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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CruelSummerLord" data-source="post: 3254799" data-attributes="member: 48692">Aside from Sherlock Holmes, another example that might work is the character of Eckley from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.  He's the lab supervisor, who got to his position by being an ambitious master of office politics.  He's not opely rude or denigrating towards the CSIs (who are in a sense the PCs here), but he does obviously show favoritism, and can use the power he has over them to indulge in his own whims and grudges (one character wanted to be promoted to the day shift so she could spend time with her daughter at night, Eckley promoted her to the swing shift, which is exactly what she _didn't_ want, although it's still a promotion with a pay raise and more prestige), and also demoted a police detective who opposed the office games he was playing.  The catch is, though, that he never pushes it too far.  The CSIs might hate him, but he's never committed any ethics violations or gone so out of his way to make life hell for anyone that he could be subject to disciplinary actions.  Hence, in a way, he's a snide, arrogant jerk, but he knows better than to push it too far.  OTOH, when the chips are really, truly down, he works with them as needed.  If the underlings are in actual physical danger, then he'll stop playing games and work as needed.  Things like scheduling appointments only when it's convienient for him, subtly criticizing those who disagree with him, showing favor to those who suck up to him as opposed to those who speak their mind...but at the same time, when there's a serious, direct crisis, he might use his own resources and political clout to help the players out, cutting through red tape or calling in the odd favor for them, if they've earned his trust and proven themselves to be fair and worthy.  If he always keeps to his end of an agreement and deals with the PCs fairly, chances are they'll do the same for him, even if they think he's a total...well, you know where I'm going with this.  The delivery should be subtle; instead of openly insulting them, make them feel like he's looking down on them, but has to resort to "their type" anyway to achieve his own goals.  That, along with his own general fairness and consistency, and actively helping them out in a crisis, could go a long way to earning their respect.</blockquote>

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