Need Help with a Curse

[Hell_Born]

I'm going to be running a campaign soon (not actually Ravenloft-based, a unique setting of my own design- wait and hear me out please) and I need some help with pregenerating an adventuring party. Specifically, I was inspired by the article on Noble PCs in Dragon #333 and I decided to include such a character in the group; a Human Female using the "The Family Curse" plot-base. For those who haven't read this article, the basic gist is that the PC's family is cursed, and they've set out adventuring to find a cure.

And here's the problem; I need suggestions on what the curse should actually be. For a time, I considered using the article's suggestion of lycanthropy/undeath, and thus starting the character as a 1st level Lycanthrope (using the classes from Dragon #313) or Undead (using the classes from Libris Mortis) and I still might fall back on those (which option -and which specific class of lycanthrope/undead- do you think is best? Also, I was considering having the Lycanthrope class have a Trigger- any suggestions on what that might be?).

However, I was also considering other possible curses that might be afflicting the family; hence the reason I'm here. Could you suggest possible curses to have the PC and her family suffer from, as well as how they were cursed/might be cured? I ask this primarily because the previous option brings up the possibility that the player might concentrate entirely on taking levels in their racial class (more a worry with the Undead classes than the Lycanthrope class), which results in them causing a fuss when they complete their personal quest and go from a Lvl 20 Vampire to a Lvl 0 Noble. I want to avoid that possibility.

While I'm on the subject, another character I was creating for the party was a Male Human Warlock, whose inspiration owes equal parts to my recent discovery of Hagspawn and the Ecology of the Night Hag; basically he's the son of a Night Hag. As well as granting him the natural affinity for magic (his taking the Warlock class), do you think that this character's heritage should grant him any benefits and/or liabilities? If so, could you suggest something? I was contemplating giving him either the Masochism or Self-Mutilation fetishes from BoVD- representing him inheriting his mother's sense of "self-beautification".

Speaking of Night Hags, I was considering having one (either the Warlock's mother or one of his fully-fledged half-sisters) make appearances in the campaign as a "double-sided sword"; alternatively ally and enemy (and sometimes hard to tell which role she's playing). Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Finally, could you suggest some character concepts so I can finish off the party? (I'm aiming for the "standard party"; 6 members) I just need suggestions for Gender/Race/Class (I can come up with the fine details myself) and I'd appreciate a "plot hook" like I've devised for the Noble and the Warlock. They needn't be as grandoise as the ones I came up with though. My sole request if you decide to favour me with such is this: No Paladins or Monks (I'm far from fond of the former, and the latter don't suit the setting I'm playing).

[NeoTiamat]

Well, one 'curse' I recently read about in Heroes of Horror would be to have the family, some generations back, make a deal with an extremely powerful and malevolent outsider.

Let's say that the PC's great-great-great-great-grandfather was an esoteric scholar. Not a cruel man, but a cold and distant one, and without an ounce of give in him. He gathered strange books and bizarre miscellanea, and ruthlessly taxed the peasants to pay for his hobby.

Eventually, the peasants had had enough and revolted. The ancestor, in desperation to avoid an extremely angry mob with pitchforks, scythes, and other long, sharp implements, riffles through his books, and in his hurry, makes a deal with a Fiend from the lower planes.

The fiend routed the peasants with ease, and made the following bargain with the scholar. The scholar and his family would serve the Fiend unto the tenth generation, and in exchange, the Fiend would see to it that the family had wealth, health, and respect.

Fast forward a few centuries. The family has gained increasing power over the region, through a tradition of dark sorcery and evil powers, and almost without exception live to be nearly a hundred years old. The catch is that they serve as the Fiend's emissaries in the world, and must run his cult and sacrifice peasants to him on certain days, and spread his influence (and theres) throughout the land.

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Your PC might be trying to stop this by slaying the Fiend, saving her families souls, or perhaps trying to find a loophole in the contract (which the Fiend has).

[Hell_Born]

Interesting idea, but I should have been a little clearer with the family's background: originally, they were an important family, perhaps even with a distant tie to the Throne itself. Since the curse, their fortunes have faded; their land has become little more than uninhabited wilderness, with a few small villages and individual huts scattered here and there, and the family itself living in the crumbling and decrepit remains of a once-glorious manor.
Think the Mansions from Resident Evil and Resident Evil Zero and their surrounding terrain (minus Racoon City) and you've pretty much got the "family holdings" in a nutshell.

