Two: Bribery: The antagonist willl bribe a member of the party with money or a powerful enchanted device (which may or may not be in the antagonist's hands). The antagonist may try to bribe the entire party to to be left alone as well as tell who sent the players. Three: Deception: The antagonist tries to deceive the party into believing that his cause is a greater good than they were led to believe. He/she will use everything in his/her power to trick the party into ending their foolish pursuit, suggesting instead some other adventure that will give greater rewards and less risk. The antagonist will surely not reveal himself/herself to the party in doing this. Four: Role Reversal: The antagonist will confront the players with a tale of twisted plots. He/she will contend that the players are being used by forces they know nothing of. In reality, goes the tale, the antagonist is being persecuted by a group of evil wizards (sorcerers/nobles/ assassins/what have you) who hope to keep him/her from interfering in their evil and world- threatening plans. The players have been duped into this quest while the true evil is happening back at their home base. (Please note that any antagonist worth his/her salt will always have an enchantment protecting against magical truth spells). Five: Libel: The antagonist will send a message by letter or messenger to the players' leaders (i.e., Kings, Bishops, Grand High Wizards, etc.), or to the person(s) that sent the players in the first place. This letter will be from a fictitious or forged source, claiming that the players are committing evil deeds in their overzealous quest, and they are not shy about using the patrons name aloud. This should cause the players' superiors to send a message to the group, telling them to cease their evil ways and perhaps to give up their quest and come home. Six: Treason: This is when one of the player-friendly NPCs turn coat. This is especially effective when the NPC has been reliable in the past. Their motives are unimportant; suffice it to say that the Players have been sold out. Seven: Stall: The antagonist is awaiting reinforcements, and will attempt to stall the players. He/she may leak misleading information about stronghold locations or possible depredations while in actuality he/she is marshaling forces against the players. A truly devious antagonist might arrange a trap or ambush when the players try to intercept him/her. Eight: Muscle Flexing: This tactic involves directly showing the players what they're up against. The antagonist will generally pick out a target and pull out all the stops to wreak havoc on it. The more excessive and impressive the damage is, the better. This should convince the players that it would be less than prudent to tangle with him/her. Nine: Demonstration of Power: It is amazing how fast people's attitudes can change when a dragon is standing on their doorstep. A typical demonstration of power would be an army marching through the town where the players are staying; not attacking, but merely scaring the wits out of the townspeople and the players. Ten: Cursed Items: The antagonist will seek to replace the players' normal items with cursed items, or deceive the players into taking cursed items. This can be done many ways (i.e., a shiny cursed sword, carried by an attacker, and recovered as loot). Typical curses are sickness, weakness, clouded minds, and just plain unluckiness. Jack: Befriend: The nefarious antagonist will confront the player's leader, and seek to befriend this person. He/she will use both bribery ("I can make you powerful"), and psychology ("I do what I do for the greater good") in an effort to neutralize the party by gaining their trust or, at least, geting them uninterested in his/her affairs. Queen: Pass the Buck: The antagonist will send a messenger to the party to let the players know that he/she is really a low-level minion in an organization larger than the players can conceive of. The devious antagonist will inform the players that he/she has been forced into their path, and that intervention will make things worse for everyone. Instead, the players should direct their efforts against a third party (probably someone the antagonist is after anyway). King> Disguise and False Leads: The antagonist will disguise himself, or send an undercover servant, and appear to the players. He/She will then offer information to the players. Of course, this information will be totally false, and may even lead them into a trap. Some good disguises are a traveling soothsayer, a gypsy, a peasant, or a traveling merchant. Ace: Challenge: The antagonist has tired of dealing with the players and is ready for a fight! He/she will either challenge the leader of the players to one- on-one combat, or challenge the entire party to combat with his/her followers at a prearranged location. Of course, if the antagonist does not have a strict code of honor, it is possible that he/she may arrange quite a trap for the players. Illuminating the Enemy Quick Rules for Beefing Up Your NPCs Introduction Clubs: Followers Diamonds: Locations Hearts: Tactics and Diplomacy Spades: Magic and Magical Items Back to Shadis #17 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com