Tikul's Ghost - the Missing Saga Narrator?

 

Tikul's Lost Spirit in Panther form?

In an earlier post, I speculated about Tikul's fate and the final location of his skeleton less than a day's journey from Kett's Rapids - a site readily discoverable by a subsequent party if they have knowledge of his ill-fated expedition and consider discussing his passage with the Mallata villagers.

However the characters have no way initially of knowing to search the local area for his remains - the whole backstory, in fact, remains secret, known only to the DM, unfortunately...

This seems like a major missed opportunity.

But I've had an idea of how to address that issue.

Tikul's... Ghost?

Rather than a "standard" ghost, at least in OSRIC/1E terms, Tikul's "ghost" may be best represented by a haunt, a creature originally introduced in A2 Secret of the Slaver's Stockade, and then formally introduced in 1984's 1E Monster Manual II, pages 74-75:

"A haunt is the restless spirit of a person who died leaving a vital task unfinished. A haunt inhabits an area within 6" of the site where it died. The haunt's sole purpose is to possess a living body and use it to complete the task, thus gaining a final release."

So I think this has potential to offset the "hidden backstory".

Tikul's vital task - the issue keeping his spirit from resting - is to complete his original vow "to visit the land of the Kepta and see for himself its wonders". These wonders (in the form of treasure) he believes are kept within Kegen's stronghold that was denied to him at the rout of the Hek'Ilj by the skeleton warrior. Therefore to accomplish his task, his haunt will first attack (using its Dexterity-draining touch) and then ultimately possess a character, speaking with the voice of its victim to pass on the tale of his adventure and entice others to help in his quest... in essence relating with uncertain reliability the events of "Tikul's Saga".

Ever charismatic, even in death, Tikul's haunt, speaking through the possessed victim, will then try and convince them to accompany him to the Temple of Aumata-Perion to finish the looting of the temple of its marvelous "wealth", even using the possessed character as a living hostage. This by itself doesn't solve the problem of the players finding the site of Tikul's skeleton initially, this being a key issue not dealt with in the module as written.

Note: as no player likes to lose control of their character to the DM, this creates a potential conflict. One option is to use Tikul's spirit as a more latent entity, only rising to the surface of the possessed character's consciousness when specifically addressed or activated by specific locations or events - a DM may consider this a test of Will, similar to that for an intelligent magic item. This turns the situation into one with a limited, more portioned-out, information distribution strategy that better maintains player agency. The haunt is not only linked to the original expedition but can also act as a recurring character and driver of the narrative.

But given it's been a year and a half since the original expedition, maybe Tikul's haunt has already possessed a victim or two *before* the adventurers arrive...

Former Victims of Tikul's Haunt

Through journeying in the bodies of previous victims that have stumbled across his skeleton Tikul has learned a lot about the current state of the Indicara and may act as a self-serving guide. Over the past year and a half he has possessed the following four creatures:

1. The friend of the Mallata villager that discovered Tikul's corpse shortly after his death - attacked by the haunt, the villager escaped with the map fragments, leaving his companion to his fate. Ever impatient, Tikul's spirit forces the possessed first villager back into the village only to be slain by the suspicious inhabitants, fearing him as a jungle demon.
2. A giant rhinoceros beetle wandered into the clearing with the skeleton. In this host, Tikul managed to reach the Atem Barrier Shrine, but was unable to proceed further and was killed by Vanck's giant cousins trying to travel around the northern route around Mt Gegesti. 
3. A lame piebald black leopard briefly possessed by Tikul's spirit slinked past the Atem village and made it all the way to the giant Vanck's lair but was unable to get past his pets.
4. An exiled Atem tribesman captured by his former colleagues at the orders of the witch-doctor Abu, when he returned to the village clearly possessed and acting out of character.

Tikul as Possessed Atem Skull?

Note: given the suggestion of the Atem as collectors of skulls, one option is to have the witch-doctor use a ritual to bind Tikul's spirit to the exiled Atem's skull as a trophy, similar to a mimir or unique necromantic familiar? 

This then allows Tikul to be used as a character and (unreliable) guide through the adventure without the party needing to find his lost skeleton. Normally a haunt is bound to the site of their death but perhaps the Atem witch doctor can shift and control this connection through their magic and use the decapitated skulls of opponents to bind spirits in a variant "speak with the dead" style ritual. 

Tikul's skeleton lies more than a day's journey beyond Atem territory near the village, but this is potentially within the range of an Atem head-hunting warband.

The Unreliable Narrator

Note: in many ways, I think the "intermittent" possession of a character by Tikul's haunt could act similar to a mimir from the Planescape setting - a sometimes useful source of information and variant of the information dump not only linked to the original expedition but also as a recurring character and driver of the narrative if needed.