Intermediary
What’s this? An overture from the fallen? Some manner of olive branch? A blindly hopeful appeal from a warrior of light to the dark lady of all his long nights yearning, torn in an agony of conflict? Well yeah, pretty much.
After their long, strange courtship — from heartbreak and betrayal to reconciliation and demonic ritual — Handbook-World’s most star-crossed lovers are at last getting a little plot development! And if it’s been hard on them, you can rest assured it’s been equally tough on yours truly. Figuring out how Paladin and Necromancer could ever make it work has been quite the dilemma. Like Snowflake in today’s comic, I’ve found myself playing pander to my characters. How to move forward without betraying either one? Was tragedy inevitable, or could we hope for some sliver of a happy ending? And so, faced with a seemingly irreconcilable conflict, I resorted to asking our Quest-Givers for aid. Last month’s Patreon poll reads as follows:
Paladin is at a rough place in life. Hopelessly in love with Necromancer, exiled from his party, and unable to square his Lawful Stupid alignment with a morally gray world, he is badly in need of direction. How should he try and dig himself out of this funk?
I won’t give the game away, but suffice it to say that the next few pages will make the peoples’ will plain.
In the meantime, I find myself intrigued by Necromancer’s internal monologue. I mean, her whole-ass character arc has been about avenging herself 
on the man who scorned her. She seems to take great pleasure in messing him about, and shows no signs of easing up on raising the dead. But then again, you don’t devote yourself to a life of revenge without some strong emotion. And there’s always that tell-tale hover text from the Tropic of Evil arc to consider. Could it be that, just maybe, Necromancer wants to make this thing work every bit as badly as our golden boy? I’ll let the checkbox speak for itself.
What about the rest of you guys though? Have you ever agonized over a character decision? Did you betray your master? Turn against your decadent nation? Maybe you gave up your paladinhood for personal reasons, or told your warlock patron to take a hike? Whatever that difficult moment, tell us how you ultimately resolved the hard decision down in the comments!
THIS COMIC SUCKS! IT NEEDS MORE [INSERT OPINION HERE] Is your favorite class missing from the Handbook of Heroes? Maybe you want to see more dragonborn or aarakocra? Then check out the “Quest Giver” reward level over on the The Handbook of Heroes Patreon. You’ll become part of the monthly vote to see which elements get featured in the comic next!
I’m on the edge of my metaphorical seat to see what will happen with these two…
So. Snowflake is hanging around even though Paladin has Fallen. That’s… ominous.
The use of the ‘do you like me’-letter does point out the immaturity of both Paladin and Necromancer. They could have avoided a lot of drama if they’d sat down and talked about their issues, rather than try to change each other or flying into vengeance-territory. Paladin stepping up to save Necromancer, even at the cost of his powers, was the first sign of true growth in their relationship. Maybe this check-mark can be the second.
“They could have avoided a lot of drama if they’d sat down and talked about their issues,”
The author is very much “drama for the sake of drama”, there’s no way they’d ever have sat down and acted like proper grown-ups… no, it’s Soaps Weeks up in this house.
> So. Snowflake is hanging around even though Paladin has Fallen. That’s… ominous.
I mean, she doesn’t poof until she’s killed. Where else would she go?
=_= I recommend the local glue factory.
But in all seriousness, as a supposed servant of the Upper Planes, shouldn’t she have some trouble liaising for a Fallen Paladin?
I mean, like…
https://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/the-outer-planes-part-7-judgement-of-the-gods
Ah, right. ‘Complicated’.
Wow, Paladin’s Sneak is 100! I scanned those bushes for hours and nary a sign of him!
If you look very closely, you can a piece of his hair reflected in Snowflake’s gold harness. You might have to do some Bladerunner style “zoom enhance” though. And even then it might just be a piece of grass.
YEs, i like the way this is going.
DON’T YOU DARE MESSING THIS UP!!!!
SHIP IT!!!!!!!!!
Oh man… now I’m tempted to messing it up just to see more caps lock. 😛
For a Vampire the Masquerade character, I decided to make someone who was truly loyal, no blood bonds, dominate, etc needed, to the Prince of the city. He was loyal in private while trying to befriend their rivals, to pass on secrets. That didn’t work out so well and instead he found others that he came to value as friends. And then it happened. The person he was friends with began to actively plot to overthrow the man my character was loyal to. I knew everything in the plot and agreed with it in a lot of ways, but my character saw loyalty as the most important thing he could have; when everything else fades away, you must hold on to something and this was his lifeline. So I betrayed my friends, telling the Prince everything. I was then ordered to assist in the rebellion to make sure my master came through it okay and did so.
And that’s the story of how my character became Prince of the city; a patsy for his master until the guy stopped playing. Good times.
