Atonement Ideas? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Atonement Ideas? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Zee'Tah
03-01-05, 02:11 PM Well the party's dwarven lvl 5 cleric of Pelor lvl 1 fighter, velderk, just commited several acts and I feel he needs atonemen.

He had done sever things wrong and I warned him in OOC that he had to watch his actions (he is fairly new). The final straw was the impatient rouge of the party kicked in a door with a massive amount of baddies behind it (lvl 11 encounter that they were supposed to sneak up on). He and the rouge decided to bluff their way to safety and for the fourth time in the three days velderk hid his symbol of Pelor and denied his alegience to the god of light (the demon saw the symbol).

Here he lost all Clerical abilities and I told him he was now an ex-cleric of Pelor.

other information: Velderk is bringing the head of the demon the party killed before higher Clerics and is very desprate to return to Pelor.

What would be a good atonement quest for him? :confused:
I've never done something like atonement before and don't want to be to clech and want the punishment to fit the crime.

Thanks for Ideas :)
Zycko
03-01-05, 07:43 PM I would say that bringing the demons head might sooth (sp?) things up a bit, but a quest to show he is worthy to continue as a cleric could be in order.. Maybe have him go on a quest to retrieve or have made a holy symbol for his church. (He might get it afterwards, with the atonement). If the symbol is being made, it could have a rare ingredient which the cleric must provide?

Zycko
Lord Ian Stark
03-01-05, 07:51 PM I say look at what he did wrong and make him do the opposite of that.
krichaiushii
03-01-05, 10:45 PM He has to go to a great enemy of the church, declare his faith, and perhaps let the enemy strike the first blow before commencing combat or other method of bringing down the enemy.

The Dwarf's allies can assist, but if they strike first, the atonement is voided, and the Dwarf is SOL.

Then again, perhaps he must go to an enemy of the church, declare his faith, and then CONVERT the enemy without dealing permanent damage. A very difficult RP adventure.

Instead of converting, just subduing the enemy.

Feel free to add additional restraints, like particular armaments and armor, or some such.

Enemies might be rival churches, individual or groups that are contrary to the church of Pelor, mean and nasty undead, or entire wicked cities that require conversion.

Oh, perhaps his atonement is to establish a shrine and a native following in a land not known for its kindness (orcs, other goblinoids, drow, etc).

Just make sure that declaring his faith is part of the atonement. Ideally, the declaration should put him in mortal danger.

Now, if feeling merciful, you could have the being he approaches and declares unto be a celestial in disguise as part of the test. The first blow delivered is a merciful hand, and not a fatal blow.

Should be fun.
DeWayne
03-02-05, 12:45 AM His crime was to deny his god Pelor, so the atonement should be something that forces him to acknowledge Pelor. In the meantime, Pelor should deny him (i.e. no spells, granted powers for domains, etc.)

I suggest the atonement should take two parts – first atonement for the initial sin, and second something to ensure that it never happens again. For the first part, I’d send him on a quest to convert the unbelievers, your basic missionary type job. As he denied Pelor four times, make him convert four dozen people to the worship of Pelor. Four hundred might be more poetic, but it would take too long and would completely derail your game.

For the second part, make him shave off his beard and tattoo Pelor’s holy symbol on each of his cheeks. If he allows the hair to grow back, or covers them with anything other than his helm when he goes into battle, he loses all clerical powers until he makes them visible again.

This way the atonement both advances the church (by converting people to it) and fits the crime (by forcing the cleric to acknowledge Pelor). It also provides a nice object lesson to anyone else who would deny their god every time they see a beardless dwarf.
Callista
03-02-05, 08:44 AM Beardless dwarf... ouch!!! Only do this if you're sure the player is willing to RP the consequences of this... otherwise you will have a fallen cleric on your hands... I like the idea, though, if the player can handle it; also the idea of forcing him to declare himself as a servant of Pelor in front of an enemy.

Whatever you do--the player is a newbie, so explain to him that this Atonement quest isn't a sign of his failure as a player; it's an advancement of the story. You're doing this because your NPC would require an atonement of his PC, not because you as a DM are punishing him as a player. Becoming an ex-class is often part of the development of the character, and not a failure of the player. Chances are, the cleric you spoke of is a little bit of a coward (probably because the player didn't want him killed), and his player had him do what he did because he knew the PC would be too daunted not to hide his holy symbol. So the only one who failed here is the PC--not the player.

Also: Allow him to recover his powers relatively quickly, perhaps within half a session. The party needs the healing, and if another PC dies because he wasn't there to provide the healing, the player may be angry and the PC has just been sent on a very long guilt trip... and letting another PC die because his cleric didn't have his powers is something Pelor probably would avoid.
TinManFan
03-02-05, 10:01 AM Killed the demon, and brought it back, and has to go up against a big baddies of another faith/evil? I'd go with the shaving thing too, but put the symbol on his shorn head, not on the cheaks. A beardless dwarf is mean, but one with a beard and a tat on his head (That shouldn't be covered up for anything) is kool.
CzarGarrett
03-02-05, 10:39 AM Killing the demon should be good enough to get him the chance to atone.

As for actual atonement- I'd say to reclaim a former temple/monestary/etc of Pelor. Maybe throw in the RP part of converting as many enemy clerics and stuff as possible.

For example: A Temple of Pelor on the southern edge of X Mountains was abandoned 10 years ago after a series of raids by ogres and bandits loyal to Erthyandul (sic). Now, those ogres have begun to harass an important trade town several miles away. The Cleric will be tasked to reclaim the Temple in the name of Pelor, destroy the Ogres, and convert as many bandits as possible, thereby saving the town and furthering the benevolence of Pelor.

