Keeper Antagonist

[Deus Ex Biotica]

I intend to run a Mistborn game set in the Alloy of Law timeline in the near future. I have a bunch of plans (some of them stolen shamelessly from assorted TV shows and Wild West RPGs, some more original), but there's one thing I haven't yet integrated properly: I really want to have a Keeper (AKA, a full Feruchemist) as an ongoing nemesis to the group, since that seems like one of a handful of people that even 3-4 Twinborn working together would have to be afraid of.

But, Keepers (assuming they exist in Alloy times, which incidentally, is exactly what I shall assume for the purposes of the game) would be hugely honored and cloistered within Terris society, as both the ultimate expression of Feruchemy and incredibly pure lineage. I envision this character as a lone wanderer who keeps on coming after the PCs relentlessly, which is hard to reconcile with that - if they were doing this for the good of the Terris nation, they would probably have allies to help them, if they had run away since they don't want to be involved in political and philosophical matters they would probably be living quietly by themselves instead of drawing attention by picking fights with famous marshals, and if they had sought power for corrupt reasons, they would either still have it (and, once again, have allies) or been caught and locked up (my initial plan was an exiled Keeper, but I decided that exiling something that valuable made no sense).

So... what ideas do you all have for ways a Keeper could go bad?

-- Deus Ex Biotica

[happyman he/him]

I intend to run a Mistborn game set in the Alloy of Law timeline in the near future. I have a bunch of plans (some of them stolen shamelessly from assorted TV shows and Wild West RPGs, some more original), but there's one thing I haven't yet integrated properly: I really want to have a Keeper (AKA, a full Feruchemist) as an ongoing nemesis to the group, since that seems like one of a handful of people that even 3-4 Twinborn working together would have to be afraid of.

But, Keepers (assuming they exist in Alloy times, which incidentally, is exactly what I shall assume for the purposes of the game) would be hugely honored and cloistered within Terris society, as both the ultimate expression of Feruchemy and incredibly pure lineage. I envision this character as a lone wanderer who keeps on coming after the PCs relentlessly, which is hard to reconcile with that - if they were doing this for the good of the Terris nation, they would probably have allies to help them, if they had run away since they don't want to be involved in political and philosophical matters they would probably be living quietly by themselves instead of drawing attention by picking fights with famous marshals, and if they had sought power for corrupt reasons, they would either still have it (and, once again, have allies) or been caught and locked up (my initial plan was an exiled Keeper, but I decided that exiling something that valuable made no sense).

So... what ideas do you all have for ways a Keeper could go bad?

-- Deus Ex Biotica

You could always go with the run-away keeper who gets involved with the party for personal reasons. Say, a Keeper who kept his powers to himself after his family was killed during some intrigue with the Noble Houses, but then discovers that one of the party members is a scion of said house. It's too late/too dangerous for him to go after the whole house, but if one of them puts themselves in harms way...

[None70]

I intend to run a Mistborn game set in the Alloy of Law timeline in the near future. I have a bunch of plans (some of them stolen shamelessly from assorted TV shows and Wild West RPGs, some more original), but there's one thing I haven't yet integrated properly: I really want to have a Keeper (AKA, a full Feruchemist) as an ongoing nemesis to the group, since that seems like one of a handful of people that even 3-4 Twinborn working together would have to be afraid of.

But, Keepers (assuming they exist in Alloy times, which incidentally, is exactly what I shall assume for the purposes of the game) would be hugely honored and cloistered within Terris society, as both the ultimate expression of Feruchemy and incredibly pure lineage. I envision this character as a lone wanderer who keeps on coming after the PCs relentlessly, which is hard to reconcile with that - if they were doing this for the good of the Terris nation, they would probably have allies to help them, if they had run away since they don't want to be involved in political and philosophical matters they would probably be living quietly by themselves instead of drawing attention by picking fights with famous marshals, and if they had sought power for corrupt reasons, they would either still have it (and, once again, have allies) or been caught and locked up (my initial plan was an exiled Keeper, but I decided that exiling something that valuable made no sense).

So... what ideas do you all have for ways a Keeper could go bad?

