Searching for roleplaying and describing tips

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Arislyt's picture
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Searching for roleplaying and describing tips

Hello Everybody!

I'm new here, so first a few words about myself: I'm from Poland, so sorry in advance for any grammar errors. I've been using Planewalker's materials for about two years and I find this webpage very inspiring and useful Smiling

I'm creating a PS campaing this days and I'm looking for tips about roleplaying and describing some NPCs that I have created or incorporated into this scenario. I've got quite clear ideas about their personalities and habits, but I want to make them as interesting as possible and because of that I'm searching for others' concepts. Just have a quick look at descriptions below and - if You have any ideas about things that can add flavour to these characters, write about them, please Smiling
As I'll be creating next parts of campaing, I'll be posting here futher descriptions.

Cronus: He'll be players' "employer" - he'll have sent them in search for Sisyphus, who had been liberated by some unknown force (main plotline of campaing).
I see him as a creature of pure live, ideal but amoral (not immoral or evil, however - rather CN) human. He loves interesting people, good jokes and art, but when he goes bananas, he is worse than most of tanar'ri. He is at the same time quite depressed - as an imprisoned lover (or, to call spade a spade, personification) of freedom, he considers his existence a torture. With him, I'm looking mostly for an interesting way of describing him and Mount Ortys - do you have any interesting descriptions? Any pictures, maybe?

Parrafaire: Players may get important clues from this serpentine power if they will pass his tests.
Any hints about describing him and his divine splendor would be even more welcome here than in the case of Cronus. When it comes to personality, I'd compose his psyche of three elements: respect for three rules of the Multiverse (Unity of Rings etc.), belief that mind is most powerful, complex and beautiful thing in all Planes and that every thing must be won in one way or another (which will be, in fact, his interpretation of Unity of Rings).

Mammy Pogodowoskowa*: Night Hag living in Carceri, she has got some information about Sisyphus... and she'll try to sell PCs to Orcus' servant Eye-wink
In contrast to name, this crone is twisted, veeery Evil version of Nanny Ogg. She seems friendly and caring, but it quickly changes into cynical condescension and snooping – she will pretend that her guests are her small grandchildren and will ask them about everything, especially private live. She will, for example, say to Illithid (one of PCs): “My dear, aren't your clothes too warm? Yuo don't look good! Your skin is as pink and unhealthy as that of me, your over-100 years old granny!” Sticking out tongue And a small, but IMHO funny detail: in her hut there's a painting picturing A'kin and Shemmy as a pair – and she swears that she was at their wedding Smiling I'm looking mostly for any other funny texts she could say to anyone.

*This word is “Weatherwax” translated to Polish and stylized into Russian surname. Previously it was "Pogodowosk" - thanks to Hyaenadon for suggesting me more Russian version Smiling

Sisyphus: One day the most famous convivted for hard labour person in the Multiverse realised that he had succesfully rolled his boulder to the top of his hill. Then, an arcanoloth appeared next to him and said something like: "You're free, mortal. But it ain't absolute freedom - you have to change identity and tell noone who are you".
That's the olny thing I have fixed about him to this time. How would You react if You were in his shoes? How do You see fallen gods' favorite's personality? I'd be especially thankful for Your concepts on this character.

PS. for some unknown reasons, I can't see my avatar (jpg. format, surely less than 10 KB). Does anybody know what's going on? Thanks in advance for help.

Archdukechocula's picture
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Searching for roleplaying and describing tips

I might play Sisyphus a little different. He is an egomaniac who is exceedingly clever, and who was given his imprisonment as punishment for his hubris. This is a guy who tricks the gods on a number of occasions, and who fathers odysseus. In short, this guy must be a super genius by D&D standards. My suggestion would be that he escapes because he tricks someone or something into taking over the boulder rolling task for him. Because of his incredible genius and insane ambition, he is a threat to the planes. His plan is nothing less than to avenge himself of Zeus' slight by using Zeus' passions against him. Through an elaborate series of schemes (insert plot hooks here) he intends to eventually lure Zeus into carceri, and a permanent prison composed of some powerful restricting artifact (which he also gained through some trickery or other, perhaps tricking Tartarus out of his Chains for the second time, which should be amusing to any greek mythology buffs). Once he imprisons Zeus, he will claim Zeus' throne for himself and ascend to Godhood on mount olympus. It is up to the PCs to make sure this doesn't happen (or does happen, depending upon their inclinations).

Arislyt's picture
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Searching for roleplaying and describing tips

Thanks, Clueless. Your advice was very uesful and now my avatar works. I' however, realised that I don't have its' author's permission to use it, so I won't be using it... at least till I'll get this permission.

About Sisyphus: Very good idea, but I'd make it a bit more complicated.
Sisyphus was a good man, a great free thinker concerned about the whole population of his Prime. He found mortality very unjust and sponsored wizardly researches on stopping death or at least prolonging live. He or his followers may have founded Prolongers sect - not suspecting that their hiers' actions will be so selfish. He really wanted everybody to live happily ever after.

For olympic gods, his actions were a heresy against "natural" (that is, created by them) order and so they imprisoned him in Carceri. After all, Olympians ain't specialy just or good as a pantheon. They may like mortals, but they won't let their believers become equal to them in any way.

The legends about his vile deeds and great craft are only lies of gods created to make him hideous madman in eyes of helladic worlds' inhabitants and prevent others from following his path. However, the fact that those lies became "divine truth" on many Primes caused unpredicted consequence - faith had shown her raelity-altering quality and Sisyphus in his prison really became growing wiser, more loreful and - first of all - more ambitious, power-hungry and ruthless. He realised that and he didn't wanted it to be so. Fortunately for him, he found aid in the Revolutionary League. Anarchists have found him and promised to help - after all, he is a figther for freedom and happiness of all imprisoned by ruthless gods. They couldn't liberate him, but they have been reminding him, day after day, who he really is - and it made him remain quite sane and uncorrupted.

Now, however, 'loths have liberated him - just to try if Tower of Incarnate Pain gives them enought control over Carceri to do such a thing. They succed, but effect wasn't perfect - Sisyphus was thrown into some other planet of Carceri and Anarchists don't now where he is. If he isn't found fast, he will really become drangerous and powerful evil genius.

He will be becoimg more and more wicked, and he will gain wisdom and power. In mechanical terms, I see it so: He would start as CG Aristocrate 5, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16. With each day, he would gain a level of some lore- and manipulation-focused class [for example, Psion (telepath)] and his mental abilities wolud rise by one point (first day, Int +1, Second Wis +1, third Cha +1 and then once again Int etc...). He would become less and less good, becoming N after, let's say, 5 days and then LE after next 5. His power would stop growing after about two weeks.
And - what's the worst - Olympians stated in myths that he could beguile even them, so he would gain some really big bonuses again creatures with divine ranks, so it must be mortals who will have to defeat him if his transformation isn't stopped...

What do You think about it?

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Searching for roleplaying and describing tips

Looks like the name of your icon has a quote mark in it - the system isn't happy with that. Rename the file to not use any wierd characters and upload it again.

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