I am running a campaign and starting with the Crown of the Kobold King module. One of the NPC's in the module is a child with Lycanthropy named Jeva. The problem with the encounter as it is written in the module is that it seems to assume that the party will kill Jeva.
My party has taken a liking to the child, and Jeva has taken a liking to a clawed changling PC in the party that that she has taken to calling "monster lady" and sees as kind of a maternal figure.
So they don't want to kill Jeva, but letting her run free is out of the question. They don't want to imprision the child, even though they can pretty well assume her previous crimes. They can't just drop her off at some orphanage.
They feel that they are being pidgeon holed into having to adopt the child (especially monster lady who is slowly becoming the girls mother), and I'm not sure that they are wrong as I can't see another solution to this.
We can't be the first party that decided not to kill the little girl. What solutions did other people come with for this module?
Could have them go on a quest to try and find a way to cure his Lycanthropy. Maybe the town Mage knows of a very VERY rare herb that could help- but it only grows on the far off mountain- that's guarded by Ninja Goblins.
Point being- Your the DM- you can make up whatever is needed to help your party get by (without making them feel like they HAVE to drag the kid around- or kill him).
not being familiar with the module I need to ask some questions. What kind of crimes is the girl suspected of and how has she behaved in the care of the party sofar? How old is the girl? If the mother figure takes a little time off would she be old enough to get training into one of the instinctive classes(barbarian, rogue, sorc)which can be ready to adventure as early as 15 or 16 years of age. Gm handwaving or stat adjustments can possibly lower that age and as she grows up her stats even out to normal.
Just a few ideas.
Asta
PSY
So what happens with the party when cute little puppy girl becomes a rabid murderous beast? Everyone in the party cool with that?
Not sure why the party took her in in the first place. The change made to her was absolute; she was even murderous in her normal form, when not taken over by the change. If played by the intent of the adventure, she was not redeemable. As a normal girl, she was leading other children into the forest to slay them and, I believe, according to the module, "suck the marrow from their bones."
A normal were creature is normally only bestial when under the full moon, when the beast takes over. Thwy could be a loving parent normally, even a paladin (but quickly, once known what was occuring, would need to atone). It seems to me that Jeva allowed the beast to take over all the time and totally became it even when not changed by her affliction. She was pure evil according to the written adventure.
It is great that the group spared her, I just don't know why. Unless she decided to have a change of heart she was going to betray them later. Maybe that is still her intent, or she has been truly redeemed and wishes to control her bestial urges. I would have to know more how you played her to give advice. Is she like written in the adventure or did you change her to a victim in need of guidance with her new affliction?
Admitedly this is partially a situation outside the scope of the modules intent.
The PC "Monster Lady" is a changling unarmed fighter that has the claws racial trait. So the character pretty much just tears enemies appart with her bare hands. The party was in a hard encounter with some bug bears soon after finding jeva, with half the party left unconcious and the fighter defeating the bug bears mostly on her own. The Unarmed fighter was the player that took the most interest in Jeva, and whom was kind of simular to jeva in the sense of being a violent pyschopath. So given the fact that Jeva would have slaughtered the entire party had she attacked then (being a level 2 expert/level 2 rogue), I decided she would hold off and follow the interesting PC for a while.
This went on for several days and encounters. I played Jeva like a child. She was somewhat naieve and didn't always understand what the characters were doing. She was also extreemly violent, several times coup-de-grasing villians that the party wanted to keep alive and question. And very visibly enjoyed combat and killing things. She ate the corpse of a halfling, without even trying to hide it. (she essentially got told by the party that it was bad, so she hides her tendency to eat people now. Although one of the party members is secretly a cannibal and helps her.) She if fully psychotic and I don't play her otherwise. The adoption is pretty much under the assumption that they are better able to guide her and teach her to control her evil side than anyone else.
So... You have a party with evil-ish tendancies who finds her adorable? That's sorta awesome.
Well, if they feel they're being pigeon-holed into adopting her, ask your players why them adopting her is a bad thing in the first place. Ask them why they helped her in the first place.
Cause they seem to be supporting her, on account of their similarly aligned tenancies, in which case bringing around a crazy NPC should be appealing as long as you keep how dangerous she is in mind.
They see her as more of a misguided child that has been aflicted with a curse. which is what she is. She is only 11. And they are having a difficult time explaining to her when it is ok to kill and when it isn't. The characters were built off of a idea that I had to get interesting characters in which all characters were required to be good, but were aflicted with 2 deadly sins. They are all dealing with evil compulsions while at the same time trying to be heroic and do the right thing. This has obviously affected how those characters would see Jeva.
However, specific situations aside, this can't be the first party that has decided not to kill Jeva, and I was wondering what solutions other parties came up with.
Anger management classes, she's grounded once a month, and plenty of long walks in the woods faaaaaar away from people.
This is the first party that I have heard of who didn't finish her...
Here's an idea, Roleplay the attempt to control her anger like you guys have been doing..and later on give her a level a of barbarian..that way she can channel her primal instincts in something she likes, hurting things, treat her rages like the cookie monster..."it's a sometimes food".
Or, roll a will save every now and then, some reasonable DC, if she fails, ta-da she tries to kill the party! Provide clues and stuff, maybe allow a sense motive check as she's asking the party cleric to join her in the forest.
From the sounds of it, her modus operandi was earning trust, luring people away, and then killing them right? Psychopaths adapt to the hunt all the time, so now she's earned their trust, and it's time for steps 2 and 3.
Or if they don't want to kill her, let her get kidnapped or something.
"Roll for perception... ok, you and you see a shadow on the ground. Steve, you see a black dragon swooping low over the tips of the trees. Roll a reflex save... Ok, Jeva got eaten by the dragon, annnnnd it's flown away to the (1d4=3) Western mountains."
Ta da! Side quest, OR convenient solution! There is no problem that CAN'T be solved by a hungry dragon.
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You could have her just run away. Problem solved... then have her show up at funny moments.
darn, now i got reminded of a freeform NPC servant i designed who was a well groomed male silver haired weretiger librarian in his early 20s. Now i feel tempted to play Julian Nikolae, Ex Military Librarian to Countess Sabrina Nicoletti, male STR based weretiger kensei magus. fights partially shapeshifted (claw and fang) while appearing human and using spell combat and spellstrike.
Or do what my group is doing...a town where monsters can live free! we have otyugh(however it is spelled) in waste management,Kobolds are miner/ general labourers,leatherbound zombies pumping water( the population doesn't know about that)..stuff like that.
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If you want them to be able to get rid of the girl without making them kill her, I recommend having them remember or be approached by someone running an orphanage / reform school for dangerous children. Have them offer to take Jeva off their hands. Have him be legitimate, maybe even caring. Depending on how you want to play it, Jeva might not be happy about this, but the option exists. Then they can decide whether they like having her around or not.
Lol, keep her as a mascot for the group!