How can you not love an "Katherine Hepburn" character? This could be a movie character. Go to Comment

Hey she is my size! I truly love this women already and some how I have a feeling that them deep brown eyes are full of fire! How can I not like this women who fights for the rights of others. Now all she needs is a friend who is a mindless person about the new and finest fashions. I can aleady see one nagging her about the clothing. Sorry let my mind get away from me. Anyway love it! Go to Comment

A solid NPC that can be readily re-purposed. Go to Comment

These three posts, put together make this a more dramatic location that two idylic villages out in the hinterlands.

The question I ask, should I actually make up a NPC post for The Don? Go to Comment

Updated: updated links Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

Only voted Go to Comment

I would say Absolutely make an NPC sub for him.
It seems that he is a rather significant antagonist in Scarabomantus' life. Go to Comment

Lets hope it is not done then. It is off to any awesome start! Go to Comment

I like him. A good man behind the curtain...that you will never see. He could even be dead and people can still blame him for things that are going on...without knowing who they are blaming exactly. Go to Comment

I may have mentioned before how much I love Shadowy Malevolent Villians. Here we have a Shadowy Villian, who is not Malevolent (although one might make a case for misguided). And I absolutely adore villians who aren't in it for thier own gain, or just to be evil, but that really think they're Doing the Right Thing. Also, depending on the class of PCs that encounter him: will they fight him... or join him? And given his tendency to play the puppet master behind the scenes, the odds are fairly high that he could manipulate the PCs into accomplishing some of his goals (after all, what is the group most likely to topple a government?) He would fit in very well with some of my characters, several of whom would be sympathetic to his cause, if not his means. Well, I am going to use him, somehow.
And I think this deserves a Hall of Honor... Go to Comment

Do I really need to tell you that MoonHunter, our own personal Ubermensche, has earned a...

5/5! Go to Comment

WOAH! Someone rated this a 5/5 before it was even done. Go to Comment

Thank you. I appreciate that. Go to Comment

Actually it is more Ra's Al Ghul or Magneto. However since he does not have super powers or immortality, he has to use Moriarity-esk tactics. Yes, he is on the side of the oppressed, but he is not a nice man. And he thinks very long term...

1) So, There is little motivation to fight such an enemy?

Okay: What if Scarbomontus could "save the world", make it an utter paradise. All he would have to do is kill off about 30% of the land's (if not the continent or the world's) population . He would see that as a small price to pay. Would you or your characters? What if the number was closer to 80%?

Since Religion is a primary tool of oppression, he decides to destory all the various temples by causing them to wage holy war against each other. Of course, innocents might die in the process... but it only shows that the religions were evil anyways. Then he and his will raise an army of people who are righously against such slaughter and destroy the remaining ones.

Perhaps he can find an artifact of ancient evil which will banish all the Gods from the world. Of course that eliminates any clerical healing, but religions are tools of oppression.

He might put together a bitter war between two countries, allowing their "slightly more enlightened neighbor" to take on the "winner". Since Nobles and their Lackey's do most of the fighting, that will eliminate most of them. Of course, there will be loss of innocent life... but it is a small price to pay for centuries of peace and prosperity?

Maybe he will simply cause an explosion at the royal corronation killing all the noble guests and high priests. Sure the son of the King is a nice guy, but you really can't trust nobles.

Sure we will steal the entire treasury and distribute it to the poor and un noble. Of course, the king will no longer be able to pay his army and his enemies will attack him, crushing his country. It serves him right for overtaxing the poor and those who work for a living. (Even if the taxe rates for this country are no better or worse than any others).

Yes, he is really a nice guy. He means well. He thinks really long term.
And Hitler was a vegatarian and painted watercolors.

2) If he is never seen, his plans are epic in detail and meticulous in construction, and he always has quick escape routes planned, how are players ever to come to suspect him of anything? And don't tell me thats the point, if the players aren't to know he is operating, he might as well not be.

Carefully constructed plans seldom fall apart. And just because you "get away" does not mean a) the plan wasn't foiled and b) the people foiling it do not know approximately who you are. And if you are doing investigation and such, every plan leave fingerprints. And there will be a suspicion that one many comes through. He is not a dime store villian to be tossed away after one foiled plot. Oh no, the PCs will encounter him throughout the campaign.

