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Message: <blockquote data-quote="woonga" data-source="post: 7078956" data-attributes="member: 6873789">***Possible Lost Mine of Phandelver Spoilers***Hi all,I'm a first-time DM currently going through the starter campaign, expecting to lead directly into Out of the Abyss. One of the things I've definitely noticed in LMoP is the weak characterization of a lot of the major enemies as written in the book. In some ways this has been great- I've heavily modified a lot of the encounters to bring some more character to the NPCs, and it's been really fun for both me and my PCs to seem them come to life. One in particular that I've had trouble with is nailing down a good motivation and characterization for Nezznar the Black Spider. I've worked him in a little bit as having been involved in some shadowy dealings in Neverwinter that tied loosely into some of the PC backstories, and have been trying to frame him as a methodical, well-prepared mastermind to strike some fear into the party, but am looking to flesh that out a bit further to deliver on it so that he doesn't come across as just generic BBEG wizard when the party finally confronts him.Below are some things I've already established about his plot and backstory that the PCs are aware of, or that I plan to build in as the hook/transition to OotA once we wrap up the starter campaign. I'd be very interested in any feedback, specific character/plot ideas, or resources that you'd recommend to get some inspiration, specifically on fleshing him out as an evil Drow mastermind. I have the DMG, MM and Volo's as resources. Something like the background detail/motivation/character inspiration that Volo's provides, but for Drow, is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for. The info about foils in the recent UA and having him be behind some downtime shenanigans to derail the PCs is also something I'm very interested in, but I'm still digesting how to best do that so any ideas are appreciated.What the party knows:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Black Spider has the Rockseekers' map and is on his way, if not already in, Wave Echo Cave</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They know the full historical background of the cave, and assume that the Spider's plot has to do with controlling the Forge of Spells</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Spider (through his network of spies, including the Dopplegangers) was responsible for infiltrating a wealthy merchant family in Neverwinter, giving him access to their trade routes/infrastructure, cash resources, and possibly protection through mercenary connections</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Spider has, through his spy network, been trying to gain favor with powerful NPCs in the region (including the dragon at Thundertree and a Wizard I placed in the tower at Old Owl Well, which led to a magical whodunit mystery last session with the Black Spider revealed as the murderer and thief of some magic items).</li> </ul>Planned hooks (not known by the party yet):<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Black Spider will have some mercenaries with him beyond the standard Bug Bears/goblins/hobgoblins if/when they confront him in Wave Echo Cave. This is a way for me to vary up the enemies a bit and increase difficulty for a large party. I have some enemy types in mind, but advice welcome on anything that may be challenging and mechanically interesting to shake things up!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Black Spider is being hunted down by the Drow of Velkynvele (for crimes TBD). As the main hook to OotA, a Drow/Drider raiding party will attack at some point in Wave Echo cave, leading the party into the Underdark. The specifics of how that goes down will be heavily dependent on how they handle things in the Cave, since I'd like to avoid taking away their agency but want to make it a pretty clear transition into the new campaign.</li> </ul>The Question:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What can I do to tie the BBEG's motivation together into something nefarious beyond control the Forge, get magic weapons/items, be rich/powerful? What would the specific end game be for a highly intelligent, scheming Drow?</li> </ul></blockquote>

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