Post/Author/DateTime	Post
JellyPooga 08-19-07, 10:36 PM	O.k. for those who don't know who Beshaba is, in a nutshell, she's a Chaotic Evil (mostly chaotic rather than mostly evil) deity from the FR campaign setting. She's the Maid of Misfortune, Lady Lucks evil twin, the one to blame for practically everything that goes wrong because of random chance. For those of you who do know who Beshaba is, ignore the above and read on; Though many might pay at least lip service to her in an attempt to divert her attention, there are few indeed who actually worship her and fewer still who go so far as to devote their lives to her service... ...I've wanted to play a devoted follower of Beshaba for a long time now, but never really been sure on how to RP his/her fervant side. Obviously, being a follower of Beshaba means doing her will (i.e. inflicting misfortune on the world), but how can this be achieved effectively without simply screwing the party over from time to time? Sure, he can cause "misfortunes" on those that the party encounters too, but for the most part the only people that (as an adventurer) s/he will have frequent contact with is the party, so over time, what might start out as being an inconvenience, could easily turn into a hindrance, an annoyance and eventually lead to party in-fighting when the others get fed up of him/her "doing his ladies work". In short, I need some suggstions for: 1) "What were you expecting...?" Long-term 'misfortunes' that could be set up on the other PC's, without being too much of an annoyance to the party. These could have quite drastic effects, as long as the time scale involved means that they don't happen very often (to the group as a whole). Either that ot it could be something that reccurs frequently, but has a very minor effect. For example, a "drastic effect-infrequent" misfortune could be something like arranging it such that the Wizards waterskin leaks slightly into his spellbook case, so that over time, the spellbooks spine rots and falls apart. It's inconvenient and takes a while to happen, but doesn't set the Wizard back unduly (the pages will still be intact, they'll just need reorganizing). A "non drastic-frequent" misfortune could be something as simple as every other night, putting a twig or stone into someones boot, or altering someones clothes to make them fit uncomfortably. 2) "Here's one I prepared earlier" misfortunes that can be inflicted upon monsters and such at short notice. These would typically have small but immediate effects and should be easy to implement. For example, a quick and easy way to sabotage a group of monsters' scabbards such that when they try to draw their swords, the scabbards come off their belts/baldrics with their swords (in-game effect being that they need to take a second 'draw weapon' action to actually draw their weapon, or something). 3) "It couldn't have been me! I left there months ago!" misfortunes to inflict on the various people that he doesn't kill on his travels. These should be delayed effects (and thus have little effect, if any, on gameplay) that he can instigate as he passes through town, but don't come to fruition until a later date (when he's long gone). The sort of thing I'm thinking of for this is (magically or otherwise) sabotaging the Blacksmiths anvil such that, though it won't break immediately, prolonged use (say, over a couple more weeks of daily use) will cause it to collapse on the Blacksmith(or whoever is using it)s foot. Character Class, Party composition and Campaign details aren't defined, so any suggestions can be for any "build" to perform and can be for any kind of victim to suffer...In fact, it's likely that the character I end up playing will be the one for whom the most 'misfortunes' I can gather/think up for him/her to inflict on the world. Thanks, in advance, for any help you can give!
Mad_Jack 08-22-07, 07:07 PM	Well, I'd think at some point you may want to grab a level of thief - sabotaging stuff falls under the disable device skill. Sleight of hand is good for lifting somebody's purse, putting it in someone else's pocket, and then being a concerned citizen and letting the owner know that you just saw the second man stealing his money. One thing that's almost iconic in the misfortune department is to leave rotting food or dead animals in hard-to-find places, either to stink up the place or to attract swarms of bugs/flies/whatever. Ever heard the story of the lady who packed her curtain rods full of shrimp before she moved out of the house her husband had won in the divorce? And rumors are always good. Word of mouth can spread faster than the plague. Lies and misdirection. If someone asks you for directions, send them into the bad part of town or get them hopelessly lost. Essentially, anything that someone would do as a malicious prank would work great. Especially if you can blame someone else. It's almost a two-for-one deal. You'd be the guy walking through the marketplace stealing fruit and tossing it at the guards when they're not looking. Stealing candy from children and giving it to their sister or brother so they'll get smacked. Slicing most of the way through the rope holding shut the door on the wagon full of horse manure. Petty vandalism and visciousness should be almost habitual. Think of yourself as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, on steroids. Oh, one thing you can do with a spellbook, if you can get your hands on it on a regular basis... Wet a string or thread with saliva or even water, then place it inbetween the pages as close as possible to the spine and close the book for awhile - the saliva weakens the paper. Draw the string back and forth a few times. It's like like cutting them with a knife. The wizard may never figure out why pages keep falling out of his spellbook.