In the throws of writing a homebrew story, could use your 2c.
At this part in the story I need the party to find out that a so-called 'guide to the region' who convinced them (to whatever extent) earlier on in the story that he was a 'good guy' and could help them navigate the area-- is actually evil or leastwise not who he claimed to be.
The particular context is that the party has been investigating cries for help from some local towns. This NPC has been helping them journey to each location from their home base and maybe upon arrival at the first one he actually helped them get through the encounters-- but at the past couple, has left the party on their own upon arrival, to 'scout ahead' (or something of that nature)...i.e. ditched them and only reconvened once all the fighting died down. The NPC's hidden motivation, a la Gollum leading the hobbits into Shelob's lair, is that he's actually leading them into danger in these cases with the hopes that said danger will actually dispose of them since he's not powerful enough to do so alone.
So at some point, I need the party to catch this NPC in a lie. I have one very rudimentary idea but would love to hear your thoughts.
Basic idea: When I'm ready for the party to find out the truth about this NPC, whatever town they're investigating, drop some hints/ bait the party into finding a hidden door or secret passage. They bust down the door to find said deceptive NPC and some other stooge lying in wait. The stooge, maybe he's the corrupted mayor of the town or a disgraced person of former power (whatever)-- basically blurts out before anyone can do anything something like "What!?! What are they doing here? I thought you said the [bad stuff] would kill them so that we could escape the city together and be rid of these meddling kids"...paraphrasing of course. Leading the party to think "What? This guy who has been taking us around to clean up these messes has actually been hoping the messes would be our downfall?" NPC tries to escape the room and they either capture or kill him etc. etc. etc.
I'd recommend seeding little hints here and there to lead up to the reveal.
Have the players find a note on an enemy that ambushed the party, saying "You can find them here, Signed [initial]" and just the first initial of that NPC's first name. Then maybe later on the NPC asks how they managed to take out "that thing" (an enemy encountered before, one the NPC shouldn't have known was there that the party only encountered 1 of); if asked, he could say he saw one skulking around while he was scouting the place out/chasing another enemy/some other lie. Perhaps they also unexpectedly find that NPC in a tavern/shop making some sort of deal with a somewhat shady looking character that quickly disappears when the party enters, and he has to lie his way through that. Then finally, if they haven't dug the truth out of him yet - be prepared with plenty of lies/excuses that he could give - they could discover him in a situation similar to what you described above.
I think an impostor style would work best. More or less, drop hints that lead the party to discover that this is an assumed identity and that the actual person is either dead or alive and well but currently known by all that know the real person to not be anywhere near that region. Basically sow the seeds of distrust and then drop rumors of a known impostor and master of disguise leading adventurer parties to their death for X reason.
I would slowly plant seeds and details that raise little red flags, leading to a slow reveal (or fast, if your players take initiative to investigate). Even the way the NPC speaks could seem a bit sketchy. Let the NPC get away with betrayal, only for the party to come out a live and then come after him. Maybe giving an example from my own campaign may help give you ideas.
One of the main villains in my campaign is a reincarnating undead I've named "The Idir". When he is killed, his soul possesses the body of a newly dead humanoid. The party has fought him twice now. After about a dozen sessions, his newest reincarnation has been picked up by the party as a tag-along. Seizing this opportunity, he is playing along, hoping for the adventurers to perish along the way as he tries to reach his own goals as his current body is not strong enough for him to kill them himself. Sound familiar?
He takes a combat role but holds back his strength and, when I rolled behind the screen, missed his attacks intentionally. Sometimes he moves in a way that blocks PCs from reaching and helping each other. So far, my players just see him as a haughty incompetent fool. All the time, I've dropped hints that he is undead--he refuses to be healed by the cleric, his breath smells rotten, his skin is cold, and no one has ever seen him sleep or bleed. As no one seems to be catching on, he's gotten more assured of his ruse and is being more open, leading to more slip ups. He's made off hand comments about his disdain for life and how "not even death" will stop him from reaching his goal. He knows things about the players that he shouldn't, had he not met them in a previous incarnation. He's been so rude and arrogant since the beginning that many of my players shrugged these statements off (this is an evil campaign, remember) but a few PCs are starting to get suspicious and have started keeping tabs on him.
Maybe your NPC starts making mistakes in conversation, little slips that reveal his true conniving nature. Have your PCs think "that was a weird things to say", or, "this guys is kind of a jerk". Your NPC could know things that he shouldn't know, either from spying on players or by having information on enemies he has never fought (He knew what he was leading the PCs to and decided not to tell them about it).