-- Deus Ex Biotica

Interesting idea, here is what I think

Mr "Keeper" was an eminent figure in the terris population, His sole desire as a terrisman of rare power was to study those powers and their limits so that all terrismen could benefit from it.

When he tried to study and understand the power of alluminium minds he met with secrecy and opposition from his peers and decided to experiment in secret.

One of the experiments consisted in the attempt to store as much as possible of his true identity in an aluminium mind then, after removing the metalmind, record his own behaviors in a copper mind. Things went wrong, his metalminds where stolen (make up a story here....) and since he now feels incomplete and has no morals left he is hunting relentlessy for the perpetrator.

In some way Mr "Marshal" entered in possession of these metalminds or the thief mentioned Mr "marshall" while excaping so he becomes the target of mr "keeper" obsession.

We could add as well that Mr "K" memory might be deteriorating becouse of the separation from its trueself so now he does not remember what he is looking for .

What do you think ???

PS where do you live ?? if you are in the New York area I would love to play this game

[Aradel he/him]

If you don't take the easy route and make him a Keeper through Hemalurgy, just make him like Rashek. He's revered by his people as a keeper, yes. But it goes to his head. He sees himself a superior being, and should therefore rule over others. He's dissatisfied with the Terris population's humble ways and tries to incite his people against other Scadrians. If there are any other keepers, they try to subdue him and his followers without killing them. (because they're good guys and they need his bloodline) He escapes, and is trying to build himself up as a King.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Interesting idea, here is what I think

Mr "Keeper" was an eminent figure in the terris population, His sole desire as a terrisman of rare power was to study those powers and their limits so that all terrismen could benefit from it.

When he tried to study and understand the power of alluminium minds he met with secrecy and opposition from his peers and decided to experiment in secret.

One of the experiments consisted in the attempt to store as much as possible of his true identity in an aluminium mind then, after removing the metalmind, record his own behaviors in a copper mind. Things went wrong, his metalminds where stolen (make up a story here....) and since he now feels incomplete and has no morals left he is hunting relentlessy for the perpetrator.

In some way Mr "Marshal" entered in possession of these metalminds or the thief mentioned Mr "marshall" while excaping so he becomes the target of mr "keeper" obsession.

We could add as well that Mr "K" memory might be deteriorating becouse of the separation from its trueself so now he does not remember what he is looking for .

What do you think ???

PS where do you live ?? if you are in the New York area I would love to play this game

An interesting story, but I'm fairly sure that Feruchemy won't work that way for aluminum-minds. All other Feruchemical attributes that we know of have a "default state" that you return to when not storing or tapping your metalminds. A Skimmer won't be moonwalking everywhere if he's ironminds are stolen mid-store. So a Feruchemist who removed his aluminum-mind simply return to their "defualt identity level."

[Deus Ex Biotica]

An interesting story, but I'm fairly sure that Feruchemy won't work that way for aluminum-minds. All other Feruchemical attributes that we know of have a "default state" that you return to when not storing or tapping your metalminds. A Skimmer won't be moonwalking everywhere if he's ironminds are stolen mid-store. So a Feruchemist who removed his aluminum-mind simply return to their "defualt identity level."

Well, that's not entirely true. If your Copperminds are stolen, those memories don't come back. So, if your Aluminumminds are stolen, it's pretty certain that you would go back to the same level of "Identity-ness" you had before, but there's assurance it would be the same identity, depending on how Aluminumminds work.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone - keep them coming! Inspiration is always good. The two most important things I have determined so far are that (1) I certainly shouldn't reveal the Keeper's agenda too quickly - letting the PCs wonder "why's this crazy Terrisman trying to kill us? Aren't they supposed to be peaceful?" makes for good drama and (2) There's really a lot of reasons for there to be angry/arrogant/violent Keepers, the key will be finding the right one to tie with the larger plot. Most excellent.

-- Deus Ex Biotica

P.S. None70: I am on the East Coast right now, but sadly nowhere as cool as New York.

[Kurkistan he/him]

Well, that's not entirely true. If your Copperminds are stolen, those memories don't come back. So, if your Aluminumminds are stolen, it's pretty certain that you would go back to the same level of "Identity-ness" you had before, but there's assurance it would be the same identity, depending on how Aluminumminds work.

