Believer Character - Help Needed

RogerN said:
... a character who clearly from his rolls became a radicalised religious terrorist and ended up in a place where people only remembered the good things he achieved. A character who now in his 50s wants to travel the universe spreading the faith whilst also leading a fanatical group !!
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I would rebel against a GM informing me of this. As an option for consideration, sure, but not as a fate accompli.

Other options might be they're harmless, but so nutty no one believes it. Or they believe something really crazy (dolphins secretly control the Emperor), but once in a blue moon there's evidence they're a quarter onto something (very rarely a dolphin in an exosuit takes a shot at the pontifex). Or they're doing good work on the face of it, like thawing out and treating people stuck in long term cryofreeze for medical or other reasons, but then they sign up them for the cult, and really it's because they think one will be their next messiah. All kinds of possibilities.

Too, like Sigtrygg I'd lean on the "yes, but now you've mustered out - why, and now what?" angle.

[added] It might be too late, or the player might even want to play a cultist. But the traveller wiki entry on religions is interesting. Some have followers in the billions, so they aren't all minor cults. Most have a twist by our standards (believing every star is a deity), but wouldn't all be outlandish in the setting. I'm not normally big on canon, but actually there's enough large and small options there it's interesting to peruse and think about dropping a few in my own game.

[add 2] With all the statues, maybe it started as a cult, but went legit, somewhat against the PC's "best" intentions?
 
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Saladman said:
I would rebel against a GM informing me of this. As an option for consideration, sure, but not as a fate accompli.

Other options might be they're harmless, but so nutty no one believes it. Or they believe something really crazy (dolphins secretly control the Emperor), but once in a blue moon there's evidence they're a quarter onto something (very rarely a dolphin in an exosuit takes a shot at the pontifex). Or they're doing good work on the face of it, like thawing out and treating people stuck in long term cryofreeze for medical or other reasons, but then they sign up them for the cult, and really it's because they think one will be their next messiah. All kinds of possibilities.

Too, like Sigtrygg I'd lean on the "yes, but now you've mustered out - why, and now what?" angle.

[added] It might be too late, or the player might even want to play a cultist. But the traveller wiki entry on religions is interesting. Some have followers in the billions, so they aren't all minor cults. Most have a twist by our standards (believing every star is a deity), but wouldn't all be outlandish in the setting. I'm not normally big on canon, but actually there's enough large and small options there it's interesting to peruse and think about dropping a few in my own game.

[add 2] With all the statues, maybe it started as a cult, but went legit, somewhat against the PC's "best" intentions?
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Jayne had a statue in Firefly. Not all statues are necessarily deserved by the subject :)
 
Or social media. He’s big on the vid streams but no one on the ground actually thinks he’s the real guy. Factor in jump space time lags and freshest-of-the-week type TAS reports and he’s got a hand tied behind his back.

If that’s what you want. If the player is cool and his character doesn’t just want to hog the spotlight then let it run its course. If the player is being greedy and pushy, well… jump space time lags and freshest-of-the-week TAS reports can take some wind of his sails.
 
NOLATrav said:
Or social media. He’s big on the vid streams but no one on the ground actually thinks he’s the real guy. Factor in jump space time lags and freshest-of-the-week type TAS reports and he’s got a hand tied behind his back.

If that’s what you want. If the player is cool and his character doesn’t just want to hog the spotlight then let it run its course. If the player is being greedy and pushy, well… jump space time lags and freshest-of-the-week TAS reports can take some wind of his sails.
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Freshest-of-the-week?
 
Condottiere said:
ChatGuru.

Server farms allow believers instant access to one of their leader's avatars, and his infinite wisdom.
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And the problem with believers is that they believe, not that they necessarily know. When the followers misunderstand the message, the leader might end up preaching against his "own" message. Then he will be denounced as a fake and some elaborate conspiracy will come into being justifying the illogical reasoning of the faithful.

If the leader was all puff anyway he might just accept that he fell off the gravy train and move on. If he was a true believer he may come to doubt his own legitimacy as he failed to lead.

You can take this almost anywhere you want. Fake leader with deluded followers, Real leader with fake followers, Fake leader with real followers, Real leader with real followers, real leader with real followers but they follow the opposite view as they believe he is the anti-deity.
 
Now I do not know where and when your campaign is set, but to take Spinward Marshes in 1105-1110 as an example:

* Character is from Pavabid, and his movement wanted to join either Trexallon or Collace, but the planetary government (religious nutcases) do not want off-world contact. He wants to open it up and needs to act as a diplomat to outside forces and nobles trying to get off world support to get his wish t rule (or place a ruler) on the throne. This could be his storyline.

* He could have come from a world occupied in the 4th or 5th Frontier war or the Aslan invasion of the Spinward Marshes. His organization/cult is a religious resistance group and he is wanted by the occupier and now lives in exile
 
Saladman said:
I would rebel against a GM informing me of this. As an option for consideration, sure, but not as a fate accompli.
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Hiya - i would too. Those were his words and further expanded by the other players around the table. I think with the ongoing dialogue from this post and interaction via messages we are pulling it back from the total radicalisation however we do still have some very questionable acts of violence in the characters past driven by his beliefs. Its going to make for a very interesting character.
 
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