D&D 5E Is it possible to have a good-aligned final boss in a good campaign?

[Aloïsius]

If the NPC is good and is aiming for the greater good, then the PC beating him would risk to shift toward Evil themselves.

Good vs Good may not be fun at all if the winner ends up becoming Evil. I'd rather had the PC having to find a solution that would not cause the slaughter of a whole nation to save another one. This solution may seems absurd or impossible, so that their ennemy does not believe them and that they are forced to fight him.
If there is no solution, there is no point in this kind of "kill or be killed" story to oppose good characters, except if it's about to make them feel miserible.

 

[Piratecat]

If the NPC is good and is aiming for the greater good, then the PC beating him would risk to shift toward Evil themselves.

Not necessarily. Good people clash all the time in the real world due to conflicting responsibilities, not to mention old grudges and complicated misunderstandings.

I agree that being railroaded into actually killing a good foe would kind of suck. I'd prefer several alternative solutions for victory, including diplomacy and even stealth/intrigue.

 

[was]

I think that if a good creature looked down and saw a nation that, as a whole, was evil and corrupt, he would have no problem destroying that nation. Sure individual members of that society may not be evil, but if we're talking about the well-being of the planet I can see it happening. It might be very interesting to see the pc's have to get the being's attention and prove to it that the nation, or the people, were worth saving.

 

[GameDoc]

I think that if a good creature looked down and saw a nation that, as a whole, was evil and corrupt, he would have no problem destroying that nation. Sure individual members of that society may not be evil, but if we're talking about the well-being of the planet I can see it happening. It might be very interesting to see the pc's have to get the being's attention and prove to it that the nation, or the people, were worth saving.

That is very Old Testament. Good suggestion.

 

[GameDoc]

Look at Marvel comics for ideas on getting good guys to fight good guys, but the good guys are rarely the ultimate villain of the piece.

Marvel's Civil War is a good example where there is no villain. It's a division among heroes as to the best solution. The villains wind up taking advantage of that schism, but aren't really the architects of it.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I would totally look at order of the stick, they made a paladin into a bad guy for a while (but she was a jerk)
or
make an artifact that is 'too powerful to be used' and a 'hero' that needs it to save his town.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

In a prior campaign I ran one theme was an ongoing schism within the church of the Sun God (FR so it was Lathander/Amanuator/SomeotherversionwhosenameIforget). All good deities and good clerics, but lots of political machinations and backstabbing going on behind the scenes among them.

Sadly the PCs didn't find the plot hooks very engaging and largely ignored this plot line.

 

[DracoSuave]

Good vs Good can absolutely be a conflict. Think of the conflict between 'Law and Chaos', where a great unifier could be reacting to a wilderness filled with monsters and brigands and dark dark things, and bringing everything under one unifying hammer, but the players happen to be part of an independent movement that sees problems with a large dictator putting everyone under the yoke 'for their own good.'

For a more cerebral conflict, deconstruct what Good player characters often do: They go and kill goblins, orcs, and kobolds, and acquire treasure. Deconstruct that. If it is 'good' to kill 'evil' monsters to take their treasure, then a 'Good' empire could have a policy of exterminating 'monster empires.' This could lead to a ruling class that gives cash rewards for the extermination of entire races. As a contrast, have some members of those monstrous races presented sympathetically. Have the genocide be the reason for goblin and orc raiding, and boom, suddenly the players are stuck between the motivation of the 'Smash Evil' portion of Good, and the 'Show mercy' portion of Good.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Marvel's Civil War is a good example where there is no villain. It's a division among heroes as to the best solution. The villains wind up taking advantage of that schism, but aren't really the architects of it.

I'd forgotten about that one. That's a very good example of good vs good.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Quickleaf]

I was thinking about having a final boss be a symbol of good, like a paladin or an angel (not fallen). I'm brainstorming ideas, but I don't know at what point does the good alignment shift to neutral.

For example, what if this good-aligned boss was trying to save the world, but the only way to do so was to sacrifice a nation? Does the greater good allow him to remain good-aligned?

Basically, I want the PCs to have plenty of motivations to stop this person, but to have this person fight for a cause that allows him/her to remain good-aligned. Possible?

Absolutey, yes it's possible.

However...

Such campaigns generally don't appeal to the more hack-n-slash style players, and require a deft hand on the part of the DM to make sure the conflict doesn't feel forced or cliche. Also, the "final boss" language makes me suspect your aim is to drive the PCs toward a final combat with this angel/paladin, which might work for some styles of play but is especially inappropriate for Good vs. Good where players are more likely to come up with creative solutions that don't require killing the enemy.

Generally, I organize Good vs. Good into the following conflicts:

1. Same goal, but adversary adopts extreme methods.
2. Differing ideaologies, e.g. a religious heresy or Lawful vs. Chaotic
3. Resource/territory wars
4. Good for the greatest number (Good enough/pragmatic) vs. Good for absolutely everyone (Good for all/idealistic)
5. Good authority making best of bad situation (appeasing evil, Faustian bargain), and PCs think they can do better
6. Former bad guy seeking redemption, but stigma of past drives PCs into conflict

I've had the best luck when combining 2 or 3 of these conflicts into one Good adversary.