Boss Macragge

[JNAProductions]

So, if you're in my Monday gaming group, stay the heck away from this thread!

To everyone else, read the spoiler below, if you're interested.

Almire is a well-respected nation, full of noble people and ruled by a just king. But there's a seedy underbelly to the nation, and chief among all the crime lords is Boss Macragge.

Macragge was not always a criminal, though. He spent his young life in and out of temples, growing up an orphan and being passed from church to church. Eventually, though, as he knelt to pray (as the priests had asked him to) he was visited by a vision.

In this vision, he saw the eventual collapse of Almire, and in fact, the whole world. Consumed by devilish beings from hell itself, clawing their way up and out to devour the souls of the living.

He panicked, naturally, and told the clerics of what he saw. But they laughed, and assured him that it was nothing-perhaps a dream, or, well, a nightmare. Because, of course, if anyone was to receive a vision, it certainly wouldn't be Macragge! It would be one of the pious and devout clerics or priests, or perhaps a chosen child.

Macragge, furious at being ignored, struck out on his own. He attempted the proper channels, trying to get a message heard by the king, but to no avail. He joined the city guard of the capital-only to learn that it was full of rampant nepotism and favoritism. It functioned, but there was little place for an outsider.

So, he turned to the place where one could turn power into respect and action. The criminal underworld of Almire.

He took his first life when he turned seventeen. While the man deserved it, he still remembers how it felt. He won't forget-he won't ever forget any life he takes. But his steely determination and keen mind let him assemble his own gang. Through various cunning and swift actions, he was able to establish himself as a kingpin of the underworld, in a decent-sized city not far from the capital.

He worked his gang hard, dealing in drugs and death, until he was able to expand, moving to city after city. Now, Boss Macragge's men can be found in any city, especially the capital of Almire. He has eyes and ears everywhere, and has recently seen various cults of devils working together. He knows the time is coming-and yet he doesn't know how to stop it.

As a person, Boss Macragge is cold, callous, and hard-bitten. While he still believes himself to be working for the greater good, he knows he has blood and ruin on his hands, and it haunts him. Likewise, he knows that no one outside the criminals trusts him-he's a crime boss, and why would you trust one? (Though he has a solid reputation in the underworld as a man who keeps his word.) Now that it seems the time is nigh for the devils to enact their plan, he himself plans to move more openly against them.



So Boss Macragge is the gent I plan to be the players' primary patron and quest-giver. The campaign will start with them, in one way or another, becoming embroiled in a cult (I'll work with them to figure out how exactly that came to be)which was attacked by Macragge's men. They were rescued, as they were not full initiates or willing to join or anything, and Macragge will pretty much conscript them to fight against the devils.

I will, of course, talk during session zero about my expectations, so that way all the players have characters that are, for one reason or another, willing to work for Macragge.

But, overall, I'd like eyes on this guy, and any advice will, of course, be appreciated.

[Beleriphon]

Two words: Vengeance Paladin.

[Man_Over_Game]

With a character like this, there's a lot of problems you're going to have to plan around.

If he requests something that is difficult (or nearly impossible) for the characters to agree to, what happens when they decline the request? You either end up in a situation where the plot goes off the rails, the player suffers because they're being railroaded into a situation they don't agree with, or you end up breaking the integrity and severity of the NPC.

So you really have two choices for a character plot like this:

1. For every request that Macragge makes of the players, you come up with a inverse backup plan in case the players back out or decline. Maybe it's another NPC that they work with temporarily, or maybe it's a different request, or maybe Macragge works with the players to come up with a compromise, but you ALWAYS have to have a plan in case the players don't like it. Making a perfect plot based on what your expectations are is something that doesn't have a good track record amongst DMs.

2. Macragge ONLY recruits the players for missions that aren't "morally ambiguous", and only recruits them for their expertise. In other words, he roots out the bad guys and the demons, and he has them take care of the monsters, either because the players are disposable or because they're specialized into doing so. He doesn't send them to destroy everything in a hostage situation, he sends them to destroy everything in a cultist den. Decision making shouldn't be a primary factor for the players with this route, and while it's a bit less interesting, fulfilling and personal, it will be a bit more smoothly (playing out like a premade module).