Feel free to use exactly, modify, or ignore.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zee'Tah 03-01-05, 02:11 PM	Well the party's dwarven lvl 5 cleric of Pelor lvl 1 fighter, velderk, just commited several acts and I feel he needs atonemen. He had done sever things wrong and I warned him in OOC that he had to watch his actions (he is fairly new). The final straw was the impatient rouge of the party kicked in a door with a massive amount of baddies behind it (lvl 11 encounter that they were supposed to sneak up on). He and the rouge decided to bluff their way to safety and for the fourth time in the three days velderk hid his symbol of Pelor and denied his alegience to the god of light (the demon saw the symbol). Here he lost all Clerical abilities and I told him he was now an ex-cleric of Pelor. other information: Velderk is bringing the head of the demon the party killed before higher Clerics and is very desprate to return to Pelor. What would be a good atonement quest for him? :confused: I've never done something like atonement before and don't want to be to clech and want the punishment to fit the crime. Thanks for Ideas :)
Zycko 03-01-05, 07:43 PM	I would say that bringing the demons head might sooth (sp?) things up a bit, but a quest to show he is worthy to continue as a cleric could be in order.. Maybe have him go on a quest to retrieve or have made a holy symbol for his church. (He might get it afterwards, with the atonement). If the symbol is being made, it could have a rare ingredient which the cleric must provide? Zycko
Lord Ian Stark 03-01-05, 07:51 PM	I say look at what he did wrong and make him do the opposite of that.
krichaiushii 03-01-05, 10:45 PM	He has to go to a great enemy of the church, declare his faith, and perhaps let the enemy strike the first blow before commencing combat or other method of bringing down the enemy. The Dwarf's allies can assist, but if they strike first, the atonement is voided, and the Dwarf is SOL. Then again, perhaps he must go to an enemy of the church, declare his faith, and then CONVERT the enemy without dealing permanent damage. A very difficult RP adventure. Instead of converting, just subduing the enemy. Feel free to add additional restraints, like particular armaments and armor, or some such. Enemies might be rival churches, individual or groups that are contrary to the church of Pelor, mean and nasty undead, or entire wicked cities that require conversion. Oh, perhaps his atonement is to establish a shrine and a native following in a land not known for its kindness (orcs, other goblinoids, drow, etc). Just make sure that declaring his faith is part of the atonement. Ideally, the declaration should put him in mortal danger. Now, if feeling merciful, you could have the being he approaches and declares unto be a celestial in disguise as part of the test. The first blow delivered is a merciful hand, and not a fatal blow. Should be fun.
DeWayne 03-02-05, 12:45 AM	His crime was to deny his god Pelor, so the atonement should be something that forces him to acknowledge Pelor. In the meantime, Pelor should deny him (i.e. no spells, granted powers for domains, etc.) I suggest the atonement should take two parts – first atonement for the initial sin, and second something to ensure that it never happens again. For the first part, I’d send him on a quest to convert the unbelievers, your basic missionary type job. As he denied Pelor four times, make him convert four dozen people to the worship of Pelor. Four hundred might be more poetic, but it would take too long and would completely derail your game. For the second part, make him shave off his beard and tattoo Pelor’s holy symbol on each of his cheeks. If he allows the hair to grow back, or covers them with anything other than his helm when he goes into battle, he loses all clerical powers until he makes them visible again. This way the atonement both advances the church (by converting people to it) and fits the crime (by forcing the cleric to acknowledge Pelor). It also provides a nice object lesson to anyone else who would deny their god every time they see a beardless dwarf.
Callista 03-02-05, 08:44 AM	Beardless dwarf... ouch!!! Only do this if you're sure the player is willing to RP the consequences of this... otherwise you will have a fallen cleric on your hands... I like the idea, though, if the player can handle it; also the idea of forcing him to declare himself as a servant of Pelor in front of an enemy. Whatever you do--the player is a newbie, so explain to him that this Atonement quest isn't a sign of his failure as a player; it's an advancement of the story. You're doing this because your NPC would require an atonement of his PC, not because you as a DM are punishing him as a player. Becoming an ex-class is often part of the development of the character, and not a failure of the player. Chances are, the cleric you spoke of is a little bit of a coward (probably because the player didn't want him killed), and his player had him do what he did because he knew the PC would be too daunted not to hide his holy symbol. So the only one who failed here is the PC--not the player. Also: Allow him to recover his powers relatively quickly, perhaps within half a session. The party needs the healing, and if another PC dies because he wasn't there to provide the healing, the player may be angry and the PC has just been sent on a very long guilt trip... and letting another PC die because his cleric didn't have his powers is something Pelor probably would avoid.
TinManFan 03-02-05, 10:01 AM	Killed the demon, and brought it back, and has to go up against a big baddies of another faith/evil? I'd go with the shaving thing too, but put the symbol on his shorn head, not on the cheaks. A beardless dwarf is mean, but one with a beard and a tat on his head (That shouldn't be covered up for anything) is kool.
CzarGarrett 03-02-05, 10:39 AM	Killing the demon should be good enough to get him the chance to atone. As for actual atonement- I'd say to reclaim a former temple/monestary/etc of Pelor. Maybe throw in the RP part of converting as many enemy clerics and stuff as possible. For example: A Temple of Pelor on the southern edge of X Mountains was abandoned 10 years ago after a series of raids by ogres and bandits loyal to Erthyandul (sic). Now, those ogres have begun to harass an important trade town several miles away. The Cleric will be tasked to reclaim the Temple in the name of Pelor, destroy the Ogres, and convert as many bandits as possible, thereby saving the town and furthering the benevolence of Pelor. Feel free to use exactly, modify, or ignore.