Unwitting PC Villains!

[MortalPlague]

I'm going to be starting a Mutants and Masterminds campaign, and I'm toying with the idea of running a story arc where the PCs confront the villain only to discover that they've been in his thrall all along, perpetrating evil deeds the entire way. I haven't, however, decided how to handle this throughout the game's play. The obvious choice would be to have the PCs black out for a time and come to with no memory of the past, but that's a little heavy handed, and also quite obvious. I want to have their villainous activities come as a surprise and shock. The other thought was to simply change some of the details while running the game; tell the players they see bad guys instead of cops, for instance, and have them act accordingly. But that seems like it would be confusing once it's revealed.

Any ideas?

 

[Asmor]

The Xanatos Gambit.

In a nutshell, the enemy manipulates the PCs such that the very attempt of trying to stop him actually helps him. E.g. he subtly convinces them that an artifact is the source of his power, and puts up token resistance but allows them to destroy it. In reality, the artifact was locking away his true power, and with it destroyed he's now ten times more powerful.

 

[Indigo Veil]

The Xanatos Gambit.

In a nutshell, the enemy manipulates the PCs such that the very attempt of trying to stop him actually helps him.

Totally agree here. Or just change the PCs' perspectives a little--when the PCs first meet the bad guy, he doesn't have to look and feel like The Bad Guy. He could be old, infirm, seeming to require assistance from good samaritans... Then let the villain help them in their endeavors in various ways to return the favor, to gain their trust, and allow the PCs to develop a relationship with him, and possibly (hopefully!) start to develop sympathies towards his worldview. Then, much later, when their existences have become entangled, do the big reveal.

The best villains, for me, are the ones you don't expect, the ones you look towards for guidance and who then end up betraying your painstakingly built trust.

 

[NewJeffCT]

A while back, a DM I used to game with did something like that - but, I think the PCs only dealt with the good-intentioned minions of the Duke or Lord that ended up being the bad guy. Basically, the Duke or Lord had ordered them to do some missions on his behalf (one guy was a paladin as well, so was obliged to follow the orders of his Lord, which were perfectly lawful and seemingly good) - however, the Lord later revealed himself to be evil in the midst of a big climactic battle, which stunned the players and led to some great role-playing.

The players also realized that all the missions they had completed were to advance the cause of this evil lord. Oops.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Use the modern model of the BBEG- charismatic, wealthy, and using the power of multinational corporations (or even the government) and their employees to do his dirty work. The PCs get hired as a security force, say, for one of his minor subsidiaries, and as the campaign continues, they start to discover that some of the businesses they're guarding or the missions they're doing are "less than savory." Perhaps they even get a mission with orders to succeed "at any cost" or "by any means necessary"- a 007 type mission without 007 type authorization. (A gov't agent may well have a "License to Kill," but no mere corporation can give that kind of clearance.)

After the wool has been removed from their eyes, they start to experience an ethical crisis- continue defending businesses they're beginning to suspect are fronts for underworld activity, or "go rogue" and start using their powers to take down "Big Evil Corp" and its head.

(Heck, the BBEG wouldn't even have to be a single person, it could be a group of ultra-corrupt businessmen who run the company.)

 

[On Puget Sound]

There's also the "morally ambiguous", or "enemy of my enemy" plot. In my Byzantium D&D campaign, the city-state of Byzantium was threatened by the undead empire of Vlad Tepes' Rumania. A magical barrier kept the animated hordes from invading, and the hero of Byzantium was the wizard Thanalykos who invented the barrier. Eventually the players discovered that human sacrifices were required to fuel the barrier, but Thanalykos took only people who wouldn't be missed, and tried to find victims who deserved it...at first.

For another example, there was a great Deep Space 9 episode in which Sisko commits a string of crimes, beginning with petty stuff and leading eventually to accessory to murder, in order to bring the Cardassians into the Dominion war on the Federation's side. At some point in that plot, if "player characters" had become aware of his activities, they would likely have tried to stop him, with possibly disastrous results.

 

[Quartz]

Here's another one: the BBEG employs the PCs to do genuinely heroic things. Not only is it good PR for him but it gets rid of the competition. And when they get to be a threat he sends them on a suicide mission...

 

[Indigo Veil]

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!