RE: [DL] Getting a player dead

["Matthew M. DeForrest" <mmdeforrest@worldnet.att.net>]

-----Original Message-----
With all this talk of how easy it is to kill PC's maybe someone can give me
a few ideas. I've got this blessed monster hunter that I just can't find a
good way to challenge or spook.

...

Any good suggestions for supernatural beasties I could menance him with? Any
nasty tricks for handling blessed?
Anything I'm over looking and could use to really screw him? Help a Marshall
out here!
--------------------------

Ben,

The first bit of advice I would offer would be to make certain you don't
descend into a PC v  DM type of mentality.  This is not the same thing as
challenging a player, which I suspect you are trying to do, but the slope
can be a slippery one.

The best and most interesting thing you can do is look for ways to tempt
him.  If you need some ideas, look for a Dictionary of Saints (there are
some of these on-line) and try to find out what temptations they faced along
the way.  Most of these aren't going to be things he can roll his way out
of -- he'll have to role play the encounter.  For example, you may wish to
allow him to see some Manitou and Nature Spirits or Angels and, as they
shift from one form to another, offer him options and information.
Alternately, you can use the Grail myth as a source of information -- does
he refuse to have sex with a woman who is threatened with death if she
remains a virgin?  Does he cover up the less than reputable actions of a
friend or fellow priest?

Given the effectiveness the player has, you may wish to lean towards
Vanity/Pride as the Deadly Sin he can be vulnerable to.  Have a manitou
tempt him into facing him (Check out the maneuver pulled off by the vampire
in Salems' Lot when confronted with destruction by the priest -- you and me,
mano-a-mano.).

I'm not big on the idea of smacking a player down because he has become
effective or good at what he does.  The challenge for any Marshall with such
a player is to find a way separate from the mechanics to challenge the
player.  Good luck with your attempts.

Take care.

Matt