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I have been reading the "Realms of the Dragons II" anthology and one of the stories in there has an old gold dragon as a self-proclaimed protector of a gnome village.
This got me thinking that it might be kind of fun to have an invisible protector of the PC party of the group that I am running. To some degree, kind of a Dungeon Master from the 80's cartoon.
I am looking for ideas on how this might work. I don't want a creature that is so powerful that the players ask "well, if he is around then what does the world need with us?". I am looking for some creature that might be powerful enough to assist them in a jam (most often in the background) without ever stealing the spotlight. I also don't want this creature to be discovered until after 10th level but maybe still provide some clues to let the group know that something is watching them.
Anyway, just something that I was thinking about and was wondering what ideas/suggestions you might have.
Thanks for the help.
Bill
Maybe they've been adopted by an invisible stalker?
-TG
Gray Renders are prone to adopting people... but not much for subtlety. A Ghost/Sacred Watcher could probably do the trick, as could a druid of high enough level to Wild Shape, a Willowisp, Pixie, or any one of several outsiders. A succubus who's well disposed toward the party, for example, might hang out ethereally and convince certain key NPCs to be more helpful toward the PCs than they otherwise would be -- or bestow negative levels on certain other ones that are likely to be hostile. An Imp could disguise itself as a Raven (or a Quasit as a Wolf) and watch the party with orders from a superior to step in if things get ugly. Similarly, lycanthropes can disguise themselves effectively as furry woodland creatures, and a wizard's familiar could follow them around acting as his eyes, such that he could arrive within one or two rounds of things getting dangerous.
A baby Brass Dragon could "adopt" them, diving in to tear something apart a bit and then burrowing into the ground to disappear as soon as the tide had turned (or spitting a line of fire from "offscreen" and then hiding) and with its speak with animals ability it might be able to talk the local fauna into leaving the PCs alone (and would make an excellent cohort if one of the PCs later took the leadership feat). If you wanted to disturb your PCs, a particularly clever Ghoul might have noticed that they leave a lot of corpses behind and taken to following along behind them. He might be inclined to take care of certain threats offstage, or even step in under certain circumstances (though he'd be as likely to eat helpless PCs as he would be to attack the threatening NPCs). In somewhat less disturbing vein, an Ogre Mage can look like a humanoid or turn invisible, so it could be that damsel in distress or it could be completely unknown except for the dismembered corpses of those it takes care of.
A sacred watcher (Book of Exalted Deeds) would probably work best for good aligned PC's, although certain spells will detect them (i.e. Detect Undead). An Invisible Stalker may also work.
You could have a secret society that observes the PCs without interfering in their business. Society members could drop healing potions or take out enemies from the shadows. The PCs only catch glimpses of the members and are not able to make contact. You could have a subplot dealing with why these guys are always hanging around/ trying to capture and question one. The party could be part of an ancient prophecy to explain why the society is interested in them.
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I have been reading the "Realms of the Dragons II" anthology.....
Off topic here, but I tried to read that book, and didn't even make it through the second story before I had to put it down. Some fo the "new talent" they had was not to my liking. Anyway, when I get a chance, I'll probably go back and try reading it again.
Back on Topic - there are all the usual suspects: a powerful wizard, dragon, or other monster. Maybe a king or other powerful member of society. Personally, I would go for a figure who does not have a standard PC class.
Maybe make a character who is kind of like the Count of Monte Cristo. Give him some levels in Aristocrat/Expert/etc, a mysterious past, a s*&@ load of money, and all the influence said fortune can buy. He can afford to have a more powerful agent look after the party when they are low level, and then recruit them himself when the get a bit higher up the food chain.
You could have a vigilante type - (I did this once in a city of corrupt police) that looks after the poor in town - he could see the party doing good and look after them as well.
An air elemental, forest spirits, a shadow, could function unseen easily. Guardian angels literally.
As a story element this idea is cool, however there is a risk of making the players characters in this entities story rather than the other way around - difficut balance.
Another way to go about it - is to give mounts, familiars, items, more beef. In Journey to the West (great fun) the horse is really a dragon prince who is basically serving out a prison term doing community service as this monks mount - though he doesn't realize it.
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Off topic here, but I tried to read that book, and didn't even make it through the second story before I had to put it down. Some fo the "new talent" they had was not to my liking. Anyway, when I get a chance, I'll probably go back and try reading it again.
I didn't really say that they were good stories. The bad thing about anthologies is that it is really hit or miss as far as the authors go. The good thing is that the stories are short and if you really don't like a story it is a simple thing to move to the next one. I'm really just reading this to get ideas -- not because it is great writing. :)
I really like a lot of the ideas that this has generated -- keep it up...
A sacred watcher (Book of Exalted Deeds) would probably work best for good aligned PC's, although certain spells will detect them (i.e. Detect Undead).
Technically, Detect Undead can't see sacred watchers - they're Deathless, powered by positive, rather than negative energy.
Also, as incorporeal creatures, sacred watchers (and ghosts, for that matter) can move up to 5 feet through a wall. 1 foot of stone blocks most divination magic. (or 1 inch of metal, or any amount of lead, or 3 feet of wood/dirt) So as long as the watcher readies an action to hide if the Paladin or Cleric starts looking around with funny eyes, he's fine.
My 3cp (meh, what adventurer worth his salt bothers counting these things?)
TK