So I've been running a campaign for a while now, and we are starting to wrap it up. We're getting to a point where I will be revealing the identity of a mysterious individual who has been causing trouble throughout the campaign.
This campaign started out with them trying to discover who this person is, and so far they have been unable to identify them. I am planning on the players getting trapped where the individual will reveal their identity.
My question is how I should do this. The way my sessions are structured it would be best to do the reveal at the beginning or end of a session. Should I end the session right as they are about to learn the identity and then reveal it at the beginning of the next session, or should I reveal the identity and then end the session?
Thanks for your input. And the reason i am being so vague is because some of my players use the boards and I don't want to give anything away if they find this thread.
Depends on your players. Are they going to derail the game for three hours to talk about it? Are they the type to value serious RPing? Are you afraid of them reacting really recklessly? ("OMG it's archmageduke BBEG, quick, fireball him RIGHT NOW before he somehow escapes again!") Do you want them to act recklessly?
Player's reactions will likely become more toned down the longer they have to think about the realization, make plans, get used to the idea of yes, that guy was them all along. What would be a crazy-surprising betrayal one day won't be treated with a lot of IC shock a week later, although what reactions are RPed may well be a little more dramatic and better thought out.
Another consideration - how steady is interest in your campaign? If you already need to nag your players to attend regularly, then you probably want to go for session end to use that suspense to your advantage.
Broken Zenith has put up Guide to Guides, you can go to guide to class guides to find the link. Near the bottom ere are GM guides for this kind of thing.
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At the end of the session. You get a good cliff hanger, the players have a chance to talk about it without disrupting the flow of the game, and you end the session on an interesting beat.
That's my take, but I don't think you can go wrong either way.
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Pull an Aladdin.
"Remember that shop merchant who sold you that thing that sent you on this quest? Well, he has more to sell- like your doom!!!"
You could be a complete asshat and trap the players, and put them into an arena with several disguised/mirror imaged baddies that look the like the bad guy, then when all are defeated have the big bad come out and say something akin to "Well, now you've had your fill attempting to kill me- let's try it for real this time!"
WHAT is our mastermind here? Any definite on his class? Any long standing signs of his presence (ie- does he routinely mind control people; silent assassinations; BIG FREAKIN' CLEAR OUTS OF ENTIRE GARRISONS WITH NO SURVIVORS TO TELL THE TALE?) that would determine his class?
What do you have planned for him already, and what can you get away with changing without it feeling like it isn't actually connected to the previous events?
As a general rule, I like mesmerists for masterminds. They are great at using magic to manipulate people, and they have a nice 'get out of 1hko free cards' with illusions and tricks like faked death and spatial switch. Very useful if you want to have someone that sticks around.
As a general rule, I like mesmerists for masterminds. They are great at using magic to manipulate people, and they have a nice 'get out of 1hko free cards' with illusions and tricks like faked death and spatial switch. Very useful if you want to have someone that sticks around.
I was thinking about something like this for a BBEG on my campaign. Do you happen to have any that you have used in the past around 10-12 I could look at for ideas?
As a general rule, I like mesmerists for masterminds. They are great at using magic to manipulate people, and they have a nice 'get out of 1hko free cards' with illusions and tricks like faked death and spatial switch. Very useful if you want to have someone that sticks around.I was thinking about something like this for a BBEG on my campaign. Do you happen to have any that you have used in the past around 10-12 I could look at for ideas?
I am more of an armchair theorist, unfortunately.
I have toyed with a one big hit build with a half orc (a race that comes built in with plenty of reasons to become a backstage manipulator; I can think of a dozen different backstories... and he will use all of them with his bluff check as the need comes up). Since painful stare only procs once, grabbing power attack+furious focus wouldn't go to bad just to make it a really good one hit. Intense pain is always a favorite feat as well. Going melee... it isn't the most damaging class, but it can bring a large enough hit that the party has to worry about getting sniped with a charge when they are weakened by minors. Having a couple of expendable glass canons with pounce can certainly end up with someone going into the negatives.
A melee build can also throw off the party- who expects the brave young knight in mithral breastplate and with a longsword is the master enchanter? You can have him fight right infront o the party, and they will only think he is a lower level cavalier (Can you tell the difference between challenge an painful stare in character?)
As previously stated, Cunning caster is also rather great as a psychic caster. So that the the deceiful prerequisite seem like shoe ins if you are going to pull this off in front of the party.
Besides those kinds of considerations, it wouldn't be too off to follow the lead of enchantment/illusion bards for spells, and just pick the nice 'gotcha' mesmerist tricks from the guides.