Dragon heist, help needed with introducing the Cassalanters SPOILERS BEWARE!!!

[DwarfDM]

Another warning, if you plan on playing Dragon Heist as a player stop reading now.

Currently I am planning to run the game with the Castellaners as the main villains. My plan is to introduce them early and inconspicuously. However I do want my players to get to know the Castellaners children. To give them a personality and get the players emotionally invested in the children. My main goal is to create a trolly problem for the players later on. Making the choice to stop the murder of 99 faceless people vs 2 children much more difficult.

Does anyone have some ideas for introducing the Castellaners and their children without tipping the players off during chapters one to three?

[ProsecutorGodot]

Back when Dice Camera Action was a thing, Chris Perkins introduced the Cassalanter's Children as customers to the bakery one of the characters had started running out of Trollskull Tavern. If your players have encountered or formed a relationship with the urchin children (their names escape me at the moment) you could also use them as a way to introduce them.

Introducing the Cassalanter's is a little bit more difficult, but its worth noting that they do have their hands in the banking system of Waterdeep. If your characters show interested in storing funds or taking a loan out to renovate Trollskull Tavern you can float that by as a method of doing so. Any pious members of your party might encounter them at a place of worship making a generous donation.

[Unoriginal]

Another warning, if you plan on playing Dragon Heist as a player stop reading now.

Currently I am planning to run the game with the Castellaners as the main villains. My plan is to introduce them early and inconspicuously. However I do want my players to get to know the Castellaners children. To give them a personality and get the players emotionally invested in the children. My main goal is to create a trolly problem for the players later on. Making the choice to stop the murder of 99 faceless people vs 2 children much more difficult.

Does anyone have some ideas for introducing the Castellaners and their children without tipping the players off during chapters one to three?

I've introduced the Cassalanter patriarch at a small ceremony to announce the new police official in charge of the harbor, where one PC was invited due to being a noble and another was there as representative for their guild.

You could easily start with one of the Cassalanters being just another person present at an event, then have them invite the PCs at their estate for some adventure-related-business-related reasons, or reasons linked to one of the PC's place in the city.

Or if one of the PC is a Waterdavian noble you could even have them be distant relative to the Cassalanter family (or relative to the wife's family).

All in all I encourage options that build on integrating the PCs to the city.

[DwarfDM]

Introducing the Cassalanter's is a little bit more difficult, but its worth noting that they do have their hands in the banking system of Waterdeep. If your characters show interested in storing funds or taking a loan out to renovate Trollskull Tavern you can float that by as a method of doing so. Any pious members of your party might encounter them at a place of worship making a generous donation.

I like these ideas, I was also playing with the idea to have them give food to poor people. This would make them seem like good people and make it more believable when they invite poor people to the party mass murder.

[Pex]

If the players will reopen Trollskull Manor have them be or pretend to be a couple who met there and fell in love and are pleased it will reopen. Since they also rescued Floon the Nobility might take notice. In game terms the Nobility is just another faction like Force Grey and the Harpers who are taking an interest in the party.