Hey, I'm very new to D&D, and this is my first time DMing. I was hoping I could get some help from someone, or a few people, on how I could change my chaotic good paladin, into a BBEG. He's chaotic good for very special reasons related to his past, and I consulted my friend who is a dm about it and he said it was fine as long as he was a good alignment. But that isn't my point, unfortunately.
I got one of the best ideas I've had in a while for something that could happen, and that thing is making something happen to him that changes him from a friendly NPC into a BBEG. I did a bit of research and came up with two ideas with what it could be that changes it.
I found this here, the Helm of Opposite Alignment, which I believe could work in changing him. He could put it on without knowing it's affects and be changed very simply that way, or so I think, but I also found a monster in the manual. The Intellect Devouter. He has Body Thief, which could work as a way to make him an evil character for a while, possessed for a long period of time.
Are either of these viable ideas or am I just being silly? And if there are any other ways maybe you could tell me them?
Why don't you just have the character experience something that causes him to question his entire existence; leading to an alignment change? Also, there are Oathbreaker Paladins
An Oathbreaker is a paladin who breaks his or her sacred oaths to pursue some dark ambition or serve an evil power. Whatever light burned in the paladin’s heart has been extinguished. Only darkness remains.
A paladin must be evil and at least 3rd level to become an Oathbreaker. The paladin replaces the features specific to his or her Sacred Oath with Oathbreaker features.
While I do think that is a good idea, I'm using my personal favorite character, who I play in a campaign. He has his own personal oaths too, that would make it so he wouldn't do something like that. He's already questioned his entire existence, a big part of his backstory, and knows his path in life. He's the kind of person who is extremely stubborn and has to be forced to even give out a tiny bit of information. That's why I thought those would work for him.
As long as the campaign you're running where he's an NPC isn't in the same world where the Paladin is a character, I don't see what the problem would be. This is his evil twin from an alternate dimension. He had a different life experience or two and turned out a different person. It can give you a chance to explore his dark side. And then you can gate in the good version at some point since he's come to sort out this evil-doer besmirching his name. Give the bad one a soul patch or something so the players can tell them apart.
In an old campaign the main villain was an anti-paladin/blackguard. He was once a paladin who was general to a great army. When the kingdom was threatened, he was called upon by his king to protect it. He requested that, if his lands and family were threatened, he would be allowed to return to defend them. The king agreed and he gathered his personal guard and lead the army to face the monstrous horde.
While he was battling the horde, he received a message from his wife. A small army had slipped past the defenses and was now raiding up and down the kingdom threatening his home. The General sent the messenger on to the King, to either ask to return himself or for the kingdom to send part of its defenses to stop the raiders. The king agreed to send forces.Once the battle was won, the general returned home to find his home in ashes. His wife and children raped and butchered brutally. His grief was all consuming. When he found that the king had lied to him and never sent any aid, his anger was even greater.
The General stormed that castle and demanded to know why. When the king said the needs of one man, one family, should never over ride the divine right of the crown. He said he could have been attacked so he could not spare any troops and it was the paladins duty to follow his commands. The General was overcome with despair and utter rage. As the king sat upon his throne, smiling at him smugly with self righteousness, the general strode forward and ran him through. He then cut down the guard, the royal family, barred the gates and set the palace alight.
His god cursed him for the brutality of the slaughter and for the betrayal of his oaths.
You could easily go down a similar track, having your paladin betrayed and allowing his rage to turn him to evil acts.
Your question almost directly triggered me to think about Tomas Megarson from Feist's book the Magician. He finds a white-golden armor, shield and sword which were not his size (too big) but as he picks up the sword and shield he feels empowered. So he decides to put on the armor anyway, strapping it to his body. Not knowing it's magical he slowly and partly becomes more and more like the previous owner a dragonlord (Valheru) called Ashen-Shugar. Ofcourse you should/would/could attune it to the D&D setting, but the story is great for inspiration.
Hey, I'm very new to D&D, and this is my first time DMing. I was hoping I could get some help from someone, or a few people, on how I could change my chaotic good paladin, into a BBEG. He's chaotic good for very special reasons related to his past, and I consulted my friend who is a dm about it and he said it was fine as long as he was a good alignment. But that isn't my point, unfortunately.
I got one of the best ideas I've had in a while for something that could happen, and that thing is making something happen to him that changes him from a friendly NPC into a BBEG. I did a bit of research and came up with two ideas with what it could be that changes it.
I found this here, the Helm of Opposite Alignment, which I believe could work in changing him. He could put it on without knowing it's affects and be changed very simply that way, or so I think, but I also found a monster in the manual. The Intellect Devouter. He has Body Thief, which could work as a way to make him an evil character for a while, possessed for a long period of time.
Are either of these viable ideas or am I just being silly? And if there are any other ways maybe you could tell me them?
Why don't you just have the character experience something that causes him to question his entire existence; leading to an alignment change? Also, there are Oathbreaker Paladins
While I do think that is a good idea, I'm using my personal favorite character, who I play in a campaign. He has his own personal oaths too, that would make it so he wouldn't do something like that. He's already questioned his entire existence, a big part of his backstory, and knows his path in life. He's the kind of person who is extremely stubborn and has to be forced to even give out a tiny bit of information. That's why I thought those would work for him.
As long as the campaign you're running where he's an NPC isn't in the same world where the Paladin is a character, I don't see what the problem would be. This is his evil twin from an alternate dimension. He had a different life experience or two and turned out a different person. It can give you a chance to explore his dark side. And then you can gate in the good version at some point since he's come to sort out this evil-doer besmirching his name. Give the bad one a soul patch or something so the players can tell them apart.
I'd suggest against the intellect devourer, you need a resurrection to cure that kind of damage.
In an old campaign the main villain was an anti-paladin/blackguard. He was once a paladin who was general to a great army. When the kingdom was threatened, he was called upon by his king to protect it. He requested that, if his lands and family were threatened, he would be allowed to return to defend them. The king agreed and he gathered his personal guard and lead the army to face the monstrous horde.
While he was battling the horde, he received a message from his wife. A small army had slipped past the defenses and was now raiding up and down the kingdom threatening his home. The General sent the messenger on to the King, to either ask to return himself or for the kingdom to send part of its defenses to stop the raiders. The king agreed to send forces.Once the battle was won, the general returned home to find his home in ashes. His wife and children raped and butchered brutally. His grief was all consuming. When he found that the king had lied to him and never sent any aid, his anger was even greater.
The General stormed that castle and demanded to know why. When the king said the needs of one man, one family, should never over ride the divine right of the crown. He said he could have been attacked so he could not spare any troops and it was the paladins duty to follow his commands. The General was overcome with despair and utter rage. As the king sat upon his throne, smiling at him smugly with self righteousness, the general strode forward and ran him through. He then cut down the guard, the royal family, barred the gates and set the palace alight.
His god cursed him for the brutality of the slaughter and for the betrayal of his oaths.
You could easily go down a similar track, having your paladin betrayed and allowing his rage to turn him to evil acts.
Your question almost directly triggered me to think about Tomas Megarson from Feist's book the Magician. He finds a white-golden armor, shield and sword which were not his size (too big) but as he picks up the sword and shield he feels empowered. So he decides to put on the armor anyway, strapping it to his body. Not knowing it's magical he slowly and partly becomes more and more like the previous owner a dragonlord (Valheru) called Ashen-Shugar. Ofcourse you should/would/could attune it to the D&D setting, but the story is great for inspiration.