[3.5] Creating a false Tyler Durden

[Drakevarg]

So, in the last session the players of my low-magic campaign learned why they should wet themselves at the slightest hint that magic might be nearby, with shockingly no casualties (discounting the 100 or so nameless villagers that died a horrible firey death). But since this is, after all, a low-magic campaign, I think the next few sessions should be lacking in anything overtly supernatural.

To this end I've turned my attention to one of the party rogues, one Nuance Pavot, a foreigner who's trying to set up a criminal empire in Isande Helvete, a continent composed mostly of snow, pine trees, and large bearded men with axes. Right now his empire is tiny, located only in the Earldom of Haj Huvud. Most of his men are in Brostad, a twinned city (that is, it's technically two cities (Oster Brostad and Vaster Brostad) on opposite banks of a river, but it's almost universally treated as a single settlement) that handles most of the trade on this end of the country.

Naturally, such a thing is ripe for plot hooks. The thought I came up with, imagined unusually enough while listening to the Pulp Fiction soundtrack, was to give Nuance a rival. An eccentric noble with lots of resources who decided to screw with Nuance's blooming criminal empire because a) as a fairly unestablished organization it's unlikely to result in assassins at his doorstep and b) because it's funny.

Now, the thing I started considering about this chap to make him more interesting was to subvert a Tyler Durden scenario. Build it up that this opponent of Nuance's is nothing more than a figment of his imagination, and that everything that the opponent does was actually by Nuance's own hand. Then towards the end reveal that no, it was a real person the entire time.

A few things I thought of were pretty straightforward; introduce a character that only ever shows up when Nuance is alone, start having mysterious problems spring up in his organization that can't be traced, etc etc. I come to the Playground now, asking what they can think of to screw with his head?

(If this post seems a bit rushed halfway through, I apologize. I stopped back at the word "Earldom" to do some worldbuilding and may have forgotten where I was on my train of thought.)

[Mando Knight]

He'd have to be some kind of Xanatos/Batman/Thrawn hybrid of nearly inconceivable proportions if he wants to play the mind games right. The Rival shouldn't use his real identity during this at all, since the party may check if he's a real noble.

[Drakevarg]

He'd have to be some kind of Xanatos/Batman/Thrawn hybrid of nearly inconceivable proportions if he wants to play the mind games right. The Rival shouldn't use his real identity during this at all, since the party may check if he's a real noble.

I wasn't planning on giving them enough information for them to do so. Basically here was my idea:

1- Nuance goes to the bar, possibly to meet up with his cronies. Since the party is unaware of his criminal enterprises, he'd probably go alone. Once there, the Rival shows up and engages him in casual conversation, then leaves.

2- Later, Nuance learns Something Bad has happened to his organization. I was thinking of having the warehouse from which most of his imported drugs come in get burned down.

3- Repeat Step 2 as needed, modifying based on his reactions.

4- Whenever Nuance is alone but in a public area, the Rival turns up again and chats, continuing to act unrelated to his crime troubles. Maybe drop a hint or two to slyly rub it in. When Nuance starts meeting him in places that go beyond coincidence is when he is likely to start getting suspicious.

5- Have one of Nuance's minions screw him over, possibly by messing up a meeting with another crime boss. When interogated, the minion says he thought he was acting under Nuance's orders. This might make him wonder if he and the Rival share some Tyler Durden-type connection.

6- Stop planning, because the PCs will have derailed something by now.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

It really depends on the player. I know some of my friends would get irritated that a DM was making their character "go crazy" for no reason or whatever, and others who would go along to see how it turned out.

[Zonugal]

I wasn't planning on giving them enough information for them to do so. Basically here was my idea:

1- Nuance goes to the bar, possibly to meet up with his cronies. Since the party is unaware of his criminal enterprises, he'd probably go alone. Once there, the Rival shows up and engages him in casual conversation, then leaves

Some additional elements you can throw in for good measure is having the rival order whatever Nuance is drinking/eating. Have him imitate his biological functions in a pseudo-way.

Another may be adding in lines like, "Now I know what you are thinking...," and "I've been there, trust me."

Finally you can take a popular tool from literature and have this rival's name (or any other significant details) be anagrams connecting back to Nuance.