I am running a long term homebrew campaign for the first time, and I gave all of my players their own story arcs. One of my players was adopted as a child and does not know who her real parents are. Her father is in the mafia and her mother ran away from him and gave her child up for adoption so the mobster would not find her.
I originally intended for the party to meet the characters mother first and the mother would reveal that her father was in the mafia. The party could then plan on how they wanted to approach her father. But the party chose to go in a different direction than I intended and they are going to encounter the characters father soon. The party is an enemy of the mafia so the mafia boss will order the player's father to go after the party. I am not sure what I should have the father do. I won't have any input from the players since they have no idea about who the father is. The father will know that the player could be his daughter because they are both tielflings, which are rare in my setting. When ordered to kill his daughter the father would be conflicted because he was raised by the mafia boss from birth and has been fanatically loyal to him.
So I am asking for advice on how to make the story arc as satisfying as possible for the player and also have the fathers actions make sense for what someone would do in that situation.
I am not sure if it would be better for the father to stay loyal to the mafia and for the party to risk killing him in a fight
Or
if he should betray the mafia and reveal himself to the party and offer to aid them
Or
If the player should be given a chance to talk to her father and try to persuade him to join her and leave the mafia
I am also considering having them find out who the father is by some third party so they can plan how to confront him.
I would appreciate any thoughts or advice on what I should do.
Also if anyone is interested in chatting with me you can friend me on discord at frogmorton_
Option 3 is the go to in my opinion. Never have a backstory character be unredeemable or the BBEG. Players getting a hint before the encounter would be beneficial too, gives them a bit of time to prepare to talk them down, or go for the kill, or whatever they chose.
An example in my current game, my Sorcerers bother (who was believed to have died with the rest of the family) is actually working for an agent of the BBEG. It's been hinted at that there's an older looking doppelgänger around the palace, and that someone similar looking to the Sorcerer entered the city about a week ago. When the Duke's birthday rolls around, surprise they see the Duke talking to said similar looking person. If they ask, it's going to be revealed that his surname is the same as the Sorcerers.
This is a huge opportunity to run a version of the Luke Skywalker / Darth Vader storyline. It's familiar, let's you drop the "I am your father..." moment (which will be as satisfying as it is recognizable).
From there, instead of forcing an outcome and predetermining it, see what the player does as they learn. Star Wars would be different if Luke decided to hack Vader down instead of offering redemption. This is the "be like water" spot for DM'ing.
Set it up
Slowly unveil details as the interactions happen
Have external forces pitting them against each other
Have the father offer the daughter a spot in the mafia so they can take it over together...
Then step back and see what the player has the character do.
and then see what the player has the character do!
I’d hold off on the reveal. Let the party meet the guy a couple times first before they find out. It will be much more meaningful to find it’s someone they know personally.
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I am running a long term homebrew campaign for the first time, and I gave all of my players their own story arcs. One of my players was adopted as a child and does not know who her real parents are. Her father is in the mafia and her mother ran away from him and gave her child up for adoption so the mobster would not find her.
I originally intended for the party to meet the characters mother first and the mother would reveal that her father was in the mafia. The party could then plan on how they wanted to approach her father. But the party chose to go in a different direction than I intended and they are going to encounter the characters father soon. The party is an enemy of the mafia so the mafia boss will order the player's father to go after the party. I am not sure what I should have the father do. I won't have any input from the players since they have no idea about who the father is. The father will know that the player could be his daughter because they are both tielflings, which are rare in my setting. When ordered to kill his daughter the father would be conflicted because he was raised by the mafia boss from birth and has been fanatically loyal to him.
So I am asking for advice on how to make the story arc as satisfying as possible for the player and also have the fathers actions make sense for what someone would do in that situation.
I am not sure if it would be better for the father to stay loyal to the mafia and for the party to risk killing him in a fight
Or
if he should betray the mafia and reveal himself to the party and offer to aid them
Or
If the player should be given a chance to talk to her father and try to persuade him to join her and leave the mafia
I am also considering having them find out who the father is by some third party so they can plan how to confront him.
I would appreciate any thoughts or advice on what I should do.
Also if anyone is interested in chatting with me you can friend me on discord at frogmorton_
Option 3 is the go to in my opinion. Never have a backstory character be unredeemable or the BBEG. Players getting a hint before the encounter would be beneficial too, gives them a bit of time to prepare to talk them down, or go for the kill, or whatever they chose.
An example in my current game, my Sorcerers bother (who was believed to have died with the rest of the family) is actually working for an agent of the BBEG. It's been hinted at that there's an older looking doppelgänger around the palace, and that someone similar looking to the Sorcerer entered the city about a week ago. When the Duke's birthday rolls around, surprise they see the Duke talking to said similar looking person. If they ask, it's going to be revealed that his surname is the same as the Sorcerers.
This is a huge opportunity to run a version of the Luke Skywalker / Darth Vader storyline. It's familiar, let's you drop the "I am your father..." moment (which will be as satisfying as it is recognizable).
From there, instead of forcing an outcome and predetermining it, see what the player does as they learn. Star Wars would be different if Luke decided to hack Vader down instead of offering redemption. This is the "be like water" spot for DM'ing.
Then step back and see what the player has the character do.
and then see what the player has the character do!
I’d hold off on the reveal. Let the party meet the guy a couple times first before they find out. It will be much more meaningful to find it’s someone they know personally.