So my party suffered a TPK not too long ago, and so for the last little while they have just been on the case of a thief with their new characters; and during this time the characters have also been learning to work together. I have been working on a campaign story that will involve them actively becoming criminals, but the start of it requires them to join the local thieves guild to stop the spread of a new drug that is killing a particular type of race and putting children in comas, the only thing is one of my players is an Aasimar divine soul sorcerer, that essentially acts like a Paladin. My question is if anyone has any advice on how to convince or incentivise a LG character to become a criminal.
It’s a bit of a pickle. In my experience a campaign with a certain setting (all will be criminals) are better stated outright to the players before PCs are created. But a bit late now. 😊
You could consider:
A suitable holy order giving the sorcerer a missions I infiltrate the group. It puts the sorcerer on a collision course with the rest of the group though.
That the criminal network is active in an area/town where the deity/faith the sorcerer adheres to is banned/persecuted. The criminals, however, are led by someone of that faith and opposes the rulers. Their ultimate goal is thus religious as well and could align with the sorcerers ideals.
Tempt/lure the sorcerer to fall from grace, perhaps being tricked into taking a new patron? Can backfire though if the player feels strongly about the character.
Reroll and save the character for later.
Change the necessity to be part of the network and instead make their aid a requirement. The PCs end up obligated to them, but perhaps not a part of them.
It is possible your player is simply wearing horse blinders in a sense. Just because they're some holy person who has a strong moral compass doesn't mean they can't join in on the fun.
There are many television shows out there that show a good cop going undercover into the den of some really nasty criminals. After a time the good cop must show that they're part of the criminal's group by doing something nasty. The good cop then has to figure out how to play it off without sacrificing their moral code. This creates a really, really good story and gets the player involved beyond the numbers on their character sheet.
The hook is already set: deadly drug, kids hurt, people dead...what more does the character need? I don't see a problem with the other characters as you've suggested that their ultimate goal is to stop the spread of the drug.
Remember that lawful good doesn't always necessarily mean laws themselves, but can also refer to the greater good of society. Perhaps if the LG Sorcerer learns they can best help by breaking the law, at least to some extent, they will do so.
You could also of course go for a gold incentive. If the Sorcerer is offered some material wealth for joining, or is given an incentive by another group or individual NPC, they might be a bit more willing to go along with something questionable.
So to start off, thank you. Most of the advice here is helpful and the other thing is that the LG sorcerer is fairly pacifistic and will only do harm under extreme circumstances (i.e Life threatening or serial killer), she has no stomach for violence and had a breakdown when one of the other PCs killed a thug in her defense. My worry was figuring out a way to get her to agree to the idea of working as a criminal and do morally ambiguous acts to achieve the overall goal.
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So my party suffered a TPK not too long ago, and so for the last little while they have just been on the case of a thief with their new characters; and during this time the characters have also been learning to work together. I have been working on a campaign story that will involve them actively becoming criminals, but the start of it requires them to join the local thieves guild to stop the spread of a new drug that is killing a particular type of race and putting children in comas, the only thing is one of my players is an Aasimar divine soul sorcerer, that essentially acts like a Paladin. My question is if anyone has any advice on how to convince or incentivise a LG character to become a criminal.
It’s a bit of a pickle. In my experience a campaign with a certain setting (all will be criminals) are better stated outright to the players before PCs are created. But a bit late now. 😊
You could consider:
It is possible your player is simply wearing horse blinders in a sense. Just because they're some holy person who has a strong moral compass doesn't mean they can't join in on the fun.
There are many television shows out there that show a good cop going undercover into the den of some really nasty criminals. After a time the good cop must show that they're part of the criminal's group by doing something nasty. The good cop then has to figure out how to play it off without sacrificing their moral code. This creates a really, really good story and gets the player involved beyond the numbers on their character sheet.
The hook is already set: deadly drug, kids hurt, people dead...what more does the character need? I don't see a problem with the other characters as you've suggested that their ultimate goal is to stop the spread of the drug.
Remember that lawful good doesn't always necessarily mean laws themselves, but can also refer to the greater good of society. Perhaps if the LG Sorcerer learns they can best help by breaking the law, at least to some extent, they will do so.
You could also of course go for a gold incentive. If the Sorcerer is offered some material wealth for joining, or is given an incentive by another group or individual NPC, they might be a bit more willing to go along with something questionable.
So to start off, thank you. Most of the advice here is helpful and the other thing is that the LG sorcerer is fairly pacifistic and will only do harm under extreme circumstances (i.e Life threatening or serial killer), she has no stomach for violence and had a breakdown when one of the other PCs killed a thug in her defense. My worry was figuring out a way to get her to agree to the idea of working as a criminal and do morally ambiguous acts to achieve the overall goal.