Post/Author/DateTime	Post
jennibert 08-15-05, 02:30 PM	My cleric/fighter has been seeing a certain NPC for probably about 9 months in game. She knew him for about another year and a half (in game) before that. She's hopelessly in love with him, which she's only now discovering because of her background (emotional abuse from her mother, the only family member she actually knows). He has, to this point, seemed to be a sweet, gentle person who is always trying to help everyone and do the right thing. My DM has recently informed me that her NPC boyfriend is actually a Corrupter (neutral evil paladin variant that particularly likes to cause clerics of other religions to lose their faith). He has been corrupting many of the NPCs, and is trying to corrupt my character. The DM dropped a few hints of this, but it's been difficult because he obviously can't roleplay all of my cleric's interaction with her boyfriend, and dropping anything too corrupting into a conversation would be too obvious. He has tried to do so, but I've mainly been oblivious. He even set up a situation designed to cause my character to violate the code of her god and lose her abilities as a cleric, but since I whimped out, it didn't work (long story). My character, despite her extremely high ranks in Sense Motive (go Pact domain!), remains oblivious to her boyfriend's evil intentions (Corrupters have Bluff as a class skill, plus he's got Skill Focus, plus his Charisma's higher than my Wisdom). The other PCs stand even less chance of figuring him out, as they don't talk to him much. And it's all complicated by the fact that his lies are very believable, plus everyone likes him. The DM is not quite ready to reveal the evil that is my character's boyfriend, but we both figure that his influence should be having an effect on my character, who started out with a low self-esteem and emotional issues. But I'm not quite sure how to roleplay that in sessions. My character tends to be forthright and fairly upbeat. She's loyal to a fault, and extremely lawful. She has aspirations to be good, but hasn't managed it yet. With other people she tends to be cold, but not with the other PCs. I've made mention that she seems very happy of late, since realizing that she's in love. On the other hand, we've lost a couple of PCs lately (people moving and whatnot), and I was planning on having her be moody over their departure (no deaths, though the last one came close!). My DM and I decided he's been very subtle with her. "Why do all these weird things seem to happen to your group?" and that sort of thing. He has successfully managed to create one crisis of faith for her, but she's gotten through it. I'd also be open to any suggestions of how my character could redeem him should she discover his evil ways. I do like the facade her boyfriend's built, and would love to make it real, if only because my poor emotionally abused character could use something good. Oh, and I did bring this on myself. My DM was very startled when I decided to have my character develop an interest in the character he'd already determined to be a Corrupter. Sorry this is so long, but thanks for any help that you can offer!
Laranis Callirr 08-15-05, 02:55 PM	Right, let's see. He even set up a situation designed to cause my character to violate the code of her god and lose her abilities as a cleric, but since I whimped out, it didn't work (long story). I would imagine that this made a few bells ring in your character's mind, even if she did back down from the action. After all, going against her fate is no light matter. Perhaps she can use that as a 'starting point' for her suspicions against her boyfriend. Of course, he apparently is pretty subtle with what he does, so it is entirely possible that your character's devotion to love outweighs her devotion to her faith. Nevertheless, I think the situation will end up resolving one way or the other through roleplay. Even if she does lose her faith (at which point I guess she'd discover her boyfriend's true intent), she could very well atone for her deeds. As for how to redeem him... that's a little more difficult, as we don't know the boyfriend's personality, or if he feels the same way your character does. Either way, her best bet would probably be to use the classic tactic of showing him the benefits of being a good person, and even adhering to a religious principle for guidance. Inversely, show him extreme situations of evil (dead babies always do the trick!), so as to create a sense of aversion for his own ways. Like Clockwork Orange, only less brutal. Once he manages to go good, or neutral, then she can use standard wooing tactics on him. :cool: I really envy you for being in a game like this. Good luck!
EvilDuck 08-15-05, 03:14 PM	If you really love him, you'll switch to Arioch...
jennibert 08-15-05, 03:17 PM	I would imagine that this made a few bells ring in your character's mind, even if she did back down from the action. After all, going against her fate is no light matter. Perhaps she can use that as a 'starting point' for her suspicions against her boyfriend. I guess I should explain more on the situation. He made sure that another NPC knew what he was up to, who then told my character when she went looking for her boyfriend. (The other NPC was a dupe.) When she found out, she freaked out and went after him. He had managed to get alone an evil NPC that my character really wanted dead, and when he heard her coming (she wears full plate so that wasn't hard), he allowed himself to be dropped. She screamed, and ran to him to save him. The NPC, having seen her before and recognizing the holy symbols on her armor, tossed aside his sword because he knew it was against the precepts of her religion to attack an unarmed man. Though she wanted to kill him, she ended up knocking him out and turning him over to the town guard. Her boyfriend then played it up as he was trying to rid the world of a bad guy, one who had, no less, sent her into tears. He didn't bring anyone along because this guy's pretty dangerous and he didn't want anyone else dragged in if he failed. Since in the previous adventure she had inadvertantly dragged him in the path of an assassin who was trying to off the PCs, she swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Thanks for the advice!
