What Are We Making?
I absolutely adore Disney films, and while the source material for this concept definitely isn't originally Disney, it was the Disney film that inspired it. I've actually run an adventure within my Tri-Panthonic War campaign that parodied The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film is one of my all-time favorites, and while I've never read the Victor Hugo novel, I do love Hugo's writing.
Today I want to discuss the potential for a plotline in a D&D 5e game, in a typical medieval-fantasy setting, that follows something similar to The Hunchback of Notre Dame's plot. This probably wouldn't be a full campaign. I suppose that it could be, but it's also something that a DM could easily include as a side quest or piece of a main quest.
This is also a bit of a test run. Since I'm a bit of a Disney nerd as well as a D&D addict, I make plotlines like these a lot to use in my campaigns. If you guys like these kinds of ideas then I'll make more and have a series of Disney-related campaign concepts on here. Why not, right? So, without further ado, let's explore this idea.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France (Photo from Mentalfloss) |
What religion is this? That's probably the next big question. Personally, I think that depends greatly on setting and what pantheons you're using. In my Tri-Panthonic War campaign there are three different divine pantheons (as the name implies.) I picked the pantheon that was most popular in the current area, and then picked a god of protection and loyalty. That has great potential for irony, but it also makes sense, depending on what you, the DM, decides what to do with it. For me, the church believed that they were protecting the public from a terrifying, ungodly monster by locking him up and hiding him in their bell tower.
Speaking of monsters within the church, I know that 5e has statblocks for gargoyles. That would be a very fun and very "on-brand" encounter for this kind of setting. We'll talk a bit more about "monsters" in the plot section too.
Another large part of the source material centers around prejudices, specifically racial and cultural prejudices. Whether or not you decide to go this route is your decision, but as before, please take that up with your players before doing it. That's a really serious topic that should be addressed before pursuing something like this. While Quasimodo is the one being criticized most, he is criticized more for his deformities than anything (at least, as the movie portrays it.) There's prejudice there, but it's neither racial nor cultural. Esmerelda is the target of those prejudices. Is there some kind of conflict brewing that maybe leads to how Esmerelda's race or culture is being treated in this setting, specifically by the law and the church? However you want to convey that is your decision. In the film, Claude Frollo is a holy man, but his occupation is that of a judge. When I ran this quest, for ease, my "Frollo" character was actually the high priest of the temple. It allowed for him to keep an eye on Quasimodo, who he genuinely believed to be very dangerous.
The Plot
The important characters would be as follows:
- Quasimodo, aka "The Hunchback." This character is going to be the focal point of this plotline. Your PCs will probably be looking for him or assisting him in some way. In my version of events, "Quasimodo" was a prince. His real name was Hugo (named for Victor Hugo.) Hugo's father, the king, had tried to kill him because he discovered that Hugo was planning on killing him and taking the throne. However, due to fiendish intervention, Hugo did not die. Instead, he was horribly disfigured and hidden away in the bell tower after several more unsuccessful attempts at killing him in secret. This fiendish influence, however, did warp him. He became something of a demi-lich / fiend warlock hybrid. He was a literal monster. His desire for revenge and to improve his kingdom was what was keeping him alive. Your Quasimodo doesn't have to be a literal monster with good intentions, but I just liked the aesthetic. The players helped him realize that revenge. Obviously, this character is a bit of a far cry from the original iteration of Quasimodo in the source material. If you wanted to keep Quasimodo as the gentle young man who hasn't found himself and isn't able to be free, then that can work too.
- Claude Frollo. Your version of Frollo should either be connected to the law, or the church (or potentially both if this society is theocratic; that works even better.) He is one of the - if not the only - major antagonists in this quest. He's cold, calculating, and selfish. He is currently in favor of the "status quo" and has done nothing wrong as far as he is concerned especially when it comes to this situation with Quasimodo. He is Quasimodo's reluctant caretaker at this time. Whether or not Quasimodo respects him in your game depends greatly on how long this has been going on. In the film, Quasimodo was raised by Frollo so he trusts him implicitly until the end. It might be different for you. In my game, Hugo knew Frollo in life and had always despised him. Now, in his current situation, he hates him even more.
