Ideas for Inmates in a Prison Setting

[RealMarkP]

I'm going to have a section of my campaign be within the walls of a high security Prison. This is a fantasy setting (Eberron), so I'm expecting the players to see some malicious and dastardly villains. What I'm having trouble is coming up with memorable archetypes for the players to deal with. All I have come up with were the "low hanging fruit" archetypes:

- Thieves guild members
- Members of a resistance (Neo-nazi types)
- Religious fanatics (House of Vol)
- Necromancer type person

What I'm looking for is to have a few NPCs in the prison that I could build a story around and/or use for a quest.

 

[the Jester]

How about:

-The wrongly-convicted man
-The political subversive
-A prisoner of conscience
-A serial killer
-A victim of possession, still with demon inside
-The petty thief who wasn't with the guild and who is terrified of being killed by them as an example
-The guy who cuckolded a noble
-Slavers
-Prisoners of war who have been forgotten in the institution
-A horse thief

 

[RealMarkP]

Wow. nice list. I just recently thought of using a spin on the 'wrongly convicted man' idea. I started to write the beginnings of his story - A paladin who was tricked into slaughtering his own cleric brethren. Keep them coming! I may not use all of them, but the list might be of use by others searching for a similar topic.

 

[Loonook]

If you are a member of the Guild and in jail... You're probably not low man on the totem pole. I would think something similar to the mobsters in Goodfellas... A nice, relaxing bit of time away from the streets, the wives, the mistresses, and the money.

The whole thing is that prisons... Are a bit different than what you think of. If you are going for a 'modern prison in Eberron' feel you have to think about the needs of the various prisoners. Mages and other casters would probably be kept doped up... In my own setting dissident mages are 'disrobed' through lobotomy, but the wardens may have a fallen member of House Jorasco who is skilled at mixing magic, illness, and drugs to keep the various spellcaster powers in check, along with traditional means (ethereal blocks, dimensional anchors, lead-lined cloaks and helms with tongue depressors to prevent use of powers during mixture with the population).

I think a sort of urbane Druid using the Swift Hunter archetype would provide for an interesting little twist. Sort of Hannibal Lecter type, but more of the charismatic 'handsome killer' Ted Bundy vibe could be useful. He became obsessed with hunting young women of his chosen Favored Enemy type, to the point that he could not be ignored by the inquisitors who tracked him down and dragged him in... But his knowledge of the mind of the criminal caster is useful.

Just remember that, if there are casters, they need to be kept under control. Traditional turnkeys aren't going to be able to keep them down, though it could also lead to a great jailbreak.

What I would do...

Perhaps someone has paid several men to be tattooed in an invisible ink. These prisoners begin dying or disappearing, and their skin serves as a spellbook for an imprisoned mage.

The mage's fellows, knowing that the mage needs to be able to bring himself back to full strength after the draining of his skills, has sent in a skilled Rogue with ranks in UMD. They also sent in his shill, a man who was paid to be pinched... And whose femur has been carved and shaped into a wand of restoration, at great expense.

The Mage has hidden the tattooed skins, and the Rogue knows that the Mage needs the prisoner killed. When given the chance the prisoner will be killed, his femur torn from the corpse, used to Restore the Mage, and then the fun begins .

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[blargney the second]

- A Dark Lantern that turned traitor.
- A femme fatale that murdered 16 men. She's a changeling.
- A hobgoblin convicted of war crimes.
- A Boromar halfling that has a quarter of the inmates working for him.
- A spellcasting minotaur that has a dozen monstrous flunkies.
- A master inquisitive in disguise that has infiltrated the population for a case.
- A rival inquisitive that killed his noble patron.

 

[Lwaxy]

The totally bland looking assassin who claims he is nothing but a petty thief but is actually looking to kill one of the thieves' guild members.

 

[blargney the second]

- A notorious pirate captain. His crew will spring him in two weeks. (He's the only one that knows where the treasure is buried.)
- A true lycanthrope.
- A Child of Winter druid. He has befriended many of the prison's vermin.
- A Xen'drik prospector that was convicted of selling weapons of mystical destruction to foreign interests.
- Four warforged that went on a rampage and killed several fleshies while attempting to find their creator. They believe they will die of natural causes soon.

 

[blargney the second]

- A tailor for the wealthy that is actually an artificer who makes murderous clothes golems.
- An excoriate Thuranni elf. She declined to assassinate her target when she found it was the pregnant widow of minor elected municipal official. Unfortunately the excoriate was caught in the act. Naturally, an assassin will be sent very soon.
- A pair of teenage boys who committed atrocities while dominated.

 

[blargney the second]

- The Riedran diplomat who dominated the teenagers. Ironically, he was imprisoned for an unrelated charge of trafficking a particularly pernicious form of dreamlily. More importantly, his diplomatic immunity is being ignored by Brelish officials and they deny his whereabouts. Because he is an Inspired, the Riedrans are fully aware of his situation and they are extremely unhappy. This could cause a major international incident.

 

[knightemplar]

Wow. nice list. I just recently thought of using a spin on the 'wrongly convicted man' idea. I started to write the beginnings of his story - A paladin who was tricked into slaughtering his own cleric brethren. Keep them coming! I may not use all of them, but the list might be of use by others searching for a similar topic.

I did something like this. My paladin/cleric character was convicted of murdering her mentor, but her god did not chastise her for it.

The paladin mentor came back from a campaign against a BBEG and had changed into an blackguard. The mentor tried to convert the paladin over, but failed and she slew him. In recognizing his previous good deeds and the decades of service to her god, she never revealed why she did it. And when asked all she would reply was that she killed him with never a reason why.

Eventually the true story came out, though the priesthood tried their best to keep it under wraps, and she was pardoned for the crime of murder. Though she still has the powers and her god's love, she no longer is convinced she is a paladin. She was lining up for entry into the grey knight prestige class.