didn't want in retribution for assorted offenses. The Arshean sees this as a grave crime, and an abuse of the belts' power.

He believes instead that these belts are a blessing from Arshea, intended as a tool of self-discovery. They allow people to find the gender role they're most comfortable with and, once they've settled on one, assume a form to match. To use them instead to force people into roles they don't want is an abomination, no matter what the afflicted might have done. He therefore sees his theft as fully justified.

Calistria (and her followers) naturally disagree, and the goddess is going to task our heroine with retrieving the belts and punishing the Arshean. Bonus points for inventive use of wasps.

I really like this. It has ethical dilemmas built in. On paper, the PC is Neutral Good. In practice, based on her behavior, her alignment is more I'm Batman. So, high potential for drama here.

I'd keep the potential of rejecting Calistria's request open if you're going to do this. This would naturally put Calistria and her followers in Primary Antagonist territory but rewards from Arshea could help balance out how bad it is to get on the Goddess of Vengeance's bad side.

Maybe the player plays the quest straight and none of that is necessary but I'd personally be empathizing with the Arshean and want to find a way to help him/her.

I like the dilemmas built into this scenario; it’s that sort of thing that makes questions of revenge interesting. I wonder if there could be a possibility for some form of compromise. For example, if the PC finds a goody-goody temple run by CG Calistrians, she might be able to return the girdles and convince the clergy there not to use them for vengeance.

On the other hand, maybe there are other factors muddying the waters. Maybe the Calistrian clergy can call on the support of another, less forgiving Arshean, who thinks that the girdles might be useful in correcting the persecutors of the faithful by making them feel what some Arsheans experience. There’s a certain tidiness to that that might highlight the horrific, inhuman moral calculus of vengeance.

Similarly, what are the “assorted offences” that the girdles were used to punish? Apart from certain thematic possibilities, their use seems a bit too open-ended. It’s a terribly effective way to ruin a person’s life, granted, but why would one choose that particular way or stop there? I can only imagine, personally, that the more general use of the girdles would be a vicious refinement on the process of taking apart a victim’s life completely, step by step, turning the dial of Greek tragedy up a notch. Destroy their social status, their family network, their material possessions, and then their body – not in crude way, at first, but by turning it against their sense of self. Bonus points if madness can later be induced (“Those whom the gods would destroy, etc.”) and, as you say, “for inventive use of wasps,” until death is almost an afterthought and a mercy. What could possibly deserve such a punishment?

Like Deadmanwalking said, Calistria is too clever to give a Good-aligned agent a task they would find morally objectionable, so that might be another way of approaching what the girdles were used for. On the trickery angle, depending on the PC’s evaluation of the situation, maybe she could make a point, if she decides to return the girdles, to quietly modify them so that they require activation, so that they can’t just be forced on someone. There are still issues with combining them with enchantment magic, but it’s the sort of discreet touch to the handling of the whole business that I think Calistria would appreciate, even if she thinks the PC is a bit soft on the vengeance side of things.


Watch 'Dangerous Liaisons'.


Your PC owes a favor to the goddess of lust and revenge and your looking for ideas on what the called in favor could be eh? I'd go with being tasked by the savored sting with hunting down and slaying a sadistic bandit lord and his men (who went too far when pillaging a town and ended up defiling the local temple of Calistria, butchered the priests, and burnt the the temple to the ground along with the rest of the town). Now Calistria wants every single one of these bandits dead and it's up to your PC and her friends to deliver divine retribution!

Also, Arachnofiend and Deadmanwalking? My girlfriend saw your posts and she wanted to personally thank you for typing what you both did. Alot of GM's let their players get away with some terrible deeds when they let them play the bad guys but when concepts of rape and gender discrimination cross the boundary of fantasy and into the players and DM's interaction with each other then things have gone WAY out of hand and the situation needs to be reevaluated BIG TIME.

Liberty's Edge

Berselius wrote:
Also, Arachnofiend and Deadmanwalking? My girlfriend saw your posts and she wanted to personally thank you for typing what you both did. Alot of GM's let their players get away with some terrible deeds when they let them play the bad guys but when concepts of rape and gender discrimination cross the boundary of fantasy and into the players and DM's interaction with each other then things have gone WAY out of hand and the situation needs to be reevaluated BIG TIME.

Wow. That's really cool, and I don't quite know what to say, other than a 'You're welcome.' I guess.

And obviously, I agree entirely with the sentiment expressed. Doing that kind of thing is just not okay.


do something seemingly simple that ends up being complex. Say perhaps that they are charged with finding fluffy, the lost cat of a favoured priestess. After some investigating, they learn the cat wandered off into the troll infested forests of no return (or whatever you have lying around). No one bothered to tell the players the cat is not quite a cat, and brings very bad luck to any and all who care for it other than ordained clergy dedicated to the goddess and can only be seen by those who are in favour of calistira (or some other way a cat can get into a troll den without being eaten). Somewhere in the forest the cat has wandered into a troll den(or some other monster complex), and to return the cat the players must take out the trolls who, by the way, ransacked a farmer who happens to be a follower of the goddess and has been praying for vengeance. So really this is a round about unexpected way for characters to further the vengeance aspect of the goddess.

