D&D Adventures 4: Deva
A paladin and his party once defeated a devil that almost succeeded in sacrificing a group of children. Some children were killed, but most were saved thanks to one of the party members sacrificing themselves. The paladin was frustrated for not being able to save all the children and his comrade and angry at himself, thinking he should’ve been the one to sacrifice himself. This was a test of faith for the rather young paladin and in that very moment, part of him couldn’t help but think “If only these children weren’t so helpless”. Just in that moment of crisis, a child approached him, trying to get a hug. He kept the kid at a distance, telling him that he needed to be strong, that he owed it to other children and his friend.
About adecade later, the paladin and his current party is back in the area as they learn that the devil is back, planning to open a portal to Baator. They investigate, find clues and set out to confront the fiend. They defeat all that the devil throws at them. They don’t find any portals, nor the devil — but a cultist who seems to have sacrificed some humanoids. They realize that the cultist is none other than the child who approached the paladin.
The kid’s quest to become strong was exploited by the devil, who approached the teenager as an imp, offering his “services” as a familiar. The devil promised power that would rival the heroes that saved them as children and asked for revenge for an old foe when he’s powerful enough. Indeed, powerful he became but the devil’s whispers had driven him to evil and made him hate the cold, distant paladin that rejected a hug and seemed to blame him for the deaths of other children.
The paladin tried to appeal to him, but it only ended up with the rather capable diabolist to kill his friends. The paladin felt he failed all his values and lost all faith. Fallen from grace, he disappeared.
Apparently, to the ruins he first defeated the devil. He asked a friend to raise wards in the location, to ensure no one who’s good and pure of heart can enter and resigned to the deepest room. He took a vow of poverty and donated everything he has except for his trusty sword so he never forgets where he came from. He took a vow of silence so that he never gives causes anyone to turn evil. He closed himself to the rest of the world, surviving on a magical item to create food and water for himself.
Eventually, his deeply felt repentance was accepted. His god sent a Deva to talk to him but alas, the wards prevented the celestial from entering. He tried his best to bring the wards down and weakened them, but as a celestial, he was still unable. Noticing that good mortals would probably be able to enter the Deva looked for others to help him. They needed to be fight too, since the wards that held good away turned out to be a good place for evil creatures to take shelter.
The Deva went to the closest town, looking for good souls that could fight the evil outside and ask the paladin to come out, so that the Deva can deliver the message, or find a way to bring the wards down.
A lot of backstory for the paladin, but it could be important to the story. This adventure can be any level — the outside “evil” could be anything from a group of goblins to a lich and its retunie. The dialogue with the paladin can be taken in different ways: He could be happy to hear the news, he could find it hard to get out due to feeling guilty, he might also have lost a couple of marbles. After all’s said and done, the Deva could owe them a favor and the paladin may be a one-off or a recurring ally.