Your curse is still an interesting idea, but the Fiend's "rewards" do conflict with the whole "fallen from grace" angle I'm going for. Sorry.

[Jasper]

For the Girl I would take a page out of Poes Masque of the Red Death.

The set up is the same with a group of nobles and thier familes hiding away in a vast eastate owned by the PCs ancestor high up in the mountains along with a small collection of trusted servents as a plague covers the land. Everything goes well for a while untill it is discovered that the youngest child of the gypsy cook has been sneaking food out of estate to the plaged villagers and has become infected. Scared and enraged the PC's ancestor locked the girl away in the estate dungeon without food or water and watched as she suffered the plauges effects. For over a week she writhed in pain as the ancestor did nothing. As her last hours came her mother turned to the ancestor and spat in his face, "As the gods are my witness the fate of my youngest will fall upon your head follow your wretched spawn untill the earth takes you all!"

The ancestor payed the old woman no heed and had her tossed in her own call to die. Over the course of several months however he noticed himself growing more and more gaunt and his hair began to fall out in chunks. He no longer felt hunger and the finest food and grandest wine were ash in his mouth. A cloud of putrid fog began to suround him at all times as boils and leasions erupted on his flesh.

As his condition worsened the other nobles took it upon themselves to run him out the estate into the surounding wilds. He was never heard from again.

Soon his youngest daughter began to exibit similer aflictions and she too was sent out into the world to die.

For ten generations within weeks of his or her 18th birthday the youngest child of each generation has transformed into a creature resembling a zombie lord. Many have been killed or died naturaly but several have servived and even thrived with thier powers.

In order to end the curse both the ancestor and his transformed daugher must both be found and destroyed and thier bones placed in the familes underground crypt.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

When writing Jade Horror, I created a creature that had an unusual defense that seems appropriate here:

Heaven's Wrath (Su): Slaying a slumbering prowler ends the creature's divine punishment, bringing a Dangerous Curse down upon the offender. If several people take part in the creature's death, they share a Troublesome Curse (2-5 people) or a Frustrating Curse (6 or more). Such curses are often hereditary.

The "divine punishment" referred to here is the creature's imprisonment deep underground; basically it's supposed to sleep for ages and ages before reentering the cycle of reincarnation. Strictly speaking, setting such a creature free might also be grounds for such a divine curse. If you go that route, perhaps her ancestor released a creature that she has to hunt down and slay; alternately, perhaps the ancestor slew a creature and thereby sent it to be reincarnated, and she has to find the reincarnated form and force it back into the enchanted prison. Just something to get the ball rolling.

On a totally different note, I had a MotRD game wherein one PC owned a club in Boston where she refused to give shelter to a prostitute during the return of Jack the Ripper (Red Jack adventure). The frantic woman cursed the heartless club owner for shutting her out with a murderer on the loose, and said that she would have people beating on her door for the rest of her life, all the people who have no where else to turn, until she had no choice but to help them. That PC became a "wierdness magnet" as people kept coming to her for help with problems the police couldn't handle (i.e. supernatural problems).

Building on these ideas, how about an ancestor who was cursed for his miserliness, and was told that as gold had once been his life, it would now be his life to give it away. The man got gravely ill, and the only way to keep the illness at bay was to give a way some money every day. Worse, the illness was passed to the man's children, so that the entire family was forced to be painfully generous just to stay alive. They may have been very shrewd investors, but it only delayed the inevitable: the family's holdings have now gone into foreclosure, their creditors are closing in, and three generations are about to die a slow and painful death if the PC cannot find a LOT more money and/or a way to lift the curse.

[Hell_Born]

Some good ideas so far; does anyone else have any suggestions? Also, any input on the "Half-Night Hagspawn" Warlock and my ideas on making a Night Hag a recurring NPC?

[Luke Fleeman]

A thought: rather than an undead class for the undead curse, why not feats that would better reflect such a curse without full-fledged undead, like Tomb-tainted soul (I think that is the name) or Necropolis born?

