Midnight RPG - Chapter 16.28

Durgaz/Andrew

[This scene takes place the evening of the departure from the Spire. The two groups parted ways several hours ago; Eranon and Shadaar went north, to try and capture the horses, and Durgaz and Kyuad were to travel a short distance to the southeast, set up camp and wait for them to catch up. This scene takes place at that campsite, somewhere in the woods between the Spire and Vrolk's camp. It's dark, but there is no fire ... just the light-stone, dimmed under a piece of fabric, which Kyuad is using to read by.]

Durgaz: "We need to decide what to do about the Sarcosan."

"I believe his intentions are probably for the best, and his goals are probably in line with ours. I also believe he is arrogant, stupid, reckless and ignorant, and that his stupidity will get all of us killed, or worse, if something is not done."

"I have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt whenever I could. I am done with that. I don't know what the hell he thinks he is doing, and I am tired of trying to care."

"Let's give him more credit than he deserves, and take his word that he is trying to play some sort of political game with the legates in the Spire. Idiocy. Blind, reckless, dangerous idiocy. This is not a time for games. This is not a time to indulge some sort of pathetic hunger for influence and control; he should have left that in Sarcosa, in the gilded cells of the idle rich."

"We could lose every advantage we have to this. If he were captured, I have no doubt that he would squeal everything he knew before hot iron ever touched his skin. Even if he didn't, his corpse could tell the right type of person everything he knows about us, our plans, and what we have discovered. And our best-case scenario is ... what? What can he possibly gain from this that would serve our interests? I can't think of anything. We have tried, time and time again, to teach this bloated, loudmouthed fool how to shut up and keep his head down, and he has refused to learn. I am finished trying."

"Why do we put up with this? Why do we let this idiot endanger us with his incompetence? Why do we stand idly by while his utter weakness and lack of conviction lead him further and further down the road into darkness? I don't know what sort of dark powers he is toying with, but from what you tell me, it is not something we can safely ignore. I am sure, despite his promises to the contrary, that he would happily enslave any of us with his magic if he thought his life or his goals were in danger. Why are we sitting around waiting for that day to arrive?"

"I have been thinking, and I have not been fair to ... the other one. The human, whose name I cannot remember, who died and became Fell, but has not yet succumbed to his curse. If you say you can help him, I believe you. He does not seem to wish us harm, and he cannot help what he is. I will give him a chance."

"But the Sarcosan makes his own choices, and time and time again he makes the wrong ones. If his life and goals were the only thing at stake, it would not be my place to prevent him from dying by his own foolishness. But now he endangers all of us, and yes, I have a problem with that."

Andrew: This is really frustrating to me. I really like Adam as a player. Truthfully, I really like Zal'Kazzir as a character. But I'm also really starting to get tired of rationalizing why in the world the other PCs are putting up with his crap.

OOC, I totally get it. Adam's been waiting a long time for an opportunity to put his social skills to the test and play the Diplomacy game, and when this opportunity came along, he jumped on it. That's understandable, but this was an awful place to do that. Moreover, it's not like he didn't have a choice: he deliberately stuck around for several minutes while Eranon ran for cover, waiting to the legate to arrive; and when she did, he seemed to have no clear goals in mind; he just wanted to charm someone. I'd draw comparisons to a hypothetical situation in which the campaign took us to Sharuun at some point, and in the middle of whatever delicate political maneuvering was going on, I started taking unnecessary opportunities to get Durgaz involved in combat. That would almost certainly either a) blow the plan, or b) require some real fancy footwork on the part of the rest of the players and/or the GM. Which is why I wouldn't do it.

I don't want characters in serious conflict, because it's too fine a line between that and players in conflict. But I'm running out of ideas here. Zal'Kazzir basically blew all the goodwill he had accumlated over the last ten sessions in one fell swoop by doing something monumentally stupid that makes him look like a traitor, at worst, or a complete jackass, at best. If Kyuad (or someone else ... I don't want to lay all this on your shoulders, Bill) can come up with a compelling argument why this is OK, Durgaz will listen to him, albeit begrudgingly. Otherwise, I don't know how to resolve this. If I have to, I'll just swallow it and make Durgaz act in a completely non-characteristic way, for the good of the group. But I'd really prefer not to have to do that.