Dealing with background.


Rise of the Runelords

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I have a reputation for playing around with the character backgrounds that the players in my group like to write. So when one of the players decided to add his pregnant girlfriend to the story ending with her being dumped at the swallowtail festival, I just knew it was too good to resist. Now the obvious thing to do is to convert her to Lamashtu. Let the young fiendish quarter-orc claw it's way out of her belly, and add them as some kind of encounter along the way. (So she would get the Lamashtu's Mark feat)

I don't want to do that. The story is too much like that of Nualia, and I don't feel the need for repetition. That leaves me wondering what I should do with her. She's a first level varisian Savage Bard, and she worships Calistria.

I'd also like to give him a sin point for dumping his pregnant girlfriend. Probably lust, but sloth could work for not wanting to raise his child.

Dark Archive

My bad, she's a Savage Skald. (Which is a bard archetype)

And forget the whole Lamashtu deal. Calistria is way better. There's even a spell in Gods and Magic that would be perfect in this situation.

Paizo Employee

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Accessories, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

A scorned lover worshiping Calistria is just too good to pass up.

I'd have her go along her own track of revenge, probably starting out with songs (or oratory or whatever her bardic specialty is) slandering the PC, probably performed at the Rusty Dragon.

That will probably get someone with an overdeveloped sense of honor or machismo challenging the PC to a duel. If she's still part of a Varisian clan, her brothers and cousins probably have something to say about it.

If you're feeling extra mean, his pregnant ex-girlfriend could challenge him to a duel personally. It seems like the sort of thing a savage skald of Calistria would do, certainly.

For what it's worth, those duels don't have to be lethal. Although if the PC starts killing people, nothing spices up adventures like a blood feud spiraling out of control.

And if this all results in a tragic end where she dies with an unborn child, some other bard will probably pick up the story. Heck, it might be an opera in Magnimar by the winter.

Burnt Offerings spoilers:
As the story advances, keep track of Erylium and Nualia. If Nualia dies but Erylium doesn't, I could easily see the quasit converting our spurned lover to Lamashtu worship.

And if Nualia and/or Tsuto lives, I could see them recruiting the skald as their new contact in Sandpoint. She doesn't even need to worship Lamashtu for this, just hate the town's new "heroes."

I'd go for both Lust and Sloth on the sin tracker, personally.

Cheers!
Landon

Dark Archive

Actually, a limerick would fit better. It's the perfect way to goad him into a barfight.

There once was a Half-Orc from Belkzen...

Okay, I'm not very good at this.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Redundancy? or FORESHADOWING!?

Rotrl Spoilers:
It's a great way to show what happened to nualia without saying it out loud. They can see the scars on her belly and go "WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE."

maybe replace the mutant goblin in the sewers with nualia's monster baby.(just use the same stats)

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Rise of the Runelords / Dealing with background. All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Rise of the Runelords