[Hell_Born]

Interesting possibility... though I ask; what effect does the Necropolis Born feat have and where can I find it? Because I know what Tomb-Born Soul does (healed by negative energy, hurt by positive energy). Also, either/both the feats as 1st level/bonus feats sounds good for the "positive" aspect of the curse, but what about the negative aspect?

[Jason of the Fraternity]

For a time, I considered using the article's suggestion of lycanthropy/undeath, and thus starting the character as a 1st level Lycanthrope or Undead (using the classes from Libris Mortis) and I still might fall back on those

Have you considered using something like the Mortif race (death-touched) found in the same Dragon issue? You could still use the concept of an undead curse, but this option would only involve 1-level that would have to be swapped out if the curse were lifted. You could always add additional benefits and drawbacks to the character as she progresses, but you wouldn’t be tied to so many specific undead-type levels that would have to be removed if the character is successful.

I should have been a little clearer with the family's background: originally, they were an important family, perhaps even with a distant tie to the Throne itself. Since the curse, their fortunes have faded; their land has become little more than uninhabited wilderness, with a few small villages and individual huts scattered here and there, and the family itself living in the crumbling and decrepit remains of a once-glorious manor.

Just playing upon the concepts outlined above, you could still use the idea of some sort of fiendish benefactor. Perhaps, this important family ruled over the area for several generations. However, due to some unknown source, the family line was slowly dwindling away with each successive generation. Fearing that they would eventually have no able-bodied family members and their line would lose control of their estates and lands, the patriarch made a desperate deal with an evil outsider. With the fiend’s gift(s), the family line once again flourished and prospered.

However, each member of the family was cursed with the negative energies with which the fiend blessed them. Each member of the family is born as a death-touched individual (mortif), who is destined to eventually degrade both mentally and spiritually into a monster. Worst of all, every family member is doomed to become an undead creature upon their inevitable death. Only by removing this curse can the family line be saved from an eternal damnation of undeath.

Unfortunately, this curse that initially saved their lives and lands has taken its toll. Most of the servants and villagers that previously served under this once noble family have fled the land.

I know what Tomb-Born Soul does (healed by negative energy, hurt by positive energy). Also, either/both the feats as 1st level/bonus feats sounds good for the "positive" aspect of the curse, but what about the negative aspect?

If you want to go the route of using the Tomb-Tainted style of feats, then I would recommend following a similar style that the aberration feats from Lord of Madness use; each feat causes the character to take a cumulative -1 penalty on various skill checks (diplomacy, gather info, etc.). As the character gains these additional powers, I would have the character slowly degrade further and further into an abomination, which alters the charter’s appearance and effective gives her an outcast rating (albeit for your own campaign setting).

[Jason of the Fraternity]

Also, any input on the "Half-Night Hagspawn" Warlock and my ideas on making a Night Hag a recurring NPC?

The deformity feats wouldn't be a bad way to go with the hagspawned character, especially if that fits with the overall concept. Just as a general idea, you might want to give the warlock some dream-like powers as well (since Night Hags are known to haunt mortals dreams). Perhaps, the warlock gains special visions or other related powers in his dreams. Then again, you could penalize the character by making him suffer from nightmares due to his connection to the Night Hag. Or, perhaps, a combination of both...?

As for the Night Hag, I think that you could easily make her a recurring NPC, especially one that works behind the scenes a great deal during the earlier levels. As the characters progress, she could become more prominent until they finally confront her. Plus, borrowing from the fiendish pscted mentioned in my previous post, who is to say that the family's curse wasn't a product from this particular night hag (tying the group even closer together).

[Hell_Born]

I'm very grateful for the ideas, but I'm not really that fond of races that require a Level Adjustment- otherwise the Mortif would probably be an excellent idea. How would you suggest modifying the Tomb-Tainted Feat Tree to mimic the "Farspawn" (or whatever those feats are that require a Far Realm/Psudeonatural ancestor) Feat Tree?

Also, I like the idea of having the Night Hagspawn suffer from nightmarese and having "dream-related powers"- could you suggest how to handle nightmares ruleswise, and what sort of dream-related powers he might have? Also, what do you think of my idea of having him begin with the Self-Mutilation fetish? It is a common trait amongst Night Hags, if I remember my Ecology of the Night Hag correctly.

