I was wondering how I should make my PCs hate Demogorgon and his followers the most. I want them to go against them from passion not just the "dull heroic drive". They are CG, NG, LN, N and LE in alignment. I had these ideas:
- The Crimson Fleet has many of their merchant ships destroyed.
- Farshore residents are captured by the trog tribe which lives on Termute, they defeat some (including a trog leper) but are late, and later they find these NPCs as slaves in Scuttlecove, brought there by the Fleet.
- Ixixatls attack them when on water.
- Olman friends are taken by skinwalkers and the PCs witness as they are changed into skinwalkers.
- The PCs find a friend sacrificed to Demogorgon.
- They are haunted by nightmares about D? ... cheesy and kinda lame
...I dont know more that's why i need help :)
You guys have some advice on this?
I was wondering how I should make my PCs hate Demogorgon and his followers the most. I want them to go against them from passion not just the "dull heroic drive". They are CG, NG, LN, N and LE in alignment. I had these ideas:
- The Crimson Fleet has many of their merchant ships destroyed.
- Farshore residents are captured by the trog tribe which lives on Termute, they defeat some (including a trog leper) but are late, and later they find these NPCs as slaves in Scuttlecove, brought there by the Fleet.
- Ixixatls attack them when on water.
- Olman friends are taken by skinwalkers and the PCs witness as they are changed into skinwalkers.
- The PCs find a friend sacrificed to Demogorgon.
- They are haunted by nightmares about D? ... cheesy and kinda lame...I dont know more that's why i need help :)
You guys have some advice on this?
"Olman friends are taken by skinwalkers and the PCs witness as they are changed Into skinwalkers"
Actually I put almost the exact same thing on another thread about the skinwalkers. I wanted to give the Skinwalkers the same feel as the "Others" do on ABC's LOST. I wanted the PC's to be hunted down and tormented even thou "Olangru" fills that slot nicely as well! I want the PC's to see one of their own being flayed and tortured as the Skinwalker ritual Is performed On them. I will try to think of more Ideas later sounds like a fun thread, similiar to the one for fill In the blans for Divide's Ire.
DAve
One could certainly have Vanthus write them a loathe note, something addressing the female characters' proper place in his kitchen, while he speculates on the discount cost to purchase multiple belts of gender bending for the male characters ...
since they eventually find out V.Vanderboren is one of the big D's mortal mini-onions, that could certainly give them some reason to loathe He Who Empowered V.V.
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In the campaign I'm gearing up to run, I wanted to both get the players' hate on for Demogorgon and also foreshadow what I see as his essential nature -- the self-destructive war between his two heads, which isn't really developed as a theme.
Since the primary forces of Demogorgon that are already developed in the STAP are the kopru and the Crimson Fleet, it might be easiest to foreshadow the big D's duality by adding another leader to the kopru and the Fleet, and weaving in an internal rivalry between the two "heads" of each group. This won't necessarily get the PCs hating Big D, although you could have one of each leader make a sneak attack on the PCs and/or the things they hold dear - the PCs would, of course, wipe that guy out, but you'd still be able to run the path as written using the other leader.
I'm thinking of starting the foreshadowing and hate-mongering earlier by having two cults active in and around Sasserine, each of which will be a kind of unconscious reflection of one aspect of Demogorgon's nature. The cultists won't even be aware that they worship Demogorgon, and he won't have any special communication with or control over them. The Cult of the Lizard reflects the dinosaur-like aspects of the Prince of Demons, is obsessed with gambling and insane codes, gains power from the mutilation of brains, and acts out the unconscious impulses of cunning Aameul. The Cult of the Monkey reflects the baboon-like aspects of the Prince of Demons, is obsessed with sexuality and sweat, gains power from the mutilation of animals, and acts out the unconscious impulses of bestial Hethrediah. Both hate one another above all else, with spreading chaotic evil second on their priority list.
My goal with these cults is to set up encounters where the PCs discover two distinct flavors of chaotic evil nastiness, with no apparent connection to any higher power. Ultimately there will be an "Aha" moment when they realize both cults point to Demogorgon; it ought to reinforce the feeling that the Prince of Demons is their ultimate enemy, behind everything that has given them grief throughout the campain, and if they're thinking hard, the cults' senseless struggle against one another will help clue them into Demogorgon's conflict with himself.
To help me work out what these cults are doing behind the scenes, I've been looking for some folks to play these factions in a kind of DM-level play-by-post, inspired by the Evil Overlords post at Martin Ralya's excellent blog Treasure Tables. If you're interested, more info is here.