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In the throws of writing a homebrew story, could use your 2c.
At this part in the story I need the party to find out that a so-called 'guide to the region' who convinced them (to whatever extent) earlier on in the story that he was a 'good guy' and could help them navigate the area-- is actually evil or leastwise not who he claimed to be.
The particular context is that the party has been investigating cries for help from some local towns. This NPC has been helping them journey to each location from their home base and maybe upon arrival at the first one he actually helped them get through the encounters-- but at the past couple, has left the party on their own upon arrival, to 'scout ahead' (or something of that nature)...i.e. ditched them and only reconvened once all the fighting died down. The NPC's hidden motivation, a la Gollum leading the hobbits into Shelob's lair, is that he's actually leading them into danger in these cases with the hopes that said danger will actually dispose of them since he's not powerful enough to do so alone.
So at some point, I need the party to catch this NPC in a lie. I have one very rudimentary idea but would love to hear your thoughts.
Basic idea: When I'm ready for the party to find out the truth about this NPC, whatever town they're investigating, drop some hints/ bait the party into finding a hidden door or secret passage. They bust down the door to find said deceptive NPC and some other stooge lying in wait. The stooge, maybe he's the corrupted mayor of the town or a disgraced person of former power (whatever)-- basically blurts out before anyone can do anything something like "What!?! What are they doing here? I thought you said the [bad stuff] would kill them so that we could escape the city together and be rid of these meddling kids"...paraphrasing of course. Leading the party to think "What? This guy who has been taking us around to clean up these messes has actually been hoping the messes would be our downfall?" NPC tries to escape the room and they either capture or kill him etc. etc. etc.
I'd recommend seeding little hints here and there to lead up to the reveal.
Have the players find a note on an enemy that ambushed the party, saying "You can find them here, Signed [initial]" and just the first initial of that NPC's first name. Then maybe later on the NPC asks how they managed to take out "that thing" (an enemy encountered before, one the NPC shouldn't have known was there that the party only encountered 1 of); if asked, he could say he saw one skulking around while he was scouting the place out/chasing another enemy/some other lie. Perhaps they also unexpectedly find that NPC in a tavern/shop making some sort of deal with a somewhat shady looking character that quickly disappears when the party enters, and he has to lie his way through that. Then finally, if they haven't dug the truth out of him yet - be prepared with plenty of lies/excuses that he could give - they could discover him in a situation similar to what you described above.
I think an impostor style would work best. More or less, drop hints that lead the party to discover that this is an assumed identity and that the actual person is either dead or alive and well but currently known by all that know the real person to not be anywhere near that region. Basically sow the seeds of distrust and then drop rumors of a known impostor and master of disguise leading adventurer parties to their death for X reason.
I would slowly plant seeds and details that raise little red flags, leading to a slow reveal (or fast, if your players take initiative to investigate). Even the way the NPC speaks could seem a bit sketchy. Let the NPC get away with betrayal, only for the party to come out a live and then come after him. Maybe giving an example from my own campaign may help give you ideas.
One of the main villains in my campaign is a reincarnating undead I've named "The Idir". When he is killed, his soul possesses the body of a newly dead humanoid. The party has fought him twice now. After about a dozen sessions, his newest reincarnation has been picked up by the party as a tag-along. Seizing this opportunity, he is playing along, hoping for the adventurers to perish along the way as he tries to reach his own goals as his current body is not strong enough for him to kill them himself. Sound familiar?
He takes a combat role but holds back his strength and, when I rolled behind the screen, missed his attacks intentionally. Sometimes he moves in a way that blocks PCs from reaching and helping each other. So far, my players just see him as a haughty incompetent fool. All the time, I've dropped hints that he is undead--he refuses to be healed by the cleric, his breath smells rotten, his skin is cold, and no one has ever seen him sleep or bleed. As no one seems to be catching on, he's gotten more assured of his ruse and is being more open, leading to more slip ups. He's made off hand comments about his disdain for life and how "not even death" will stop him from reaching his goal. He knows things about the players that he shouldn't, had he not met them in a previous incarnation. He's been so rude and arrogant since the beginning that many of my players shrugged these statements off (this is an evil campaign, remember) but a few PCs are starting to get suspicious and have started keeping tabs on him.
Maybe your NPC starts making mistakes in conversation, little slips that reveal his true conniving nature. Have your PCs think "that was a weird things to say", or, "this guys is kind of a jerk". Your NPC could know things that he shouldn't know, either from spying on players or by having information on enemies he has never fought (He knew what he was leading the PCs to and decided not to tell them about it).