Vigilante Serial Killer Idea; Need Advice

[BlingerBunny]

The idea sparked in me after I listened to a music video. Really Bluegrass Blues song by The Dead South, called In Hell I'll Be In Good Company.

So here's the story idea. The character is from Cheliax. A natural born serial killer who had a short reign of terror until he met a beautiful redhead and begged the devil for her heart. The devil agreed, under the condition that he is forbidden from murdering anyone ever again, but if he did he'd serve the rest of his mortality as a hand of Asmodean Justice, wearing the face of that victim.

Plot Twist; his beloved former-victim discovered his secret and attempted to kill him with the very knife he used on his victims. It landed square in his shoulder and he swiftly ended her life to preserve his own.

The devil came as the contract was broken, and the character was forced back to lvl 1, to serve his mortality as a serial killer for Devils.

The idea is for a Serial Killer Vigilante; and I'm curious of how you guys would go about building such a character, because I've never played as, or alongside one.

[Claxon]

I'm not sure on the mechanics of making a serial killer specifically. There are a lot of ways you could build it.

I will say however, that much of your back story doesn't really make sense to me.

The devil "making the woman" fall in love doesn't make sense. Maybe if the devil dominated her to make her subservient to the character, that would be possible. But I don't think there is a way to make someone "fall in love" within the normal mechanics of the game. Especially not that devils are able to produce. The devil might offer him wealth, power, or status as a means to impressing someone with the hopes of tricking them into loving an individual.

And then beyond that, why would the devil want him not to murder anyone. It seems more likely the devil would ask him to commit specific murder in a useful way.

[BlingerBunny]

Well it doesn't necessarily have to be a devil. I just remember that devils usually make contracts that forfeit the soul when the contract is broken. So to claim an serial killer's soul quickly, it goes to reason that he's forbidden from murder, because that in itself is second nature to him.

Also, devils have a way of granting charismatic strength to the character, or weakening the woman's will to resist the killer's already present charm. Then again the backstory is all flavor, and in the realm of imagination anything could happen.

I was honestly looking for ideas on how to build the character, but I should probably just move to Suggestions and try an approach on a completely different idea involving a character cursed with the eternal template, and restricting the build to a 15 point-buy while everyone else uses 25 point-buy, or something like that.

[qaplawjw]

I like the idea. Plenty of potential drama in differences (to understate it) between who they want you to kill and who (if anyone) really has it coming.

If you're lucky, you'll be able to rules lawyer your way out of it at the end. Work with your GM to write out the exact wording of the contract. For instance, it sounds like he really lucked out with a "Give me her heart" contract, and the devil didn't just drop her heart on the kitchen counter and then try to collect the agreed payment.