PC descendent of Manus Undiomede

[Screenmonkey2099]

I am prepping to run Carrion Crown and after reading Wake of the Watcher, I was considering trying to get one of my PCs to (unknowingly) be the grandchild of Manus Undiomede.

The PC would recall his grandfather Manus (not using the Undiomede last name) telling crazy stories of old cults and ancients as he grew older and more senile, and would remember him being overly protective of everyone, but especially the girls of the family. He would have had a strange fascination with dream interpretation and warding rituals as well. All of this would give the PC a +2 bonus on checks related to the old gods and the old cults.

I would also rule a Sanity check would be needed by the PC when they find the portraits, and they see that the PC looks identical to the men in the paintings, then of course sees the painting labeled Manus Undiomede.

I have also toyed with (if we have any changling pc's) perhaps making them a child of Oothi... but have to flesh that out more.

I think it will be fun to have the PC tied in this way, but really have nothing come of the background for the first few adventures, to where they will probably not really think about it until boom!!!! it hits.

Any tips or suggestions to bring this along more? I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

I am also trying to think of ways to maybe have the Sanity mechanic in the earlier adventures to some extent... but I do not know if they are horrifying enough (though the skin-changer could be pretty bad).

[Spiral_Ninja]

I'm actually doing the same with one of the PCs in my PbP here. I'm having the Piper of *Illmarsh* also be related, with an oddly froglike resemblance to the PC.

That might be a good time to into sanity checks.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Screenmonkey2099 wrote:

I am prepping to run Carrion Crown and after reading Wake of the Watcher, I was considering trying to get one of my PCs to (unknowingly) be the grandchild of Manus Undiomede.

The PC would recall his grandfather Manus (not using the Undiomede last name) telling crazy stories of old cults and ancients as he grew older and more senile, and would remember him being overly protective of everyone, but especially the girls of the family. He would have had a strange fascination with dream interpretation and warding rituals as well. All of this would give the PC a +2 bonus on checks related to the old gods and the old cults.

I would also rule a Sanity check would be needed by the PC when they find the portraits, and they see that the PC looks identical to the men in the paintings, then of course sees the painting labeled Manus Undiomede.

I have also toyed with (if we have any changling pc's) perhaps making them a child of Oothi... but have to flesh that out more.

I think it will be fun to have the PC tied in this way, but really have nothing come of the background for the first few adventures, to where they will probably not really think about it until boom!!!! it hits.

Any tips or suggestions to bring this along more? I would appreciate any advice or suggestions.

I am also trying to think of ways to maybe have the Sanity mechanic in the earlier adventures to some extent... but I do not know if they are horrifying enough (though the skin-changer could be pretty bad).

This is a seriously cool idea. However, Manus didn't live to be particularly old as revealed in Mother of Flies (AP 29). Not necessarily a big deal unless you're wanting to run heavy Golarion continuity.

[Spiral_Ninja]

I hadn't intended Manus to be around for the PC. Since I don't have that AP/module, is it possible for Manus to have sired a child -say- while visting his sister for the wedding?

Or...hm...Changeling?

[Toadkiller Dog]

I think his sister(s) has been given to the Skum.

[Spiral_Ninja]

Toadkiller Dog wrote:

I think his sister(s) has been given to the Skum.

Page 27 notes that:'His mother had died in childbirth and his older sister had already been married to a magistrate in Caliphas'.

[Screenmonkey2099]

I do not have that AP and did not know about his early demise... so I will probably just not take that event into consideration! I like the idea of having "Crazy grandpappy Manus" being paranoid about the corruption that had seeped into his family and his creepy research and theories and stories as the children grew up.

I suppose you could still have that link, just have the PC's actual father be similar and maybe delved into the research on his own because he had questions about his father (manus) and learned some of the truth... or maybe he started having the dreams of the old ones and went a bit crazy. So many options!!!

I will have to pick up Mother of Flies to see what exactly happened to Manus...and I can flesh that out from there.

[Spiral_Ninja]

I don't have that module either, but after a bit of searching around, I did discover his ultimate fate. It does look to me like he had time to sire a family first, though.

[Evil Paul]

Interesting... I'm just doing a script with Manus in it right now. I didn't realise he was in another AP too. What happens to him in Mother of Flies?

[Spiral_Ninja]

From what I've found,

Spoiler:

he briefly became a head of the Council, but was at some point transformed into a mohrg.

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Manus certainly had time to father some children. I was mainly saying he didn't hang around long enough to be anyone's crazy old grandpa. However, if you don't need that level of continuity, I think it's a great idea. I just wanted to give fair warning in case it would've messed with somebody's game world storyline if they ran across that later. I personally love the idea of crazy old grandpa Manus. :-)

[Greg A. Vaughan]

Evil Paul wrote:

Interesting... I'm just doing a script with Manus in it right now. I didn't realise he was in another AP too. What happens to him in Mother of Flies?

A script, eh? Now that sounds interesting. As for what eventually happened to Manus, like Spiral Ninja indicated his unhappy childhood led to an unhappy adulthood.

Spoiler:

From Mother of Flies pg. 38-39, Room C21:

This storeroom has lain sealed and forgotten for more than 50 years. At one time it served as the clandestine office of a former guildmaster who disappeared after his noble sponsors decided to move the leadership in another direction. Searching the desk's drawers reveals much of the guild's operation and organization from those days, though it had many differences from the current operation. A DC 10 Perception check can find reference to the guildmaster's name--Manus Undiomede. A DC 20 Knowledge (history) check recalls his role as a guildmaster among the Council of Thieves, as well as his unexplained disappearance.

Catching wind of the Council's decision to replace him, Manus fled to this--his secret sanctum--to plot his escape and revenge, only to realize that he had already been poisoned at a previous meal with a slow-acting toxin. He writhed in his chair as the magical poison caused rot grub eggs to hatch in his stomach--once hatched, the grubs swiftly consumed him from within. A DC 20 Perception check notices the withered and twisted larval husks that still rest in the hollow of his ribcage. Unfortunately the horrific nature of his death and his own unadulterated evil have not allowed him to rest easily, changing him into a horrid undead creature and incorporating his own killers into his form. Manus Undiomede is now a mohrg and has spent the last 5 decades in this small room quietly contemplating a revenge that he'll never achieve.

Then there's a cool picture that shows a giant rot grub coming out the mouth of his skull.

[Zhangar]

Interesting.

Spoiler:

I'd actually just change who the morhg is if I ever ran Mother of Flies and keep crazy grandpa Manus. Crazy grandpa Manus is much neater than vengeful, dead, stuck in a closet Manus.

[Spiral_Ninja]

Doppleganger. Hired/mind controled by Manus as a body double.

[Screenmonkey2099]

It is going to be perfect, I actually have a PC that is buying into the idea. They do not know the details, just worked with them and filled them in about their crazy grandfather... he is completely hooked into the character concept, and I can't wait to get to WotW to drop that Sanity bomb on him!