Tristian Owlcat vs Paizo Spoilers for Owlcat Kingmaker CRPG

[Nicolas Paradise]

So I mostly like the way James incorporated all the Owlcat Companions without changing his own vision for the campaign while at the same time adding loads of additional quests ect. However one that falls short in my opinion is Tristian. Yes the kingdom of the cleansed questline is awesome however I feel it loses a lot without the context of his Owlcat story and that while dealing with the cleansed he is actively seeking redemption for helping Nyrissa.

I feel like there is a way we can incorporate the better parts of that story(definitely NOT the Bald Hilltop curse, that story and questline sucks sorry Owlcat) without breaking the story as James intended and without Spoiling Nyrissa if we as a gm don't want to.

My initial ideas for this change are as follows:

• Tristian is a fallen Diva previously in service to Sarenrae who tried to stop Nyrissa on his own believing he was as/more powerful than her.
• Upon being defeated by Nyrissa, Tristian is fooled by her into believing that if he doesn't help her he can never return to being a Diva, not realizing it was she who cursed him NOT Sarenrae.
• While truly a good and helpful person, Tristan will do what he can to cause the PC's to either fail(So Irovetti can succeed) OR make sure the PC's face many great threats and grow so they can Succeed and be claimed by Nyrissa can claim them for the apology.
• When Varnhold Vanishes, Tristian insists on coming with the party to the ends that it is a humanitarian crisis that as a follower of Sarenrae he can not ignore, secretly he has been informed by Nyrissa of Vordakai's involvement. Either Nyrissa or Tristian(from when he was a diva) know of the Oculus of Abaddon and he seeks to use it against Nyrissa or to seek redemption from Sarenrae.
• Which happens is entirely up to PC interactions and influence with him. If the PC's convince him to destroy the Oculus than he manages to contact Sarenrae and learn that it was not she who cursed him(which is why he never lost his cleric powers) but she will not restore him as he needs to seek redemption for believing She would curse him so. Seeking redemption by stopping the Kingdom of the cleansed or dealing with Nyrissa or leading the PC's toward Nyrissa(which he can't do as Nyrissa's curse prevents him from naming or speaking about the the one who placed it upon him).
• If Tristian succeeds in taking the Oculus and isn't convinced to destroy it he tries to use it personally as a weapon against Nyrissa, the PC's or Irovetti whichever he thinks at the time will help him succeed in becoming a Diva again.
• If this latter option happens Sarenrae does forsake him and he loses his cleric powers, but the oculus replaces them with similar evil powers. He can still be redeemed in this case but if redeemed Sarenrae will restore him to his Divahood and return his cleric powers but he will be permanently blinded after the removal(and destruction) of the Oculus. At the GM's digression this may also remove Nyrissa's curse preventing him from revealing her.
• If the PC's instead claim the Oculus and immediately destroy it Tristian is upset but relived that the temptation is removed and remains a companion but he won't/can't be restored to being a diva until he realizes it wasn't Sarenrae who cursed him which may be hard or impossible without him breaking or bypassing Nyrissa's curse of servitude first.
• If the PC's instead claim the Oculus and decide to use or keep it Tristian leaves the party as a companion and either finds redemption on his own, or Joins Nyrissa at the house at the edge of time as her ally when the PC's eventually get there. Depending upon how the PC's deal with her and if he survives the encounter he may at that point potentially be redeemed as a Diva and rejoin the party as a Companion against the Lantern King.

There is a lot to go over here and I am typing this long after I should be asleep so it might not all make sense but what are any of your thoughts or ideas on this. I just personally feel Tristian is much more compelling as a fallen Diva involved with the main plot than as an amnesiac Aasimar who helps against some cultists. I do however understand why James didn't weave him into the plot since he is a companion and the companion guide is strictly optional content that not everyone may want or have for their game. That said before mentioning that it greatly alters Nyrissa's involvement in the story in a way that brings her to the forefront of what is meant to be a sandbox campaign. Having her meddle constantly with all of Tristian's owlcat shenanigan like the Mist, fooling Johd, helping spread the bloom, opening the bald hilltop curse, working with the defaced sisters to gain the oculus ect. all force Nyrissa and thus the campaign to finding and dealing with her and putting the PC's ability to engage in a sandbox at ends with constant threats of their kingdoms imminent doom. I am trailing on.

tldr: Should Tristan have more of his Owlcat story and if so what are your ideas?

[CorvusMask]

I honestly like the that 1) they don't have good character as mole for bad guys in trpg version because in this context its annoying 2) that Tristian isn't deva because his backstory from kingmaker crpg was bit nonsensical for setting (like why would Sarenrae make random deva mortal?) and devas don't have pc rules anyway

[NielsenE]

I prefer the TTRPG version to Owlcat's, at least for a group game -- the CRPG version would have the tendency to overshadow the PCs, and risks becoming the "Main Character" if he's that tied in to the main story and run by the GM. I feel it was a good call to change him as they did here. Probably would have preferred him to be demoted to "secondary" companion and elevated either Harrim, Jaethal, Octavia or Regongar to primary/full companion status, just because he's too tied to the MSQ.

[PossibleCabbage]

The mole storyline is one that you can probably make work, but you shouldn't decide who it is from the start of the campaign, but instead figure out who it is based on the relationships the players form with various NPCs. You can still give Tristian something to make amends for, it just doesn't need to be something that specifically inconvenienced the PCs.

One of the main advantages of a human GM over code is that the human GM can improvise to create satisfying outcomes for the players, whereas the computer program has to anticipate everything from the get-go.

I wouldn't go with "he's a literal astral deva" though since the mechanism for "how you go from a native of the outer planes to a mortal" is extremely murky, but I would probably consider half-celestial for him (though I don't think we have rules for that yet, it shouldn't be hard to come up with something appropriate.)

[AceofMoxen]

I was planning on cutting at least four companions from my game. Tristan's nonsense made him an easy choice.

[defensor]

Very interesting post, OP. I shall make good use of it, thank you. I do think the storyline presented in the book for Tristian is a disappointment: so he's an aasimar, very well. What difference does it make when that reveal happens? None, he's still the same character the PCs followed throughout.

I sympathise with the choice of not making the storyline solely about him, but it is much easier as a GM to cut things than to add it, so if that was indeed the concern, the book should have been presented the other way around: with his original plotline as a fully-fledged option, and a sidebar offering the alternative to cut it.

I also disagree that Tristian's role as the mole robs agency from the characters: if he is used well, he'll be a beloved NPC by the time the Vanishing of Varnhold happens. A betrayal is an interesting story moment, and presents the PCs with important choices on whether to redeem him or pursue other goals.

As for better involving him in the story, Tristian can replace Jhod as the early campaign support cleric, which has worked well in my table. Jhod is a blander character, and easily cut.