| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
So I'm running a PbP, and it's been one or two months since one of the players has posted anything on the paizo forums. I got a new player as replacement, but here's the problem: I need a way to get rid of the absent character, who I've been botting.
If it matters, the character is a level 1 paladin, and they're in a swamp.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Party runs into a Froghemoth and he fights it while everyone else flees? Drowns in the swamp? Commits an evil act and falls and gives up adventuring? Goes rushing off to answer a call to help and is never seen again?
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The plot's BBEG sends an assassin or two to kill the party, the paladin heroically fights them off but is mortally wounded. The hero's last words are "Avenge me!"
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Make sure it's clear to the players that you're writing the paladin out of the story for practical reasons. Otherwise they'll probably resist anything you try to do.
Paladin: "Run! I'll hold them off!"
Party: "No! We won't abandon you!"
Or:
GM: "When you wake up, the paladin, who was on watch, has disappeared, leaving no trace."
Party: "We'll abandon our quest for now to focus on finding our missing ally."
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Pull an Artorias. Assign the paladin a mission that is just barely beyond his abilities, and fails as a result. When he fails, an entity or curse overtakes him and the party must now defeat him to provide a worthy end to his character.
Level 1 options could be:
village in the swamp is being ransacked by an evil necromancer (insert new bbeg that gets away). Undead swarm the paladin, paladin goes down, necrodude raises paladin for future servant and teleports himself and pallybro away
Evil druid hangs over the swamp, casts contagion on the group. Party finds out the druid is the only one with a cure for miles. Party finds druid's lair, kills him, but realizes theres only enough cure disease stuff for a full party. Paladin dies, the rest live on.
Ghosts of the paladin's lineage appear from the swamp and ask him (privately) to perform a deed he does not willfully commit. The ghosts attack him, and drag his body into the swamp. Paladin now becomes an npc while group is tasked with the deed their paladin could not perform
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
...alternatively, you could have whatever deity the paladin follows tell the character off-screen or via spoiler that they are desperately needed in the fight against EVIL somewhere else, and at the next remotely convenient point (such as a town) they part ways with the party.
No 'Paladin Falls' angst, none of the other baggage mentioned above, a nice, seamless removal of the character to fit the on-going narrative.
The other plus side to this is if the player ever comes back with resolution of whatever issues caused that to happen, they can worked back in without the mental gymnastics of trying to undo a big screw-over job.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
...alternatively, you could have whatever deity the paladin follows tell the character off-screen or via spoiler that they are desperately needed in the fight against EVIL somewhere else, and at the next remotely convenient point (such as a town) they part ways with the party.No 'Paladin Falls' angst, none of the other baggage mentioned above, a nice, seamless removal of the character to fit the on-going narrative.
The other plus side to this is if the player ever comes back with resolution of whatever issues caused that to happen, they can worked back in without the mental gymnastics of trying to undo a big screw-over job.
Added Bonus you now have an NPC friendly with your PCs who could contact them with quests that the temple needs accomplished and would be willing to pay for or could be a reoccurring ally if you allow NPC tag alongs. Not someone regularly with the party. They might even meet up with the paladin while in some dungeon and find out that he is leading a group from the temple on a similar or unrelated mission. Maybe the big bad is a wizard who has created a simulacrum and they don't know which to fight and both must be stopped before (insert dastardly evil here). The Paladin and his crew go off and end up fighting the simulacrum. PCs get the real deal. It can make the world feel bigger and more complex.
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Your new PC arrives with a message for the Paladin, summoning said Paladin to [whatever works for your story]. The new PC, now at loose ends, in a swamp of all places, decides that sticking with the party is his best option.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Your new PC arrives with a message for the Paladin, summoning said Paladin to [whatever works for your story]. The new PC, now at loose ends, in a swamp of all places, decides that sticking with the party is his best option.
I actually like that one. I'll have to make note of it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Is their current mission one where they can wake up and find the paladin is missing since his watch, but in this case, there are clues that his disappearance is due to the mission? For instance, if they are investigating a lost temple, maybe something that lives there moved close to the camp, the paladin went to have a look and was dragged back to the temple where the rest of the party finds him in whatever condition you want. Dead, undead, a traitor, charmed, etc...
If they rescue him, run him as an NPC until they get back to town and he retires to "find himself".
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'd be interested in knowing more details about the swamp.
I actually love the idea Wei gave - frankly it's the best, most story-intensive non-drama-fueled manner possible, with a host of side benefits ala Calnor.
Daw's is also a very solid suggestion and works to bring in the new PC with a minimal of fuss (presupposing the message makes sense for him to deliver).
... on the other hand, you might like drama.
So!
So the paladin disappeared in the night, did he? That loyal, stalwart, proud and strong man? Abandon his post?
