Ghast NPC...

[Captain_K]

9th Hours Social Diversion Society Players.. stop reading now....

Looking for input/advice from the masses: I'm planning an interesting night... a lone Ranger (no pun intended) is molested by a pack of Ghouls and finally taken out by a Ghast. He does not know that he died, only that he was badly wounded, nearly died just as he dispatched the final lone Ghast after taking out the Ghoul pack too. He awoke, cleaned up the area, stinking Ghast needs to be burned, wounds are slow to heal, food does not taste good, etc etc. He just does not know he's a Ghast.. enter the PCs... let the roll play begin.

So, per the MT "rules", the Ranger can retain about half his levels, memories, and knowledge.. can his let's say Neutral Good Human personality survive the transformation? His force of will over come the negative energies animating his dead and rotting body?

So, here is the question to you all, a slow changing alignment? Instant? Never to change and he remain "the crazy old trapper" in the woods but now they call him "stinky Pete"? Revenants are Neutral and undead so not all must be evil.

[Troll Lord]

First, that's a bad ass scenario!

I would have him change over time, maybe governed by circumstances. His alignment changes a little, then shifts back to normal, then another shift. Two steps forward, one backward to to speak.

Steve

[Captain_K]

Thanks. I like the raging battle for alignment "control" approach best. Easy too, getting hungry again.. anything bloody looks good and forces an alignment/nature battle,, "Oops was that rabbit raw, did I forget to cook it again?" As an animal trapper.. it'll just about fit in with the lonely woodsman theme. Think of his normal day: track, hunt down, skin it, gut it, break for lunch, "Why waste all those steaming goodies?", hang the meat for "flavor", etc. For him, nothing ever spoils!

There's a bit more interesting twists with this NPC "set up". As we all know, "All good mysteries come in threes", but incase my PCs are following any of this, I don't want to spoil too much. But leave it to say it blends a Celtic Burial Mount (Raven Shaped), a Norse Rune Covered Spear, a necromancer, and pack of Gnolls. It should be a one night bit, played out this Thursday night. After this Thursday it should be well written up in the Crusades section under The Ninth Hour Social Diversion Society "site". I would be happy to type it all up and submit to you, Crusader, etc. I think it is a nice blend between Celtic and Norse and makes a nice one night bit that could fit just about any place. Our current group is a nice blend of those two historic cultures.

[Buttmonkey]

I can just see this scenario with my players:

CK: You see a crazy old trapper up ahead.
Player #1: I waste him with my crossbow.
CK: Seriously?! Son of a...

[Treebore]

Assuming all rules in the PH are used, I'd just kill him and Raise him from the dead. That way, I wouldn't be expected to put up with his stench, or his trying to eat me, and I get back a trustworthy Ranger. Can't afford to Raise him? It was nice knowing you, buddy. R.I.P.

[Captain_K]

Buttmonkey, Thanks, I did not even think they would just try to kill him. I'll have to write him up in more detail rather than just conceptually. As a former 7th lvl ranger now 5th, plus his Ghast "powers", my group of five first levels will not be wasting him anytime soon, but might try.
Treebore, To the level of my PCs and their $, raising is out of the question and they can't do the first part unless he basically submits, which I'm pretty sure this crazy old Ranger may not be quite ready to "die" forever, bad enough, on his already shaky mental state, that he's finding out he's "dead"... well, undead.

I think the fun will be the social discussion that he is NOT evil, he is how he was morally, and in his own mind, still himself... even if he agrees he's undead, why would he agree to be destroyed since there is no obvious way to bring him back.

Wow, Thanks guys, now I have a reason even a Good aligned Ranger would hesitate to end it or give up and let them kill him.. it would be final.

Technical question, if he's morally in control and he's still say "a Neutral Good Ranger", PLUS a Ghast, following the "control and alignment shifting comes and goes" notion from above, what would detect evil or chaos show? I'm thinking "nothing to a very faint taint" would detect always. But the intensity would come and goe as the NPC control shifts depending on what's going on. Thus the timing is key, if while fighting or battling hunger in the presence of bloody flesh, the evil taint and urges would be more easy to detect and evil or chaos detection would come through stronger. But after eating and just sitting about the fire, not so much to none.. I'm thinking the negative energy is in the back ground, but no malicious intent. I think Skeletons and Zombies are Neutral in nature and Evil due to their negative energy (unlife) animation (aside - I think the M&T notes skeletons as only Neutral).

I'm going to have his Ghast stench be "new", you know "freshly dead" so something that can be "gotten used to eventually"... if you had to, after you tossed your meal... etc. It will have to get worse and worse as time goes on.. Aside, one PC is a 1/2 Orc, might be harder for this PC to be anywhere near the Ranger. That said, Dogs sense of smell is great, but really stinky things they love, just because you can smell it better may not make it repulsive, like sauerkraut eaters.