So like… The original prince allowed you to be the figurehead while they remained the power behind the throne?
My boisterous, dim but good-intentioned, live life as-it-comes Chaotic Good Cleric of Heracles died (tragically, epically, but definitely) and was resurrected. It was kind of a big deal in the campaign. Afterward, I more-or-less played him strait for a bit, acknowledging his decent Int. stat and ultra-high Wisdom and referencing Greek aphorisms and concepts like laws of hospitality. At some point I asked my son (also a member of game night by then), “Is Alkaeus now Lawful Good?”
He replied “Isn’t he supposed to be?”
I realized my character had grown out of his alignment (and by default part of his original character design). I let him self-identify as a “priest of Heracles” with the same domains, but I changed the character sheet to read Lawful Good Cleric of Zeus (whole Olympian Pantheon). I didn’t agonize over the change, just over acknowledging publicly that I’d already made the shift in my heart and hadn’t realized it for months.
Admittedly, it made him a more complex character, but it was now a different character than the one I started with.
He was neutral there in the middle. But no one comments on the transitional period.
I dealt with a sort of similar situation recently as a player in Paladin’s shoes with dark, necromantic lady of some desire.
But since my character is a War Priest of Shelyn, I figure Shelyn is the sort to understand, and even push you towards love instead of devotion to the divine. Whatever happens to my divine powers happens. The party is so OP they don’t really need my support stuff anyhow. But they DO need my damage. A heroes work is never done.
Surely Shelyn loves us and wants us to be happy?
My thoughts on it are like… play the character. Deal with the fallout.
I think it’s better to play the character and accept the consequences. If I lose my divine powers for playing in character… eh. They don’t matter that much. If my god betrays me or acts in a way that I don’t think makes sense, whatever.
Betraying my character, who they are, and their feelings no matter how ill-advised seems like the worse choice.
Kind of an odd scenario, where “if my god betrays me” is the equivalent of “if my GM and I have creative differences.” I wonder what the ideal dynamic is in that setup? Do you talk it out ahead of time, or is the “god’s opinion” more interesting when it’s sprung on the player in-session?
My method is to let him know what I’m thinking and tell him explicitly that I expect him to do what he thinks is best.
To be fair… As a player, I’m also willing to take that risk. I know lots of players are not.
Yes, a love triangle is a far different affair than two obviously mutually attracted individuals having everyone around them yelling “Get on with it!”
As it happens, the original draft of this comic had different dialogue:
Necromancer: Wow. He really needs to move on.
Witch: Didn’t you dedicate your entire character arc to tormenting him?
Necromancer: Shush.
Felt like that was just another rehash though. Time to do like the Man said:
https://c.tenor.com/tnjajUdM0YMAAAAC/hurry-up-get-on-with-it.gif
My most consistent characterization decision is “Do I want to go for it?”
On one hand, the characters I imagine in my head are frequently the sort of larger-than-life figures who’d fit in a fantasy story. On the other hand, I am terrible at imposing on others. Even if it’s imposing my voice onto the game we’re all playing together. Especially if it’s arguably not the best thing for the party as a whole.
I should probably stick to stoic, slightly grumpy characters with a heart of gold. But it’s boring to play the same thing all the time, even if it’s the one thing I’m good at playing in practice.
Don’t be afraid to step up and shoot your shot. Yeah it’s an ensemble game, but a roleplayer can also stand center stage and command the narrative when it’s their turn.
I remember once upon a time playing a teenage wizard. We’d just got to a hot springs temple, and there was a moment of deciding whether or not I should derail shit but doing a “disguise self > sneak into the women’s springs” plot. It was a great big distraction, but it was also full on teen comedy shenanigans. *You are allowed to carve out those moments for yourself.*
My advice? Bring the others along, enjoy your episode, and don’t feel too self-conscious about the attention.
Easier said than done, I’m afraid. I appreciate the sentiment, though.
He will join her on evilness? Evil love stories are the best 😀
If only you joined the ranks of the Quest Givers. Then you’d know for sure. 😛
Fetch me 1 x Key Item (Ale), and i shall reward you handsomely with 4 CP!
There i am a quest giver now 😛
Bonus Objective added!
Earn tip! 😛
I need a map marker.
Agonize about character choices? That’s my whole schtick! Whether it’s on-the-spot decisions during a session, figuring out what to say during dialogue, or figuring out how to build a character’s build / what to buy, it’s all scrutiny over choices.
As long as you suffer, I’m sure the gods are pleased. 😛
I guess Snowflake feels sorry for Fallen Paladin, hence the note-delivering. Or she’s hoping that he’ll stop being fallen soon and she can get her own mojo back.
Well I mean, she still works for him (technically).
I really ought to do a comic about their relationship, huh?