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Hi everyone. There'll be a smidge of Rise of the Runelords spoilers here. Warnings here given.
Also: My players, kindly stop reading, now.
Last night something amusing happened in my Rise of the Runelords campaign. For a very long time, my dear, adventurous heroes have been braving the dangers of Varisia, attempting to stop the ressurection of Thassilon. And last nigh one of them died - permanently.
The Paladin Jeffrey Starmourne was a tired, old man, who fought in the name of Iomedae. He's been standing in front of the party for about a year of adventuring, and despite living up to the "moral compass"-duty of a paladin, has done so in a way that has earned him only friends, and not a single enemy in the party. Basically, everyone loved this guy.
Despite his defences though, more than once, a party member has died. However, due to the powers of the Hedge Witch Skjordi Summerfell, and in some cases the power of a few powerful scrolls of magic, the party has always returned, sometimes reincarnated as different creatures, but still the same guys. A while back, the mortality of the party came up in conversation, and Jeffrey was asked what he'd prefer they do to him, should he fall in battle. His response was that he'd prefer not to be brought back to life. If he died, it was because -now- was his time.
Last session was his time. He died in the battle against Karivek Vekker and the Frost Worm, in the Kodar Mountains. The party emergency teleported back to fort Rannick, and much sadness over the loss of Jeffrey was had.
However, Skjordi Summerfells reaction was different than the reactions of the others. Basically, her feeling like a doormat and a weakling has kind of been set up all campaign. She's healing focussed, her patron is a dormant life-tree, and her mother was an abusive b*tch, and a nasty piece of work, in terms of witchery. She was only recently starting to gain confidence, and now, she could not save Jeffrey, nor his corpse, which has been left in the Kodars to freeze, at least for now.
Her reaction was to seek solitude, then seek council from a few dryad NPCs, whom I've established in the area around Rannick, and who have a good relationship with the PCs after they helped bring sanity back to the Shimmerglens. Skjordi told them that she was through hiding, and was gonna start biting instead. The Dryads cautioned her, advising a balance in these things, but Skjordi was done with balance and being careful. She sought solitude again, and this time, she decided, in an attempt to find -some- answer to the question of "how do I become better at ending that which will harm my friends" (instead of her usual, 'how do I help my friends'), opened the Anathema Archive.
The Anathema Archive gives a +10 bonus on sinister research, but in this case, I gave her a bit of flavour about Thassilon, and told her how horrible a nation it was, when morally compared to the standards of the current age. I told her that the Anathema Archive was very forthcoming with information on how to gain power, how to hurt others and how to take lives. I also made sure she understood that as she kept reading, a realization became very clear in her head. That this was a time to make a decision. To keep reading, or to close the Archive. Skjordi decided to keep reading.
I had the player make will-save, without telling her why, and then, when it had been rolled, I told my player the following.
"Skjordi learns of alot of horrible things, reading through the Archive. You are nowhere done reading what it has to offer on this subjects, and you've been reading for hours. But you have a better understanding of the Thassilonian mind-set. Of might makes right, and how they came to believe that those with power could treat those without, as they pleased. You may not agree, in fact Skjordi likely disagrees, thought that is entirely up to you, but Skjordi understands.
More than that, the forbidden knowledge contained in the Archive grants you a boon for submitting to it. You can now memorize a single transmutation spell of each level of spell you can cast, each day, in addition to your normal memorization, as if you were a transmutation wizard without an opposition school. However, for as long as you remain Good-aligned, these spells have a 50% spell-failure chance, or worse, no matter what you do. If Skjordi becomes neutral, the failure chance is reduced to 25%, and if she becomes evil, they only have whatever spell-failure you get from shields, armor and whatnot.
In exchange for this power however, I want you to keep one thing in mind about your character. I will not change your alignment, and I will not tell you what your character does and does not do, that remains for you to play and us to experience. However, from now on, Skjordi will find that she has a -very- easy time justifying unspeakable acts of evil, in the name of pragmatism"
Skjordi then returned to fort Rannick.
I've promised my player a short write-up of what she learned from the archive, and I would very much like it if you would offer your advice and suggestions on what I could give/tell the witch now that her character may or may not go off the deep end.
Thanks in advance.
-Nearyn
I can't add anything of use, but I gotta say this sounds amazing, good job.
Thanks alot Mavael, that's really nice of you to say :)
I like it.
I'd probably give Jeffrey's player a chance to roleplay an appearance of Jeffrey's ghost, pleading with Skjordi not to fall under the sway of evil.
As far as what information to give her, I'd say the full writeup from Inner Sea Gods on Lamashtu, Rovagug, Urgothoa, Lissala (not that there is much on her) and the Outer Gods. Nothing says the evil lore has to be immediately useful.
Thanks for the feedback Ascalaphus and Damon Griffin.
I'll make sure to grab a look at Inner Sea Gods. I also completely agree about the usefulness-factor.
-Nearyn
There's a feat called 'summon good monster', perhaps granting her an equivalent evil version for free would work?
More power, but with a price if she uses it...
Hi Gilarius and Lincoln Hills. I apologize for the delayed response.
Gilarius, I like your idea, I'll toss it around a bit, see if I can't make something of it that I think really fits the idea.
Lincoln, thanks alot for your suggestions. I like the idea of having some form of malicious intelligence try to suggest the character when she uses the archive. Generally making it appealing to use the archive because it grants power or can show the way. Great ideas :)
-Nearyn