Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Charles Phipps 09-22-06, 05:33 AM	Hey guys, I'm finally getting to resolve a game that I had plans for some time ago. It's basis is a mixture of the Odyssey, The Fugitive, and The Count of Monte Cristo. The character concept is a bit of an amusing one that has allowed plenty of sidequests and enjoyable gaming. Basically, the character is a prisoner in a secret prison in the Eldeen Reaches run by individuals that the player character does not know the identity of. All that he knows is that he's spent the last ten years (that he remembers) imprisoned in deplorable conditions (as if there's any other kind in Medieval Prisons) and only by chance made it out. Since then, the character has spent the past three years of game time in a quest to and fro across Khovaire trying to reunite with his wife. He's had a bit of difficulty with this since he doesn't remember his name, his wife's name, what country he's from, or anything but extremely vague details about his life. The character thrives on pure desperation, rage, and an occasionally pathetic desire to just get "home." I used this as a justification for giving him the Barbarian class with the cavaet the man is from a civilized region but goes into psychotic frenzies when he's provoked beyond all reason. The character has been dogged by assassins, fanatic duelist nobles that kill themselves before revealing information, and at one point Merrix D'Cannith took an interest in the character. The character was captured, strapped to machines, and subjected to rather brutal tortures and psychic torment before he broke free and ended the Baron in this campaign world. In one of the curious aspects of the game, the DM has chosen not to be the one to reveal things with the ultimate 'realization' of whom he is and where he's from now being allowed to him. He's stated I have a free hand to develop the backstory as I see fit with the hint that he wouldn't mind if the character is revealed to Eberron's already confirmed Man in the Iron Mask of Karrnath. I'm not sure I'm inclined to have him be Kaius the Third though unless I really have a good emotional arc to go along with it. I'd appreciate any ideas. I'm currently toying with at least one idea that when he gets back to his home, we'll not have the Gulliver or Odysseus moment where he's tearfully reunited with his wife (that he's remained faithful too despite ample opportunity) and instead have her taken the normal route of War widows and remarried. (It seems the most sadistic thing I can do to the poor guy whom is already a candidate for "What does not kill us makes us stronger"'s picture next to him) But how to RPG that out is a tough call
Kid SixXx 09-22-06, 08:21 AM	Nice campaign! I've always been a fan of the Kafka-esque Prisoner plotlines. I personally would go with the Karnnathi angle. I'm happy to see that your DM doesn't mind breaking the setting so I see no reason not to expore the Man In The Iron Mask possibilities if you really enjoy them and (most importantly) have carte blanc with your backstory. I'd also push for the happy ending, or as happy an ending as possible. The fashion of your PC's imprisonment sorta reminds me of the Korean film, Oldboy, but I'd shy away from injecting that into a game without the right type of audience, given that the film had some rather disturbing plot devices which led to a bittersweet and tragic ending (ie. revenge gained but innocense lost). Another route might be the magic prison conundrum from the film Total Recall, in that your character discovers who he really is..... ..... and to his horror he used to be a high ranking member of the organization that captured him in the first place.... There are tons of possibilities, but I am a confessed sucker for a completely happy ending. I wouldn't make a guy who's suffered like that continue to suffer just for the sake of maintaining a dark theme.
Kreistor1 09-22-06, 10:23 AM	No, you can't do Kaius because he suggested it. However, you can pull a fake out. He was Kaius the third's closest friend. He has escaped, he finds out who he is, he uncovers his memories, and realizes he has to go back to collect his friend. Of course, that leads to the plot twist. K3 has gone a little bit whacko in jail, and the PC now has a conscience. Before all this, he would have been loyal to death, but now he can see the damage K3 is going to do. He's a BoV patriot and will do anything to gain immortality. I'd make him wizard instead of fighter, and he'll shoot for Lichdom instead of Vampirism. Now the PC has to chase his friend across Karrnath trying to stop him from releasing horrors upon his native land.
Charles Phipps 09-22-06, 02:46 PM	I've seen Old Boy actually and there is a bit of influence there as well, but I'm not going to do the whole incest angle (though I have contemplated the idea that one of the characters that has been helping him is the daughter of his wife with another man or her kid sister). The age of the character is also pretty indeterminate too. Personally, its the emotional arc I'm thinking of ways to pursue here. I mean, when the guy finds out his wife has moved on (or whatever happened to) then what DOES he have to live for? Frankly, it wouldn't work even if she unmarried I'm sure because whatever has happened to the character has seriously screwed him up. I also am toying with the idea she's a fantasy of his too, which would really be interesting
MageWeasel 09-23-06, 01:57 AM	Thats not a bad idea. Mabey she does exist, just not as he remembers her. Perhaps she was a bard passing through town from his distant memory that caught his eye, a smile passes between them, and it's only a few minutes later that he's kidnapped. Through the long and mentally straining ordeal, she was the only thing his mind he could latch on to and invented this entire idea that he had a torrid love affair and eventually married her. At some point, he may cross paths with her again. She may not remember him, or perhaps she never forgot. Instead of seeking out what he thought he'd lost, he finds a new begining...
Charles Phipps 09-23-06, 02:45 AM	That's probably a lot happier ending than I would have normally got with a genuine betrayal. I am inclined to keep him as the heir to Karrnath though and that he remembers a lifetime of torture, sadness, and pointless battles with a kingdom that he has no affection for to begin with. "I don't want the kingdom but I have to kill Kaius anyway."
ChaoticGood 09-23-06, 04:36 PM	Another idea to twist the Kaius idea... What if he were a direct descendant of Mishann of Cyre, and thus has claim to the Throne of Galifar? Prince Oargev could be an imposter, or merely a nephew. (To my knowledge, his exact relationship to Mishann hasn't been defined.) In the last days before the Mourning, he was captured by Aundairan agents and shunted off to a secret prison under the assumption that he would make a fine bargaining chip later on. With the secession of the Eldeen Reaches, the Royal Eyes haven't had access to their former prison camp and their "prize" prisoner has been all but forgotten. This would explain why he has yet to figure out where "home" is... Because it isn't there anymore, at all. To complete the tragedy, he finally realizes the truth about his "home," and makes a pilgrimage to the site of what was once his royal estate... there to find his wife, suspended in a state of un-life, mutated beyond human recognition by the malign energies of the Mourning... still waiting for him to return to her now-abhorrent embrace. After that, it's up to you. Does he kill that which was once his wife? Does he leave that place, horrified, and go mad? Or does he join this once-beautiful creature and revel forever as an undead mutation in the cesspool of Metrol? Can you tell that I'm a fan of Lovecraft? :D
Charles Phipps 09-23-06, 05:56 PM	Yes I can. It all looks very good here. Another possibility I'm toying with is the freakiest yet still and that he's been imprisoned for Over a Hundred Years and that he's actually Jarlot the First and his masters were the Lords of Dust. ;-) They substituted a homonculus for the Good Emperor of the past and lead to the Last War.
urial angel of death 09-24-06, 12:06 AM	His wife could be the one who imprisoned him. She could have been some powerful person in politics. He found out something horrible about her. (stealing large amounts of money, killing political opponents, etc.) So when he gets back his wife doesn't want him.