Is using a wish too....ummm..... 'hookey' ???

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Jynx
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Is using a wish too....ummm..... 'hookey' ???

Post by Jynx »

I was wondering what others might think of this idea I have

Basically, a player of mine is leaving for good. Hes going back home to Germany so I wont see him anymore and his dwarf character will never be a part of my game again. The last time we played with his character, another player lost his character in a grand conclusion to the story at the time. It was a sacrifice to save the world from being overrun with demons and such. The player who sacrificed his character, is a permanent player and he (as did I) really enjoyed the character that died. I want to bring him back from the dead but I needed a good way to do so. So this is what I was thinking

Fast Forward to the Future where my German friends dwarf is on his deathbed. Beside him is his adopted daughter Simone. Shes the biological daughter of his best friend the dead guy. He begins to relate a story of how he met a certain dragon that gave him a magical ring of unknown powers. Well role play the scenario where he helps the dragon, and then the dragon in the end gives him a ring as a reward. The scnerio is a high level (15-20) and Im not going to make it so difficult that all PCs will die certainly not the dwarf whos not suppose to die! This will allow for an evening worth of role playing and combat wrapped around my story idea so that its not just me telling a story. So unknown to the dwarf at the time of receiving it, the ring contains one lifetime wish that only gets activated when the owner is in his last moments of natural life. The wish can only be for non-selfish purposes and can only be to help out another in some way with good intentions inmind. The whole time that he relates this story of the dragon, Ill cut in with sobs and such from Simone who thanks her adopted father for being there for her. At the same time however she will be saying how she wished to have known her real dad as well. Basically Im going to plant an idea there so that when the dwarf gets the wish, he may possibly wish that his friend never died 150 years earlier! If he does wish that or some sort of similar wish, Ill flashback to the night when the favoured character died. Ill recreate that scenario and we will re-roleplay the ending of that battle with one slight change inexplicably, after the character sacrifices himself, he comes out of the darkness to take the baby form his dwarven friends hands as the dwarf slowly shimmers out of existence.

Its a way for me to honor the dwarf character, say goodbye to a good friend, and bring back a favored character for another friend, but make it look like its not a DM forced resurrection. Then in January when we start that campaign again, Ill be right back where we left off, but with the same character as before!

What do ya think? Too much? Too weird? Am I just being silly?

This is going to take place on Friday, but Im a bit nervous of the outcome and the reaction it will get.

rabindranath72

Re: Is using a wish too....ummm..... 'hookey' ???

Post by rabindranath72 »

Jynx wrote:
I was wondering what others might think of this idea I have

Basically, a player of mine is leaving for good. Hes going back home to Germany so I wont see him anymore and his dwarf character will never be a part of my game again. The last time we played with his character, another player lost his character in a grand conclusion to the story at the time. It was a sacrifice to save the world from being overrun with demons and such. The player who sacrificed his character, is a permanent player and he (as did I) really enjoyed the character that died. I want to bring him back from the dead but I needed a good way to do so. So this is what I was thinking

Fast Forward to the Future where my German friends dwarf is on his deathbed. Beside him is his adopted daughter Simone. Shes the biological daughter of his best friend the dead guy. He begins to relate a story of how he met a certain dragon that gave him a magical ring of unknown powers. Well role play the scenario where he helps the dragon, and then the dragon in the end gives him a ring as a reward. The scnerio is a high level (15-20) and Im not going to make it so difficult that all PCs will die certainly not the dwarf whos not suppose to die! This will allow for an evening worth of role playing and combat wrapped around my story idea so that its not just me telling a story. So unknown to the dwarf at the time of receiving it, the ring contains one lifetime wish that only gets activated when the owner is in his last moments of natural life. The wish can only be for non-selfish purposes and can only be to help out another in some way with good intentions inmind. The whole time that he relates this story of the dragon, Ill cut in with sobs and such from Simone who thanks her adopted father for being there for her. At the same time however she will be saying how she wished to have known her real dad as well. Basically Im going to plant an idea there so that when the dwarf gets the wish, he may possibly wish that his friend never died 150 years earlier! If he does wish that or some sort of similar wish, Ill flashback to the night when the favoured character died. Ill recreate that scenario and we will re-roleplay the ending of that battle with one slight change inexplicably, after the character sacrifices himself, he comes out of the darkness to take the baby form his dwarven friends hands as the dwarf slowly shimmers out of existence.

Its a way for me to honor the dwarf character, say goodbye to a good friend, and bring back a favored character for another friend, but make it look like its not a DM forced resurrection. Then in January when we start that campaign again, Ill be right back where we left off, but with the same character as before!

What do ya think? Too much? Too weird? Am I just being silly?

This is going to take place on Friday, but Im a bit nervous of the outcome and the reaction it will get.

Everything which improves a story and makes the PCs special is always welcome. I like your idea! By all means, go on! And let us know how it went.

Cheers,

Antonio

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gideon_thorne
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Re: Is using a wish too....ummm..... 'hookey' ???

Post by gideon_thorne »

Well.. it's a nice concept. But it also depends on how one feels about altering the past and the consequences it has?