- Esmerelda. This character is the catalyst. She is the one that, for whatever reason, starts the plot. She is the quest-giver for this. For whatever reason, she needs help with something. Or the players overhear her muttering about what to do. She would be the second person on this list to know about Quasimodo. She the rebel - the first person to look at Quasimodo and see him not as a monster, but as a man. She can be one of the "outcasts" that the church despises, or she could just be sympathetic. In my version of the story, Esmerelda was actually Hugo's younger sister. She supports him in his desire to overthrow their father, wholeheartedly. She was always very sweet, very kind, but very clever. She helped the party plan and enact a whole distraction for the party to find an item that they needed in her family's crypt.
- Phoebus. Phoebus is the defector of this game. He's someone very important to Esmerelda, Quasimodo, or both of them. He's also someone who's deeply entrenched in the politics of the time for whatever reason. In the film, Phoebus worked for Frollo and helped to arrest Esmerelda and her people. He can also be someone within the church who doesn't know Quasimodo is there. Lastly, he should also be someone with some kind of renown and power, so that he can be more helpful with getting Quasimodo out of the situation he's in. The goal of the PCs would essentially be to convert him to their side. Phoebus was Hugo and Esmerelda's brother - the middle child and now heir to the throne since Hugo's death - in my game. He was also a paladin of the faith that Frollo belonged to. The party needed his help; he was a good man on the wrong side of the fight. His brother and sister wanted his help but, until he actually talked to him, Phoebus had believed what Frollo said: Hugo was the monster.
- Clopin. I don't know how many people will actually recognize this name if they've seen the film. "Clopin" is the name of the jester in the film who acts as the narrator for the tale. This is, in my opinion, more of an optional character, but definitely a fun one. I had him as the jester to this royal family, and he was important because he knew all the family secrets. Nobody pays attention to a jester when they're not performing, right? He was the one who let the party know that something weird was going on when they started asking questions about the prince's mysterious death. He led them to Esmerelda, who led them to Hugo.
In terms of an actual storyline, there are a few directions to take this. My plot involved more of a political angle with the overthrowing of tyrant kings, mixed with strange and terrible magic, like the demonic prevents-you-from-dying-in-a-fire type.
Perhaps your larger plot centers around corruption in this specific faith all over the kingdom. The party is sent to investigate rumors of this corruption and this could very easily be their first adventure. It's familiar and it's a great introduction to the world.
As I briefly mentioned, there could be something of a war brewing between this kingdom and another. The tensions are high already, and now you have this woman from the other kingdom who claims that the church has a man locked in the tower against his will to ring the bell. Who's going to believe her here, so far from home? What about your party?
There's one final piece that this plot needs, and it's the core idea of the film: who is the monster and who is the man? That was actually the name of this quest in my game. Frollo was more of a secondary antagonist in my version, with the true antagonist being Hugo's father, King Emmanuel. They are the duality that the question above requires. You need two people who are going to be pitted against each other, no matter which plot you choose. One of them is Quasimodo: the man who looks like a monster, but ultimately has good intentions. Even my Hugo, despite the fact that he actually was a monster, wanted to overthrow his father for the betterment of the kingdom first, and then for revenge second. The other is a man who, although looks like his fellow men, is a monster on the inside. In my case, that was Emmanuel: the tyrant king. Secondarily, it was Frollo: the corrupt and slimy high priest of a faith that people perceived to be good. In the film, this question was posed with Frollo and Quasimodo in mind and it's a really good dynamic, so feel free to keep it.
As the DM, for this plot to really work, you need to indirectly ask the players two questions.
1. Who is the monster and who is the man?
2. Are you supporting the monster or are you supporting the man?
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ART LINKS:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/556629/facts-about-notre-dame-cathedral
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