Help: I'm the big bad boss

[Riviera]

Me and a couple friends are starting a new campaign shortly. My DM approached me and said that he rolled some dices and I was selected to be the big bad boss of the campaign. Basicaly, I will be adventuring with the rest of the group but underneath all the smiles and cheers, I should try to kill them.

He also said that, if I (or rather, the character) wished to change this *mission* in the future, it could be done.

He didn't give me all the details yet, he said he will give me a handout with the proper explanation of what's happening to my character in the first session. He also said that the players *might* know that there is an impostor amongst then, but they don't know who.

I have no problem with all that, I actually find the concept rather interesting. That being said, do you guys have some ideas of how should I try to mess with the group ? :P

So far I've thought about the Geas spell and make each and every goddamn guild leader in every goddamn city have something against the party members.

Roleplay related, I've thought about two things: first, I'll roleplay as the paragon of justice that always tries to help (but when no one is looking, steals candy from little children). Second, I'll be some sort of Leoroy Jenkins, who always rush in head first and keeps putting the party in bad situations (and that when sh*t hits the fan, he goes right back to the backline). As things get darker, he is among the first ones to flee. He never had the intention to do anything, he just wanted to make a bad situation for the group. Most likely the encounter is against his own hooligans.

Just toss in ideas, don't worry about restrictions in builds and items and whatnot. Go crazy. Pathfinder and 3.5 material please :)

Thanks in advance!

[ATHATH]

Has your group done this kind of thing before?

Pick up the Mother Cyst feat. Adventure as normal (i.e. don't intentionally sabotage the group), but covertly (Silent Spell and Still Spell metamagic rods might help a lot with this) implant cysts in important NPCs and allies as you adventure. Then, once you have the ability to teleport easily and the ability to cast Necrotic Domination, go teleport around to all of the cysted NPCs and covertly cast Necrotic Domination on them until it sticks (this might take a few days per target). Tell your new minions to keep on doing what they were doing before. Finally, once it's time for the big reveal, reveal the card that has the "you're a traitor" message on it (or whatever it is that the DM gave you) to the group and order every trusted ally and every important NPC that the party has ever met to try to kill the party (teleport away first, of course). Laughing evilly is optional, but encouraged.

Also, Red Fel, Red Fel, Red Fel.

[Kaleph]

Wait until the first night. Wait for your turn to stay awake, while the others sleep. Have a small walk and cast silence. Come back and coup-de-grace all party members.

[Shadowquad]

I kind of disagree with your roleplay perspectives: If you're the villain in disguise, you probably don't want to be a parangon of anything. Be discreet, don't hold the spotlight. Make yourself essential to the party, try to play as much support as possible, so they end up very dependent on you. A cleric or a BFC/buff focused wizard is probably the best choice.

I don't know if you plan to be a caster at all, but there are certain spells in pathfinder that exactly suit this kind of characters. I'm thinking about Hollow Heroism for instance, and most spells with the "ruse" descriptor. The more they depend on you, the harder they'll fall when you openly betray them.

If you go with a spellcaster, try to focus on enchantments, illusions and abjurations. Mother Cyst is also a very good idea. Use the False Theurgy or Conceal Spellcasting skill tricks to pretend casting buffs or heals while you're actually dominating or infecting people with Necrotic cysts. Forge yourself false credentials from good organizations at the beginning of the session, mention them once or twice during the first session, then let them be part of your "background" without openly advertising them.

If your party is aware of the presence of a traitor, forge false proofs accusing other party members, them help them disprove them (thanks, Gaston Leroux !). You want to appear reliable.

[Red Fel]

Also, Red Fel, Red Fel, Red Fel.

... Really? You summon me for cliche party betrayal?

Fine, let's get it over with.


Me and a couple friends are starting a new campaign shortly. My DM approached me and said that he rolled some dices and I was selected to be the big bad boss of the campaign. Basicaly, I will be adventuring with the rest of the group but underneath all the smiles and cheers, I should try to kill them.

Hoo boy.


He also said that, if I (or rather, the character) wished to change this *mission* in the future, it could be done.

That's potentially a relief.


He didn't give me all the details yet, he said he will give me a handout with the proper explanation of what's happening to my character in the first session. He also said that the players *might* know that there is an impostor amongst then, but they don't know who.

I have no problem with all that, I actually find the concept rather interesting. That being said, do you guys have some ideas of how should I try to mess with the group ? :P

So far I've thought about the Geas spell and make each and every goddamn guild leader in every goddamn city have something against the party members.

Roleplay related, I've thought about two things: first, I'll roleplay as the paragon of justice that always tries to help (but when no one is looking, steals candy from little children). Second, I'll be some sort of Leoroy Jenkins, who always rush in head first and keeps putting the party in bad situations (and that when sh*t hits the fan, he goes right back to the backline). As things get darker, he is among the first ones to flee. He never had the intention to do anything, he just wanted to make a bad situation for the group. Most likely the encounter is against his own hooligans.

Just toss in ideas, don't worry about restrictions in builds and items and whatnot. Go crazy. Pathfinder and 3.5 material please :)

Thanks in advance!

Okay. Let me start with a little bit about table expectations and interpersonal knowledge. And especially, trust.

