I have a pc who is running around in game declaring himself " The Chosen of Bahamut". He even tried to square off with a bronze dragon (at level 5) and it was only the very tactful roleplay of the rest of the party that kept them all alive. Last session he was visited by Bahamut in a dream and told to prepare himself for 3 trials. I thought those should be
1)Diplomacy
2) Mercy
3) Protection
How do my fellow DM's feel about this and what "trials" would you use to test these?
Not too sure about the other ones, but here's one idea:
Diplomacy: go back and square things with that bronze dragon... alone.
That's a good one. Especially since his arrogance will likely get him killed over and over again Groudhog day style. (it's a magical god dragon test yo!)
I have a few ideas, including rearranging the trials as: Protection, Mercy, Diplomacy. It might work well to incorporate all the trials into a single mission, making the test more subtle. I love Sam_Hain's idea where he has to make right with the bronze dragon. Taken from the compendium, bronze dragons "take the forms of friendly animals to observe other creatures of interest." It might be interesting to have diplomacy last, having this disguised dragon throughout the trials, watching your player. Maybe he's the final "boss". I think it's important that there is no one "right" answer for each trial and that he should be allowed to mess up a little here and there, so long as the idea is achieved by the player. He should also be allowed to fail the trials. Here is an idea: Your player is tasked to fight an evil enemy alone and is given their location deep within a wooded area. But his true task is what comes along the way. Maybe he stumbles upon an animal in a trap. Will he show mercy and kindness to take time to free it? Maybe there is a wounded girl fleeing from this mysterious enemy that insists on coming along so she can rescue her brother. Will he be able to protect her while fending off enemies? If he freed the animal, it could fight along side him but also be another innocent to protect. Coming to the enemy boss, he finds out along the way that the minions sent after him are just innocents under magical influence, acting against their will. If he can appeal to their true natures, he can win them to his side. This combines both mercy and diplomacy. By meeting all three trials, he makes his own fight easier. The final boss comes around and after some fighting, he surrenders, saying that the player will never find the captives without him. This combines all three trials. Will the player be diplomatic and get the information? Will he be merciful so that he can protect those that need saving?
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He accepts no excuses for evil acts, and doesn't tolerate even minor offenses by evil creatures He is considered one of the most compassionate beings in the multiverse He usually preferred to polymorph those who had offended him instead of killing them. He values wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and songs, however, he also pursued viciously (usually sending his champions and followers) and finally:
Bahamut also liked to prove the strength and worthiness of his followers by battling against them in his dragon form, halting the combat when his followers were injured or when they overcame him. However, he was prone to get carried away by his zeal, and had powerful healers on hand in case he had gravely injured one of his followers in those battles.
----
If you can find a way of integrating those traits into your trials then you can truly say you've groomed this player to be a "Chosen of Bahamut".
Just out of curiosity, what are you going to do if he passes all these tests?
Are you willing to actually make him "The Chosen of Bahamut"?
Sure. Give him the mark of Bahamut burned into his forehead and some special Bahamut paladin or cleric abilities outside of his normal barbarian class. A boon that aids the party if he succeeds in the trials. And if he doesn't keep to his path or makes Bahamut look foolish for choosing him ... well that sounds like terrifying fun for the whole party.
Bahamut is above all, a lawful good deity. I think at the root of the lawful good alignment there's an element of self-sacrifice. So I would make sure these trials are difficult. If the character truly wants to be "chosen," then he should be prepared for a non-trivial amount of effort, one that requires him to choose the hard path over other, much easier options.
Also, rather than presenting these trials as separate, clearly telegraphed events, which will allow the character to prepare accordingly, I'd suggest weaving these trials subtly into the course of the party's adventures. Because another element of being good is doing the right thing even when you don't know you're being watched.
In fact, you might even want to let the player (and the character) think that you've forgotten about this (and Bahamut likewise) for a session or two. Keep your cards close to your chest and try your best not to signal when a situation the character encounters is one of these tests.
A somewhat similar idea - you could present the character with a clear test, but then later another, similar situation arises. The real test is how the character responds in this second case, when they no longer think they're being evaluated. It makes sense that Bahamut would also value loyalty and consistency in adhering to these principles.
