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I literally JUST had this idea and haven't had a chance to work it out, so if it's lame, or wont work, please let me know.
Trying to make a big bad guy with more resonance than the AP provides...
What if Kendra is the Big Bad? What if she ordered her dad killed?
Again, brand new idea that I haven't worked through yet....
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I literally JUST had this idea and haven't had a chance to work it out, so if it's lame, or wont work, please let me know.
Trying to make a big bad guy with more resonance than the AP provides...What if Kendra is the Big Bad? What if she ordered her dad killed?
Again, brand new idea that I haven't worked through yet....
well... a couple thoughts/suggestions
a) the big bad should be at the funeral - he knew the professor; this also gives you the excuse for him personally coming in and out of the AP throughout
b) maybe he seduced or ensorceled Kendra and made her do it?
c) the professor was onto him and so he struck first
that way you don't have to get into confusing plotlines, you can tie the bad guy to the start AND Kendra, and she not only serves as a red herring, but a tragic figure.
just a thought
Yeah, I was originally planning on putting the big bad at the funeral so the players have at least SOME connection to him before the reveal at the end...but I still wonder if there's a way to have it be Kendra in the end.
The players will spend a month with her at the beginning, getting to know her and really connect with her. Maybe even one of the players starts a romance with her.
She follows her father's wishes, contacts the PCs, but doesn't realize her father included his journal and, likely, clues to his murder in with the other books until they are given to the PCs.
Hell, maybe her father's zombie shows up to attack her for some kind of revenge. That motive won't be obvious to the PCs until the end when they realize she's the Big Bad.
And she resurfaces here or there, through letters and whatnot, keeping in touch. But really, she's just trying to keep tabs on them.
AA would just be her most trusted lieutenant or something. The PCs think he's the big bad until the end when there is a twist.
Because, if i just put AA at the funeral, along with some other NPCs, sure the PCs will remember him, but they're not going to feel a connection with him. I want the ending to have more resonance than written.
Again, these are just thoughts. I need to sit down with the AP again and see if I can make it work. If not, no big loss...but I can't help but think there might be something worth pursuing here.
She could be a member of the Whispering Way. Her father might be oblivious and onto the cult activity at Harrowstone.
If she's thoroughly evil, she could have arranged his death.
If you think she's redeemable and want to go that route, the cult killed him as normal before she could act or warn him. In this case, her outrage can be a motivator to use the cult until she "ascends" then she will wipe out the cult as punishment.
Also, If the PCs continually update her about their progress throughout their travels for some reason, she could arrange for more ambushes, etc. She could even show up from time to time in civilized areas like Lepidstadt and Caliphas using the excuse of tying up some of her father's last wishes with his old friends.
You would likely have to monitor the groups reactions closely though. Too many ambushes, especially when she shows up in the nearest city or they start to figure out that they always seem to be found by the cult after they inform her of their progress would begin to look suspicious.
As for the start... Just skip the book bringing to Lepidstadt in the beginning hook. She wouldn't hand over the dangerous tomes if she had them. The Professor did have friends, even the nosy adventurer type, she would just have to deal with the pesky PCs trying to honor her father by banding together to investigate his abrupt death. :)
Maybe her dad's zombie shows up to get revenge on his daughter. A fact the PCs won't realize until the end when Kendra is revealed as the big bad?
I'd really like to direct them at AA as the big bad and then reveal that he is working for her, or ensorceled by her, or so in love with her he does her bidding, etc...
I'm actually working on the same thing. I think Kendra makes a great villain in this campaign. One that's been with the group from the start. I haven't fleshed out the details either, but I like to think the Professor is not only a Professor Van Helsing type, but also a dabbler in the macabre. I'm not a fan of how the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye works, and I'm probably going to focus on their pursuit of forbidden knowledge. One of the gothic tropes that wasn't touched in the adventure path was Jekyll and Hyde. (At least that I can recall). So I was also toying with the fact that perhaps the professor or the order was involved in some experiments that went askew. What if Kendra actually was a test subject for a ritual or potion that split her personality? Perhaps she isn't all evil, perhaps she has an evil counterpart. This would also help with any spells of detection. Perhaps Kendra doesn't realize about her evil half? She might even actively try to track down A.A. not realizing it is herself. I'm thinking like Tristan/Malken from the "The Enemy Within" Ravenloft novel. I'll nail this down more as I develop it some more. But I think she's a good villain and will make a more memorable ending to the campaign.
I'm actually working on the same thing. I think Kendra makes a great villain in this campaign. One that's been with the group from the start. I haven't fleshed out the details either, but I like to think the Professor is not only a Professor Van Helsing type, but also a dabbler in the macabre. I'm not a fan of how the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye works, and I'm probably going to focus on their pursuit of forbidden knowledge. One of the gothic tropes that wasn't touched in the adventure path was Jekyll and Hyde. (At least that I can recall). So I was also toying with the fact that perhaps the professor or the order was involved in some experiments that went askew. What if Kendra actually was a test subject for a ritual or potion that split her personality? Perhaps she isn't all evil, perhaps she has an evil counterpart. This would also help with any spells of detection. Perhaps Kendra doesn't realize about her evil half? She might even actively try to track down A.A. not realizing it is herself. I'm thinking like Tristan/Malken from the "The Enemy Within" Ravenloft novel. I'll nail this down more as I develop it some more. But I think she's a good villain and will make a more memorable ending to the campaign.
Keep me posted. This sounds great@