Seeking an impactful way to reveal the BBEG in hiding...

[kalil]

I have one more twist to add to the "escort the criminals" idea above (which is excellent btw): The reason that the PC's are working for the lich-judge is that they were wrongfully conviced to long sentences but the lich-judge released them under the condition that they assist him i these simple tasks. Thus it is not only a money grab for them, they both owe him for setting them free and have some reason to suspect him (why recruit convicted felons like us when you could jus use regular guards?). Also adds an element of "we need to deal with this" because who the hell is going to take the word of some random convicted felons against a high jidge?

 

[magnusmalkus]

All of the above are really good suggestions. Thank you! And the more tip-off methods the merrier particularly because if the PC's don't get the first hint, or the second, maybe the third, surely the fourth...

 

[Quickleaf]

Good suggestions... I'm still writing the plot arch so there is no player or even a game yet. I have not dropped any hints nor is anything written in stone.

I had an idea to implement a BBEG in the campaign: A lich who successfully hides behind the public mask of a cruel but effective elderly Judge. He earned his lifetime position legitimately when he was younger, no one knows he's become a lich and he has sufficient means magic (non-detection) and mundane (disguise) to conceal his undead nature and evil identity. He is, most definitely 'hidden'.

The tip of the iceberg of his evil is that he's condemning criminals to death - supposedly to be cremated in the 'purifying fires' - but instead, uses the criminals to bolster his undead army by having his undead minions turn them into vampire spawn, wights, ghouls and zombies which he's using to harass someone, somewhere. He's also enslaved non-undead and keeps them under his command such as the dragon chained at the bottom of a huge pit called 'the City Dump' and charged with incinerating the kingdoms garbage lest he become buried by it. I do not yet know what other evil he may be up to.

That darkside video also clinched it for me... give exposition to the BBEG in all his evil glory, then have the PC's cross the Judge in his mundane identity and think... "Hey, there's something familiar about that creepy guy... his voice... his demeanor." THEN add the idea about finding an item in the hands of the undead army that was given to the judge by the PC's might expose another crack in his concealed identity.

Right now, he's just a generic two-dimensional bad guy. He (lawful) evil because he enjoys holding authority and the power of life and death over others. He cruel streak is nasty and dark (enjoys watching torture). He nourishes himself with the emotional energy of Fear. Yes, he knows he's evil and he feels no remorse. In his lich identity he's depraved, soul-less, and insane. His angry, bitter 'mortal' identity allows him to reign-in and control his shattered psyche... but when he gets 'hungry', the crazy comes out.

I don't know who my players will be or what kinds of backgrounds they have but I'll need to find a reason to TARGET the PC's... not just rely on their inherent 'goodness' to sniff him out and take him down. In the end, I want the conflict of giving the PC's an evil enemy who is a well known and respected public official. no-one will believe them, it will be entirely up to them to find a way to expose him.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'm still excited to hear them.

Thanks folks.

[MENTION=34915]magnusmalkus[/MENTION] Great background for your villain!

I have a few ideas for incremental clues you might provide the PCs about the Judge's true nature...

• The Haunted Mirror. One of the court aides - a disreputable drunk and brown-noser - swears the Judge's mirror is haunted. Indeed, echoes of the circumstances of the Judge's death (drinking poison to become lich?) are vaguely visible in the frosted glass at night if one studies the mirror closely...or possibly it might require the casting of detect magic. This could easily be misinterpreted as signs of the Judge's impending death, and he might even spin it as an excuse to hunt down an enemy/rival on trumped up charges of "planned murder of a representative of the state."
• Bring out your Dead. A gaoler or crematorium worker at the city dungeons has noticed fewer intakes (criminals) arriving than normal. This in turn has diminished the supply of ash (yes, human ash) that is used on certain ceremonial agricultural fields. He's been receiving anonymous payments to keep his mouth shut, but one night in a pique of curiosity followed the cloaked figure and beheld the visage of a wight. Terrified, he doesn't know what's going on, and is stuck between the pressures of the situation at the dungeon/crematorium and the demands of the life/death/fecundity clergy.
• Disproportionate to the Crime. Despite everyone going along with the Judge's sentencing of a blacksmith who falsified the hard metal content in his blades, costing several city guards their lives, the blacksmith's intrepid daughter is convinced the death sentence is unduly harsh and that the judge has an ulterior motive. In fact, the blacksmith descends from a lineage that crafted the stopper on the lich's phylactery (or some other hook of your choosing), and even thought the blacksmith doesn't know the Judge's true nature, the Judge wants to eliminate all evidence. In turn, the weakening of the ores the blacksmith uses may be caused by some other plot of the Judge/Lich...
• Disgruntled Adventurers (This one depends on the society's view of necromancy). At a tavern, several grumpy adventurers claim about being charged a steep fine (including several choice magic items) by the Judge's office for attacking a zombie that turned out to be a courier for the Courts. According to the court record, the zombie was used to deliver an ultimatum to bandits hiding in the ghoul-infested graveyards (much too dangerous for a lowly magistrate!). However, the party cleric swears up and down that she felt something intelligent and full of malice watching her through the zombie's eyes...of course, they have no proof.

 

[Ashabel]

Those are all pretty amazing hooks there

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