[Beleriphon]

1. For every request that Macragge makes of the players, you come up with a inverse backup plan in case the players back out or decline. Maybe it's another NPC that they work with temporarily, or maybe it's a different request, or maybe Macragge works with the players to come up with a compromise, but you ALWAYS have to have a plan in case the players don't like it. Making a perfect plot based on what your expectations are is something that doesn't have a good track record amongst DMs.

I'd take this one as a second option, or a further into the game option. I'd always make it clear the from the get go the PCs are hired guns and they always have the option of saying no. How often they say no might affect future pay outs and mission opportunities but it still exists.


2. Macragge ONLY recruits the players for missions that aren't "morally ambiguous", and only recruits them for their expertise. In other words, he roots out the bad guys and the demons, and he has them take care of the monsters, either because the players are disposable or because they're specialized into doing so. He doesn't send them to destroy everything in a hostage situation, he sends them to destroy everything in a cultist den. Decision making shouldn't be a primary factor for the players with this route, and while it's a bit less interesting, fulfilling and personal, it will be a bit more smoothly (playing out like a premade module).

This how I would start the game. Very clear, no need to ask questions missions. Point the PCs at the bad guys and pull the trigger . Ideally you want to get the players on board with how bad stuff is before springing the ambiguous situations on them. That way they can see how the grey area can be pushed into black or white, at least in so far as which direction they choose to push.

[Unoriginal]

Why did the cleric laughs? Even if it's not an actual apocalypse, visions of devils are serious matters that only fools would ignore.

[Beleriphon]

Why did the cleric laughs? Even if it's not an actual apocalypse, visions of devils are serious matters that only fools would ignore.

I'm thinking politically appointed sorts rather than divinely empowered warrior-monks.

[JNAProductions]

In reverse order:

Because the Clerics are fools. They’re haughty, and arrogant. They’re not bad folk, but quite enamored of their own superiority.

And I do NOT plan on Macragge giving them every single mission. He’ll support them and provide guidance, but at least at first, they’re mooks to him. If they work with him, great-they’ll have their chance to save the world and be assisted. If not, well, as long as they believe him, they’ll help spread the word.

[Unoriginal]

Because the Clerics are fools. They’re haughty, and arrogant. They’re not bad folk, but quite enamored of their own superiority.

So you're saying that members of the clergy, who are in principle known for their knowledge of religous matters if not outright wisdom and connection to the gods, are fools who would ignore what could potentially a warning of devil activity, delivered to some kid who, while maybe not an ordained priest, was still a pious boy?

...honestly, I'm sorry to sound harsh, but it sounds like a cliché "the authority doesn't respect the underdog for absolutely no reason even when they have every reason to know better." They don't have the excuse of dogmatism or dream visions being unknown.


Futhermore, why did the gods send *this guy* and *this guy only* those visions? Maybe he could have gone a path to actually do something about it as a kid, but he clearly decided to waste decades becoming a petty criminal, and he's still as clueless about what to do than he was the day he got the vision.

Why not send the visions to the Clerics? Why not send the visions to other pious people? Why not send visions to all the kings and rulers and pontiffs?



And I do NOT plan on Macragge giving them every single mission. He’ll support them and provide guidance, but at least at first, they’re mooks to him. If they work with him, great-they’ll have their chance to save the world and be assisted. If not, well, as long as they believe him, they’ll help spread the word.

So he's just going to go "yo, I'm a mob boss but devils are coming. So now you have to obey me, welcome to the conscripted low-ranked criminal goon club"?

Honestly he sounds like a guy the PCs will identify as the antagonist and try to escape at the first occasion, then come back and kill him when they're strong enough.

Hell if I were a Devil I would help the PCs and actually give them a sweet deal for then the world is consumed.

