My first failed Powers Check

[LouisVendredi]

This past weekend, I had my first ever PC fail a powers check. (I'm so excited. )

Here's the background:

The PC's were hired on by a rich noble in Dementlieu to basically be fodder for adventure stories (The Compte is a big old geek). He sends them out on tasks and then hires bards to write up the tales of their adventures.

One of the characters, a rogue, was approached by someone he used to do jobs (felonious) with. The other rogue works as a low-level minion of the Living Brain (not that the players have any idea about this).

The minion had heard of the player's good fortune and hinted that he should share the wealth. He suggested that the player arrange things so that the Compte and the rest of the party (including the rogue) are away from the manor and to find out as much as possible about the value of the Compte's possessions and his security (guards, shifts, protections, etc.) and to make sure the manor was unlocked when the party was away in return for a share of the loot.

The player went along with this and, when the party got home, they found the manor ransacked and all the guards and other servants dead (14 dead in all).

I had the player roll a powers check (at 6% for a major betrayal) and he rolled a 1.

I gave him +2 on all his Bluff checks as his reward and made his eyes glow yellow in the dark as his punishment. Needless to say the other players were freaked out by this and don't trust him (the really never did anyway). One of them thought he might be a Doppleganger.

Anyway, if he fails another check, I plan to give him Glibness once a day and a rat's tail.

I am working along a Path of the Deciever theme here for his powers checks.

Any ideas for the rest of the Path?

[Ail]

Hi,

not much to add, it seems applicable.
I just would like to add that if you are referring to 'Compte' as 'Count' in french, I believe the right word is just 'Comte', without the 'p'.

'Compte' seems to related to 'counting things', and that may be where the mix up came from.

Alex

[LouisVendredi]

My mistake. Thankfully, none of my players know any French and even if they did, they've never seen his title in print, so I could always claim they misheard the "p".

[Jester of the FoS]

There's always bonuses to Bluff/Sense Motive but penalties to Diplo/Intimidate. Maybe oily skin giving him a bonus in grapples. A forked tongue. Maybe the ability to cast disguise self.

[LouisVendredi]

There's always bonuses to Bluff/Sense Motive but penalties to Diplo/Intimidate. Maybe oily skin giving him a bonus in grapples. A forked tongue. Maybe the ability to cast disguise self.

I thought about the forked tongue, but I'm thinking he'll become more rat-like rather than snake-like.

I like the disguise self, especially since that's something he really wants. I would just want to figure out a way to do it that doesn't make negating his cosmetic punishments too easy.

[alhoon]

Just a thought:

6% chance for a PCheck for such a crime is a bit low IMO. OK, he didn't killed 14 people himself, but it was a betrayal that ended in the death of 14 people!

I believe that a 14% chance (1%/each dead) would be more appropriate.

Also I would have one of the slain risen up as a restless dead. The restless wouldn't know immediately that the PC was also behind the attack but he would have good chances to find out.

About the cosmetic punishments:
Let him avoid the cosmetic punishments IMO. That way the DP would entice him more to keep spiraling down. On the other hand I would suggest also giving him a minor penalty that doesn't get covered with disguise self.

Since I like the rat tail, I would suggest that it would have a habbit to whirl on its own sometimes, giving him an extra -2 (or -4 you choose) penalty to disguise checks.

[Jester of the FoS]

Well, the percentage is also irrelevant as he failed.
His crime wasn't killing 14 people though. It was betraying his employer. He didn't know fourteen people were going to be killed, he had know way of knowing fourteen were going to be killed. He is not culpable but he is responsible.

[LouisVendredi]

6% chance for a PCheck for such a crime is a bit low IMO. OK, he didn't killed 14 people himself, but it was a betrayal that ended in the death of 14 people!

I believe that a 14% chance (1%/each dead) would be more appropriate.

I kind of agree with Jester here about his direct guilt in the deaths, but I also feel that the standard percentages are a tad low.

Also I would have one of the slain risen up as a restless dead. The restless wouldn't know immediately that the PC was also behind the attack but he would have good chances to find out.

Very good idea. I think I'll make that happen. What would you suggest, a revenant?

About the cosmetic punishments:
Let him avoid the cosmetic punishments IMO. That way the DP would entice him more to keep spiraling down. On the other hand I would suggest also giving him a minor penalty that doesn't get covered with disguise self.

I'm torn about the cosmetics, but he will eventually (a stage or two later) get a non-cosmetic punishment. I just haven't decided the specifics yet.

Since I like the rat tail, I would suggest that it would have a habbit to whirl on its own sometimes, giving him an extra -2 (or -4 you choose) penalty to disguise checks.

I like this idea quite a bit. Plus, if he tries to hide the tail under pants, it will be quite uncomfortable and probably cause some penalties on its own.

[alhoon]

About the tail:
I would suggest that it would writhe more when the player is agitated, excited etc. But that's just for "description" reasons, to point that the tail doesn't have a mindset of its own, but the mindset of the character has been toyed with.

About the Restless:
While a revenant is a good example, it is a template so if the subject was for example a 2nd level warrior, the revenant won't be powerful.
I would suggest a revenant, but I would add up Hit Dice (not levels) to bring him up to CR needed.
For example if the victim was a charismatic 2nd level fighter and you expect the party to meet him (at first he may only be wanting their help, since they worked for his employer. ) at 5th level, I would suggest you either add 3-4 levels or better, 6-7 undead HD (i.e 6-7d12, +3 to base attack rolls, +2 fortitude/reflex, +4 will, 2 feats, (2+int)x6 or x7 skill points etc).
Also, the revenant should be intimidating enough. That way, the player who is responsible for his death may think to try to trick the revenant again, instead of facing him getting in an ever-deepening hole of betrayal and lies.

[LouisVendredi]

Good idea about the tail.

As for the restless dead, I've been thinking of one of the killed staffed coming back as a ghost. Possibly possessing people in an attempt to investigate his/her death. It might make the PC nervous to find random people asking too many questions about what he caused.

[alhoon]

Good idea that. It will probably work.