If you were a powerful Warlock...

[HoboKnight]

So I have this NPC and I'd appreciate some help on better fleshing out his actions.

So.

You are a powerful warlock. Indebted to an Arch-Fiend of Law, but also Hellish Evil. You have a nice deal going - get enough souls for your boss and you are off the hook. And you are evil too, the nasty sort one does not want to meet in a dark alley. No goody stuff.

You target a region. Single town, several dozen villages. You have minions. A lot of minions. And they are on their merry way offering pacts to people. Perhaps you just incentivize them a bit - you mass murder druids and rangers, cause for crops to fail, summon a number of devils to make things just a bit more miserable for everyone and make them more prone to making pacts. Your strike team takes care of adventurers/paladins that would get in the way.

Things are going well until someone poisons the well in the city and... someone is also offering pacts to people instead of you. Someone is on your turf. Not long after you get poisoned and cursed, but being a badass with a devilish patron, you survive. It's hags. In the region are hags, who obviously also have a ton of followers and are cursing people via their pacts. Pushing in your turf. Taking your cut.

Problem is, these b***hes are cunning as hell too. Elusive, often duping your team, killing your underlings or just making a fool of them and cursing them.

How do you engage this threat?

If levels and stuff are needed: You can basically get anything. Not unlimited amount, but basically any spell or monster on your side. And it's 5E, but its really a general question.

thanks!

[tyckspoon]

...Your strike team takes care of adventurers/paladins that would get in the way.


First reaction: Be The Quest Giver. Lay off the evil for a little bit, and definitely call a break on killing the would-be heroes. You want all the heat from dogooders aimed at the hags. So.. leave some tips around about who is REALLY responsible for the ill fortune around the area. It's definitely the hags. Not you. You are a Righteous Upstanding Citizen of Some Resources who would definitely like to see the hags removed, and may be able to provide some assistance to the bold heroes who could achieve that.. and possibly some reward? Or maybe that's too distastefully close to altruism for you. That's ok. You could be an Enlightened Self Interest Crime Lord who is willing to pay for the hags to go away, because they're making life bad for -everybody- and when everybody gets poor there's no money for you to take. Either way - the point is to have the heroes want to work with you and your resources. Make them your tools. Make them assets. And when they manage to do the hero thing and deal with your problem, now you've got your hooks in them just a little bit for further work, and might be able to guide them into delivering themselves unto your patron as they come to trust you more and rely on you to provide information on targets who are both Deserving of a Righteous Smiting and Financially Beneficial To Loot...
or they'll get themselves killed, but that's fine too. Saves you the effort of having it done later anyways and they probably landed a decent blow against one or another of your enemies on the way out.

[KorvinStarmast]

So I have this NPC and I'd appreciate some help on better fleshing out his actions.

You are a powerful warlock. Indebted to an Arch-Fiend of Law, but also Hellish Evil. You have a nice deal going - get enough souls for your boss and you are off the hook. And you are evil too, the nasty sort one does not want to meet in a dark alley. No goody stuff.

You target a region. Single town, several dozen villages. You have minions. A lot of minions. And they are on their merry way offering pacts to people. Perhaps you just incentivize them a bit - you mass murder druids and rangers, cause for crops to fail, summon a number of devils to make things just a bit more miserable for everyone and make them more prone to making pacts. Your strike team takes care of adventurers/paladins that would get in the way.

Things are going well until someone poisons the well in the city and... someone is also offering pacts to people instead of you. Someone is on your turf. Not long after you get poisoned and cursed, but being a badass with a devilish patron, you survive. It's hags. In the region are hags, who obviously also have a ton of followers and are cursing people via their pacts. Pushing in your turf. Taking your cut.

Problem is, these b***hes are cunning as hell too. Elusive, often duping your team, killing your underlings or just making a fool of them and cursing them.

How do you engage this threat?

If levels and stuff are needed: You can basically get anything. Not unlimited amount, but basically any spell or monster on your side. And it's 5E, but its really a general question.
Step 1. Find a band of adventurers.
Step 2. Offer them a reward.
Step 3. Point in the hags' direction.
Step 4. Profit.

[HoboKnight]

Okay 1 up.

Adventurers are also coming AFTER YOUR MINIONS AND YOU, because hags are playing the same game.

How to retaliate?

[Kane0]

Well Hag covens typically form in 3s, so thats a good clue to hang onto when trying to narrow down suspects. Each type of hag usually fits a certain terrain and type of psycological trauma they are suited to, so that can be helpful in figuring out what type of hags youre dealing with.
You can also set bait, especially children or particularly beautiful/handsome individuals. Fey make for potentially useful lures too, and might actually be pretty willing to help you.
Anything with access to truesight or resistance/immunity to charms would be a good first step to combating a hags typical MO, magic resistance even better. You could get some good mileage out of a swarm of imps doing recon work with their flight and invisibility. A rakshasa could be an interesting and powerful ally if you could gain access to one.

[Quertus]

Me? I would definitely get the adventurers involved… but I world not, personally, be the quest-giver. Act through pawns - the more ignorant and further removed from me the pawns are, the better.

[Telonius]

This isn't a problem, it's an opportunity.

Use the Sauron Gambit: Surrender to the PCs.

"Listen, guys, I'm in way over my head. I made a deal, and now I'm stuck for it. I don't deny that I've done terrible things. But the hags? They're just bad news. They sent you after me, didn't they? Thought as much. They'll use you to eliminate me, then swoop down and destroy you next. They didn't lift a finger to help you. They're hoping that we fight it out, so they can take apart what's left. If you want to kill me, I won't stop you. I don't deserve anything more. But I'd want to know if you think that people deserve second chances. If you let me live, then let me help. I can give you the means to fight them. I'll even stand next to you when you do. And that's a lot more than they would do."

All of that has the advantage of being 100% true. If they take you up on it, let the corruption begin.

[HoboKnight]

Telonius, you win the nerdy internets today. Bravo. Heck, I can name warlock Telonius. :D