Friendship is Dragons
Updates Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
Page 783 - Blue Symptoms
Author Notes:
Newbiespud
28th Jul 2016, 6:00 AM
edit
delete
(Pop-out)
15 Comments:
It's great RP stuff, and they do like having the range of feelings, but I usually feel a bit guilty for getting them so invested in characters that I know aren't going to get happy endings.
It's interesting when they campaign to change the outcome.
In an old campaign I ran, one of the first NPC's the players helped was an old bard who was supposed to pass on the McGuffin of the main plot to the PC's before dying at the end of the first episode. Pretty boilerplate stuff. But the mage in the group pulled out every stop from Heal checks to magic in order to save his life. So he got to live anyway.
The other event was the evil cleric who had been seduced and converted to the dark path a long time ago, and was sent to pretend to be good, seduce a party member, gain their trust, betray them at the right moment, and get killed in combat. I figured she'd last two, maybe three sessions.
Based on her motivations and orders, she picks the emotionally weakest in the party. Who is that elf mage again. This time, when the elf is seduced by the evil cleric, she patiently turns the tables on her, and effectively seduces her back, resulting in the formerly evil cleric becoming the team NPC cleric until that player had to leave the campaign, retiring the elf mage and the cleric. (Who got married off-camera some time later, it was established.)
Since then, I've learned two things: 1) Never assume any NPC is destined for the trash heap just because your notes say they are.
2) Never bet against the emotional "heart" character of the group.
In an old campaign I ran, one of the first NPC's the players helped was an old bard who was supposed to pass on the McGuffin of the main plot to the PC's before dying at the end of the first episode. Pretty boilerplate stuff. But the mage in the group pulled out every stop from Heal checks to magic in order to save his life. So he got to live anyway.
The other event was the evil cleric who had been seduced and converted to the dark path a long time ago, and was sent to pretend to be good, seduce a party member, gain their trust, betray them at the right moment, and get killed in combat. I figured she'd last two, maybe three sessions.
Based on her motivations and orders, she picks the emotionally weakest in the party. Who is that elf mage again. This time, when the elf is seduced by the evil cleric, she patiently turns the tables on her, and effectively seduces her back, resulting in the formerly evil cleric becoming the team NPC cleric until that player had to leave the campaign, retiring the elf mage and the cleric. (Who got married off-camera some time later, it was established.)
Since then, I've learned two things: 1) Never assume any NPC is destined for the trash heap just because your notes say they are.
2) Never bet against the emotional "heart" character of the group.
To all the M's out there, ever crossed the line and regretted it?
Nope. At worst, they're more motivated.
At best, the party *does* have a Necromancer. Favorite characters return!
...Only they're a bit more bitey.
Also, if I don't get at least one inarticulate response of revulsion in a session, I'm not doing my job right.
At best, the party *does* have a Necromancer. Favorite characters return!
...Only they're a bit more bitey.
Also, if I don't get at least one inarticulate response of revulsion in a session, I'm not doing my job right.
I'm careful about crossing lines, but when I do, what Joe said: my players get the impression of just how evil the thing they're opposing really is.
(This was a large part of the inspiration for my current campaign: "not evil, just misunderstood" blending freely with "seems innocent, actually evil" to the point that the designated villain organization is itself confused, as is anyone trying to treat it like the monolithic organization it tries to be but isn't. Contrast this with the PCs getting a reputation as heroes despite not actually doing the heroic deeds - until people start assuming they are mythic heroes who will of course do whatever people think is the right thing.)
(This was a large part of the inspiration for my current campaign: "not evil, just misunderstood" blending freely with "seems innocent, actually evil" to the point that the designated villain organization is itself confused, as is anyone trying to treat it like the monolithic organization it tries to be but isn't. Contrast this with the PCs getting a reputation as heroes despite not actually doing the heroic deeds - until people start assuming they are mythic heroes who will of course do whatever people think is the right thing.)
It was my first attempt at horror and I hadn't even read Call of Cthulhu...
Plus I like to think that "Uncle" Rusty Nails went back after his adventures was over and stayed with them for the rest of his days.
Hey, I just realized, this is the 5th anniversary comic. Posted on July 28, 2016, and the first page was July 28, 2011.
You're right...
Congrats on 5 years spud
Here's to five more *raises glass*