(l-r) Inigo Montell (human/fighter/battle master); Vizini (gnome/rogue/mastermind); Fezzik (firbolg/bard/college of valour).
IN THE REALMS
“You’re trying to kidnap what I’ve rightfully stolen.”
The politics were supposedly complex, but it came down to the fact that the Sembian city-state of Saerloon thought it would like to start a war with its neighbour, Selgaunt, while remaining outwardly blameless. Enter Vizini.
The clever Lantanese gnome had all the wits required, he just needed a few adventurers. He found the Firbolg bard, Fezzik, friendless and hopeless in remote Tuern. But it wasn’t the inspiring magic of Fezzik’s clever rhymes he cared for, only his mammoth strength. Next, the gnome found a drunken Amnish fighter in the city of Athkatla. Vizini’s knowledge of poisons was enough to cajole Inigo Montell into his service.
Now the party, under the ruse of being travelling circus performers, must find their way to the Sea of Fallen Stars, braving many dangers. Once there, it is a simple matter of crossing the pirate-infested Dragonmere, braving the bay of the Shrieking Eels, making it through the Thieves’ Forest and the Pit of Despair, and finding and kidnaping the beautiful bride of Saerloon’s Prince – while framing Selgaunt.
But Vizini’s evil plans depend on the loyalty of the kind-hearted firbolg and the noble Amnian – and should a sharper wit and a better soul come along…
The result might be, to Vizini, inconceivable.
SOURCE MATERIAL
Princess Bride is one of the classics of the fantasy genre, so I had to get around to it one of these days – but I hope you’ll find I took a slightly interesting twist.
Get to Class
Fezzik as a bard AND as a firbolg might raise some eyebrows. I didn’t think barbarian fit because he shows no evidence of rage. Fighter might have worked, but I don’t think takes enough advantage of his sweet-hearted nature. A bard, working his magic through rhymes, a maxxed out strength score, and the tavern-brawler feat for improvised weapons (namely his boulders) fits quite well I think. And while a goliath might work better than a firbolg, I just think visually the latter fits perfectly.
Inigo could have been a rogue/swashbuckler, or even a paladin or warlock (as this thread suggests) bound to his father’s sword. But I think Fighter works just as well, with the Battle Master path giving him access to feints and clever swordwork.
Vizini choices are all fairly logical. I’ve used Mastermind and Inquisitive a lot in this series, enough that I should probably play one one of these days!
Campaign Notes
The idea of an evil party is not a new one. But the idea of an evil PC leading some more morally ambiguous members is not one I’ve played or heard about. I think it could be a really neat angle for a campaign – especially if the player of the evil PC (in this case Vezzini/Vizini) is in on the hook and committed to eventually becoming more and more of a villain.
The opportunity to introduce the ambiguous PCs to more and more questionable situations and create inter-party tension sounds really interesting! Maybe once they are finally done with him, the Vizini player rolls up a new PC.
The Pop Culture Party Series follows a similar line to my Motley Crew series. Only while that nerdly rotogravure imagined sci-fi motley crews in Firefly’s ‘Verse, this will imagine various casts of adventure media as D&D character
HyperboreanComics 