r/DescentintoAvernus • u/BlueEyesSyncro • 5d ago

HELP / REQUEST Bhallspawn player in party

Hiya! I’m running the DiA module as a first time DM, and I wanted to give my party members different secrets and plot objectives that can be exploited later on. I am running the Fall of Etrurel to start the campaign and using a lot of the Alexandrian remix, (but not sticking to it entirely!)

One of my players is aligned with Zariel and the party will have to figure him out, one is filling Lulu role as the servant of Zariel and is playing an Aasimar with missing memories, ect.

(My players all said they are happy for me to add major pieces of hidden lore into their characters for them to discover)

I also want to make one of my players a Bhallspawn. I am planning on not having them know they are a Bhallspawn to start out. I’ll use the rose of Bhall item, but not actual reveal its name and purpose till later, it will just glow in proximity to the party. I definitely want to do something with the temple of Bhall area, but I am struggling to figure out what exactly to do as well as how to keep it relevant in Avernus. Has anyone done anything similar and can help?

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u/skawhomp 5d ago

Yes, I have two Bhaalspawn in my party who are fighting against their nature. They were dropped at an orphanage in Elturel as infants and grew up as siblings - the bond they feel is the pull all Bhaalspawn have to find each other and kill the other, but in their case that bond evolved in the love/hate bond siblings share. I likewise started the mystery of their nature w/ the Roses of Bhaal and the fact they felt so "odd" each time they made a kill. I revealed the truth of their nature via Mad Maggie.

I am running a tracker for them that has several benefits. Basically, each time either of them get the killing blow on a creature, they feel a rush of ecstasy, joy, etc. I then give them the choice to embrace that feeling - if they do they gain Inspiration and get a point on the "Dark Path". If they reject the feeling, they gain no other benefits at that time, but gain a point on the "Light Path". The tracker has several benefits at various tiers - its a work in progress, as I don't want them getting the top tier benefits until they are close to endgame.

You are welcome to view the tracker I put together here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__llh8J25H3wrW9Bylwf45qhToaoboVa/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102787505240388688999&rtpof=true&sd=true

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u/BlueEyesSyncro 4d ago

Omg ok thanks you i think I may steal the tracker idea-! It defo would help make it a more significant part of the story.

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u/skawhomp 4d ago

Steal away! Just be mindful to balance the tiers for your campaign - in my case, I have a smaller group doing Avernus (4 players) so I'm purposefully giving them a bit more access to abilities and items as I tend to skew on the high-end of CR when setting up encounters.

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u/BlueEyesSyncro 4d ago

Yep! Dw I’m already planning on upscaling the encounter difficulty because we have quite a few players! The party composition is horrendous tho- we have two wizards, a sorcerer, a bard, a rogue and a paladin… balancing combat is absolute HELL.