Debts for an Emmisary of Death - Help Please!

[JediDresden]

In my campaign I have an emissary of Death who recently racked up some debt to her sponsor this last session.  She has come to the realization that Death is going to ask her for some payment soon.

As the GM, and her father, I am at a loss as what to ask her character to do.  The player is 14 years old, and the group's ages range from 14 to 40, so nothing to dark or gruesome please.

Death in this game so far has not made to much of an appearance, but uses his emissaries to help the dying pass on (like a psychopomp of sorts)and not as a supernatural hitman.  But that could change if need be.

Any ideas?

[InFerrumVeritas]

I would use this as a fantastic opportunity to make her stand in for the Grim Reaper for a day, or something to the like.  Maybe she has to do something particularly difficult like take a family member or friend (or a child if you think she's mature enough to handle it). 

[citadel97501]

there was a great episode of Supernatural, that involved this, if I remember correctly is was somewhere between episode 8-12 of season 6.  Basically Dean, had to make a deal with Death, to return his brother's soul, in exchange Dean had to be Death for a day. 

Insert angst and letting a child die to preserve the balance. . .

[Sanctaphrax]

Find a nasty ghost. Make it pass on.

Some dead souls are being diverted to Hell, Hades, Asgard, or some other place in the Nevernever. Get them back so that they can go wherever it is the dead go.

A warlock has performed a real ressurection, possibly with Outsider help. Put an end to this chicanery.

Death is passing judgement on a dead soul, but can't make up his mind. Go do some research on this recently dead guy and advise him.

[Silverblaze]

In my campaign I have an emissary of Death who recently racked up some debt to her sponsor this last session.  She has come to the realization that Death is going to ask her for some payment soon.

As the GM, and her father, I am at a loss as what to ask her character to do.  The player is 14 years old, and the group's ages range from 14 to 40, so nothing to dark or gruesome please.

Death in this game so far has not made to much of an appearance, but uses his emissaries to help the dying pass on (like a psychopomp of sorts)and not as a supernatural hitman.  But that could change if need be.

Any ideas?

I question how an emissary of death can exist in a game or world where "dark" things do not happen.  I'm not so much mocking the fact that you want to keep the game and subject matter on hte light side.  i don't mock people for morality either, so the fact your fourteen year old daughter needs shielded from some dark stuff makes sense...but letting her play a emissary of death seems counter intuitive to this process.  No?

I digress, in any case my suggestion is simple.  Make her (compell her to stand vigil at a coma patient or cancer patient and explain to her it is her job to usher them along, she needs to be niehter cold nor caring.  Simply dutiful to her role as an emissary to the force that takes life and sends living beings to the afterlife.  It is both sad, moving, and not dark or gruesome.  if it isn't harsh enough for sponsor debt...I declare that you'll ahve to step into mildly ddark territory for that.  Like not allowing a ghost revenge, or forcing a soul who wants to stick around to see his family graduate or somesuch.  Death waits for no one, even those murdered...even those who were supporing their family, even those who were young or innocent.  You get the idea.

[Richard_Chilton]

14 year old player...

Some good ideas have been posted - especially the "do a death watch while calming the terminal patient".

Along the lines of psychopomp:
- maybe spend time carrying messages between the living and the dead.
- escort someone to the "lands of death" to visit someone, only to find that the guest wants to stay forever while death insists that she convince him to go.
- escort a ghost to the land of the living where the ghost must do X or something bad will happen - and the ghost doesn't want to be there.  Being around living people drives home the fact that the ghost is dead and thus is painful.  Convince the ghost to endure that pain for the greater good.
- escort a ghost to the land of the living where the ghost must do X or something bad will happen - and afterward the ghost doesn't want to go back.


Assuming that Death knows everyone's time to go:
- tell a woman that she has been misdiagnosed and doesn't have cancer, but the caner treatments might kill her (there have been real life cases of this happening!)
- convince someone to go for a medical test to catch something early and prevent an early death.
- have someone alter their day slightly so they won't die.
- have someone alter their day slightly so someone else will die.
- have someone alter their day slightly so they will die.