::Edit::
Actually, I just had an idea; why not make the Warlock's "bloodgifts" a Feat Tree? He purchases the "Night Hagspawn" (for lack of a better name) feat at 1st level, then as he gains levels he can take new "Bloodgift Feats", representing him becoming more "attuned" to his Night Hag blood. That still presents the problems of what gifts he can attain though, for I can only think of two- and those mere concepts at that.

Cannibalistic Healer
Effect: by devouring the flesh of the slain, you can heal damage.

Voracious Cannibal
Effect: you can consume corpses in a much shorter time than normal.

[Lord Cyclohexane]

For the cannibalism, you might consider the "Voracious" Feat from Van Richten's Guide to the Walking Dead, p55 to fit the Night Hag child.

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But as for the curse, what are you looking for in it? Some questions:

1) Are you looking for a supernatural curse, like Hiregaard's mother cursing his father to always kill the ones he loves, and that turns into Malken? Or something not specifically supernatural, like Heinfroth's inheritance of madness, which is a biological problem passed down the line but is no less a family curse?

2) Is there a direction that you want to subtly lead the PC? For example, as above, the Heinfroth family's madness lead young Daclaud into the field of psychology, as he sought to find a cure before his family's madness struck him as well. Of course, his motives were selfish and led him down a dark path, paying any price including murder to fix his own madness, but had it been another Heinfroth, perhaps things would have gone differently.

But anyway, is there a direction you want to lead the PC? If you want the PC to become a psychologist, make the family curse that of inherited madness. If want the PC to become a doctor or world renowned clerical healer, perhaps have the curse be an bodily ailment that appears later in life and causes early death in the family members. (If you've seen Slayers, think of just how full of a character Rezo becomes simply by virtue of his blindness and what he was willing to do to cure himself of it).

3) When do you want the curse to strike? I once played a very interesting character who was struck by a family curse that would kill any family member upon reaching their 30th year. He was getting rather close, and so time was of the essence for him to figure out what the cause of the problem was, lest he become another statistic. (Grandmother cursed the grandfather's blood for all of the philandering he did; little did she realize, until much later, that as the grandfather's blood passed down into the children and grandchildren that they would be as cursed as he, and so the curse struck her as well as she watched her family who she loved have to die so early; the key was to make peace with her spirit)

Anyway, putting a time limit on the PC's life will drive the PC to work a bit more quickly, to work much harder, and to maybe make decisions that a much more uncouth as time wanes further and further.

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I'll try to come up with other questions later.

[Hell_Born]

Just trying my luck with this topic again; I've a little more details on the characters I have already, but I still need help from mroe exerienced DMs. So far, these three are the only party members I have- I'm trying to think up another three, to make the "classic" D&D party, but I could use some suggestions.

Neutral Good Female Human Scout
-This is the "Family Curse" character, the reason I first started started this topic. As I keep saying, I need help to come up with a curse for her and her family and a way of curing said curse. I settled on the Scout class because I figured a more "wilderness-savvy" warrior-class suited someone from a desolate, backwoods territory.

-If this character's alignment and class are incompatible, please tell me; I don't have my copy of Complete Warrior on hand at the moment.

Chaotic Neutral/Neutral Evil Male "Night Hagspawn" Warlock
-As I've said before, I was intending to basically use the Human racial profile, but remove the bonus Feat/Skill Points in favour of granting him access to a Racial Feat-Tree of "bloodgifts", which are basically powers (and attendant drawbacks) resulting from his becoming more attuned to his Outsider blood. I need suggestions on what these bloodgifts might actually be and/or how they'd work gamewise.

-I was also thinking of giving this character a fetish from the Book of Vile Darkness; do you think this is a good idea and, if so, which would you recommend: Self-Mutilation or Masochism?