Think: Good Spymasters are seldom if ever caught. Just look though the anuals of espionage. Then I want you to thin Blofeld. They will get close to him eventually. Holmes got to Moriarty after all. Of course, your PCs are probably not as good as Holmes or Bond or Batman either.

If Scarabmontus is not central to the campaign, then they could

3) You never mentioned what he does with the stolen goods, other than more campaigns. What a campaign is, in undefined (Assasination? open war? Guerilla war? Terrorism?). Yes, and more.

Does he give money to the poor, or secretly fund public works in poor areas?
Yes he gives that which does not need to fund the campaigns away.

If his campaigns have collatoral cost, does he try to minimize it, or does he believe "ends justify the means". Yes, minimizing it is the idea, but as long as it is effective in the end. Remember, this is a "villian" or antagonist. He is not the protagonist of the story. That is supposed to be you and your characters. Go to Comment

Plot idea: I was just thinking about Scarbmontus being approached by Order of Serpenthia. He would be torn. He would see the advantage of being immortal, yet he could see these ancient self centered puppeteers keeping the status quo. He would not attack them directly, after all he would like the secret. But could he manipulate some waundering types (i.e. player characters) into fighting them for him? Perhaps he will set the PCs up to fail, so he can swoop down and become a hero in the order. And if he fails, then his ideals are served. It is a win win. I do know, once he achieve immortality, he would turn on this organization so fast... destroying all those ancient corruptors... and utilize the technique for the "superior good" of humanity.

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The character is appears inconsistent to me. If I could hazard a guess, I think you've taken the methodology of Professor Moriarty, with the ideals of Che Guevara, but the mix isn't so good.

These three critisisms deal with Scarabomantus as the villian:

1) There is little motivation to fight such an enemy. Unless your greatly benefitting from the status quo, why fight someone who is trying to ensure that everyone is treated fairly? Its like fighting against Robin Hood.

2) If he is never seen, his plans are epic in detail and meticulous in construction, and he always has quick escape routes planned, how are players ever to come to suspect him of anything? And don't tell me thats the point, if the players aren't to know he is operating, he might as well not be.

Perhaps he needs some signature crime traits?

3) You never mentioned what he does with the stolen goods, other than more campaigns. What a campaign is, in undefined (Assasination? open war? Guerilla war? Terrorism?). If his campaigns have collatoral cost, does he try to minimize it, or does he believe "ends justify the means". Does he give money to the poor, or secretly fund public works in poor areas? Or does he just keep the money all the money for future campaigns?


Can you give us some examples of how you would fit this character into a story line - remembering please, that the PC's must be able to determine that he is behind the plot, and being consistent to the character you've laid out. Go to Comment

I for one am a dog person, and although I really HATE cats(espeacilly in an awsome rpg) I like were Moonhunter is going with this. The cat could have control over the Queen of the empire of... of... of... some country, or something. I dont know. I'm bad with names. ANYWAY, the cat is telling the queen to avenge the death of her husband, who was killed in a war long ago. Gorlock however sees the other kingdom as a perfect breeding ground. short on men, the Queen hires the pc's as mercs. After a couple of big battles the pc's stert to see the queen talking seemingly to no one. As the story of the war progresses, the pc's see the cat look devilishly at the queen, who calls for the guards to escort the 'heretics' to the prison. after a day of torture, a soldier, who befriended you during the campaign, frees you and leads you to a room full of soilders who are going against the queen. you now have a choice, either tell them of the manipulating cat, or let them kill her and plunder the queens riches.

Dragoon God Go to Comment

*shrug*

I like cats, but they can be a bit short-tempered at times. It's a feline thing. They're still mad at us for domesticating them.

4/5. Go to Comment

Yes. I am not a "cat person." Yes, I can't see the attraction of these creatures, unless one is born to serve their ungrateful "god". Lets move beyond this fact and focus on the characters.

Oh... so many cats might be just like Gathrack. Those demonic cats might of bred. Their ancestors might still have vestiges of their demonic powers, so people have to take them as pets and treat them like gods (ah mind control). Gathrack's kin tainting their line might be the reason Cats are creatures of power AND used as mystic familiars (perhaps some are empowered by their thinning demonic blood). Go to Comment