Helping my player flesh out her character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Helping my player flesh out her character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
toucanbuzz
12-18-07, 05:34 PM I've got a player who wants to incorporate a character idea she has used in her past writings and I want to help her work this one out!

The character is "twins merged at birth" by a curse, not quite like LadyHawke the movie, however. The sister exists during daytime hours, the brother at night, and the two are aware of one another's existence. They communicate mainly through a diary and at times write letters to one another. The one who cursed them died years ago. I am also going to rule that the fellow PCs know about this curse (little bit hard to hide).

1. Need a way the curse can be removed, preferably non-cliche, as this will be THE driving force to adventure. The curse occurred as a pregnant mother was fleeing during an eclipse. This is DM knowledge.
a. Why was she cursed?
b. How can it be removed?

2. How would you handle the game mechanics? Two characters, different classes, stats, etc.? It gets tricky when an adventure goes from day into night.

3. Assume the curse can be removed. Do I have two characters? My inclination is that to remove the curse, one of the siblings cannot live, and this will be a hard choice for the player. Any other ideas?
Mock26
12-18-07, 06:48 PM One suggestion would be to have her bring a specific hat to the gaming sessions. When she is not wearing the hat she is one personality and when she is wearing the hat she it the other personality. Even if it is just a baseball hat it can have a big (and positive) impact on the roleplaying experience of everyone involved in the game.

One option to remove the curse is to use a specially modified clone spell. This version of the spell will remove one of the personalities and implant it into the clone. You can then have the clone go bonkers and try to kill the other one or you can have two characters. If you go the route of two characters just make sure that one of them leaves the group and goes its own way.
DrMorganes
12-19-07, 11:47 AM 1. Need a way the curse can be removed, preferably non-cliche, as this will be THE driving force to adventure. The curse occurred as a pregnant mother was fleeing during an eclipse. This is DM knowledge.
a. Why was she cursed?
b. How can it be removed?

2. How would you handle the game mechanics? Two characters, different classes, stats, etc.? It gets tricky when an adventure goes from day into night.

3. Assume the curse can be removed. Do I have two characters? My inclination is that to remove the curse, one of the siblings cannot live, and this will be a hard choice for the player. Any other ideas?

1a) Why/what was Mom fleeing? The specifics of her history will have a huge impact on this. Good news is you don't have to know right away. This information can be discovered by the players through various means as you put it together.

1b) Go back to Ladyhawk: their curse could only be lifted if the wizard was killed during an eclipse, when day was night. Since the person cursing the mother is already dead, that bit doesn't apply - unless, of course, he's not really dead. Undead, trapped in another plane, balefully polymorphed, etc, etc, are all viable options. Requiring an eclipse makes sense, as does needing some way for both to exist simultaneously. Here's a snippet of (almost) poetry that occurred to me:

when darkly shines the sun
<<cryptic bit about separation or mirroring>>
then two shall spring from the one

2) Different characters, of course. However, since they share the same body their physical attributes should be the same. Mental ability scores can be different if the player wishes. Complementary classes - that is, classes that share similar restrictions and similar abilities - would work with minimum of fuss. Having a wizard and a fighter could pose some interesting difficulties. More on this in a bit.

3) What happens when the curse is lifted should flow from why the curse was placed and how it must be broken. One sacrificing "life" so the other can fully live is an appropriately heroic ending, and I'm willing to bet that as time goes on the player will come to favor one twin over the other from a roleplaying perspective. If both twins live separately, however, I would suggest that one retires from the game. Otherwise you'll have one PC with full gear and one that's nekkid.

Random ideas:
If the twins are non-complementary classes, you'll run into issues with equipment and weapon proficiencies. An extreme example is Fighter and Wizard. The wizard will be hampered by the armor worn by the other twin, or the fighter will suffer from a lowish AC due to lack of protections. Conversely, two wizards, or a rogue and a bard, a fighter and a cleric, ranger and spellthief, etc wouldn't have too bad a time when they switch places.
What happens when the twins change? Is the other "sleeping", and therefore able to regain spells the next day? Is the switch sudden or gradual?
What would happen if they discovered that mirrors reflect the other twin?
If the body dies, do they both die?
Can one or both be resurrected or reincarnated?
toucanbuzz
12-19-07, 04:58 PM I posted in the DM forum as well and have gotten some great feedback on both forums. I compiled my thoughts on the DM forum post and am double posting them here. I still need a way to "remove the curse."

1. Keep it to a single class to avoid a horde of issues. If the player is willing to maintain two sheets, I don't see a problem with different feats/skills/specializations, or even worship. Since the player cannot manifest the twins at will (and since I know this player is not a power-gamer or munchkin), there should not be much abuse with a double dip into skills.

