Carnival - Help me come up with twisting effects!

[Shadow]

I'm DMing a Ravenloft game and my players are currently traveling with the Carnival. Assuming that they might stay with the carnival long enough for the twisting to take effect, I'm trying to come up with unique twisting effects for the characters.

Character #1 Lisha is a caliban cleric of Ezra. Because of being an outcast because of her deformities, Lisha has always learned to look beyond appearances and see into a person's heart. (As a result, she has been quick to accept the freaks of the Carnival.) The player has played Lisha as a very kind and compassionate individual. She went as far as to show mercy and heal an enemy rather than see her foe suffer. Although kind and merciful, she is hardly a pacifist. The character has engaged in combat when she or her friends were threatened. (Although she never will start a fight unnecessarily.) The character really reminds me of Aeris Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII.

Character #2 Gunter is a human Barbarian. Originally of Barovian descent, Gunter is acting as a mercenary and monster hunter, perhaps looking to make the world a better place. The player has played Gunter as kind of a combat monster, focused mainly on fighting the horrors of the night. (Not as much role-playing has been done with him.) When he has role-played, he plays the role of the "big dumb, but lovable brute". Interestingly, although role playing often takes a back seat to combat with Gunter, he has shown himself to have a soft spot for Lisha. He has taken the role of Lisha's protector and big brother figure.

[Isabella]

Perhaps Gunter could be warped into a caliban as well, making him Lisha's "big brother" in form as well as name.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Some kind of alteration to her eyes and vision would be appropriate for Lisha, perhaps with a corresponding ability to discern lies or immediate hostile intent. This wouldn't be a game-breaking ability, by any means -- plenty of NPCs who aren't villains per se are probably evasive or hostile towards her, just because she's a caliban -- but it'd suit her personality, and give her a useful role to fill within the Carnival for the duration of their stay.

Gunter's a big, dumb, lovable brute, with little development to his human nature. I'd be tempted to have him grow a shaggy pelt like a bear's, to reflect both his simple combat-monster leanings and his "teddy bear's" streak of protective fondness for Lisha.

[Shadow]

Thanks for the ideas...It appears that the party will now be staying with the Carnival for some time. (They have pissed off some high ranking members of the Fraternity of Shadows, and now are traveling under the protection of Isolde.) I decided that the Barbarian will become bear-like because of the twisting (giving him simultaneously a ferocious, but kind of cuddly appearance). However, I'm still trying to come up with a twisting affect for our Caliban cleric.

After rescuing a group of orphans from the Fraternity, Lisha has acted as kind of a mother-figure to the kids while the party tries to get them to safety. Also the player has specifically mentioned that Lisha is looking for "somewhere better". After seeing all the evil and prejudice in the world, she is looking for somewhere or something better than the dark world that she has experienced. (Not surprisingly, she has found acceptance and friends in the Carnival.)

Well, I would appreciate any suggestions for twisting affects as it appear the players will be traveling with the Carnival long enough for the twisting to take hold.

[order99]

I think that Lisha might be rather lucky to find the Carnival.

I couldn't help but notice that those who came to the Carnival ALREADY Twisted or deformed seem to thrive in Carnival-it's almost like Isolde's reality wrinkle nurtures them somehow:

Hermos-no apparent change.
The Imp-Importun gets to drive for once.
The Illuminated Man-it is implied that he discovered his Tattooing secrets on his own...no apparrent effect.
Wood'n-Head-got that way before Carnival...no effect.
The Hideous Man-Beast-already a Lycanthrope, no effect.
The Vampiress-already had wings, the Twisting let them actually work...Positive change, no downside.
Mr. ? -Wax Golem, no change.
The Brute-Orc, became more Orcish(uglier and stronger)...minor Positive change.
The Amazing Soul-less Man-already that way, no change.
Tindafulus-already that way, no change.

So it seems that Lisha should either recieve something completely Positive in keeping wth her nature, or no apparent effect at all-if the Carnival sourcebook is your guide, then for those already unnatural in some way, Isolde's powers welcome with open arms...

[Jeff LaSala]

It's been a while since I read the Carnival book (loved it, though), but I seem to think that the Twisting took a person's greatest flaw (not just their most obvious personality feature) and brought it to the fore in a physical (and often monstrous) manifestation.

So if you have a good-hearted cleric (like this Lisha) who would rather "show mercy and heal an enemy rather than see her foe suffer," perhaps she would gain an ability that could only harm but never kill her enemies? In effect, her mercy could Twist into something that makes her enemies suffer more but never quite perish.

Sometimes, an enemy needs to die to save other people—especially if said enemy is a creatures of true evil. And Lisha's reluctance to accept that cold fact take place sometimes could reveal itself in some monstrous way?

Just a thought.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Mr. ? -Wax Golem, no change.
The Amazing Soul-less Man-already that way, no change.
Tindafulus-already that way, no change.

Considering how none of these NPCs are entirely "real", and/or entirely whole beings, their respective natures could have made them Twisting-proof. In effect, the Twisting may treat them as if they were objects or spell-effects, not creatures.

[order99]

Tindafulus may be inhuman, but his counterpart Tindal seems to be. Perhaps the Twisting needs both halves of them to be reunited before it can work?

This still leaves The Illuminated Man, Wood'n-Head, The Man-Beast and Hermos completely unaffected by the Twisting in any way, with Tosk and Amelia only improved by it. Perhaps magically changed/cursed persons are immune...but the Twisting affected Amelie and Silessa(who was Polymorphed) and The Illuminated Man is still unaffected for no reason I can see(and it's pretty much stated that IL had developed all his abilities before entering the Carnival).

Strange and mysterious are the ways of the Twisting.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Strange, mysterious, or just plain "it sounded right at the time..."

FWIW, the mere fact that the Abber nomads haven't mutated into a race of freakish bug-eyed monsters, back in their native Nightmare Lands, implies that they have some innate tolerance for reality-warping effects. That might be what got the Illuminated Man off the hook. But aside from that, if a person's already altered in a way that reflects their personality, the Twisting may simply not need to change anything.

[order99]

Good point. Hermos is already a "gentle giant", Amelie dreamed of Freedom and can now fly, Tosk simply became "more Tosk", Silessa simply gained a few powers related to her old form, etc,etc.

I think you found the missing piece to the puzzle, Rotipher. Have a Kewpie doll!

[Rotipher of the FoS]

A lousy Kewpie's all I win? Awwww, I wanted that giant plush toy creepling! This booth's a ripoff!

[Jason of the Fraternity]

Considering how none of these NPCs are entirely "real", and/or entirely whole beings, their respective natures could have made them Twisting-proof. In effect, the Twisting may treat them as if they were objects or spell-effects, not creatures.

I would agree with you there, Roti. The supplements refer to how the Twisting affects living creatures, and some members of the Carnival are not alive (Mr. ?, for example).

But aside from that, if a person's already altered in a way that reflects their personality, the Twisting may simply not need to change anything.

Or any additional changes that the twisting may have caused were so minute (or internal) that nobody ended up noticing them. We're aware of the change with the "Imp", but most observers wouldn't know what effect the Twisting had on him...

[order99]

Er, Rotipher-the booth doesn't HAVE any stuffed Creeplings...best to put her down while she's still drowsy....

I'll ask the Skurra for one of the new babies if you're interested-much easer to train!