Creating a memory for one of my players who passed away...


Curse of the Crimson Throne

Liberty's Edge

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So, we get older, and things sometimes don‘t develop like we had wished for. Sometimes, out of a sudden you take a hit, which you hadn‘t seen coming, and which has been so unsuspected...

A very dear friend has passed away. He has been one of my groups players for over 20 years. I still can‘t think this is real, but well... There will be a hole which can never be fully filled again!

Now, we just started CotCT this year and are still in Part 1 of Chapter 1 - presently wading through the Bonehalls, I gm.
His pc is named Kilian deBrak, and he is a member of one of the Korvosan pier families.
Now, I thought about creating a lasting memory, to make his pc something special, which will always keep him in my/our groups very own Golarion as a memorable npc.

I try to come up with something special, but I would also like to hear different ideas.
So, do you have any idea how a sorcerer member of a pier family of Korvosa could become a very special npc, maybe influential, maybe widely known for something? I am just collecting ideas presently...

Hopefully I can find something which makes his pc unforgettable for „our“ Golarion Campaign Setting.

Thank you!

Grand Lodge

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Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I don't have any ideas for you right now, but I wanted to give you my condolences, Dryder.

May your friend rest in peace.

-Skeld

Liberty's Edge

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Thank you Skeld!


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I'm also very sorry for your loss. My sympathy goes out to your group and your friend's family.

It will be hard to honor your friend and player by keeping his character around, I fear. I'd consider an option in which he can be present in the campaign, without you needing his character to be present. Here is how I might handle such a delicate issue.

Maybe the sorcerer sacrifices himself heroically in the upcoming boss fight to save the party from certain doom. Since he is a sorcerer, he doesn't die, but instead burns away in a colorful rainbow of magic. Upon touching the other PCs, the magic leaves a mark in their skin, which allows them to reroll one d20 per day for the rest of the campaign. Give the ability a name that honors your friend, like comrade's cover or something.

This way your friend can continue to guard over his companions for the rest of the campaign. He can continue to bring positive notes to future sessions and even in-game he will be remembered fondly.


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I am so sorry for your loss.

It's hard to ever understand or think about such things, but we will continue to live and honor the memories of those we've lost.

MrVergee wrote:

I'm also very sorry for your loss. My sympathy goes out to your group and your friend's family.

It will be hard to honor your friend and player by keeping his character around, I fear. I'd consider an option in which he can be present in the campaign, without you needing his character to be present. Here is how I might handle such a delicate issue.

Maybe the sorcerer sacrifices himself heroically in the upcoming boss fight to save the party from certain doom. Since he is a sorcerer, he doesn't die, but instead burns away in a colorful rainbow of magic. Upon touching the other PCs, the magic leaves a mark in their skin, which allows them to reroll one d20 per day for the rest of the campaign. Give the ability a name that honors your friend, like comrade's cover or something.

This way your friend can continue to guard over his companions for the rest of the campaign. He can continue to bring positive notes to future sessions and even in-game he will be remembered fondly.

This is actually a super-great idea.

To expand on it, it's quite possible that his family's mark or crest is what appear on your PCs; this could get them honored among the dock workers. This could give them great low-tier allies and sources of information when an old, respected sorcerer recognizes the mark and spreads the rumor of how it got there.

Going bigger, and other ideas:
One option is actually having Rolth show up with new mythic (and/or aberrant/aquatic powers) in-tow would also be an option for spicing up the combat. With this in-mind, you could make it so his mythic (and/or aberrant) weakness requires a particular arcane rite only able to be understood by certain kinds of arcanists... arcanists like your PC. That rite requires a self-sacrifice to negate the <McGuffin/powerful artifact (or whatever)> and, in so-doing, permits the destruction of <baddie> (or maybe even ends the fight outright).

Or, if not Rolth, you could have Vreeg's random, lazy experiments have stumbled across something truly bad - like a demon-lord who "inspired" the creature into something dastardly by way of Gaekhen, or something. It's possible that he ran into an aboleth, or even a veiled master or kraken - all of which can make for a deep and important tie to the docks district -; or taniniver, piscodaemon, nuckelavee, khala, or immortal ichor. Whatever it is, it is too powerful to be taken care of, but has some sort of arcane and specific weakness, and needs that rite I mentioned above.

Destroying it provides a vivid vision to <many> (choose a %, or all, or "some" that "have a connection" or whatever) within, say, 2.5k feet (a little less than half a mile; feel free to increase this), leading to a kind of general honoring among many who are "nearby").

It may be that such an act is what generates mythic power among his friends, or maybe hero points, or maybe, whatever his bloodline was, is spread among the remaining survivors, allowing them to use his power, no matter what. Spells too, maybe; maybe requiring them to work together to use it, like a hag coven, or something.

Grand Lodge

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Sorry for your loss...

I wish I had and idea to help, but I think MrV and Tact have some great ones.

I wish you luck in making your friend's character memorable.


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sorry for you loss and the loss that his own family must endure.

it is never easy to lose a relative or a friend.

RIP

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