Basicly, changing the past, even with a wish, is going to have a ripple effect that could have the effect of changing the 'experiences' of the other character. Perhaps something more appropriate is the deceased character being brought back to life, in the present, with a divinely driven mission?

Its a fantasy game after all, and divine miracles tend to occur often.
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Jynx
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Re: Is using a wish too....ummm..... 'hookey' ???

Post by Jynx »

gideon_thorne wrote:
Well.. it's a nice concept. But it also depends on how one feels about altering the past and the consequences it has?

That did worry me as well, but the fact is that the future hasn't happened yet - atleast we haven't played that far into the characters lives yet. I'm basically advancing the clock to about 150-200 years into the future. So it doesn't change anything that has happened in my campaign so far. If it did, then I would obviously not even consider it as I don't want to nullify anything that may have happened to the party.

It's funny that I'm thinking of this, becuase I've always has a problem with any story/movie that dealt with time travel. There are so many potential pitfalls when you change the past.

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StealthSuitStanley
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Post by StealthSuitStanley »

What a great idea! And you are correct in the thinking that as long as the future hasn't occured yet, it won't mess up your campaign.

I think you have a home run with this idea! Except I would have the two character's switch places at the last moment instead of the dwarf shimmering away. Just my opinion...

and with the net, you can keep your German friend updated on the events of the campaign and how his choice changed history.

I'm with rabindranath on this one. Keep us updated on how it works out.

Another idea in addition is to infrequently give the characters dreams involving their dwarf companion. this will bring back memories of games with your friend honoring him and his character.
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Moorcrys
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Post by Moorcrys »

If it was a well-liked and well-played character, then why not? Sounds kinda touching, actually.
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Jynx
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Post by Jynx »

Well.... I did it!

Of the three remaining players in my campaign, 1 is leaving for Germany; the other is only there part time. When we concluded our campaign 2 months ago, the main character died, the part time players character survived (but he was only 2 sessions old) and the other surviving character is played by the German so hes going as well. I didnt want to start from level 1 again so since I recently brought in 4 more players, I decided to use the wish idea to see if my German Friend would wish for some sort of resurrection.

The set up was as follows

I fast forwarded time to 200 years later where the Dwarf had his adopted daughter by his side (his buddys baby who was adopted after he died in the last adventure). The dwarf was in his death bed and for all his years as a heroic servant for all that was good, he was rewarded a wish by a powerful dragon. Before he could make his wish however, I went back 150 years where he was a level 20 character. I gave all the players new characters and the idea was that the dwarf in the future was retelling the story of how he defeated the evil black dragon and later saved the adopted girl. To make a long story short, they killed the black dragon and then rescued the girl from a powerful Mage Beholder. After the fight we went back to the future where with his last dying breath he wished that his adopted daughter would get the chance to meet her dad. So the wish was granted and we will begin the campaign again where we left off but this time the main character is now alive and its a new timeline!

It was very touching as I did not tell the player what to wish for, but he did wish for what I was hoping for. My other player was sleepy that night and actually about to leave early so I had to cut the story down a bit. During the wish scene his face was in shock and afterwards we stuck around for 2 hours talking like old buddies. Its sad to see our German friend go but his character went out with a heroic send off. Scottish bagpipes playing in the background and all!

VERY COOL!

Not as hokey as I originally feared.

I learned something from C&C while playing this level 20 adventure. The black dragon is terribly weak as compared to D&D 3.5 ! I also learned that a character at level 20 using some of the spells in the C&C PHB is ultra powerful and the dragon has little chance! A fireball thrown by the mage caused 20 X D6 of damage. In 3.5 its limited to 10. YIKES! Can you say roasted dragon? Lets just say that I ended up bumping up the dragon stats a little to give the others with regular weapons a chance to carve into the roast.

It was a good night nonetheless!

artemis wands

Post by artemis wands »

Jynx wrote:
I learned something from C&C while playing this level 20 adventure. The black dragon is terribly weak as compared to D&D 3.5 ! I also learned that a character at level 20 using some of the spells in the C&C PHB is ultra powerful and the dragon has little chance! A fireball thrown by the mage caused 20 X D6 of damage. In 3.5 its limited to 10. YIKES! Can you say roasted dragon? Lets just say that I ended up bumping up the dragon stats a little to give the others with regular weapons a chance to carve into the roast.

It was a good night nonetheless!
VERY COOL, indeed. Nicely done. A masterful bit of CK suggestion.

I quoted your paragraph about the dragon, though, cuz it's news I needed to hear. I'm thinking of converting the old Council Of Wyrms setting (a 2e world designed for dragon PCs) to C&C and was wondering how well the dragons actually do in play against high-level opponents.

I haven't either run or played C&C yet, and am still reading/absorbing the rules. I'd be most interested in your insights about dragon game mechanics in C&C, though.

Anyway, great job! It brings back memories of my paladin PC who sacrificed himself by holding off a literal army of kobolds so the rest of the party could get the cure for a magic-resistant plague out of their lair, thus saving an entire nation from a deadly epidemic. I always wished I could get him back, but unfortunately, I never had you as a DM.
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