2. The twin "sleeps" during his/her remission and is considered to have a full 8 hours rest.

3. Physical ability scores remain the same. Mental scores can differ.

4. (DM knowledge) The soul of one twin is held captive in the Abyss during remission and must be released during the exchange period as per the curse. Therefore, any soul effects can only affect the active twin. If the body dies, then both die, and both can be resurrected. If resurrected, the "active soul" enters the body, and the one in remission, whether it wants it or not, is also resurrected when the change occurs.

5. The change takes place at the moment of sunrise and sunset. I liked the idea of a non-avertable Will Save to "delay" the change and will implement that, DC 10 and +1 per round cumulative difficulty, allowing one to wrap up any activities that may be occurring. The exchange will last 1 minute and effectively render the player helpless during that time as per my player's description.

6. As a divine curse, mundane magic cannot stop the exchange, even anti-magic field.

7. For the background, I'm leaning to the Dying Curse from Dragonlance on a storyline that Mother wasn't so good and promised her newborn to a powerful dark conjurer in exchange for wealth and glory. The conjurer in turn contracted with an Abyssal demon to exchange the child. The Mother, feeling a twinge of parental love, reneged on the deal and dealt the dark conjurer a mortal wound. Dying and realizing the Abyssal demon would have his soul for Mother's treachery, the conjurer utters a Dying Curse (during an eclipse) intended to deny the mother her child. As a Dying Curse, it is heard by the Gods and given divine status by Sargonnas, god of vengeance.

However, Mother unknowingly had twins in her and the Dying Curse had the effect of merging the children into one body. As per the contract, the child's soul went to the Abyss, but to the demon's great chagrin, he cannot touch or use the Abyss due to the love, however little, that was involved in saving the child. Each sunrise and sunset the souls switch, one sleeping unaware of its imprisonment in the Abyss, the other in a body where it cannot see its sibling.

8. Solution? Dying Curses of this magnitude generally require a Miracle/Wish coupled with a great quest. I'll work on that. My thought now is that one twin must perish for the other to survive, and the player will have to make that decision.
StevenO
12-19-07, 08:39 PM I'd say have both halves playing the same character mechanically but using a different personallity. One side may be shy and claim luck is involved with everything they do while the other side is arrogant and supremely confident it those abilities even when they fail.
Puritan13
12-19-07, 10:30 PM One thing you'll want to do is let her enjoy the roleplay of this unique character for a couple of campaigns before she has the opportunity to cure it.

Very few things bother me as much as when my DM cures the roleplaying quirk I was looking forward to roleplaying in the first session.