Thanks for the ideas, everyone - keep them coming! Inspiration is always good. The two most important things I have determined so far are that (1) I certainly shouldn't reveal the Keeper's agenda too quickly - letting the PCs wonder "why's this crazy Terrisman trying to kill us? Aren't they supposed to be peaceful?" makes for good drama and (2) There's really a lot of reasons for there to be angry/arrogant/violent Keepers, the key will be finding the right one to tie with the larger plot. Most excellent.

-- Deus Ex Biotica

P.S. None70: I am on the East Coast right now, but sadly nowhere as cool as New York.

Ah, good point about Copperminds. Those have always been odd birds, though.

[Deus Ex Biotica]

Indeed they have. Unlike other metalminds, copper stores individual things (memories) rather than an overall quality. However, we know that Identity and Investure are the "odd ones" from the new set, so it seems plausible to me that Aluminum stores specific parts of your identity, rather than your overall ability to identify as yourself.

It doesn't necessarily seem likely, of course. I'm not even sure it seems likely that there still are Keepers. But what would be the fun in a Mistborn game without any surprising realizations about the nature of magic/the world?

-- Deus Ex Biotica

[None70]

If you don't take the easy route and make him a Keeper through Hemalurgy, just make him like Rashek. He's revered by his people as a keeper, yes. But it goes to his head. He sees himself a superior being, and should therefore rule over others. He's dissatisfied with the Terris population's humble ways and tries to incite his people against other Scadrians. If there are any other keepers, they try to subdue him and his followers without killing them. (because they're good guys and they need his bloodline) He escapes, and is trying to build himself up as a King.

You might have something there,

How about a man that Declares to be a Keeper to obtain a certain fame but in reality has stolen all the powers through hemalurgy.

mr "marshall" is investigating the strange murders of ferrings and finds something that might ruins "fakeeper" plan and he cannot allow it,

Nobody would know his true identity and even mr "Marshall" has not made the connection yet

Edited December 12, 2011 by None70

[Guest Galavantes]

Are you intent on a "keeper gone bad" scenario? He could instead be sort of an Anti-hero, a guy who isn't actually "bad" but rather has interests that run opposite of what your team is doing. This could work well because it would allow you to occasionally bring him in as an ally, or even someone who saves the team's lives when they happen to be doing something that coincide with his interests. Of course this wouldn't stop him from being willing to kill them when they get in his way.

Also you could set your team up in one of their first missions to "accidentally" offend or otherwise gain the animosity of this keeper, who then sets upon tracking them relentlessly.

Personally I like option 1 the most.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Galavantes

[fyodor]

You could go for some sort of social/economic resentment. He might resent the subservient role of the Terrismen, thinking that the regular folks crap all over them. Maybe mix in a little bit of Rashek's entitled superiority over their powers.

[Musicspren he/him]

You could go for some sort of social/economic resentment. He might resent the subservient role of the Terrismen, thinking that the regular folks crap all over them. Maybe mix in a little bit of Rashek's entitled superiority over their powers.

This sounds somehow familiar; someone who is dissatisfied about current conditions, is unable (or unwilling) to identify the source of the problems (or has just decided he deserves more than he has), so is lashing out in general. He's a one-man Occupy Elendel.

[Deus Ex Biotica]

The more I think about it, the less sense it makes for a Keeper to be a one-man anything. Unlike Allomancers, Keepers have no limit on potential power, but need lots of cooldown time, so I will have to change my concept to include some allies, who will take care of the Keeper's travel (allowing for the storage of physical qualities), and the prodigious amounts of food and rest a Keeper might need while storing things like Health and Energy. That means they will have to be one of the more philosophically-minded variants, to have willing followers, but that's fine - it helps make the Keeper more different from the largely self-interested or outright psychotic villains I have elsewhere.

Excellent - I have a concept which works. You've all been very helpful! I shall post the concept here once my game begins: I would do so sooner, but if I cannot get a live group, I may try to set this game up online via some chat client, and would not wish to make everyone who stumbles upon this post ineligible to play such a hypothetical game.

-- Deus Ex Biotica