The Wishing Imp

[Zordris]

Hi all, well this is my first message, so let's hope it lives up to the quality of the stuff you guys write!

Ok, The Wishing Imp. What do you think is it's ultimate goal in life?

I currently have him sucking up to a PC, offering great wishes, unfortunately innocent people seem to die as a result. The PC is being drawn in by the dark power, caring less and less about the murderous habits of his new impish friend.

I have a theory that somehow, The Imp desires it's own freedom but cannot grant wishes for itself, only those demanded by the one who owns him. Unless....

The Imp has convinced its owner that all it wants in life, as a thankyou for all the wishes granted would be a small plot of land, perhaps a simple garden to roam in, but importantly the land must be in The Imp's name, currently Amadeus.

My thinking is that perhaps when the Imp has a possesion of it's own, that possesion being one very special thing, it's own Land in Ravenloft, perhaps then it can do without its current owner, perhaps then it can grant ITSELF wishes, savouring the souls of those he destroys!

What do you guys think?

Thanks for the feedback.

Zordris

[Samael Hands of Stone]

Welcome to the fold.

I'm not sure where you're headed with this Imp scenario, or how it is relevant to your game. Is it an NPC or a player character? If it's an NPC, then you'll probably want to explore the "reality wrinkle" info on fiends to give some ideas.

The wishmaster angle is not a bad one if you take the time to do it right. It certainly has potential for creating humor and/or adventure opportunities for your players. The trick is to abuse the players using the recklesness of their own words.

Player - "I want to fly and be indestructable!"
DM - "Congratulations, you are now a cloud..."

[Malus Black]

I'm not sure where you're headed with this Imp scenario, or how it is relevant to your game. Is it an NPC or a player character? If it's an NPC, then you'll probably want to explore the "reality wrinkle" info on fiends to give some ideas.

Zordis is talking about the Wishing Imp, a cursed artifact which essentially grants wishes at a terrible price (see the RLDMG for details), not an actual imp (unless I'm misreading the original post).

To answer the original question, I see two ways to use the Imp in a campaign. The first is to have it be less a character and more a manifestation of greed and lust for power, showing the PCs the very tangible results of their self-serving actions. This version works very well in a campaign that focuses on fighting the darkness within and whatnot.

If, however, you intend to use the Imp as an actual character, I think your idea is very good - sort of a dark, twisted version of Disney's Aladdin, where only the wishmaker can release the wishmaster from its eternal servitude. Perhaps the Imp desires nothing more than peace and oblivion (unlikely, given its past), but it is more likely that it wants to use its unleashed powers freely - a terrifying prospect to say the least. Perhaps it intends to use its wishes to reshape part of the demiplane in its image, a sort of personal paradise? Or perhaps it wants real life, not just an existence as a disembodied mind/animated construct?

[Jester of the FoS]

I believe the Imp is a manifestation of the Mists or Dark Powers. As such it may be less concerned with itself and more with tempting others and destroying lives.

But, like all slaves, it may have grown tired of this and desire some peace and freedom. It cannot escape or leave the Mists so it must find another way.

[Manofevil]

Does anyone else remember a short story call 'The Monkey's Paw'. (or was it 'Claw')

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Its Monkey's Paw, alright. And yes, the Imp is clearly a take on the Paw, as is most D&D interpretation of Wishes.

[Jack of Tears]

Who hasn't read "the monkey's paw"? I thought that was required reading for a Ravenloft gm.

As to your ideas, I like them. No matter the imp's origin, it is quite likely that it will desire freedom at some point. The piece of land for its own is a nice symbolic little image.

Not certain if I would allow it to grant itself wishes ... this suddenly makes it a powerful and potentially unbalancing villain - unless you limit it somehow. Say it must still trick or persuade a human to commit a terrible act before it can use its powers. Either that or perhaps it believes it will retain the ability, only to discover that RL has cheated it and the freedom has left it weak and defenseless.

If the pcs do release it, however, and it becomes a terrible and dangerous entity, that may leave it up to them to solve the problems they made. And what if the imp comes to the offending pc and threatens to take away everything it gave him if he doesn't stop his party? (hell, it could do just that even if it loses it's powers, so long as it could keep the pc from discovering such)

[The Pickled Punk]

There is also another short story, I believe, called the Bottle Imp, which is similar to the Monkey's Paw. One of the features both stories share is that the wishes are "granted" in such a way that it is unclear whether the Imp or Paw has any powers. It could have been an accident, or a random event. Try to make the wishes come true in such a way that will make the PCs paranoid, wondering if the voice in their heads is the Wishing Imp, or if they are going crazy. Another good source is an old Twilight Zone episode I half remember, where some guy (played by Shatner, I believe) keeps asking a "devil" figure in a restaurant to tell his future, to the point where he is paralyzed by indecision. Played properly, the PCs will use the Imp repeatedly, while realizing that it is probably a mistake.