So my current plan is to trick my players into trusting an NPC who turns out to be the big bad (so original I know). What im asking is just for any tips to get my players to trust him rather than rejecting or seeing through him.
Before you introduce the NPC, gauge how your players react to other NPC's in their adventures. Are they in a habit of distrusting everything anyone says? Is Insight check one of the most common ones you have to roll while interacting? That will tell you how careful you need to be.
Next - the answer will largely depend on what kind of role this NPC is going to play initially. What sort of relationship is this supposed to be? Is that NPC hiring them to do something? Is that NPC someone who they encounter while adventuring and seeks their help? Is this someone who wants to go somewhere with them?
Depending on the answer, there are different things you can do.
What levels are the players? Remember that higher level players can have access to various things that can easily break your plans if you don't make contingencies. They can randomly decide to scry on your guy, send him messages, use any sort of divine magic to discern lies or his plans.
In general I have found that NPC's that are aiding in a plot line, and are not the plot line themselves, tend to be accepted by the players. A natural reaction is that they are a device to aid in the over all story. Then once they have found the NPC useful in someway it is easier to keep them around.
Does the NPC see the party as a threat and he’s trying to understand/ manipulate/ defeat his enemy, or did they just happen to be on the right place and he’s latched on to them?
If it’s the first one, the NPC, who I’m going to assume is clever could stage the meeting, maybe he’s saving orphans from a burning building, so it seems like he’s a good, heroic person. but the party doesn’t know he’s the one who started the fire in the first place, and there’s another half dozen orphans who died in the process.
If it’s the second one, maybe they happen to save him. He’s under attack and the players rush to his rescue. Now they’ve saved the bad guy, and made an enemy of a group that also wants to stop him, and should be an ally.
Either way, make him nice, funny and relatable. As long as he doesn’t say or do anything really crazy, why would they suspect him to be bad. And this can be a great time to flesh out his motivations and let the party get to know him better, the best villains have a sympathetic back story, where something bad happened to them and their response to it is what makes them a villain. (Getting revenge on the guy who killed your family might seem reasonable, but this guy wants to wipe out not just the person, but also his family and his entire species and do it in such a way that none of them know peace in the afterlife) The sort of thing that players can understand why he’s doing it, even if his methods and ends are awful.
So my current plan is to trick my players into trusting an NPC who turns out to be the big bad (so original I know). What im asking is just for any tips to get my players to trust him rather than rejecting or seeing through him.
Thanks in advance
The secret to getting players to trust NPCs is to make sure that you have actually trustworthy NPCs in your game, and introducing your untrustworthy NPC in the same way as you introduce the trustworthy ones. If every NPC they meet winds up trying to backstab them, your players will recognize the pattern and there isn't anything you can do to make them trust.
Remember that every "bad guy" thinks themselves the good guy. And if your PCs find that their goals align with this NPC's goals, they theoretically should align themselves with the NPC, at least at first.
An example of how to do this is, say, a guard-captain who loves his hometown (a small town or large village) finds the current mayor corrupt and has some proof but needs more to bring it to the public. A whole adventure could be built around helping this guard prove the mayor is corrupt and installing a new mayor - the guard-captain in particular. Little things improve, but some things may be a little different - slightly higher taxes, or stricter laws. Things that would be red flags when looking back at them later, but would seem natural and make sense in the moment. The NPC then goes further - getting rid of the surrounding bandits is the next natural step, taking over their resources. Then "bringing together" the next nearest villages/towns into one big power - which could easily be logically reconciled, but the NPC does it because they are beginning to become corrupt themselves, or perhaps that was their plan all along. How long and how big you draw this out to be is up to you and the scope of your game, but the "gradual" change is a good way to do it, especially if the PCs believe the whole time that what this NPC is doing is for the better good and align themselves with that belief. It's only towards the end where the NPC is obviously becoming too power-hungry and making horrible laws (now hanging people for even petty crimes, for example) when the PCs should begin to realize that they've put the wrong person in charge of too much power.
Another easy way to get PCs to trust an NPC is have that NPC trying to help their sickly child. My PCs encountered an NPC who was behind some nefarious deeds under the pretense of helping a sick child, helped him - and it was all a ruse. He sent them away before the PCs could see the effects. They're back five years later (due to Feywild time magic) and have found things Worse and will actually be fighting this NPC next session.
Work out carefully what the results of insight checks are and prepare accordingly. No NPC is perfect, so give them believable (but acceptable) flaws. Have story's organised. Lies upon lies upon lies. PC: Does he have uklterior motives. (rolls an 18) DM: You suspect he does. PC questions the NPC NPC: *sigh* I didn't want to tell you this, because I didn't want you to think I had a vested interest, but my son was killed by bandits long ago, and I have sworn to eradicate this blight whenever the opportunity presents itself (or whatever works).
