Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Trydan 07-22-03, 10:37 AM	Meet Johann Geiermeier, graveyard caretaker from some small village you've never heard of. A devout man, but with a paranoia for undead and, in particular, vampires. And he takes the care of his cemetary very seriously, with an almost unhealthy passion for thwarting evil incursions or ridding unwholesomeness from within its tombs. He spent his meager earnings on silver-plated splint mail, which he wears hidden under his normal clothes. His fanatical saving for this expensive item was at the cost of his diet and clothes, and his face is sunken, his appearance gaunt and garments ragged and worn. He carries about a flail (a legacy of a warrior now buried within the graveyard) and his holy symbol (inherrited from his father), and when he sleeps he lies on his back with arms crossed in front of him, flail in one hand, holy-symbol in the other, like some egyptian pharaoh. But he doesn't sleep often - he's always prowling around the gravestones at night with wooden stakes, strings of garlic and buckets of holy-water. The villages claim the graveyard is haunted, and that strange figures can be seen there at night. In reality, these sightings are of none other than the caretaker himself - so wraithlike is his appearance. However, these rumours have only served to fuel his passion and devotion. Now, my questions are these... what sorts of things would make this man leave his graveyard and follow a band of bold adventurers? what sorts of skills would this character have? does anyone have any other ideas for traits/characteristics/etc. that I could use to enhance this character concept? Many thanks... Trydan. PS: Yes, I swiped the name/concept from the book Der kleine Vampir.
Tzor 07-22-03, 11:48 AM	The Mayor of the small village has gotten worried over the past few months, seeing his local graveyard caretaker become gaunt and how he has neglected his appearance. The mayor assumes that Johann is either getting too involved in his work, or that graveyards do make people creepy over time. In any event the Mayor has decided to devise a plan which will encourage the caretaker to go out and see the world, at least for a while. The Mayor is incredably proud of himself for thinking up this idea, and shrugs off the notion that it was actually someone else, who secretly is the village necromancer in need of a few new bodies, who first suggested Johann's condition. The necromancer also runs a supply store in the village, and is hoping that once Johann returns with adventurer's booty he will spend it with him and go out again, so he can get more bodies. The necromanver is also incredably proud of himself and never realizes that he is merely the pawn of some vampire from a nearby city.
Fiantha 07-22-03, 03:19 PM	Perhaps his beloved silver splint mail is stolen one night, and he must travel to recover/replace it. Alternatively, he could hear of an even better item for killing undead. He seems to be such an obsessive person, he could easily lose his fixation for the little graveyard and instead devote his life to the acquisition of this uber-item. I won't even deign to mention the "place-he-loved-is-destroyed-and-he-has-to-avenge-the-loss-of-everything-he-cared-about" cliche. However, if he has some advanced warning of an impending disaster, he might travel to find the help he will need to repel it. Ask your DM if he or she would be willing to have a subsequent adventure be the saving of the graveyard. Or you could just have the town step in at the last minute, hire some mercenaries and say all is well. With any of these you'd have to think of some reason why he wouldn't go back to the graveyard once he's completed his goal. Just my thoughts. --Fiantha
Cromm, Fist from the West 07-23-03, 02:55 AM	lol:invasion: Geiermeier... are there any small vampieres living on this gravejard???;)
Damren 07-23-03, 06:41 PM	It's a little extreme, but you could have bodies start vanishing, graves found violated, etc. You could even run a sequence in which the entire grave yard is cursed and all of the dead arise. Most could be zombies or other lessers, a few could be bigger problems for the party to deal with on the spot. In defeating them, it is discovered that no body laid to rest in the grave yard will stay there. Some of the more potent Evil Dead could have been seen escaping towards some town or city that the rest of the party has an interest in. In fact, the party could save the Crypt Keepers life from the initial surge of undead. Thus, the CK could feel indepted to them and may come to discover that whoever laid the curse to raise those more potent undead must be stopped & the curse removed to return the grave yard to its hallowed state.
dirk hightower 07-25-03, 03:49 PM	4 reasons: 1) a new, bigger, better graveyard opens up that everyone likes better and threatens to put him out of business 2) little kids are frightened of him and no one comes there anymore 3) a ghost gives him a quest 4) he's becoming "too fond" of the undead