An idea for Power Cheks and Redemption

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VAN
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An idea for Power Cheks and Redemption

Post by VAN »

I’m planning to play a character who is an ex-assassin that has lost 2 power checks. He lost the first from using poison to kill someone and the other when he backstabbed another. May you help me figure out the dark path he has followed and the most difficult some ideas for his redemption and how he will achieve it. Maybe an idea of quest/atonement he can do after he has realized that he is transforming to a kind of beast and he looses his humanity.

Of course he will not become a paladin. He will be just a rogue with an interesting past! :roll:
Last edited by VAN on Sat Nov 26, 2005 6:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by Undead Cabbage »

Perhaps the twarting of other assasinations and poisonings? He could become the first anti-assasin, designed to protect figures of political influence as opposed to kill them for money.
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Post by Jasper »

Add a kid.

Honestly that is the best way to turn a killer type character back on the right track is to have a child fall into his life that he has to take care of.

Either A: He starts caring for the child right away and beings doing good deeds while defending her from the BBEG

or

B: He shurks his deuty and the child dies causing him to go into a rightious rage that results in him gaining redemtion by geting revenge for the little girl.

Either way its win win.
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Post by Boccaccio Barbarossa »

Another angle - if he has assassin contacts, or is aware of other assassination plots, he might want to try and go after these killers and put 'em out of business. (Actually, this is not really diferent from what was already said...)

I have always found that a good religious cleansing (Atonement + Geas/*Quest?) is not entirely out of order. At the very least, a confession ight be nice. Perhaps the priest can suggest a "paragon of virtue" for him to seek out, who may be able to chaperone or guide the assassin? Of courser, the next step is to choose a different class when you level up next. And maybe a progressive alignment change would be in order ASAP. Once you've faught your way back up the hill of temptation.

Lastly - stay away from using any special powerrs you may have thta come from the fall/are eveil. 9but that goes without saying.) :wink:
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VAN
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Post by VAN »

Of course he will change class, he will be a ranger. As about the alignment, which is the most difficult to change he will try to be T.N from N.E.

I like both the ideas of the kid and the cleric who propose atonement to him.
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Post by Jack of Tears »

Though a bit cliched, there is always the possibility of him encountering a potential role model whom had, himself, very nearly been lost to the darkness by his crimes. This person could have once been an infamous figure in the underworld who simply vanished one day - or the topic of a fable about what happens when assassins go soft. (the assumption of the fable being he'd been killed or died quietly somewhere)

Depends if you want him to be led back willingly, or scared back. I once had an npc assassin whom had been cursed so that the ghosts of everyone he ever killed would follow and torment him. The spirits could do no actual harm, but they would accuse him, keep him up at nights and generally harass him for his crimes. The character became so fearful of killing anyone else, he became a hermit and eventually a type of soothsayer, giving advice to those who sought him out. Of course, making a pc into a hermit is a bit drastic, but me might begin suffering and find that only the ghosts of those he has "wronged" (that is, killed ignobly) are drawn to him.

Now that I'm done with that, I would comment on the topic of assassination and evil in general. In truth there is no reason an assassin need be an evil person. Player characters kill people all the time, for the greater good and promise of reward. If the assassin was, himself, killing those he believed to be evil, (or killing for a good cause) then there is no reason he should be assumed wicked. Also, the use of poison and backstabbing are not in themselves means for failed powers checks. Poison is simply another means of combat, a weapon for those who cannot fight their foes on equal terms. (for whatever reasons) So long as the poison did not cause undo suffering it should be considered no more or less evil than an arrow, or a broadsword. Additionally, stabbing a person is the back is not an evil act. If that were the case, rogues would become unplayable in any game requireing a modicum of combat. Now, if he stabbed a child or a helpless innocent, that is another matter. If he was cruel and taunted the person while he died, then perhaps a check is in order ... but simply for attacking from concelement? That isn't evil, it's good strategy. (you don't force a military leader into powers checks for making use of his terain in combat) Remember, a character's intentions must be evil or egregiously mislead in order to warrent the attention of the dark powers.
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Re: re

Post by VAN »

Jack of Tears wrote: Remember, a character's intentions must be evil or egregiously mislead in order to warrent the attention of the dark powers.
I agree. That is the characters problem, he is evil. He was an assassin, he was paid to kill and used often poison to do that. He was not a rogue who fighted for his life and backstabbed a foe. Actually he had lost only 2 power checks but maybe he should had lost more.

I liked this baground for this reason I decided to play him.
- The first 2 Feats a wizard should take are "point blank shot" and "Precise shot"!
- W H A T ! ? !
- Or they should NEVER memorize rays!
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Re: re

Post by Isabella »

VAN wrote:Actually he had lost only 2 power checks but maybe he should had lost more.
Depends on how you want to interpret the Dark Powers. Usually, they're not that interested in dispassionate crimes or "ordinary evils."
It doesn't sound like the assassin is particularly passionate about these crimes, so a "beast" wouldn't be an appropriate analogy. More likely, the PC is becoming a machine: cold, clinical, and ruthless; or perhaps like a Shadow.

As for redemption, he could develop antidotes for the poisons he used for harm. He could do his best to set things right for any relatives of the person he killed. He could expose both himself and his employer to the proper authorities (not a terribly likely option, though).
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Post by alhoon »

As the character Van describes will show up to my campaign as a PC sooner or later, I'll add a few info for all of you there.

1) The character is an assassin, but doesn't belong in the assassin class. 7th level rogue/3 ranger

2) I use heavily modified PChecks in my campaings. The 4-5% for a planned non-brutal murder doesn't work IMC. On the other hand, since the character was an assassin by profession, I would rule that he has killed about 30 - 40 targets along with 100 - 150 bodyguards they may had or witnesses before losing 2 powers checks.
So much killing for money along with the sorrow it brought is enough IMO to bring the effects of 2 lost power checks on the character.
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