Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Golden Zealot 08-31-06, 04:07 PM	One of my players is quite new to the game and has had some trouble coming up with a motivation for her character. What we've got so far is that it's a human barbarian who came from a tribe in which his father was an advisor to the chief. The father conspired to overthrow the chief, and so he was killed and the human barb, along with his sister and mother, were exiled. The thing is, the barb knew about the plot, but because he was so young (around 14), he was too scared to do anything or tell anyone. For this the gods cursed him until he could regain his honor and be accepted back into his tribe. So he's basically on a quest for honor and glory, but what I need is a good idea for a curse he could have. Something that will always be present and a problem, but which doesn't get in the way too much, mostly serving as a reminder first, and a hinderence second. I was thinking something along the lines of one of the character flaws from unearthed arcana, but then I realised I don't own the book and don't know how powerful they are, so anything anyone can recommend will be very helpful.
ajs 08-31-06, 04:39 PM	So he's basically on a quest for honor and glory, but what I need is a good idea for a curse he could have. Something that will always be present and a problem, but which doesn't get in the way too much, mostly serving as a reminder first, and a hinderence second. Work with the class if possible. The defining feature of barbarians is rage. So, why not give him a curse which makes rage more effective at some cost? Say, +1 extra str (useful for those levels were he's "between ability bonuses") at the cost of making or DC 15 WILL save or entering rage AND attacking whenever someone betrays or seriously suggests betraying him or an ally (keep making saves each round if he wants to stop / exit rage). For the most part it's a throwawy bonus, and gives a fairly ignorable benefit in most cases. However, given the correct circumstances and failed saves, he could easily blow his rage for the day on trvial roleplaying encounters, get in a fair amount of trouble or any number of other problems which you get to present when/if you feel it's appropriate. Other simpler curses related to betrayal: Make a will save in order to lie, mislead or break an oath Every time he meets a priest or cleric of his familly's patron god, he is compelled to recite the event. Whenever he gives his word, even a casual promise, he is compelled to issue some offer of restitution in case he fails to comply. e.g.: "I will be there in an hour ... or you shall have my head!" He gets Leadership as a bonus feat, but every follower he attracts will betray him in some small way. Perhaps he can buy this off by re-purchasing the feat? He is compelled to turn a portion of any money he makes over to the priests of his family's patron deity. A family melee weapon that he has is cursed. He may not replace it, though he may use ranged weapons when needed. He must make a new vow each morning over the weapon. The weapon is normally masterwork and thus +1 atk, but becomes -1 atk/dmg for 24 hours if he breaks his vow during the day that he made it or explicitly breaks it during that time. The weapon may be enchanted with further bonuses and abilities, but all of them are supressed if the curse is activated. His eyes glow when he lies. He is compelled (will save to avoid) to point out whenever anyone (including himself) lies Whenever he pays for something, one of the coins he uses oozes a drop of blood
LCD2YOU 08-31-06, 04:43 PM	10: Their armpits inflicted with the fleas of a 1000 camels. 11: Metal, wood, cloth, rock and crystal passes through them. But claw and fist don't. They can't were armor and everything they need to wear wool.
Always-Late 08-31-06, 04:50 PM	12. He can never get more than half an hour of sleep at a time.
Yaeri 08-31-06, 05:00 PM	My very own character was cursed at birth. It's been hermaphrodite all its life. Perhaps you find such a curse to your liking? It's definitely a reminder and it doesn't quickly get in the way. :D
DarkNick 08-31-06, 05:01 PM	I think you have motivation enough without the curse. A character in that position probably feels they have the redeem themselves - They have to be heroic, fight harder, help people in need. They might feel shamed by their fathers acts and be terrified of doing the same. Maybe as a kid they trusted and loved their father. Loyalty lies with the family. Only afterwards do they see how wrong their father was. After the betrayal they would feel shattered and resentful towards their dead father. They would do anything to not be like them. His shame becomes the characters. They adventure to regain their own sense of honour and hopefully find peace. They feel shamed by their fathers deeds. It could even be their exile is self imposed. I think getting back in the tribes good books will be separate from trying to come to terms with their own inner demons. Maybe this could culminate in the character speaking with their dead fathers spirit. You could twist is so that it turns out the father was wrongly accused and was in fact trying to oust a corrupt chief. Leave the gods out of it.
