I am currently GMing an evil group in Geb (Land of the Undead).
One of the characters is a female bard worshiping Nocticula (Demon Lord, Succubus).
Recently she has begun to see visions of Nocticula in her dreams telling her something. She can't remember exactly in the morning though.
The situation I need help with:
My plan is, that it is not Nocticula that contacts her, but Rovagug (she unknowingly has acquired an artifact of his) and he wants her to do his evil bidding under the guise of Nocticula.
Of course I want my player(s) to notice something is up. So when Rovagug (as Nocticula) finally talks to her more clearly I'd like him to make some mistakes the player can recognize.
However, I am not that familiar with either Nocticula or Rovagug.
Can you give me some ideas for mistakes Rovagug could obviously make when portraying a Demon Lord? Since his usual forte is destruction, I'd say he might slip up a few times.
I'm not sure Rovagug is the best option here. He'd be one of the gods least likely to work through a cat's paw.
From Inner Sea Gods: The Rough Beast is indifferent to the petty things mortals do in his honor, or whether they speak his name with adoration or loathing. He requires no special rituals and demands no heartfelt devotion as a channel for his divine energy—he wishes only to be set free, and to know that he is not forgotten.
Are you wedded to it being Rovagug? - would another more suitable god (such as Norgober) fit?
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What about just reading the article about Rovagug in Inner Sea Gods? Those are well-written and not too long or short, and fairly player-safe too.
Tell your players that it's okay to read the Big 20 articles and that if they have a few ranks in Knowledge (Religion), it's fine to use that knowledge in character.
Then, use some material that's eerily similar to the Rovagug entry.
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That said, this does sound unusually subtle for Rovagug.
@Mark Sweetman
If Norgorber would impersonate someone, it would be pretty much impossible to find his bluff out. Since he is a master of stealth and trickery he wouldn't slip up.
Rovagug is trying to be stealthy here because he knows it will be the quickest way to his goal, which is to create a Spawn of Rovagug to release upon the world.
Also the part you quoted said nothing about him being stealthy or not. Only how he feels towards worshiping.
@Ascalaphus
I don't have any Adventure Path books or other reading material apart from the rule books.
Is the article available on the web?
*shrugs* You clearly have a significantly different interpretation of Rovagug to me.
If you actually read his entry in Inner Sea Gods or any other literature you'll find he's never mentioned to be 'stealthy' or 'tricksy' in any way at all. He is the metaphorical definition of wanton destruction and annihilation. Very now, very short term - very little long play there.
But I'm not calling badwrongfun here - just that you're running a different Rovagug than others would.
There's many subtle ways that Norgober could be used to subtly influence proceedings - but again you're defining him as above fault - so... guess no room for interpretation there.
As a non-god specific suggestion, have them discover that they're being used mid-venture - then it's on them as to how they subvert that for their own purposes.
Rovagug is about as subtle as a brick thrown through a window. It took the combined might of all the gods, good and evil combined to contain him. He is depicted as being an alien being whose only interest is in destruction. There are two theories of his origin, one is that he is one of the Outer Gods, the other is that he is the strongest of the Qlippoth. He is supposed to be an evil older than the earth itself and may not even fully understand humanoid thought.
The mistakes he would make are numerous and would probably be fairly obvious. From the sounds of things he may not even be consciously creating his spawn. They seem to be creatures that are created by his mere presence, not through any premeditated act. All of his spawn are obviously non-human and are only interested in destruction; they are also a reflection of the god himself.
A bard is probably going to be able to spot the plot with almost embarrassing ease. Bardic lore means the bard will get a roll to spot any inconsistencies. Multiple knowledge’s may come into effect, and the bard will get a roll on all of them.
I would suggest that you change the deity to some other deity who is trying to free a spawn for reasons of his or her own. Norgorber was suggested for this role and I agree he would be the ideal candidate. You could even make things even more complicated by having him pose as Rovagug to throw off the trail. This also gives you the classic plot within a plot.
Okay. How about this proposal then?
The artifact is intelligent (an intelligent being that worships Rovagug is trapped inside). So the cleverness and subtlety would come from there and not Rovagug himself.
I just would like a few ideas where a potential imposter could slip up, that is not totally obvious (Nocticula portrayed as Nun) or totally obscure.
I have found a little material on her on the web, but I nothing that particularly caught my eye.
I am looking for something that when overlooked will make the players slap their forehead cause it was so obvious once they find out, yet makes them feel like geniuses when finding out before the reveal.
And finding stuff like that is not my strength. Either I pick something too obvious or too obscure.
Rovagug's a perfectly intelligent being. It's not that Rovagug is incapable of subtlety; it's that it doesn't like being subtle.
As demonstrated by Gormuz, Rovagug's able to take a subtle approach when dealing with Sarenrae - and I'd assume is capable of it when dealing with Asmodeus.
Though it yearns for the day when it can abandon all of the cloak-and-dagger garbage and go back to just eating divine faces.
Hilariously, Rovagug's cultist probably aren't "in the know" as to any of their god's real schemes and are usually acting on their own initiative - Rovagug views his worshipers as expendable lunatics, and wouldn't explain a damn thing to them.
My suggestion for the "things wrong with the vision" would be -
1) A conspicuous lack of sexiness. You'd expect a vision from the queen of succubi to involve at least something along those lines, but that should just be utterly missing. Rovagug gives no damns about mortalish copulation. If the vision DOES try to be more like one would expect from Nocticula, the vision may actually stray into a near-parody instead.
Remember, Rovagug hates and disrespects everyone.
2) Hang-ups on things that Nocticula herself probably wouldn't care about. Like a really specific focus on doing terrible things to Asmodean clergy. (To my knowledge, Nocticula and Asmodeus have no special grudges against each other.) No need to bring up Sarenrae; you're in Geb, so Sarenrae's an outlawed/repressed religion already.
@Zhangar
I like the lack of sexiness idea. Also saves me the trouble of going into erotic details in a mostly male group <.<
(Yes. The female bard, obsessed with lust and sex, is played by a guy.)
@Mechagamera
Also a good idea, but I am not sure how I can implement that yet. But I'll see what develops in the game.
Thank you.