-I'm unsure which alignment to actually give this character, as Warlocks must be of either Evil or Chaotic alignment. The character's basic persona is probably best summarised as "ruthless, vengeful & secretive"; he mostly keeps to himself and has absolutlely no qualms about destroying those who oppose him. He plots vengeance when wronged, but normally does so on an appropriate level-scale (eg: you spit in his drink, he slugs you and then swipes the cash for a fresh one from your purse, you destroy a prized possession he's spent years seeking, he'll slit your throat) and has the self-control to recognize when immediate/appropriate retaliation would be inadvisable, though he tends fume in such situations. Despite this, he's not exceptionally greedy (at least in regards to money- tomes of arcane magic and the like are another matter...) and can, when the whim takes him, be quite generous or even kindly.

-The character intends to multiclass as first a Wizard (Specialist: Necromancer precisely) and then as either an Eldritch Theurge or a Master Specialist. Is this advisable?

Chaotic Good Human Barbarian
-This character basically came to me after playing Baldur's Gate 2 and watching Minsc in action. He's essentially a rather simple (Int & Wis no higher than 10) but good-natured character on a ritualistic journey of manhood, with said ritual basically involving him wandering around and "buttkicking for goodness!". Does this character sound playable? If so, can you suggest how to avoid him becoming nothing more than a joke/comic relief?

-The character carries his ancestral blade with him, a Greatsword which the sagas claim grows in power as the bearer proves his worth. In essence, this is an as-yet unawakened Legacy Weapon, though I'm at a blank what powers to give it and what rituals are required... Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Hell_Born]

Okay, I decided to lose the "Night Hagspawn" idea for my Warlock character, and instead was inspired to introduce a "feat-tree race", after the Farspawn/Aberrant-Blooded of Lords of Madness. However, I still need help figuring out how to make the "Bloodgift" feat tree; can anyone help me?

These are the few rough ideas I have.
Darkspawn
Somewhere in your lineage lies a monster, and now the darkness within you has awoken.
*As this pathetic "fluff" suggests, this is intended to be the starting feat in the tree, like Aberrant-Blooded. Main problem (besides needing a better description) is figuring out what this feat can actually do. There's a rough idea that taking this feat in conjunction (initially or later) with a level or more in Warlock causes Warlock to become your favoured class...

Cannibal Healer (Bloodgift)
By devouring the flesh of sentients, you agument your own ability to recover from harm.
Benefit: when you have a supply of Humanoid or Monstrous Humanoid flesh (bit iffy on the MH allowance), in the form of either a corpse or a helpless victim, you may choose to feast upon it. Feasting is a full-round action that causes you to heal 1D4 hitpoints per round- this healing is considered Regeneration, and thus enables you to regrow severed limbs and the like. When feeding on a helpless creature, they suffer an amount of damage equal to the amount you are healed by (you're eating them alive- of course they're going to take damage).

Dreamtaster (Bloodgift)
You have the power to project yourself into the dreams of chosen victims.
Benefit: when you physically touch a creature that is capable of dreaming (DMs discretion; most Humanoids and Monstrous Humanoids are viable targets) you may choose to "mark" them as a contact. You may have a number of contacts equal to your Charisma bonus, and may choose to dismiss a contact at will. As a full-round action, you may attempt to project yourself into the target's dreams- if they aren't asleep, the attempt automatically fails. Success enables you to witness their dreams and even to make minor alterations to their dreamscape. While Dreamtasting, your body is completely helpless. You may leave the contact at will, and are forced back to your own body automatically if they waken. If forced out by their awakening, you must pass a DC15+HD Will save or take 1D6 damage.
Special: this bloodgift leaves you with a compulsion for intimacy whilst sleeping. If you do not sleep within at least 20 feet of a friendly individual, or spend your sleeping time dreamtasting, you do not get natural healing or gain new spells for having rested.

I appreciate any advice you can give me on this subject- or any of the other things I've asked for help with.

[The Giamarga]

Neutral Good Female Human Scout
-This is the "Family Curse" character, the reason I first started started this topic. As I keep saying, I need help to come up with a curse for her and her family and a way of curing said curse. I settled on the Scout class because I figured a more "wilderness-savvy" warrior-class suited someone from a desolate, backwoods territory.

-If this character's alignment and class are incompatible, please tell me; I don't have my copy of Complete Warrior on hand at the moment.

Scout is from Complete Adventurer btw. It has no alignment restriction. Also imho it is not a warrior class but rather a skillful (i.e. roguish) class, with a medium BAB. Analogous to the 2E Scout thief kit.