It's even better if it's a version of some truth for the NPC.
1) You have to treat this NPC exactly as you treat any other NPC. Introduce them in a similar way. Have them detailed and interact to the same level as any other NPC. If you make them in any way different then the players will likely pick up on it and realize that this particular NPC is more significant in some way.
2) You have to try to forget that the NPC is actually a villain as much as possible when role playing them. Until the point comes when the NPC plans to act against the party they will continue to act as a part of the team. If you allow a hint of their true motivations into how you role play them then again the players may notice the difference.
3) In order to minimize the possible issues related to 1 and 2 ... create a positive plot specific role that gives the NPC some significance that will cover any slips you might make. If the players think the NPC is significant for a different reason than the true one then you are succeeding.
4) Play against fantasy tropes in creating the villain NPC if you want them to interact with the players. DMs seem to have a preference for unattractive, male, older, wizard/caster, evil race/creature (or human) villains ... by avoiding one or more of these it seems to make it more likely for the players to trust the NPC unless you go too over the top.
5) Introduce the NPC in a scene that makes the players react positively and ideally empathetically with the NPCs situation (assuming the players are good aligned). Some situation that makes the character's want to assist the NPC. As an example, finding the NPC with half a dozen other prisoners imprisoned in a dungeon belonging to the villain. The PCs free the prisoners and the NPC asks to join them because the villain killed their parents. The NPC then joins the party killing off their own minions and clearing the dungeon but the villain has already escaped (obviously since they are disguised and part of the party). After helping the party with the fighting, possibly even saving one or more of the party along the way, the party is more likely to look favorably on the NPC). If the NPC then asks if they could join them to get revenge on the villain the party might allow them to join. This is particularly true if the villain has done their research and knows what classes the party doesn't have already and can bring useful skills to the table. (Of course the players just think that the DM just added an NPC with the missing skills to help out the party :) ).
P.S. With the right skills the villain should be able to pass any insight check. However, have a backup story handy to cover any gaps or oversights. The biggest issue may be spells like Zone of Truth though even then careful answers can sometimes get around the issue. In addition, the villain needs to avoid having any specific plans against the party if questioned. A zone of truth has trouble dealing with things that might be but aren't certain.
So my current plan is to trick my players into trusting an NPC who turns out to be the big bad (so original I know). What im asking is just for any tips to get my players to trust him rather than rejecting or seeing through him.
Thanks in advance
Before you introduce the NPC, gauge how your players react to other NPC's in their adventures. Are they in a habit of distrusting everything anyone says? Is Insight check one of the most common ones you have to roll while interacting? That will tell you how careful you need to be.
Next - the answer will largely depend on what kind of role this NPC is going to play initially. What sort of relationship is this supposed to be? Is that NPC hiring them to do something? Is that NPC someone who they encounter while adventuring and seeks their help? Is this someone who wants to go somewhere with them?
Depending on the answer, there are different things you can do.
What levels are the players? Remember that higher level players can have access to various things that can easily break your plans if you don't make contingencies. They can randomly decide to scry on your guy, send him messages, use any sort of divine magic to discern lies or his plans.
In general I have found that NPC's that are aiding in a plot line, and are not the plot line themselves, tend to be accepted by the players. A natural reaction is that they are a device to aid in the over all story. Then once they have found the NPC useful in someway it is easier to keep them around.
Everyone is the main character of their story
Does the NPC see the party as a threat and he’s trying to understand/ manipulate/ defeat his enemy, or did they just happen to be on the right place and he’s latched on to them?
If it’s the first one, the NPC, who I’m going to assume is clever could stage the meeting, maybe he’s saving orphans from a burning building, so it seems like he’s a good, heroic person. but the party doesn’t know he’s the one who started the fire in the first place, and there’s another half dozen orphans who died in the process.
If it’s the second one, maybe they happen to save him. He’s under attack and the players rush to his rescue. Now they’ve saved the bad guy, and made an enemy of a group that also wants to stop him, and should be an ally.
Either way, make him nice, funny and relatable. As long as he doesn’t say or do anything really crazy, why would they suspect him to be bad. And this can be a great time to flesh out his motivations and let the party get to know him better, the best villains have a sympathetic back story, where something bad happened to them and their response to it is what makes them a villain. (Getting revenge on the guy who killed your family might seem reasonable, but this guy wants to wipe out not just the person, but also his family and his entire species and do it in such a way that none of them know peace in the afterlife) The sort of thing that players can understand why he’s doing it, even if his methods and ends are awful.