[Troll Lord]

Okay so how is this playing out?

Steve

[Captain_K]

In my first post I ended with.. "He just does not know he's a Ghast.. enter the PCs... let the roll play begin. " Well Thursday night, we got a slow start, but the PCs are "really looking at it from all sides"... We ended with a rough plan which resulted in them all spending the night with the Ranger (nothing bad happened) and in the morning burned the bodies of the Ghast (former Necromancer) and ghouls (half were Gnoll Ghouls) the Ranger killed before the PCs got there - needed to basically get a tree worth of wood and no one wanted to go out into the night to get it knowing at least 6 more Ghouls were out there that the ranger did not kill . The elf spent the night sleeping in a tree and our sensitive NPC could not sleep with the smell in the one room cabin filled with 4 PCs, the Ranger, and a Badger, so she had the elf tie her to the tree (not being and elf). The PCs "should" be posting this adventure (9th Hour Social Diversion Society under Crusades) this weekend or early next week. I used the PM feature yesterday to tweak each PC with their special knowledge about what's going on... I think that feature between games might be nice. So next time we game, the month of June, they will decide where and how to go to the Ancient Raven Shaped Burial Mount hoping that is the source/home of the Ghouls, What to do about the Necromancer turned Ghast (dead again and burned, but what or why was he/it created), and finally what, if anything can or should be done about/with Crazy old Ben the "trapper". "Remember all good mysteries come in threes."

But since you asked, we are awaiting our fifth member's first post, he's awaiting I think your permission to let him post - No idea of his screen name, but he's the "Northern Italian", Subterranean Ranger. He will be posting some pretty funny art work about our Gnomish Druid and his "arms"... a great example of how to work encumbrance, make him draw it, or in this case, let one of your fellow PCs make it clear to you, "you have too much stuff &/or its too big".

I hesitate to say more, I really want the PCs in on the act. Getting them involved and story telling I hope plants the seeds of fun for the game and future CKing... I like to play too, not just CK.

So, sorry I don't have the whole story, you'll just have to wait patiently.

[Captain_K]

The wait should end this week. We should play Tuesday. In the time since this started I PMed each PC with a unique view of what's going on from their PC and personal history point of view (info about a famous Ranger named Ben to the Ranger, natural behavior of a man vs undead to the Druid, Ghast vs Ghoul to the Cleric, etc...) and each their own piece of inside information. Should add to the fun and the RP and possibly the confusion/arguments... but time will tell.

How much about Undead doesshould a first level Elven Cleric really know? Ghouls from Ghasts? details of skeleton and zombie combat abilities? Weaknesses?

[serleran]

How much about Undead doesshould a first level Elven Cleric really know? Ghouls from Ghasts? details of skeleton and zombie combat abilities? Weaknesses?

That's a question with a multitude of answers and will depend a great deal on the depth of your campaign and setting. Do you use defined priesthoods? If so, does the cleric worship a deity known to oppose, appease, or otherwise interact with undead? Do you use secondary skills in any way? Do elfs have any proclivity toward knowing this stuff or have there been undead wars/battles in history such that the elf might know?

In any event, I would allow the cleric the chance to identify a simple common undead (noted by their rarity in M&T) on sight and interaction, perhaps with a Wisdom check against the undead's HD, modified if disguise or situation makes it harder to determine.

If you wanted to give them something, consider an ability like the assassin's case target but applicable to undead only. I would do that only for undead hunters... not standard clerics.

The answer should be campaign-driven. How much do you want the elf to know?

[Captain_K]

The power is to turn undead, they are "taught" so there should be some story swapping like , "skeletons look like.. well skeletons..." How about Ghouls from Ghasts.. are they so common everyone knows or so rare as to be basically one thing..

But I get your point, and I gave just enough info that the cleric was ahead of other PCs.. each basically gets their sphere of expertise..

Thanks, Kirk

[Captain_K]

So far the PCs are dealing with the NPC Ghast well.. they've not "pried" so I've not had to defend details.. but I this NPC will be around for quite a long time.. Now I need a nice Magic Item to keep him from making everything and everyone near him puke...

[serleran]

Decanter of Endless Perfume.

[Captain_K]

Here's one, how does a Ghast regain hit points of damage? "Naturally" at a rate similar to a living person's healing rate? Would Cause Harm (opposite of cure light wounds) restore damage? Thoughts?

Capt K

PS Anyone following the PCs and this Ghast NPC on The Ninth Hour Social Diversion Society "Crusades"? How do you like to point of views of each PC?