For every action...

In a roleplaying game, the DM has the responsibility to have the world react to the actions of the characters. Good games have rules for a certain amount this this reaction, typically when in combat or involving skills. It is important for a DM to utilize these rules to help make those reactions fair and fun, but what happens when the action/reaction is something that is completely outside of the mechanics of the game.

In a recent game session, one of my characters sought out a teacher to learn mastery of the Bastard Sword. Now in the game world, the bastard sword is a brutal weapon created by a barbaric human race called the Orla. (Think viking) So after consulting a sage, this character was directed to a powerful Orlan Barbarian by the name of Dolf. [Keep in mind that this character is Chaotic Good alignment.] Dolf was described as the Butcher of a certain naval fleet, and generally a not nice person. However this character decided to seek Dolf out and train with him anyway.

The Orlan warrior code holds that one must either learn to kill or learn to die, and so this is what Dolf sought to teach him. Dolf forced the character to fight and kill wave after wave of men, had him chased through the island by wild beasts, each time forcing him to rely solely on his ability to kill to keep him alive. At the end, Dolf had one final test. The character was taken to a peaceful village who worshipped the goddess of Fertility. He was told that he must enter the town, and retrieve the temples Icon, without speaking to anyone, if he did not Dolf would loose his barbarians on the island. The character did as Dolf asked, and after killing two guards, who were no match for him at all, he arrived at the temple. There he saw a young priestess clutching the icon, and praying. He attempted to take the icon from the girl, but she would not let go. So he punched her in the head, killing her, and spilling her blood on the sacred icon of the temple.

Now this is where the DM must come up with a reaction. No where in the rules is there any mechanics dealing with angering a god, unless you are a cleric of that god. But it is obvious to me, in a world where the Gods are acting forces, that such a blasphemy could not go unanswered. My answer was to have the Goddess curse the character, so that his healing ability has begun to slow, and unless he acts to atone he will eventually sicken and die. I chose to have this curse manifest mechanically, in not allowing him any bonuses to magical healing, and after a month he will take increasing levels of permanent damage each week until he either atones or dies.

Now, this illustrates what I consider a very important balancing act when determining these sorts of reactions. Firstly, the DM wants to have the consequences of the action be something that will grab the characters attention. Secondly, it is important that the reaction be appropriate and logical, at least within the logic of the game world. Lastly, the reaction should be something that gives the Character a chance to continue playing, even if they risk the characters death. In this case, threatening the fighters health is appropriate as he is being cursed by the Goddess connected with life and growth, it is something that is important to him and therefore something that will get his attention; and the time table in which is acts gives him a chance to reverse his fortunes.

The best part of setting up a reaction like this, is that it provides room for the campaign and the character in question to grow. Depending on how he chooses to engage this new challenge, this curse can be something that can provide a spring board to a whole new facet of the campaign. That is ultimately what the DMs responsibility is in these matters. We should aim to have each action open a new set of possibilities, rather than simply punishing the players for their actions, and having that be the sole effect of their choices.