Laranis Callirr 08-15-05, 04:34 PM	I guess I should explain more on the situation. He made sure that another NPC knew what he was up to, who then told my character when she went looking for her boyfriend. (The other NPC was a dupe.) When she found out, she freaked out and went after him. He had managed to get alone an evil NPC that my character really wanted dead, and when he heard her coming (she wears full plate so that wasn't hard), he allowed himself to be dropped. She screamed, and ran to him to save him. The NPC, having seen her before and recognizing the holy symbols on her armor, tossed aside his sword because he knew it was against the precepts of her religion to attack an unarmed man. Though she wanted to kill him, she ended up knocking him out and turning him over to the town guard. Her boyfriend then played it up as he was trying to rid the world of a bad guy, one who had, no less, sent her into tears. He didn't bring anyone along because this guy's pretty dangerous and he didn't want anyone else dragged in if he failed. Since in the previous adventure she had inadvertantly dragged him in the path of an assassin who was trying to off the PCs, she swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Thanks for the advice! Well, that's a bit of a sticky situation. I can't really think of any ways in which she could uncover him - do you think that your character will realize her boyfriend's involvement if she somehow is stripped of her powers? Nevertheless, I think that you should just let your character go with the flow for now. The damage caused by being stripped of her powers is probably reversible through some kind of atonement, so you can focus on having your character redeem her boyfriend.
Gedrin 08-15-05, 11:54 PM	I'd think a bit of info on the faith of your character would be useful, as well as the role that faith plays in your personal life. It is common to pray and ask for divine guidance in matters as intimate and vital to happiness as love. I'm certain people go to the god/dess of love to ask "Is he the one?". Then there's the matter of your daily rituals and if you'd invite him to participate in your character's faith. If you take the Corruptor to church, there should be some sort of sign somewhere to give you concern. However, assuming you stay completely ignorant of the guy, you're still not doing anything wrong. It would come down to the point of him creating a situation or asking you to do something that violates your code. If you stay true to the path of good and follow the tennets of your faith, you should be fine, and eventually come to realize that this guy is trouble. After all, that is why the church printed up those philosophy and prayer books, so you'd have a guide for difficult situations and be able to identify harmful temptations in your life. As for how you'd react to finding out he's a bad guy just out to bring your downfall... Typically, people either "break" or get angry. Generally, I hate it when people have their characters "break", because I dislike whining and self pity. I much prefer to see the "I'll make sure this never happens to anyone again" reaction. Naturally, you'd need to get over that anger at some point, but getting angry when someone hurts you on purpose is a valid and valuable emotional response. Or, you could wear black, smoke cloves, and spend a lot of time crying.
the dmg 08-16-05, 01:46 AM	My cleric/fighter has been seeing a certain NPC for probably about 9 months in game. She knew him for about another year and a half (in game) before that. She's hopelessly in love with him, which she's only now discovering because of her background (emotional abuse from her mother, the only family member she actually knows). He has, to this point, seemed to be a sweet, gentle person who is always trying to help everyone and do the right thing. My DM has recently informed me that her NPC boyfriend is actually a Corrupter (neutral evil paladin variant that particularly likes to cause clerics of other religions to lose their faith). He has been corrupting many of the NPCs, and is trying to corrupt my character. The DM dropped a few hints of this, but it's been difficult because he obviously can't roleplay all of my cleric's interaction with her boyfriend, and dropping anything too corrupting into a conversation would be too obvious. He has tried to do so, but I've mainly been oblivious. He even set up a situation designed to cause my character to violate the code of her god and lose her abilities as a cleric, but since I whimped out, it didn't work (long story). My character, despite her extremely high ranks in Sense Motive (go Pact domain!), remains oblivious to her boyfriend's evil intentions (Corrupters have Bluff as a class skill, plus he's got Skill Focus, plus his Charisma's higher than my Wisdom). The other PCs stand even less chance of figuring him out, as they don't talk to him much. And it's all complicated by the fact that his lies are very believable, plus everyone likes him. The DM is not quite ready to reveal the evil that is my character's boyfriend, but we both figure that his influence should be having an effect on my character, who started out with a low self-esteem and emotional issues. But I'm not quite sure how to roleplay that in sessions. My character tends to be forthright and fairly upbeat. She's loyal to a fault, and extremely lawful. She has aspirations to be good, but hasn't managed it yet. With other people she tends to be cold, but not with the other PCs. I've made mention that she seems very happy of late, since realizing that she's in love. On the other hand, we've lost a couple of PCs lately (people moving and whatnot), and I was planning on having her be moody over their departure (no deaths, though the last one came close!). My DM and I decided he's been very subtle with her. "Why do all these weird things seem to happen to your group?" and that sort of thing. He has successfully managed to create one crisis of faith for her, but she's gotten through it. I'd also be open to any suggestions of how my character could redeem him should she discover his evil ways. I do like the facade her boyfriend's built, and would love to make it real, if only because my poor emotionally abused character could use something good. Oh, and I did bring this on myself. My DM was very startled when I decided to have my character develop an interest in the character he'd already determined to be a Corrupter. Sorry this is so long, but thanks for any help that you can offer! Sounds like a great game. Once you find out enough of his plot, try to find out if he has always been this way. Looking for answers to his past could help you a lot.
jennibert 08-16-05, 10:24 PM	As for how you'd react to finding out he's a bad guy just out to bring your downfall... Typically, people either "break" or get angry. I was actually thinking of some sort of middle road. Definitely a breakdown (character's already established as prone to tears), but she would be capable of killing him if she saw no way to redeem him....even if she has to violate the tenets of her religion to do so. (I have this great scenario in my head where after being forced to kill him, she goes after the person who corrupted him and leaves the body pinned to a wall with her boyfriend's weapon....hee hee hee....) She probably should pray about her love....not being terribly religious myself and having not played a cleric before, I didn't think to have her do that..... Thanks for the advice! I really appreciate it!