Never!
... unless, of course, he thought he was helping someone. Like a voice calling him in the night. A voice who cried, desperately, needing him to come and help save her from distress!
Of course, she just happens to be the most beautiful woman he's ever seen. They settle down, raise a family, and life is good and beautiful forever.
The next day, the rest of the crew wake and (if they search hard enough) eventually (maybe) find the mostly-eaten remains of their paladin friend. It... it looks like... it looks like maybe he... didn't even... didn't even... resist.
Fast forward in time.
Specifically about nine months.
The party, at some point when they're on the edge of the wilderness, find a basket delivered near them - a basket containing the most beautiful and adorable baby girl they've ever seen. Labeled as the paladin's. With mismatched eyes (or similar feature; alt: or not). And a note - possible one in the paladin's hand*! - begging the PCs to care for her and keep her safe, far from the hunting eyes of her mother's "sisters." Some sort of roughly worthwhile financial or other reward is promised... seventeen years from now... commensurate to the effort put forth by all involved.
(Or something similar.)
Congratulations, you've either just settled the PCs with a permanent "Escort Quest" (only worse, 'cause it's a literal infant) or tasked them with finding a "suitable" home for the child.
*
So what really happened?
It's pretty obvious that the paladin was ah... "hoodwinked" as it were by a hag. Which kind? Doesn't matter. S'long as it might be found in the swamp, 's'all good. Horrible, horrible, but... uh, "good," I guess.
Anyway. He was eaten by the same. Why?
Lots of possible reasons, here are a few:
- 1) the hag began to fall in love and:
- - a) was compelled to eat him by her sisters
- - b) she did it herself because she
- - - i) was to twisted to understand true love
- - - ii) was trying not to let it control her
- 2) the hag was hungry
- 3) the hag had a longer-term plan and if the paladin was still around, it would ruin things
- - a) ... because it was part of a ritual
- - b) ... because he would grow too strong to be manipulated
- - c) ... because of a prophecy
- 4) she literally couldn't help herself; it was an automatic response
- 1) she doesn't care
- 2) she does care
- - a) because it wasn't in the plan
- - b) because she was falling in love with him
- - c) because now things are complicated as she doesn't have a patsy
... and so on.
So the paladin is dead... but it was (maybe, if you go for that) written in his hand! ... how?!
Again, too many to list, but here's some:
- he was alive when he wrote it
- his corpse was animated by the coven and forced to write that by the mother; why would she?
- - she needs easy patsies to care for the child until maturity
- - she cares for her child and wants her to live
The note warns about sisters, but not the mother. Why? You know the drill; but here are ideas:
- she doesn't want her sisters to know (this also covers the eating)
- - she is planning on replacing (one or both) of them
- - she is planning on adding a new member to the coven
- - she loves her daughter and wants her to live a normal life
- - she loves her daughter and wants her to live long enough to become a hag (the sisters will eat an infant)
Why the paladin?
- why not the paladin
- convenient
- he's a paladin! Who wouldn't?
- falling is fun?
- paladins are extra tasty (it's the unique paladin nougaty "goodness")
- needed for a ritual (still that unique paladin nougaty "goodness")
- needed for a special child (... still that unique paladin nougaty "goodness"; perfect for "Chosen One" archetype paladin/"Magical Child" archetype vigilante...)
- personal history with him or his family or the horse he rode in on or whatever
It's at this point that I'm reminded I'm not only ADD, but sick, and my Eldest's violin lessons are headache-loud blaring from my computer speakers (so he can hear to practice) and I'm just fatigued, mentally. Sorry!
But the story potential, here, is limitless, as is the depths of drama, if you're willing to go for it.
How did all that happen in one night? Maybe it didn't.
Behold: death. Instead of that, though, make the kind around them a variant: immobile (DEX -) and extremely small (two Young templates), and with some "problems" from their growing location - like the drunk template (possibly from some sort of bad-for-it stuff this bunch ingested), various curses put upon it (such as the ability to only act once every <arbitrary amount of time>) by people cultivating it for some reason (like, say, the hags), or something similar. Or just take away their SA and A making them basically just a hazard (especially if you just drop the ability scores altogether - perhaps this is effectively an "unawakened" variant of the xtabay that can't actually attack - maybe even a progenitor.
In any event, they lose a day, little the worse for the wear. They might be awakened by successful saves, or maybe just a creature nibbling at one (thinking the PC is dead).
Go as deep or shallow as you like with this.
Right. Gotta stop. Hope this helps! Later!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks everyone!
Unfortunately, they wouldn't be getting back to civilization until the end of this mission. What I ended up doing gives me some time to work out the specifics. They came to the cave where the orcs are holed up. The paladin suggests that they try to find a back way in to trap the orcs. I'm planning on