Hi there,
My adventure is a bit too vanilla. The two BBEG are a lich and an antipaladin of a murderous god. Not very original;-)
The PCs are tied to a noble house in the country the BBEGs are trying to conquer. Once again nothing new here.
What I need is an interference by and outside (not necessarily outsider) force that in someway will be affected by the upcoming war.
Best something non-evil to stand opposed to the BBEGs whom is really evil. They still however need to be a complication for the PCs.
Thanks for the help
Goblin "army" (read: mob of pyromaniacal anarchists with hearts of coal) pours out of the mountains/ hills/ landfills. Trick here is: why?
What about introducing a third party of more neutrally aligned types that want the PCs cooperation to capture the BBEGs (or some of their minions) to torture them for information, get the location of some powerful weapon, etc. They should be willing to "coerce" the PCs to a certain degree if they don't cooperate, which can turn them into allies OR more bad guys depending on the PCs choice.
This is vague, but it would give the PCs another track. Be totally incorruptibly good, or save the kingdom but profit by it in a not-completely-good way. The third party could be a lying bunch of schemers that are only out to "use" the PCs to their benefit, and perhaps have designs on the kingdom itself which is only revealed at a later time.
There is a famous general who was (long ago) an officer in the service of the army commanded by the lich when he was still human. This general is old, but he knows how capable his former lord is of great evil, and he knows the lich's methods. He also bears a rather intense and personal grudge against the antipaladin, who is his former son-in-law.
This general marches at the head of an army. He will burn down towns rather than let the lich-lord control them. "We had to destroy the town to save it." He has enough wealth to hire very good magic-users and adventurers of his own, and will not hesitate to threaten, harass, raid or even imprison the PC's if they make it onto his radar.
His intent is to deprive the lich-lord of every single resource, undermine every plan, destroy every ally. He is a Force Majeur, and the local ruler and nobility respect and fear him (and help keep him supplied).
The PC's may encounter his troops in the countryside or in various towns, or in specific adventure-points. They may be captured and interrogated, they may have their property confiscated. "These horses and weapons are now the property of His Honor The General, lest they fall into the wrong hands."
Is he the enemy? Not exactly. He trusts no one, and will never believe anyone understands what a threat this lich-lord and his antipaladin represent. He would never trust any part of his own plans to anyone else , and at best, the PC's avoid him, and use him like a powerful piece on a chessboard while they achieve their own goals.
Suppose a major religious order serving the anti-paladin's god sees him as a terrible heretic; maybe they also disapprove of undead (involving the lich as well). They organize a crusade that could do one of these things:
1) If they are successful, they would clearly be a bigger threat than the lich and anti-paladin (once they have those two's resources in hand)--better for the heroes to neutralize them now, or betray them in the final battle?
2) This order has weapons or an artifact that absolutely must not fall to the BBGs if the assault fails--and being nutcases, their planned assault is clearly (to the PCs) doomed to fail.
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When it doubt toss in a red herring, lead your pcs on a merry chase into a dead end.
Things come in Threes even BBEG's, add a third arch-enemy who is less obvious to the party maybe a neutral who is a darker shade of grey, or perhaps a villain who helps the PCs with the intent to Kill the lich and the anti-paladin and become the real BBEG.
When in doubt add some shades of grey to your bad guys, give them some humanity, make their reasons for doing bad less black and white.
Perhaps the PCs find a unknown and unknowable patron aiding them; giving them clues and helping them track down and face the lich. Little do they know that the person helping them is the Lich. Knowing time would erode his mind and warp his humanity prior to becoming a lich he created a fail safe using his vast wealth and magic to ensure his madness would be thwarted.
Perhaps the PCs find a unknown and unknowable patron aiding them; giving them clues and helping them track down and face the lich. Little do they know that the person helping them is the Lich. Knowing time would erode his mind and warp his humanity prior to becoming a lich he created a fail safe using his vast wealth and magic to ensure his madness would be thwarted.
This is actually a neat idea. Perhaps the lich is staging his own "destruction" so that his legend will live on, and everyone will think him vanquished. The PC's will be hailed as heroes, but he's really used them to assure his own safety.
Loving it!
While plotting against the BBEGs, it becomes known to the heroes than a mysterious ally or ritual or artefact could help them not only destroy those enemies but vainquish the antipaladin's god once and for all. But the specific kind of magic needed for that is prohibited by the noble house's tradition. The players have to chose and are given a glimpse of possibilities of Epic adventures; if they take the bait, a lot of taking sides occurs in the noble house and who knows what happens?
My basic assumption is that: whatever obstacle you had, it must be seen by the players as an opportunity until they are knee-deep into it, and then they see all the issues involved. If not, they might see it as the GM trying to keep them from getting to their objective because it's not the time, i.e. Deus ex machina. Appeal to the characters' motivations.