The secret to getting players to trust NPCs is to make sure that you have actually trustworthy NPCs in your game, and introducing your untrustworthy NPC in the same way as you introduce the trustworthy ones. If every NPC they meet winds up trying to backstab them, your players will recognize the pattern and there isn't anything you can do to make them trust.
Remember that every "bad guy" thinks themselves the good guy. And if your PCs find that their goals align with this NPC's goals, they theoretically should align themselves with the NPC, at least at first.
An example of how to do this is, say, a guard-captain who loves his hometown (a small town or large village) finds the current mayor corrupt and has some proof but needs more to bring it to the public. A whole adventure could be built around helping this guard prove the mayor is corrupt and installing a new mayor - the guard-captain in particular. Little things improve, but some things may be a little different - slightly higher taxes, or stricter laws. Things that would be red flags when looking back at them later, but would seem natural and make sense in the moment. The NPC then goes further - getting rid of the surrounding bandits is the next natural step, taking over their resources. Then "bringing together" the next nearest villages/towns into one big power - which could easily be logically reconciled, but the NPC does it because they are beginning to become corrupt themselves, or perhaps that was their plan all along. How long and how big you draw this out to be is up to you and the scope of your game, but the "gradual" change is a good way to do it, especially if the PCs believe the whole time that what this NPC is doing is for the better good and align themselves with that belief. It's only towards the end where the NPC is obviously becoming too power-hungry and making horrible laws (now hanging people for even petty crimes, for example) when the PCs should begin to realize that they've put the wrong person in charge of too much power.
Another easy way to get PCs to trust an NPC is have that NPC trying to help their sickly child. My PCs encountered an NPC who was behind some nefarious deeds under the pretense of helping a sick child, helped him - and it was all a ruse. He sent them away before the PCs could see the effects. They're back five years later (due to Feywild time magic) and have found things Worse and will actually be fighting this NPC next session.
Work out carefully what the results of insight checks are and prepare accordingly. No NPC is perfect, so give them believable (but acceptable) flaws. Have story's organised. Lies upon lies upon lies.
PC: Does he have uklterior motives. (rolls an 18)
DM: You suspect he does.
PC questions the NPC
NPC: *sigh* I didn't want to tell you this, because I didn't want you to think I had a vested interest, but my son was killed by bandits long ago, and I have sworn to eradicate this blight whenever the opportunity presents itself (or whatever works).
It's even better if it's a version of some truth for the NPC.
One dirty GMing trick: introduce multiple NPCs and don't decide who the big bad actually is. Figure that out after they're already established.
A few things to keep in mind
1) You have to treat this NPC exactly as you treat any other NPC. Introduce them in a similar way. Have them detailed and interact to the same level as any other NPC. If you make them in any way different then the players will likely pick up on it and realize that this particular NPC is more significant in some way.
2) You have to try to forget that the NPC is actually a villain as much as possible when role playing them. Until the point comes when the NPC plans to act against the party they will continue to act as a part of the team. If you allow a hint of their true motivations into how you role play them then again the players may notice the difference.
3) In order to minimize the possible issues related to 1 and 2 ... create a positive plot specific role that gives the NPC some significance that will cover any slips you might make. If the players think the NPC is significant for a different reason than the true one then you are succeeding.
4) Play against fantasy tropes in creating the villain NPC if you want them to interact with the players. DMs seem to have a preference for unattractive, male, older, wizard/caster, evil race/creature (or human) villains ... by avoiding one or more of these it seems to make it more likely for the players to trust the NPC unless you go too over the top.
5) Introduce the NPC in a scene that makes the players react positively and ideally empathetically with the NPCs situation (assuming the players are good aligned). Some situation that makes the character's want to assist the NPC. As an example, finding the NPC with half a dozen other prisoners imprisoned in a dungeon belonging to the villain. The PCs free the prisoners and the NPC asks to join them because the villain killed their parents. The NPC then joins the party killing off their own minions and clearing the dungeon but the villain has already escaped (obviously since they are disguised and part of the party). After helping the party with the fighting, possibly even saving one or more of the party along the way, the party is more likely to look favorably on the NPC). If the NPC then asks if they could join them to get revenge on the villain the party might allow them to join. This is particularly true if the villain has done their research and knows what classes the party doesn't have already and can bring useful skills to the table. (Of course the players just think that the DM just added an NPC with the missing skills to help out the party :) ).
P.S. With the right skills the villain should be able to pass any insight check. However, have a backup story handy to cover any gaps or oversights. The biggest issue may be spells like Zone of Truth though even then careful answers can sometimes get around the issue. In addition, the villain needs to avoid having any specific plans against the party if questioned. A zone of truth has trouble dealing with things that might be but aren't certain.
And remember, a Nat 20 is not an auto success on insights.