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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Mar 2006 : 05:00:16
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I had a fun comment to the new King of Sembia (a recent addition to my campaign) and I thought it summarized how I think people should react to PCs...
It had the players meeting their old characters while playing the part of a court vizier. Their very HIGH LEVEL characters.
"Your Majesty, I beg you to stop a moment and consider for a second treating these individuals like normal subjects. You are the King, the Lord of all you survey. Except, that is enforced milord by your armies of troopers and your wizards and the strength that comes from respect for tradition as well as your place as given by the gods."
"What are these men? These men sir are those whom will think absolutely nothing of killing every single one of your guards if you send them onto their group. They will further never rest at that point from hunting you down and killing you because you have betrayed them. They value this perception of gratitude and their own infallibility more than they value your life or the lives of all of your men. Worse, your guards will prove to be meaningless to these assassins. They wield powers that can shake the very foundations of the castle and bring down the walls with such ease as you might consider them an earthquake. Their warriors can slice up dozens of armed men and take hundreds of arrow bolts without dying. They survive fireballs and bolts of lightning from the Heaven and seem to grow stronger as they kill."
"There will be no place in Heaven or ground where you can hide for they will remember your slight and they will....if not strong enough now...eventually return to destroy you even if it is years later. They will consider themselves utterly and completely justified that you are a tyrant and evil along with beyond redemption. Worse, the people will agree with them. In our world, we are fallible men who sit on thrones of gold with crowns won from ancient conquerors. We placate the gods with gifts and we leave sleeping dragons lying as we resign ourselves to the unnameable horrors that dot our lands."
“These men do not accept that. They wrestle with the dragons, destroy the armies of the humanoids…and by armies I mean ARMIES, and lay waste to the hosts of horrors both ancient as well as surreal with their weapons that individually match the greatest legends. They ARE legends already because we the weak and humble humans of the land are now close to being the dominant species because they have cast low demons, eldritch horrors, and wizards thousands of years old without the slightest hesitation. They can be killed but these men simply go forth to the Dark Realms to retrieve their dead. Villagers flock to their daughters and wives to them when they do not give slavish devotion that they hang those insipid enough to insult them. Believe me majesty when I say that if they want your crown….they could have it.”
“However, this is not something you should be unhappy about. Merely accept that they are as close to the gods in living form as you are likely to meet. They will gladly help you destroy the Kraken underneath the depths and take the treasures of a forgotten Empire. Tell them to do these things and you may yet keep them from idly laying waste to great hordes. Bury the treasure they bring back for their aid is fickle and you may invite jealousy. Also, do not attempt to take what they feel is theirs for they know nothing of law but their own conscience.”
“Hang me for these words if you think them treasonous but know they are TRUE.”
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My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4687 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2006 : 08:14:19
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An interesting read.
However it should be noted that levels are not visable to others. Of two of my high level characters one would clearly be entitled to respect because name is well known in the region (lands held, forces under his command, etc.) that an affount do could result in a dead king. The other charcter not much is known about at all (foes die, friends do not spread stories about him)is of equal or higher level that at best would be recieved as a messager or envoy and might not be receivied at all.
Power level oreceived is a matter of two things obserbed wealth (expensive looking equipment) and name recognition (How many stories true or false are told about them).
A publicly proclaimed Dragon slayer would be accorded respect because of the lore that is told about him. That another dragon ceised to bother a community has no true lore about why, there may be guesses, there might even be one or more that claim to have driven off or killed the deagon (the pertender(s) might be accorded with respect not earned).
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"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
Posted - 26 Mar 2006 : 08:19:21
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That's true,
I do tend to think that players are best afforded the sensation that they are actually being watched but may not necessarily know it. Most adventuring parties are certainly nomadic in nature and pretty much move from town to town, country to country, etc without realizing that they're leaving behind big changes.
Only when they return around that area might they find that things are starting to spread about them. |
My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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Charles Phipps
Master of Realmslore
1425 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2006 : 09:28:41
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A friend recommended this one...
By. Jasyn Jones
quote:
Me, explaining D&D from the perspective of a wise old NPC: "What are adventurers? Adventurers are best understood as a form of natural disaster, like a tornado or earthquake. Their lives are whirling clouds of intrigue and violence, and normal people who value life stay as far away from these passive-aggressive psychotics as they can.
"The best of them are paranoid, touchy, greedy, and bloodthirsty; they are likely to respond to nearly any challenge or obstacle with immediate and overwhelming force. Even 'good' ones are killers, grave robbers, and notorious lechers. The worst of them are mass murderers, thieves, and extortionists. No matter how grim the situation you find yourself in, they will take action only for money, and will always want more than you and your village are prepared to pay.
"Despite their greed, they have wealth beyond imagination- the equivalent of the wages of several lifetimes of skilled labor- all invested in armor, weapons, and other various and sundry nastiness. Sane people, upon becoming this wealthy, would buy a large estate and mansion and retire. These lunatics buy bigger weapons and go after more money- your money. They earn this money in ways which boggle the mind and churn the stomach.
"They think nothing of walking into lethal situations normal and sane people shun. They impassively face armies of well-armed and-equipped humanoids, the risen dead, and demons from the pits. The most hideous and unnerving monstrosities are slain without even a hiccup, without a blink, twitch, or grunt to betray any kind of emotion. Adventurers are beyond brave, beyond fearless, beyond impassive. They are simply incapable of normal, human fear. Death has no meaning for them. It is simply another annoying obstacle.
"If their own life means little, the lives of those around them mean even less. They will kill without compunction, or even a moment's thought. They treat everyone as if they were a potential enemy and treat every situation as if violence could break out at any moment.
"Buy their services, if you must, but don't expect gratitude or loyalty. They will try to take whatever isn't nailed down, and try to nail anyone who catches their fancy. Don't expect grace, courtliness, manners, or for that matter even barest civility. Adventurers act like- and apparently believe- that they are the most important people in the world.
"Your laws and mores matter nothing to them. Most don't even remember such concepts exist, and upon being reminded of them react with extreme annoyance. This usually equates to extreme violence.
"If they are welcome, it is only because things have gone very badly and they are moderately less dangerous than whatever supernatural evil is about. Once they have done whatever it is you need, reward them with gold (of course, try getting them to act without it) and invite them to leave, immediately if not sooner. Asking them to stay is an invitation to disaster."
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My Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/
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How normal people should react to adventurers...