One good source of ideas for a teenage psychopomp might be Dead Like Me - when a girl who dropped out of college on her freshman year took a temp job and ended up dying.  Because she was a previous reaper's last client she took his place, having to touch people before they died so that their souls could leave their bodies.  There were times that she fought the job, trying to save people who couldn't be saved.

It was a good series.

Richard

[sinker]

I would say those are awesome for plot hooks. Sanctaphrax had some great ones I particularly like anything necromancy related (especially since you could compel any white council members as well which would point out the inequality of the situation).

Also you could compel her to be merciless in a situation where mercy would actually be better. So if someone is needed alive and she kills them claiming that was her duty it makes all sorts of trouble.

But I think the best thing might be to talk to her and ask her if she has any ideas. It's her character and I'd think that she would likely have thought about how her character serves her sponsor. If not then go with the above.

[Silverblaze]

I would say those are awesome for plot hooks. Sanctaphrax had some great ones I particularly like anything necromancy related (especially since you could compel any white council members as well which would point out the inequality of the situation).

Also you could compel her to be merciless in a situation where mercy would actually be better. So if someone is needed alive and she kills them claiming that was her duty it makes all sorts of trouble.

But I think the best thing might be to talk to her and ask her if she has any ideas. It's her character and I'd think that she would likely have thought about how her character serves her sponsor. If not then go with the above.

That is a good point.  Player and GM work towards the story.  After explaining that the sponsor debt is about to catch up, the player may not like the idea, but sponsors want what they want.   Work with the player to keep the debt on hte lighter side, but have the feel you both want out of it.

[mithrandirthewhite]

You know the grim Reaper for a day reminds me a lot of Soul Music by Terry Prachett.

[MijRai]

Have her fight a necromancer. Stopping some guy adding to Death's work and throwing off the cosmic balance is a good debt.

[sandchigger]

My original thought was much the same as those above: Have her go to a hospital and help someone's beloved granny (or daughter with terminal cancer if she can handle it) pass on. But then I had another idea! Have her collect the fairy tithe.

According to (some) legends, every seven years the fae have to pay a tithe of souls to hell (because apparently they're just renting Fairy from Hell or something). This is why the fae courts kidnap people, they've gotta put souls in their bank. So, the seven years are just about up and Death needs to ferry these poor kidnapped souls to the gates of Hell but hey! he's got an apprentice to do that for him this year and he can vacation in Aruba instead. Good luck dealing with both the fae courts, the demons AND the demons of Hell itself!

[tymire]

Just remember, if going by cannon, that ghosts are just echos and Death might not have anything really to do with them...

[MorkaisChosen]

Just remember, if going by cannon, that ghosts are just echos and Death might not have anything really to do with them...

Alternatively, ghosts are echoes, and Death thinks they mess the place right up- dead people should be dead, and ghosts make everything more ambiguous, so he really dislikes them.

Options!

[JediDresden]

Thanks for the input everyone.  Some very good ideas.

I think that we can go a little dark, with younger players in the mix the adults decided to keep it as PG-13 as possible and still make it Dresden Files. 

During character creation I let the players have free reign and it is what she came up with.  I think she could handle a death of an child or such, in her background her first assignment for Death was to collect her boyfriend and send him to the other side.  We just did not want her playing a cold blooded killer and be a supernatural executioner. 

I also did not want to get into the whole Lawbreaker debate with sponored magic and the White Council as we have to apprentice wizards in the party.

I think I am leaning toward the Fairy tithe idea.  It will give some nice compels for her friends to assist her in this project and get the party into the Nevernever on a pretty epic adventure for an 8 refresh party.

[devonapple]

Death is passing judgement on a dead soul, but can't make up his mind. Go do some research on this recently dead guy and advise him.

I really like this one. It reminds me of one of the investigative subplots in one of the KOTOR games.