Ah, what happens when we try to get creative. I liked the KotYS a lot, but they don't appear anywhere in the AP. So I dropped one into the first module, along with what I thought were some pretty heavy hints about how badass it was. It was going to be menacing and cryptic, drop some horrifying hints, and eventually turn up as a sub-boss near the end.
Of course the PCs -- 2nd level -- immediately charged it, shrieking battle cries. After all these years DMing, you'd think I would have learned...
Anyway: now that we're mixing it up, does anyone have any suggestions for the sorts of things a Keeper might say in combat? I like my bad guys to have something to say, but the only line they get in canon is "Have you seen the Yellow Sign?" and that has limited utility. It's an undead monster serving a god of nihilism, decadence and decay, and it's a sadistic stalker with a strong aesthetic sense. What would that add up to?
Suggestions very welcome. Thanks in advance,
Doug M.
Second module has 'em. That's where the stats are from. Admit you goofed, and pull out the massively overleveled enemy with abilities that will mess up the PCs for levels with no recourse.
QuidEst wrote: Second module has 'em. That's where the stats are from. Yes, I know. My question is about how to roleplay one.
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Admit you goofed, and pull out the massively overleveled enemy with abilities that will mess up the PCs for levels with no recourse.
Eh. It's a horror module, and I told them at the beginning that I would be spicing it up with level-inappropriate encounters. I like this module a lot, but it suffers from the narrow straitjacket that Paizo forces on all its modules: you can have all sorts of weirdness, but you can never have an encounter that's OP. I'm old school that way: I think that once in a while there should be encounters where the only correct responses are "talk" or "run". And, as noted, I signaled this one pretty clearly (IMO) -- e.g., they found a previous victim and they know it can level drain.
Anyway, there it is. Any suggestions?
Doug M.
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I unfortunately don't have any details on a KotYS, but I guess you could just make it go away after frightening them. Understand they should not get XP for beating or surviving it (at least not the same amount as they normal would get for an encounter, since it is not meant to be a fight.)
"Have you seen the Yellow Sign?" Have him hold open his coat and there's a blazing symbol on it (they can't remember any details) and even if it was the Yellow Sign, placed there by Hastur perhaps, maybe it isn't one of the special nights when his star is in the sky, so they aren't dominated, but have them roll Will saves and if they fail give them some ability damage and talk about searing, burning horrors eating their brain, make it nice and descriptive, roll some dice, but only do like 1 damage to each of their mental stats so they can basically heal them all in one day of rest.
Even if they pass, still have them take 1 ability damage but make it seem like they're getting off far more luckily than the others, like something bad is going to happen to the others later. Then have the Keeper say something like, "Life is just a hollow facade. The Sign will eat away the fat and bloat and reveal the truth within you."
Then if he gets hit, have him collapse into a pile of clothes similar to Hastur, or since his clothes are open anyway, take time to describe his body in whatever cringe-inducing way you wish, pale and flabby like a fish-belly perhaps, and have him rupture like a spent air bladder and collapse. Anyone touching the pile of clothes causes them to evaporate into a sulfurous puff of yellow smoke.
Then just, let the energy drain wear off by the morning on anyone, since they may not have the means to remove them themselves, so as not to derail the adventure from this one encounter.
When my places faced him in the second module, I only had him say "Have you seen the Yellow Sign?"
However, I had him say it many times, and kept changing the inflection. So he only said one phrase, but in doing so said different things.
Have you seen the YELLOW Sign?
Have YOU seen the Yellow Sign?
Have you SEEN the Yellow Sign?
HAVE you seen the Yellow Sign?
Have you seen the Yellow SIGN?
HAVE YOU SEEN THE YELLOW SIGN?
Normal people say different things. This is not a normal person. Use the constant repetition to drive that home, making it another avenue to emphasize how wrong and inhuman this thing is.
Douglas Muir 406 wrote: QuidEst wrote: Second module has 'em. That's where the stats are from. Yes, I know. My question is about how to roleplay one.
Quote:
Admit you goofed, and pull out the massively overleveled enemy with abilities that will mess up the PCs for levels with no recourse.
Eh. It's a horror module, and I told them at the beginning that I would be spicing it up with level-inappropriate encounters. I like this module a lot, but it suffers from the narrow straitjacket that Paizo forces on all its modules: you can have all sorts of weirdness, but you can never have an encounter that's OP. I'm old school that way: I think that once in a while there should be encounters where the only correct responses are "talk" or "run". And, as noted, I signaled this one pretty clearly (IMO) -- e.g., they found a previous victim and they know it can level drain.
Anyway, there it is. Any suggestions?
Doug M.
Well you'll like book 3 then. There's several OP encounters.
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There's fantastic dialogue and insane gibberish about the King in Yellow and Carcosa in the first season of True Detective that could easily be lifted.
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They aren't just a bestiary entry, they are part of the final encounters in book 2.
Assuming that the Keeper repeats this line to both unnerve enemies and reveal allies, perhaps he can ask other pointed questions.
Have you seen the stars in black?
Will you unmask?
Do you hear its whispers?
Do the flapping of his tatters give you pause?
Who shall be the King?
After it falls below a threshold of hp (depending on how well or poorly the PCs are doing) perhaps it can begin answering questions for them.
The black stars rise before the lake...
There is NO MASK
It is a fearful thing...
You will die unheard...
The Living God must hide Yhtill forever..
These aren't just cryptic random quips. They're clues that some players will pick up on instantly, and those less versed in the mythos will just find obtuse.
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