Hey!

How is everybody?

So, I have gotten myself Into a bit of trouble It seems, yet again... a habit with me...

One of my acolytes fumbled a search check rather badly- it was so bad, Instead of finding nothing, she found something she should not have!

All in all, there was really nothing to find in the room- but she rolled, she was hopeful, she fumbled with a 100, and I have had the habit of making stuff happens when they fumble like that.

Either way, she found the sorcerer's insane alter dedicated to the woman he's been stalking, and on it, this brown book that's been covered in green slime. The book itself is the Sorcerer's journal, an account into his motivations, the dark pact he made, and a few spells and rituals he got in the process.

Now, 15 minutes after they wrecked his summoning circle and brought the entire building down on his head, the decontamination team showed up (as everybody was exposed to nurgle demons). I gave the players some time to get their stories straight, ditch the book, hide the mutant, stuff like that- but they really didn't take any of these precautions.

But I don't want to punish them for it. I think the book is great potential for further stuff happening, but the book was confiscated by the decontamination team when they striped the acolytes of all of their slime-splattered clothing.

Now they are back at an unknown location, seemingly a hospital, having a meeting with their inquisitor over a TV screen. Now, I was planning on having the book be left with the adept's other belonging (mostly her father's family heirloom power sword), but hidden- with the inquisitor implying he did her a favor by returning the book, and keeping it from the pyre.

But that strikes me as somewhat of a cope-out and a handwave.

Anybody have any better ideas of how this book can find his way back to this adept's hands? I don't have to have given it, just to take it away five minutes later, even though I technicaly should have- i really would like to use it later on. But a "The radical inquisitor" handwave seems weak, and in all honesty, it seems she herself is looking forward to something I have a feeling I won't be able to deliver!

Anybody goes any ideas to help me out, some inspiration perhaps?

Thanks!

Saldre said:

when this sort of things happens to my players i usually use a little trick to further my evil goal of getting my players into trouble (usually i love to give them the chance to get into trouble with their own hands and it pretty much happens everytime ^^ ), the trick is the old "object with a destiny" or "intelligent object". This book can corrupt one of those archiving it, the poor npc wasn't supposed to look into that crate containing all that heretic stuff but curiosity took the better of his simple mind and he found this evil book. Half scared and half enthralled he realized to be in great danger, both for the book and for the inquisition, so he starts to search a good way to escape with the book or to hide his crime, no matter how book and dumb npc will find their way into the acolytes in the most unexpected time and place, the simple coincidence will surely intrigue the acolytes and probably they will start to investigate on the nature of the book.

the decontamination team gets to the book, but its blank. and from now on only the Adept can seem to read it, and even stranger it starts to write itself. have the book be an entity and a further plot device only the adept can learn (and become corrupted) from.

You could easily just have the book just show up in the Adept's belongings. No explanation as to how it got there, nor even why it wasn't there the last time he looked... it's just there.

The Warp is strange like that sometimes, allowing odd little things to wash up upon the shores of reality... whether or not there is some intellect behind it, malign or otherwise, is another matter.

ThenDoctor said:

This is kind of freaky, but I thought the exact same thing.

Perhaps when the building was being brought down on the Sorcerer he sort of posessed the book in a sense and then shielded it to protect himself and now he doesn't have the power to free himself so he want to manipulate the adept into doing his bidding for him?

If the book is might and kind of an entitiy in itself, you could give it the same rules as writte for "Daemon Pact" when it comes to hidding its nature. The book will then for sure have some kind of "Sense those who can be tempted" power/ability to know when to "the guard".

In that way, there is a "fair, mechnical way" one can find out about the book.

Otherwise, it is a plot device (which isn´t a bad thing either).

... but you REALLY have a habit of causing yourself trouble for no reason. I know no other GM who decides to create a "random new plot device" just because some-one roles a 100 on a search test. You are into strange games, aren´t you?

Have the book just show up in the bathrobe pocket of the acolyte as she is getting out of the shower or walking to the mess hall. No matter what she does with the book it always shows up in a pocket, backpack, or under her pillow.

I kind of like the idea of rewarding players with special beneficient outcomes should they roll 01 and special negative outcomes should they roll 00, it makes both extremes special, but in a different way. Ultimately the players will recognize this and place as much emphasis on one as the other ... I think I approve.

As to how the player gets it back, I'd just have it show up on their desk soon after the confiscation - no explanation aside from whatever speculation the player wants to come up with, it simply happens ... evil can work this way in a fantasy-esque setting and seeing it do so can be kind of creepy.

Thank you guys!

I will admit- this peculiar pickle is rather terrible: I did bring it over on myself. As for the 01 and 100, I will admit that I got the idea from Call of Cthulhu Keeper, who makes it a point to emphasize how great we are when we rolls 1, and how terrible the situation is when a 100 is rolled! I did expand on it a tiny bit though Like Jack of Tears said, it made the situation a lot more memorable, as the player is clearly looking forward to interacting with his new (albeit evil) toy!

I believe i am going to combine a few of yours ideas- the book itself will return to the adept: only instead of it being the sorcerer's journal, she'll find her own name inscribed on the inside, and the first few pages already full, though she'll have no recollection of having written them. As she studies the journal, she'll probably think its telling her the future: when in reality, its just manipulating her. Self-fulfilling prophecy anybody ?

Hi;:

(Hope this helps spark more shennanigans (sic?))

Didya happen to read the section on Ateanism in "Disciples of the Dark Gods"?

The written word is a lie!

May the road rise with you.

-PiL, "Rise"

L

The books has a daemon bound into its pages that will teleport the book to a willing student (the guy with either the lowest or highest WP).

ThenDoctor said:

I dig this. It's returned to the acolytes because it's assumed to be a notebook.

I also dig that the last page is always pertinent to the situation going on. Think of it as a +20 bonus to Forbidden Lore. Always sitting there. Waiting. Of course, each page inflicts corruption.

Resist the urge to define what specifically it is and how it functions. More things in heaven & earth than dreamt of by your philosophy and all that.

I really like the ideas put forth so far, and would be happy to use the "intelligent item" approach myself in a similar situation.

However, for the simple reason that it occurred to me, I'd like to present another idea, somewhat similar to Nirgal's.

The decontamination team, due to the nature of its mission, is most susceptible to corruption by Nurgle. One (or more) of them could have slipped the book through decon undetected so as to make the PC another carrier of Nurgle's blessings. Perhaps the Acolytes suspect this at some point and target the decon team for investigation (which could lead to the exposure of all kinds of rot within the Imperium, and even the Inquisition).

While I like the Lovecraftian sublime as much as the next man, there is something about the mundane weaknesses of humankind that fascinate me above all. =)