You say these are your friends. Are they good friends? Do you know them well? Do they trust you, and do you trust the DM? This is very, very important. If these were randos, I could see several outcomes, two among them: One, that the other PCs throw a fit when you pull your betrayal, because what the crap, dude, and/or two, that the DM throws you under the bus when they do so. If the players trust you and you trust the DM, these aren't problems, but if that's not the case, think very carefully about whether you're being set up as a patsy.

On a related note, the players "might" know that one of them is a traitor? Is that the players, or the PCs? If that's the players, good - having that potential expectation means that the betrayal feels less like an OOC betrayal, and more of an IC betrayal. If it's the PCs, what the crap, dude, it's like you're being set up for failure.

Lastly, I'd have a long sit-down with the DM before agreeing to take this on. If he's just feeding you your mission and details periodically, and you're following his orders accordingly, you're not really a PC - you're an NPC being wheeled around by a player. If he wants you to play a villain, and you want to do so, fine, but let him be clear upfront as to what your mission is, and then let him be completely hands-off. And if that means that your villain PC does a heel-face-turn and joins the good guys, he doesn't get to veto that - it's your call, not his, to make.

Now, let's talk betrayal. My question isn't how, but why: Why are you going to betray and kill the PCs? Because depending on your reasons, killing them isn't the best option. Maybe you want to protect yourself, and trying to kill them will expose you to danger. Maybe you think death is too merciful. Maybe killing them isn't the profitable way. Whatever the reason, before you can decide how to betray them, you have to know why.

For what it's worth, my villains tend to be the insidious type. They don't crush heroes by killing them, they do it by warping them - they take that which is gleaming, bright, and warm, and turn it muted, dark, and cold. And they do it in such a gradual, gentle way, that nobody seems to notice until it's too late, by which time it feels perfectly natural. Why kill the heroes, when you can turn them into loyal allies in the fight against Good, after all?

The method is simple - be awesome. Be helpful, be productive, contribute cheerfully to every effort. Be the best MVP you can be.

But also, be ruthless. Point out the most efficient ways to solve the party's problems. Ways which may technically be somewhat morally questionable, but produce results. Encourage the party to think in terms of shades of grey. Yes, it's a bit cruel, but it saves lives. Yes, it's a bit extreme, but don't the ends justify the means? And so, and so, and so.

You're so helpful, so cheery, so productive, that they'll trust you. You're so good at what you do, albeit ruthless, that they'll actually leap to your defense if anybody points out how shady it all is. And eventually, they'll think like you do. The ends do justify the means. We can sacrifice the few for the benefit of the many. We do know what is best for people. And if they don't accept it, we will make them accept it.

And before you know it, the PCs are thinking exactly like the Big Bad thinks. They may not even realize it, but they agree with him. That's when you start revealing snippets of his plans, his schemes. As they once were, the PCs would be horrified. But as they are now? They'll be understanding. Maybe even impressed. "This is what we were fighting against? But... why?"

When the BBEG is finally revealed to them, it's not a confrontation - it's a recruitment offer. Please. Help me make this world better. Help me fulfill a dream that will finally create a world we all want to live in. Join me. And if you've done your job right, it won't even be a question.

This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a job application.

[Riviera]

Wow, thanks everyone. This was really helpful, specially everthing beetlejuice Red Fel said :D

Regarding the Mother Cyst, although it would be really useful, it was already done by another player in other campaign (which most menbers of the current player base were in)

About the friend stuff, we're pretty close. The veterans have been playing together for 5+ years and the newcomers have already played with us some oneshots in the past 1-2 years. Outside of RPGs, we all know each other from way before. So no trust issues and hardfeelings there (couple players actually killed each other characters in the past LoL Among the 5 players, 3 have killed [or did something that lead to the death of] other characters. So no problemo there)

I believe that the Players know, the characters don't. I'll talk with that with the DM nevertheless.

When he hits me with the said handout I'll come back here. Rigth now there are to many questions to be answered D:

Again, thanks everyone for the tips :D Even got realy helpful advice from the evil mastermind himself :P

[ArendK]

... Really? You summon me for cliche party betrayal?

*SNIP!

Oh glorious Red Fel, how I enjoy your summonings, rantings and ravings. Every group needs it's own Red Fel.

[noob]

If you get to mind control npcs in masse why not control the players too?
Put one necrotic tumor(or geas or whatsoever) in each player(and control them) and then killing them becomes dumb and thus your character can tell the gm to go away with his dumb plan of making you kill the team: you are the team.
Then keep controlling everybody then you become the master of the multiverse and live forever and have everything you want for ever.
I mean why killing people or doing wars when you can control the others?(and ask the to suicide in front of your eyes or to let themselves be killed if like murder itself)

[Gildedragon]

You need all the information upfront
Otherwise refuse to be the villain.
As to playing the villain Mr. Crimson Fiend hits the nail on the head.
My suggestion for class: artificer, wizard, or cleric. In any case get a false persona (Sharn CoT iirc) to present as Good aligned.
As your DM if you can borrow PFs item creation rules.
Craft for the party: Cursed Items. They're cheaper to make AND you can make them incapable of targeting you.
Just keep extensive documentation on each item and the condition that triggers its curse.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Play a Thrallherd, and use your cohorts to act at a distance? Or even make your cohort the party member, while your main character flies overhead, á la Brightness, the Star that Sees (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=20332993&postcount=46).