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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1989688" data-attributes="member: 15043">Its sounds like you want to run a Romance of the Three Kingdoms type campaign... I would love to read the story hour of such a group! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />I'm running something like that myself, with a Cao Cao-esque BBEG (Noble who is now contending with others for the Imperial Throne, etc.).  MoogleEmpMog had a very good suggestion... don't reveal the BBEG for what he is too early.  Let the PCs work for him, maybe even think they know him.  Have him act really friendly and nice until something comes up and its no longer convenient for him to have them around.  Once that happens, have minions go after the PCs, but not the BBEG just yet.  Maybe even have him act understanding when they complain bandits attempted to steal their goods, for example.  When you have him finally turn on them, though, it should be through a circumstance where they can't immediately respond (I had mine send them off to deliver a letter.  Once they were close to the destination, they got curious and opened it, finding it was their death sentence).  It'll let their fear and anger stew until the final showdown...</blockquote>