For added fun, nix the invisible to all but those in the goddesses favour, and have the troll leader befriend the cat (charmed perhaps?) This would allow the pcs to take on much nastier monsters than usual since they will all in some way be taking care of the leaders cat, which should cause sufficient bad luck to give them a disadvantage. The cat by the way is much more than a cat. Id give fluffy a character class, and make it celestial cat form, but still with a very cat personality. For added fun, they find the cat, but it refuses to leave until they retrieve his favourite toy located elsewhere in the complex.

Then of course players have to return home. This could be a real hassle given the bad luck from the cat will be hindering them. They may have figured out something was up if the trolls were suffering from it, but if not, have the priestess mention it when the return the cat.

I wouldnt do this kind of thing often in a campaign, but if you do it right players will remember little fluffy for many years, and any time the thought of owing a god a favour comes up you there will be a nervous laugh with a great deal of thought and discussion, and players wil not enter into such deal lightly.


After reading up on Calistria, I like my idea even more. "Likes a good joke"and trickery as well as charm seem to blend in well. Also the trolls could easily be replaced with evil cult, bandits whatever.


Unless Callistria is feeling particularly evil that day, I'd expect the PC to get a somewhat open-ended errand. After all, at her level chances are she is a famous adventuress and this gives the cult a rare opportunity to use her unique talents.

For example, she might get a task to "make someone pay", the reasons why Callistria wills it, maybe the degree to which she should go. The priest/ess can add that "Callistria favors creativity" and that the goddess would be pleased if the task were done "fittingly" - then leave the player to figure out the particulars herself. If you go for an iconic Calistrian thing, there is a huge potential to make the player quite uncomfortable. So don't force her to do a certain thing - nudge her a bit and see what she does of her own free will. Put some pressure to take it seriously, and leave her to it.

The fluffy idea is fun, too, though I'd prefer a more cloak and dagger (and wasps) scenario. My biggest concern is that this might mean the other PCs have to play second fiddle in someone else's personal quest, and it might feel like her PC is hijacking the campaign.


Yeah, it sucks when PCs feel like one person is driving the story lines. I had a guy whine about that once, despite the fact that a great deal of time was spent developing his budding religion and chain of orphanages.


Deadmanwalking wrote:

@Renegadeshepherd:

I completely disagree with everything you just said in the strongest possible terms.

Firstly...why is the fact that the PC is female relevant in terms of asking them to go seduce someone? Men can do that too, you know.

I'm more curious as to why the fact that the player is female makes a difference.

EDIT: I really like the Girdle idea. Good luck with that!


Since this is a solo campaign, there are no other PCs. So there's no one to upstage.

The cat quest made me laugh. ^_^

The objection that Calistria is too canny to send a good-aligned PC on a morally objectionable quest is a fair point. I've had a couple other ideas.

- A particularly ill-favored young man has prayed to Calistria for aid in wooing a local merchant's daughter, who is unimpressed with him mostly because he's not rich. The PC gets to play matchmaker, a la romantic comedies. Bonus points if it's a good-hearted half-orc swain wooing a beatnik dwarf lady, with unhappy parents on both sides. Crazy hijinks ensue.

- Calistria is in a mischievous mood, and sends the PC to visit a town containing churches of both Erastil and Abadar. Her assignment is to swap the altars from the two churches without anyone discovering her.


The former seems more like a Shelyn quest to me, honestly.

I was thinking the PC could get an open-ended task like "embarrass the priest of Asmodeus". Asmodeus would probably be one of Calistria's least favorite gods (not that I've looked it up). He's lawful and misogynistic.

Point being, though, a quest to humiliate a rival of Calistria could have numerous solutions. Trick him into an otyugh den, where he's forced to spend the next few hours keeping the otyughs entertained? Swap his "high priest hat" for something inappropriate? Give him that Girdle of Opposite Gender?


Tinalles wrote:


- A particularly ill-favored young man has prayed to Calistria for aid in wooing a local merchant's daughter, who is unimpressed with him mostly because he's not rich. The PC gets to play matchmaker, a la romantic comedies. Bonus points if it's a good-hearted half-orc swain wooing a beatnik dwarf lady, with unhappy parents on both sides. Crazy hijinks ensue.

- Calistria is in a mischievous mood, and sends the PC to visit a town containing churches of both Erastil and Abadar. Her assignment is to swap the altars from the two churches without anyone discovering her.

Either of those sounds fun. the matchmaker quest would be unusual as it seems to be a lot of role playing with some possible subterfuge and perhaps if it went kind of sideways some combat (like the setting fro their tryst has a lurking monster nearby or something.

The alter swap is also a really cool idea for subterfuge, and maybe even some long term emnity if anyone ver found out who did it.

Cool all around.

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