Necrosis 08-31-06, 06:34 PM	steal shakspherene ideas macbeths permantly blood stained dripping hands curse is a good example, or the fairy queens trick on the lovers (I think they ended up likling the wrong lover), I'm sure there msut be a bunch more, I don't know my macbethh well enougth
Sildatorak 08-31-06, 07:43 PM	A mark worked for Cain, and I think it is something that is worthwhile in this case as well. A marking on his face or hands could be seen by his tribe as a message from the gods, but those outside the tribe think that it is nothing more than some savage's tattoo.
Seraphine_Harmonium 08-31-06, 07:51 PM	steal shakspherene ideas macbeths permantly blood stained dripping hands curse is a good example, or the fairy queens trick on the lovers (I think they ended up likling the wrong lover), I'm sure there msut be a bunch more, I don't know my macbethh well enougth Macbeth's hands did not actually drip blood continuously. Even as a curse, it was only that he saw blood on his hands. He goes insane from guilt, and the blood is symbolic of that guilt. "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hands? I think it will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the gree one red." The blood on Macbeth's hands could not literally turn an entire ocean red. It's just his madness talking. And his guilt. It also appears for Lady Macbeth, who begins sleepwalking and reenacting the murder of King Duncan in her sleep, and tries in vain to similarly wash her hands clean of Duncan's blood. "Out, out! Damned spot!" Hey, it's Shakespeare. Still, being cursed with the image of bloody hands could be a decent enough curse. It wouldn't interfere with abilities, though if the barbarian does not redeem himself quickly enough, he may go mad. PS: Macbeth also experienced insomnia ("Macbeth doth murder sleep"). If the Barbarian could not sleep, but that would cause combat problems, as fatigue and exhaustion quickly come into play.
revnk 08-31-06, 10:17 PM	I was thinking something along the lines of one of the character flaws from unearthed arcana, but then I realised I don't own the book.... You're in luck: all of the variant rules from Unearthed Arcana are Open Game License (OGL) and therefore appear in the System Reference Document. Try clicking here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm). That said, I agree 100% with DarkNick: your player's character has plenty pf motivation. If he ever needs a reminder, have him occasionally come into contact from some traveler or adventurer from his home village who snubs him at the bazaar, tries to pick a fight at the pub, or otherwise looks for a way to make his life difficult. Good gaming! And learn to dig the SRD: it's no replacement for the books, but it's a helluva lot easier to click and paste into your word processing docs and e-mails from a webpage than it is to re-type from a hardcopy!
Millennium 08-31-06, 10:29 PM	Unfortunately, the character is not a spellcaster, so you can't use the old standby of Transmute Spell to Cow. One word of every spell the victim casts is changed to "cow"; the spell's effect is then altered to suit its new title. So alas, there will be no casting Detect Cow ("There are no cows here"), no summoning of Tasha's Hideous Cow, Mordenkainen's Faithful Cow, Leomund's Tiny Cow, or the dreaded Burning Cow, and certainly no casting of Smite Cow. Or perhaps this is why the character gave up spellcasting in the first place...:evillaugh
Amon_WinterfallIV 08-31-06, 11:41 PM	Curses I've used, want to use: 1. Cursing a character so that they can majorly underplay their characters stats (4 Wis person playing a 16 wis Sorcerer)--it's a curse, they are only 16 wis at there best. As soon as the campaign is over, the Wis goes down to 4. 2. '2's threaten critical misses. 3. You can only take "7" instead of 10, because your luck sucks. It also takes you 400 times as long, not 20 times as long, to take 20. 4. Enemies increase their crit threat and crit multiplier against you. 5. Your Blood is black in color, and smells of Offal. 5.
kelvinaw273 09-01-06, 01:37 AM	Being cursed to wander is a tough one alright ... and it takes many forms: 1) You bring ill luck to any who would take you in (so if somebody gives you shelter they suffer for it) 2) You will betray every oath you make to serve another (be it a contract, sworn vow or whatever, circumstances always conspire that you break the oath, however unkowingly) 3) You may never sleep in the same bed twice (nasty, as you always have to move on) Or on the basis of not speaking when he should have .... 4) You will always betray a secret 5) You will never have the words to speak a warning to those you love 6) "Be silent until you find a word worth speaking!" The good thing with some of these is that their solution ios self-evident - if the character CAN manage to break the conditions of the curse, they lift the curse permenantly. Easier said than done ....