[JNAProductions]

Peace leaves you out of a warlike mindset. Almire has been at peace for some time.
The gods chose Macragge because he was not complacent, and he was exactly the kind of man who could enact change.
That being said, if you do have any other ideas, I’m all ears.

Well, he did rescue them (via his men) from sacrifice or initiation. So he has SOME leverage over them.

Thank you, by the way.

[Unoriginal]

Peace leaves you out of a warlike mindset. Almire has been at peace for some time.

It's not because a building doesn't seem on fire that you ignore a fire alarm. Even if it ISN'T on fire you don't ignore a fire alarm.



The gods chose Macragge because he was not complacent, and he was exactly the kind of man who could enact change.

But he didn't. Again, he wasted years becoming a mob boss and your OP freely admit he's a) utterly clueless about what to do b) would not be able to do anything to be taken seriously by the mainstream society.

And again, why didn't the gods send other warnings to other people too?



Well, he did rescue them (via his men) from sacrifice or initiation. So he has SOME leverage over them.

JNAPRoductions, when was the last time you've heard about a "enigmatic mastermind with a network that let them learn everything and who has the PCs in their debt for a favor" that wasn't hated and considered extremely annoying by the players?



That being said, if you do have any other ideas, I’m all ears.

Well, the question is, what do you want?

What is Macragge supposed to be, at the core?

[JNAProductions]

A powerful person in the world, who has at least a some idea of what’s going on, when most other people assume that the peace they’ve enjoyed will last without them having to go above and beyond for it.

Should be able to support the players and provide direction, without forcing them along specific paths.

[Unoriginal]

A powerful person in the world, who has at least a some idea of what’s going on, when most other people assume that the peace they’ve enjoyed will last without them having to go above and beyond for it.

Should be able to support the players and provide direction, without forcing them along specific paths.

Then I suggest to make him a priest.

Instead of laughing at him, the clergy listened, but concluded that this vision was probably a metaphorical warning about the evils and woes of the world creeping out than literal Devil-fueled Armageddon, like [list of metaphorical warnings the gods sent to others before]. And when a few months later reports of devil cults started becoming more frequent, the churches thought it was that: thanks the gods for warning them about those malevolent heretics.

Macragge was congratulated, but in his heart he always believed it was something bigger and much more dangerous than some isolated cultists.

So he studied, and learned, and became a doctor of theology, specialized on the question of fiends. And with the years, he became the head of the office charged with dealing with those cults that pop up occasionally, which granted him both manpower to help his researches and interventions and a network of informants, but also made him a regular contact for adventurers involved in one way or another in that fact.

When the PCs start the campaign, they're given a mission that may involve one of those cults, among other suspects, so a more experienced adventure give them a short lists of people they could consult to learn more, one or two for each suspects. Ex: the sheriff for the local bandits, a well-connected sorceress performer in case the culprit is a renegade mage, Dwurg the Ogre in case it's Dwurg the Ogre, and Macragge for the cult angle. A cult doesn't even have to be responsible for it, but later Macragge could hire them to handle an issue with some Warlock who has taken a family hostage. And then the PCs could think about him when they have a question about what those mysterious symbols they found are. Etc.

It's just an idea, I'm not trying to write in your place. But personally I don't see the link between "kid get a vision of the world going to Hell, an he's the only one who gets it" and "jaded criminal mastermind the PCs have to follow the orders", or how it'd be an enjoyable experience to be conscripted by the guy but you still have to obey him because he's the only one who can help.

[JNAProductions]

Well I’m certainly not going to use Boss Macragge for that! His name is FAR too badass to be relegated to a position such as that.

But I WILL use that. Just with a different name.

Say... Charles Carpenter. That’s a better name for that position.

Thank you for the advice!

[Unoriginal]

Well Boss Macragge could be an intelligent, scarred bruiser of a crime lord who's using the devil cults' rise to take over all the other syndicates.

Not a cultist, not a devil fan, but a dangerous man who's turning this descent to hell into an opportunity, and will get in the way of the PCs like this.

[JNAProductions]

Yeah. I’ll workshop the details, and probably invite my players to add input, but I’m liking your ideas.