So a little backstory on the character in question. He was originally a fighter who belonged to a mercenary type of guild. This guy was purely motivated by money. He was hired by a group of baddies, minions of the BBEG actually. He worked with them for a few months before it all went ass over tea kettle. They wanted him to go into a hamlet and kill everyone simply because he was told to. The PC said no, this was to much. But since he was alone with the four baddies he was overpowered and killed. In his dying moments he begged for someone, anyone to help him.
Sarenrae answered. This was the Deity the player wanted and I had no issue with that. Redemption is a big thing for this character. She brought him back to life and remade him as a cleric. She also gave him visions of the other players and told him if he wanted true redemption and not to burn forever he needed to help them.
So he is with the group and we are getting close to his arc in the tale and he requested a possible love interest and a chance to try and redeem someone. I am happy to oblige.
I want the love interest and the person to be redeemed to be the same person. A fellow member of the mercenary guild. She is a very capricious lady who really doesn't do it for the money more just because she can. I have her built, a personality, and backstory figured out. But I am floundering a little on when I want to bring her in.
So she could spot him in the city and be the one that lets him know about the bounty on his head. The guild figured out he is not dead and they are angry at him for pissing off well paying clients. No they do not know that those clients wanted him to slaughter a hamlet for the lolls. This is a bit more of the easier option, maybe.
I plan for the party to get to fight this group of minions and this lovely lady could be working for them. That will put a lot of tension in that fight. But the likelihood of her dying is high. Though resurrection is a thing and they group has paid to raise NPC's before.
I am sure there are more options but my brain is not thinking of anything, stupid cold affecting my brain. Anyways any suggestions are welcome and heavily requested. Please help!
Thank you in advance,
DAA
You could drive the message home by having this "lady" scheduled for execution for pretty much the same crime as the PC was, when the party encounters the minions.
Damsel in distress is classic. Perhaps a burning at the stake or save from the guillotine encounter. Make sure to give them a secondary reason other than just saving her. After rescuing her they learn she probably earned the execution
Maybe a wanted poster with a bounty. Make it a bigger bounty for if alive and don't specify the crime as to avoid losing sympathy before meeting her. Since he will recognize her it gives the player an extra chance to express or more interestingly avoid expressing backstory beforehand. Possibly drop a few nonlethal takedown items beforehand like merciful rods/weapons. Bonus points if you make the authorities searching for her evil/jerks even if they have valid reasons
She can be introduced in a scenario where they are better off working with her than opposing her. Perhaps both groups are hired to protect a merchant caravan. Maybe they meet during a dungeon where both parties would benefit from an exchange of information. Are they after the same thing or different things in the dungeon? If the same it could become a race or cooperative depending on the objective. If different the players could discover it first or try to take it for themselves
Barfights are fun and typically nonlethal
Set it up in advance. Next time the players are carousing, run into this woman at the bar. Have a lot of 'hey, how have you been', and 'how do you know this guy?'
Bring out their shared backstory. And have her warn him 'don't go to X'.
When the players inevitably go there anyway, then bam, price on his head.
Then, during the fight, she can be all 'I told you, why did t you listen', and they'll have to fight each other even though they don’t want to.
It’s how I would do it.
Hmm, some good ideas so far. I do like a the idea of him almost killing her.
I don't think I want a bounty on her as there is going to be one on the player. He is going to have some old friends come to collect that.
One of the possibilities I am entertaining is them running into each other peacefully at first.
The downside to a public execution is that it is way to public and some of them would have to not participate but a quiet one is a possibility. Hehe a fight with her being hung in the background and rounds have to be wasted haveing her might be fun too.
If she's supposed to be redeemed, I'd suggest that she has to start out as a baddie, and needs a natural reason to join him. So:
Along with a bunch of mooks, she challenges the party and tells them to hand the PC over because there's a price on his head; she intends to collect, and nobody (else) need get hurt. There's a fight, she escapes (be sure to provide a mechanism, eg potion of Gaseous Form).
She reappears later, in disguise, and attempts to seduce him away from the other PCs so she can drug and kidnap him. They're getting along fine and finding that they rather like each other when more mooks try to capture/kill him. She wants the bounty herself so defends him; they escape but a mook recognises her (by her equipment?) and so reports to the BBEG that she's now working with him.
So they now both have to work together (and with the other PCs) to defeat mooks, BBEG and so on. In the course of that, they fall in love, she finds redemption, etc.