I know the easy way out of this as a gm...just change the item, but id like other suggestions if possible.
I have a player who just made a new paladin after his last Pc was eaten. As bad luck has it he picks up a cursed item that slowly turns the holder into an undead ghoul.
It has a few will saves to prevent the transformation and I was sure as a paladin he'd make them...he didn't.
So now onto what to do...the item has nice rules with it to add in at first nice bonuses but then add in undead traits as his body dies.
Where I feel bad is that I know he will feel I am picking on him if I make him loose his paladin abilities when he is finally undead or if I just make him undead and he has to make a new Pc.
Any advice? Should I allow to become an intelligent ghoul and still play him? If so drop his paladin? He worships the God Erastil, so would he still allow him to be his paladin...could his alignment not change?
would becoming undead change his alignment? if not, then he can remain an undead paladin (you are the GM, and you use that item, so it is up to you)
if the item didn't define what kind of undead it would be I would suggest a sentient skeletal one, some good bonuses without the worst effects an undead would have,
plus you have bonus fun in describing how he at first thinks he is a zombie but realizes later that slowly his hair falls out and flesh rots away, that he is actually a skeletal undead with just some unneeded meat still hanging on to it.
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Is there some way for him to remove the curse?
One idea is to turn it into a quest. Have him become aware of what is going to happen, but give his character more time then what is normally given. Then, give him a way to reverse the process through adventuring.
Example:
He visits him temple and one of the head priests notices the curse.
The paladin has one year.
The priest isn't strong enough to remove the curse but he knows of an artifact that can. It rests in the hoard of a dragon several months journey from the temple.
Let him become a Knight of the Sepulcher, Anti-paladin Archetype...?
Aside from that, there's not really any way to stay true to the Paladin class, true to what a ghoul really is, and true to your cursed weapon/storyline. Even if you let him keep his alignment, he would be constantly starving and every PC/NPC would look like a feast. Eventually, he would fail a will save (or what-have-you) and start feasting. No more pally...
It's a bad situation. But, he didn't have to pick up the weapon unexamined, you gave him saves to avoid the curse, he gets some benefits before it all goes horribly wrong... RP it out. It sounds fun to me.
In the items description it states that after the transformation that the ghoul slips off into the night and assumes the player makes a new pc. But I like the idea of making this a quest to cure himself.
I guess I'm debating at having him remain in the turning portion where he is becoming undead, but still has his paladin abilities vs. having the undead transformation complete itself and roleplaying that out. If he is undead maybe his paladin abilties stay in tack due to a demon lord answering the call in place of Erastil, but the player doesnt realize this?
Or should he just loose them all together and work to atone and find the artifcat to cure him and gain back those paladin abilties?
I think the best idea is to turn it into a quest. Maybe Erastil reveals a way to remove it in his dreams or gives him some other kind of vision. Alternatively maybe someone in Erastil's clergy can do it but they need something to do it like a powerful holy item or weapon to metaphorically speaking severe the corruption from his soul.
I dont see a reason why he couldnt remain a paladin if he was a ghoul as long as he was 1. Intelligent and 2. kept his alignment. You could really play up the corruption idea like maybe as he see's a farm boy running by he has a sudden instinctual need to feed but barely fights it off.
I think most paladins and clerics would be constantly watching him so while there might not be any actual penalties to the transformation (although there should be) there should certainly be some social ones like clerics, paladins, and inquisitors looking to put him out of his misery
I agree with the quest suggestions already presented.
After all, think of Dekion in the D&D cartoon episode "Quest of the Skeleton Warrior".
Unless of course the player comes to think it's a fun idea to play an undead paladin as long as he was able to keep his sentience and alignment etc. It does have a certain appeal to me!
this would be like the story typically associated with vampires and werewolves, a good (or atleast non-evil) undead fighting its kin and trying to remain human
only this time, it would be A Ghoul's Story
You may think about offering the player a choice to replace his paladin levels with inquisitor/cavalier ones however, and become neutral or chaotic
In Pathfinder, all undead (there might be an exception on some ghosts, but I can't recall) are Evil. Once the transformation is complete, the character becomes Lawful Evil instead of Lawful Good. Once the alignment changes, he loses his powers.
If the campaign is ok with it, the Knight of the Sepulcher line-up is good. Like, really good. Fits well with the problem, too. Alternatively, the quest situation is the easiest option that allows the player to keep his character as-is.
or: the GM doesn't change the alignment of the character in the first place
Also, it is NOT in Pathfinder system where all undead are evil, it is Golarion, the setting. I hate it how these get mixed up.
The paladin in this case was never dead to begin with, a developer stated that the raised corpse is what is evil, the undead itself in that cases is a hull filed with evil energy, if the undead is defeated and the paladin revived it stops being evil as it has its soul back.
As the paladin in this case was never dead and the undead was created not after death the person still has its own personality and as per the words of that dev (you can browse the forum, that has to be here somewhere) personality of the actual person doesn't change, thus the alignment wouldn't change either.
A normal undead would commit atrocities, as the evil undead ex-paladin, but when the actual paladin-with-soul would be revived the paladin would not have to atone for the sins of the undead, as it wasn't: he who did those/he was not acting with clear mind
All these lead to that if a cursed item turns a living person into an undead then the true question what has to be answered is: Did the person retain its own soul, or not?
If the answer is yes, then the player can continue to play as the undead without alignment change.
If the answer is no, then the character is not controlled by the player (the "soul") anymore and it becomes an NPC
I think the best idea is to turn it into a quest. Maybe Erastil reveals a way to remove it in his dreams or gives him some other kind of vision. Alternatively maybe someone in Erastil's clergy can do it but they need something to do it like a powerful holy item or weapon to metaphorically speaking severe the corruption from his soul.
I dont see a reason why he couldnt remain a paladin if he was a ghoul as long as he was 1. Intelligent and 2. kept his alignment. You could really play up the corruption idea like maybe as he see's a farm boy running by he has a sudden instinctual need to feed but barely fights it off.
I think most paladins and clerics would be constantly watching him so while there might not be any actual penalties to the transformation (although there should be) there should certainly be some social ones like clerics, paladins, and inquisitors looking to put him out of his misery
Or looking to recruit him ;-)
Aren't ghouls CE? Then make him an anti-paladin.
I hope this item that turns you into undead has a saving throw to resist its effects. After all the poor paladin just got killed by this item. Undead is a dead character that has a new existence as a monster. Actually depending on his resources he could simply get destroyed and then resurrected as one of the living again.
As far as alignment goes as long as he is in complete control of this new race he can elect NOT to to evil deeds and preserve his alignment. Although some of these undead maintain themselves with evil deeds, so you might end up starving to death.
I think redemption and return to the living is totally within the realm of something you can do if you like.
I'd just make there be a save each day and it'd get harder and harder for him to resist- and thats the urge to chow on sentient flesh. Eventually this guy is gonna have a feast and *that* is going to ditch his alignment (more so than the mere fact of turning undead).
I'd probably make it a veyr easy save and first that gets progressively harder- which in turn makes it sort of like a ticking clock.
Sure he can be cured.. but can he be cured in time?
-S