Help needed in giving a villain depth

[VariSami]

Hi.

So, my Eberron campaign began yesterday. Essentially it is about the characters becoming entwined with the fate of a riddle-locked box and its carrier, a House Kundarak dwarf. The box contains an egg-shaped, eye-covered crystal that stands on tentacle-like appendices which sprout from its underside. I call it a "quori behelit" and one of the characters, a changeling rogue working for the Cabinet of Faces, had already stolen a binder containing the research notes regarding its nature before the game began as a part of his mission required for becoming a cabinet trickster. Another character is a telepath researcher from Morgrave university and probably somehow connected to the research (he did not provide background or an answer to my suggestion in due time, sadly). The last one is a paladin of the Order of Illumination (CoAd) which works under the Church of the Silver Flame. Essentially it was made into a Her Holiness pontiff Jaela Daran, Keeper of the Flame's secret service. He is a hunter of shapechangers and currently tracking down a pack of suspected werebeasts.

That is enough context. The villain in question is a fallen paladin (and Shadowbane Inquisitor) affiliated with the Order of Illumination. He is no blackguard or anything - just a man whose convictions lead him to accept morally questionable courses of action. At the moment he acts as an enforcer for the Aurum who indirectly caused his fall.

His backstory is that he began accepting funding from murky sources but had to accept the money since it was necessary for his personal crusade against evil. In time, however, he learned that the best way to fight evil using his excessive resources was to fund a rivaling evil which would cause them to clash and injure both sides considerably, furthering the cause of good. After his fall he began working under the direct supervision of his long-time benefactors. Since he knows that the organization is evil, he acts cruel and indifferent towards his underlings. They are just evil pawns, after all, and their demise furthers the cause of good. For example, during a raid on the lightning rail (the first session) he left his minions behind with the characters to die from cold and starvation with the rest of the passengers. One of them actually committed suicide rather than faced that fate.

The characters used a Ring of Communication his direct subordinate had and the paladin had a conversation with the villain. Since they are both from Thrane, he recognized the accent. Also, the subordinate did not provide them with a name but commented how the man has white hair, cold blue eyes, a mad determination and gilded armor - oh, and he also wears the same "symbol of a flame" as the paladin. So, at the moment the villain is known as the "man in golden armor". I had actually provided the paladin with a background document for the Order of Illumination and in it there is a mention of an inquisitor called Ryle Galt having defected and joined forces with the Aurum but that rumor is "confirmed" as false and brother Galt is proclaimed having died under the service of the Order. Just below that piece of information there is this picture as a "generic" inquisitor:


Of course, the villain in question is Ryle Galt. He really seems like a promising and interesting villain and so I would like to make him the best I can. And for that purpose, I thought I would ask for your opinions. Anything to add to his background and motives? Any ideas of how he would ambush the characters next? He also has an aberrant dragonmark that allows for him to charm people and he has even boosted the power somewhat, implicating that he relies on it a little.

My current plans involve him making a hobo drink an elixir of reckoning (DMG II; makes your body explode if brought to negative hp), telling the poor soul that it makes him invincible and arming him with a dagger coated in sassone leaf residue. The hobo is then told to kill the characters with his new powers and promised a new life if he succeeds. Essentially: if the characters kill him, he explodes. If he manages to stab them, they are poisoned and might die. If they pick up his weapon carelessly after the encounter, they risk poisoning and might die. This also underlines the cruelty of brother Galt towards his underlings.

Thanks for the long read. While answering might be a bit redundant without having read what lies above, here's the short version:

tl;dr? Fallen paladin with rich backers wants the characters dead. In need of further depth for the villain and possible future plans for his attacks.

 

[Storminator]

I think you've got a pretty good villain so far. Does he still see himself as a good guy? Sure he's leading an evil organization, and has to do enough evil to keep up appearances, but he's really about wrecking evil organizations. He's a big picture thinker. He's a long range planner. He's cruel to his underlings, but I'm guessing he really has it out for his superiors. Would he monologue long enough to "accidentally" reveal his bosses' secret plans? Would he plant an important clue on an underling and send said underling to his death vs the PCs? Does he really want the PCs dead, or is he just doing his garden variety evil to keep up his facade? Can you as DM think of him as the PCs' "mentor/patron" who keeps feeding them inside information that leads to adventures?

And how are you going to reveal all this guy's complexity to the PCs? Secrets that never come up in game aren't as much fun.

PS

 

[Grogg of the North]

I would have him still be convinced that he's doing good. Maybe he's pitting his evil minions against an evil greater evil? Maybe he's trying to kill the party because they're getting in the way of his work.

What are the goals of his backers? Why are they funding him? Do their goals align?

 

[VariSami]

Hey, great. Just what I need.

1. He still considers himself "righteous" which justifies his actions. While he might understand having strayed what from the ideals of good and being tainted as a consequence, he still considers himself a champion of good since his actions result in the destruction of evil. So, in a way, he considers himself good.

2. I would say that he is loyal to his backers since they assure the continuation of his crusade. Of course they are evil - but their support is merely one more way evil turns against itself (of course he does not consider his own actions a manifestation of this principle, while they are exactly that). This also means that he needs to answer their demands. Originally the PCs were nothing but collateral but they were also the ones who caused the execution of Plan B which caused the danger of collateral in the first place. The man was ready to have hundreds of Karrnathian civilians die a horrible death (they are dirty followers of the Blood of Vol, after all), so I see him more as a monster who can justify any and all of his actions to himself. So no giving hints except maybe as a real accident.

3. When the time for a final showdown finally comes, he will probably question the PCs quest from every angle using his twisted logic of justice. Also, there exists a connection in the form of the Paladin. The paladin already knows someone from the Church is involved as their opponent and it would be easy to have something hint at the possibility that the villain is actually a man from his Order in particular. Since his character is aware of the rumor and I have hinted at Aurum involvement (rings, rings everywhere), they might manage to connect these clues if they realize who they are up against. Also, they still have a ring of communication which is attuned to the villain's ring.

4. His backers are actually extremely shallow in their motives. It should come up at some point: they only want the box since they heard that it contains an ancient artifact of unknown power. A pretty artifact at that. It would make an excellent addition to their collection. Of course, it is not really as simple as that: the Aurum are greedy and power-hungry so they realize that the behelit might also help them further their agenda (but the first reason is sufficient in itself). As such, the changeling's mission is actually one commissioned by the Aurum. So, he too is helping the enemy without realizing it. The point of all this is to drive through the indifference towards human life and the twisted hierarchy of values that the enemy has: they are ready to have hundreds killed simply because they want a fancy trinket. They mostly use Ryle Galt because the fallen paladin is effective at having the job done due to his single-minded determination. Since the beginning they have used him to fight against whoever was standing in their way. Could they have just funded the same people without using the paladin? Sure - but they would have missed the opportunity to gain a very capable minion. It was a gamble on their part.

Ok, so:
Not a friendly character (and will not become one unless the situation changes radically); self-righteous ("good"); schemer with a larger plan (although he also misses the fact that he is but a pawn); prone to Hannibal Lectures.