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I have a pc who is running around in game declaring himself " The Chosen of Bahamut". He even tried to square off with a bronze dragon (at level 5) and it was only the very tactful roleplay of the rest of the party that kept them all alive. Last session he was visited by Bahamut in a dream and told to prepare himself for 3 trials. I thought those should be
1)Diplomacy
2) Mercy
3) Protection
How do my fellow DM's feel about this and what "trials" would you use to test these?
Not too sure about the other ones, but here's one idea:
Diplomacy: go back and square things with that bronze dragon... alone.
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That's a good one. Especially since his arrogance will likely get him killed over and over again Groudhog day style. (it's a magical god dragon test yo!)
I have a few ideas, including rearranging the trials as: Protection, Mercy, Diplomacy. It might work well to incorporate all the trials into a single mission, making the test more subtle. I love Sam_Hain's idea where he has to make right with the bronze dragon. Taken from the compendium, bronze dragons "take the forms of friendly animals to observe other creatures of interest." It might be interesting to have diplomacy last, having this disguised dragon throughout the trials, watching your player. Maybe he's the final "boss". I think it's important that there is no one "right" answer for each trial and that he should be allowed to mess up a little here and there, so long as the idea is achieved by the player. He should also be allowed to fail the trials. Here is an idea:
Your player is tasked to fight an evil enemy alone and is given their location deep within a wooded area. But his true task is what comes along the way. Maybe he stumbles upon an animal in a trap. Will he show mercy and kindness to take time to free it? Maybe there is a wounded girl fleeing from this mysterious enemy that insists on coming along so she can rescue her brother. Will he be able to protect her while fending off enemies? If he freed the animal, it could fight along side him but also be another innocent to protect. Coming to the enemy boss, he finds out along the way that the minions sent after him are just innocents under magical influence, acting against their will. If he can appeal to their true natures, he can win them to his side. This combines both mercy and diplomacy. By meeting all three trials, he makes his own fight easier.
The final boss comes around and after some fighting, he surrenders, saying that the player will never find the captives without him. This combines all three trials. Will the player be diplomatic and get the information? Will he be merciful so that he can protect those that need saving?
Just out of curiosity, what are you going to do if he passes all these tests?
Are you willing to actually make him "The Chosen of Bahamut"?
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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Short summary of Bahamut:
He accepts no excuses for evil acts, and doesn't tolerate even minor offenses by evil creatures
He is considered one of the most compassionate beings in the multiverse
He usually preferred to polymorph those who had offended him instead of killing them.
He values wisdom, knowledge, prophecies, and songs, however, he also pursued viciously (usually sending his champions and followers)
and finally:
Bahamut also liked to prove the strength and worthiness of his followers by battling against them in his dragon form, halting the combat when his followers were injured or when they overcame him. However, he was prone to get carried away by his zeal, and had powerful healers on hand in case he had gravely injured one of his followers in those battles.
----
If you can find a way of integrating those traits into your trials then you can truly say you've groomed this player to be a "Chosen of Bahamut".
Sure. Give him the mark of Bahamut burned into his forehead and some special Bahamut paladin or cleric abilities outside of his normal barbarian class. A boon that aids the party if he succeeds in the trials. And if he doesn't keep to his path or makes Bahamut look foolish for choosing him ... well that sounds like terrifying fun for the whole party.
Bahamut is above all, a lawful good deity. I think at the root of the lawful good alignment there's an element of self-sacrifice. So I would make sure these trials are difficult. If the character truly wants to be "chosen," then he should be prepared for a non-trivial amount of effort, one that requires him to choose the hard path over other, much easier options.
Also, rather than presenting these trials as separate, clearly telegraphed events, which will allow the character to prepare accordingly, I'd suggest weaving these trials subtly into the course of the party's adventures. Because another element of being good is doing the right thing even when you don't know you're being watched.
In fact, you might even want to let the player (and the character) think that you've forgotten about this (and Bahamut likewise) for a session or two. Keep your cards close to your chest and try your best not to signal when a situation the character encounters is one of these tests.
A somewhat similar idea - you could present the character with a clear test, but then later another, similar situation arises. The real test is how the character responds in this second case, when they no longer think they're being evaluated. It makes sense that Bahamut would also value loyalty and consistency in adhering to these principles.