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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neo" data-source="post: 549986" data-attributes="member: 4139">Subvert them indirectly i.e destroy thier means of income or support or alternatively murder their heirs to prevent thier lines continuing the innocence of thier children is an easy tool for a bad guy to lure them into traps.Local monster tribes, use fear, intimidation to gain control, if that fails slay thier leaders in blatant shows of power.  nothing cows an angry mob like the fear of pending death.  Once you have one tribe or beast under control it is easy to use them as a bargaining point for gaining others.  i.e The skull smasher goblins serve me, you goblins of the Broken Horn tribe should also join my ranks lest you lose out on the spoils of conquest  OR  The Dragon of the Murky Swamps serves me, I suggest you do the same lest it finds it necessary to hunt in new pastures....Have the villain kill any dissenters openly and mercillessly, fear will keep the rabble in line.See above, pay and feeding for an army needn't be a problem have them raid villages and towns, merchant caravans, trade routes, use this to gather supplies, wealth and experience as well as to gain reputation in order to draw more allies before targeting real threats.A City stands or falls on its stomach, destroy thier food, pollute thier water, cut off thier means of external supply and support, ensure no communication escapes out or infiltrates in... soon the city will be begging for mercy...then enslave the populace or feed them to your troops as you will and move in.Money is a means unto itself, but wisdom and cunning are commodites with greater value.  Take advantage of your surroundings and those that dwell in them, they will be the means to your income.  You can promise wealth later.... or you can allow them to raid everywhere you go as mentioned above.. the first step is to get some allies, worry about money later.As for identity, wear a disguise, give a flase name, keep covered or only deal with one or two individuals who then relay your orders to everyone else.  If magic is available, then appear as someone or something else.  Carry no obvious emblem or symbol nothing by which you can be traced back to your origin.  Use a different language and if possible an accent of somewhere from which you are not and better still start rumours about you being made up people or powers all in aid to throw people of the scent of the truth. For the Villain almost certainly Fear and Intimidation, if your troops fear you so much that they know to disobey or fail is death they will not dare lie.  However in a fantasy world if your cause is beneficial to a certain relgion recruit them to your cause, religious fervour or fear of divine punishment are also great tool for manipulation.  And with the added incentive of magic clerics who can literally tell if you are truthful or false make the rank and file too fearful of lying, especially if your clerics take the form of inquisitors or secret police who are commonly seen amongst the troops, as then the fear that these clerics may just be reading minds or seeking those disloyal just reinforces their abject terror of the consequences for doing anything except that which you tell them and answering only the truth when asked is multiplied a hundredfold.</blockquote>

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