As an aside, this character concept reminds me of Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
toucanbuzz 12-18-07, 05:34 PM	I've got a player who wants to incorporate a character idea she has used in her past writings and I want to help her work this one out! The character is "twins merged at birth" by a curse, not quite like LadyHawke the movie, however. The sister exists during daytime hours, the brother at night, and the two are aware of one another's existence. They communicate mainly through a diary and at times write letters to one another. The one who cursed them died years ago. I am also going to rule that the fellow PCs know about this curse (little bit hard to hide). 1. Need a way the curse can be removed, preferably non-cliche, as this will be THE driving force to adventure. The curse occurred as a pregnant mother was fleeing during an eclipse. This is DM knowledge. a. Why was she cursed? b. How can it be removed? 2. How would you handle the game mechanics? Two characters, different classes, stats, etc.? It gets tricky when an adventure goes from day into night. 3. Assume the curse can be removed. Do I have two characters? My inclination is that to remove the curse, one of the siblings cannot live, and this will be a hard choice for the player. Any other ideas?
Mock26 12-18-07, 06:48 PM	One suggestion would be to have her bring a specific hat to the gaming sessions. When she is not wearing the hat she is one personality and when she is wearing the hat she it the other personality. Even if it is just a baseball hat it can have a big (and positive) impact on the roleplaying experience of everyone involved in the game. One option to remove the curse is to use a specially modified clone spell. This version of the spell will remove one of the personalities and implant it into the clone. You can then have the clone go bonkers and try to kill the other one or you can have two characters. If you go the route of two characters just make sure that one of them leaves the group and goes its own way.
DrMorganes 12-19-07, 11:47 AM	1. Need a way the curse can be removed, preferably non-cliche, as this will be THE driving force to adventure. The curse occurred as a pregnant mother was fleeing during an eclipse. This is DM knowledge. a. Why was she cursed? b. How can it be removed? 2. How would you handle the game mechanics? Two characters, different classes, stats, etc.? It gets tricky when an adventure goes from day into night. 3. Assume the curse can be removed. Do I have two characters? My inclination is that to remove the curse, one of the siblings cannot live, and this will be a hard choice for the player. Any other ideas? 1a) Why/what was Mom fleeing? The specifics of her history will have a huge impact on this. Good news is you don't have to know right away. This information can be discovered by the players through various means as you put it together. 1b) Go back to Ladyhawk: their curse could only be lifted if the wizard was killed during an eclipse, when day was night. Since the person cursing the mother is already dead, that bit doesn't apply - unless, of course, he's not really dead. Undead, trapped in another plane, balefully polymorphed, etc, etc, are all viable options. Requiring an eclipse makes sense, as does needing some way for both to exist simultaneously. Here's a snippet of (almost) poetry that occurred to me: when darkly shines the sun <<cryptic bit about separation or mirroring>> then two shall spring from the one 2) Different characters, of course. However, since they share the same body their physical attributes should be the same. Mental ability scores can be different if the player wishes. Complementary classes - that is, classes that share similar restrictions and similar abilities - would work with minimum of fuss. Having a wizard and a fighter could pose some interesting difficulties. More on this in a bit. 3) What happens when the curse is lifted should flow from why the curse was placed and how it must be broken. One sacrificing "life" so the other can fully live is an appropriately heroic ending, and I'm willing to bet that as time goes on the player will come to favor one twin over the other from a roleplaying perspective. If both twins live separately, however, I would suggest that one retires from the game. Otherwise you'll have one PC with full gear and one that's nekkid. Random ideas: If the twins are non-complementary classes, you'll run into issues with equipment and weapon proficiencies. An extreme example is Fighter and Wizard. The wizard will be hampered by the armor worn by the other twin, or the fighter will suffer from a lowish AC due to lack of protections. Conversely, two wizards, or a rogue and a bard, a fighter and a cleric, ranger and spellthief, etc wouldn't have too bad a time when they switch places. What happens when the twins change? Is the other "sleeping", and therefore able to regain spells the next day? Is the switch sudden or gradual? What would happen if they discovered that mirrors reflect the other twin? If the body dies, do they both die? Can one or both be resurrected or reincarnated?
toucanbuzz 12-19-07, 04:58 PM	I posted in the DM forum as well and have gotten some great feedback on both forums. I compiled my thoughts on the DM forum post and am double posting them here. I still need a way to "remove the curse." 1. Keep it to a single class to avoid a horde of issues. If the player is willing to maintain two sheets, I don't see a problem with different feats/skills/specializations, or even worship. Since the player cannot manifest the twins at will (and since I know this player is not a power-gamer or munchkin), there should not be much abuse with a double dip into skills. 2. The twin "sleeps" during his/her remission and is considered to have a full 8 hours rest. 3. Physical ability scores remain the same. Mental scores can differ. 4. (DM knowledge) The soul of one twin is held captive in the Abyss during remission and must be released during the exchange period as per the curse. Therefore, any soul effects can only affect the active twin. If the body dies, then both die, and both can be resurrected. If resurrected, the "active soul" enters the body, and the one in remission, whether it wants it or not, is also resurrected when the change occurs. 5. The change takes place at the moment of sunrise and sunset. I liked the idea of a non-avertable Will Save to "delay" the change and will implement that, DC 10 and +1 per round cumulative difficulty, allowing one to wrap up any activities that may be occurring. The exchange will last 1 minute and effectively render the player helpless during that time as per my player's description. 6. As a divine curse, mundane magic cannot stop the exchange, even anti-magic field. 7. For the background, I'm leaning to the Dying Curse from Dragonlance on a storyline that Mother wasn't so good and promised her newborn to a powerful dark conjurer in exchange for wealth and glory. The conjurer in turn contracted with an Abyssal demon to exchange the child. The Mother, feeling a twinge of parental love, reneged on the deal and dealt the dark conjurer a mortal wound. Dying and realizing the Abyssal demon would have his soul for Mother's treachery, the conjurer utters a Dying Curse (during an eclipse) intended to deny the mother her child. As a Dying Curse, it is heard by the Gods and given divine status by Sargonnas, god of vengeance. However, Mother unknowingly had twins in her and the Dying Curse had the effect of merging the children into one body. As per the contract, the child's soul went to the Abyss, but to the demon's great chagrin, he cannot touch or use the Abyss due to the love, however little, that was involved in saving the child. Each sunrise and sunset the souls switch, one sleeping unaware of its imprisonment in the Abyss, the other in a body where it cannot see its sibling. 8. Solution? Dying Curses of this magnitude generally require a Miracle/Wish coupled with a great quest. I'll work on that. My thought now is that one twin must perish for the other to survive, and the player will have to make that decision.
StevenO 12-19-07, 08:39 PM	I'd say have both halves playing the same character mechanically but using a different personallity. One side may be shy and claim luck is involved with everything they do while the other side is arrogant and supremely confident it those abilities even when they fail.
Puritan13 12-19-07, 10:30 PM	One thing you'll want to do is let her enjoy the roleplay of this unique character for a couple of campaigns before she has the opportunity to cure it. Very few things bother me as much as when my DM cures the roleplaying quirk I was looking forward to roleplaying in the first session. As an aside, this character concept reminds me of Glory from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.