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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mearls" data-source="post: 2974608" data-attributes="member: 697">I like to use what I think of as the "anti-Gandalf". If Gandalf was an icon of hope, benevolence, and justice, the anti-Gandalf is an avatar of woe, misfortune, and disaster. When he shows up, the players wince while their characters reach for their weapons.The anti-Gandalf does stuff like offer magical weapons for sale at dirt cheap prices. But what he doesn't mention is that he enchants the weapons so that he can spy on the PCs and sell info about them to the highest bidder. Also, he does that to the PCs' hated enemies and sells the characters the info he has.The anti-Gandalf is the shady member of the city council who, upon hearing that the PCs have uncovered a drow plot to destroy the city, immediately heads to the Underdark to cut a deal with them. Then, when the PCs have some success, he continually supports and undercuts both sides in a desperate hope that he'll be on the good side of whoever wins on the day they happen to win.The anti-Gandalf is usually slightly bumbling, kind of comedic, and always a pain in the rear. In one adventure, the PCs have to save him. In the next, they're chasing him down to kill him.</blockquote>