Design Diary: Rituals of Choice (The Chosen Change)

“Nothing’s the same anymore” –Jeffery Sinclair, Babylon 5 “Chrysalis” by J. M. Straczynski

Well I made a decision

I cannot complete The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path by myself in a timely fashion, this has more to do with the work I am doing running Rite Publishing than anything else. Therefore, I am happy to announce that Soren Keis Thustrup (Circle of Rites, Vault of the Iron Overlord) is now looking over the outline to adventure #6.

I made a major design change to adventure #4 Ceremonies of Sacrifice today shifting to a more open location based encounters (along with event encounters). I also brought back a NPC that died in a previous adventure.

I wanted to show the true power of choice in this game. There is no alignment so undead can choose to act as they will they are not compelled to acts of evil, simply by being undead. In this way the NPC becomes a helpful spirit, but I made him more of a poltergeist so that he is not used as a DM’s mouthpiece. It also let itself to the idea that when you die you might stick around because of unfinished business, which this NPC will have because he got the whole ball rolling that could end all existence and knows that the PCs are the best chance of causing this to happen and preventing it based on their choices.

I just realized this NPC changes he does not stay as one thing throughout the course of the adventure he was A and death has caused him to evolve in to B, I think the next time he will change one more time and that will strike at the AE them of Evolution.

Thus "The Chosen Change".

Steve “Quillion” Russell
Rite Publsihing