If you watched Babylon 5 back in the day, you remember Mister Morden, played by Ed Wasser. He visited several prominent characters, including Londo Mollari, G'Kar, and Delenn. He asked, "What do you want?" and he implied that his allies could provide what was wanted.
I'm reviewing Kingmaker's latter volumes, and I think that the span from early Blood for Blood to late in War of the River Kings makes an excellent spot for this sort of character to show up. My vision:
Thaddeus Billerven, a Lawful Evil halfling inquisitor of Asmodeus. He's a native of Cheliax. He's quite wealthy, and he travels in a manner befitting his status: He's usually accompanied by a retinue that includes at least a couple hihg-visibility bodyguards (possibly Hellknights), two scribes, two valets, a cook, bard, a few footmen, and so forth. Although he's going to set off a dozen alarms in any paladin who Detects Evil, Thaddeus isn't a moustache-twirling paragon of evil. Rather, he's faultlessly polite and possessed of a sophisticated, highbrow sense of humor.
Unlike some followers of Asmodeus, Thaddeus is (at least somewhat) honest in whom he serves. He openly shares his allegiance with anybody, and rather enjoys religious and other debates. In such venues, Thaddeus focuses on the punishment of the guilty, the virtues of envy, and the need for flexibility when genteel methods fail, and the need to wield power ruthlessly against injustice, then seek retribution for those injustices ...
But, Thaddeus has a mission. Thaddeus specifically seeks out powerful people who will soon face difficulty. If they are worthy, he will offer them the assistance of his patrons. The "worthy," in turn, are only those who have something of value (or that will be of value) to offer his patrons. Thaddeus offers aid only to the very wealthy, or to powerful lords, and only after he determines that they are both ambitious and a little desperate. He gets to know his targets well, interacting with them often, perhaps even lending them aid from his own not inconsiderable resources.
Then, if they are worthy, Thaddeus makes an offer: true power, real aid, capable of making a difference in his target's life ... if you'll just sign this contract. If a target agrees to the contract, they certainly gain aid. But they also become indebted to the Bloodfire Cooperative.
Who Is the Bloodfire Cooperative?:
The Bloodfire Cooperative is a coterie of six ambitious contract devils who traffic in mortal souls. These six devils correctly reasoned that while they are not incredibly powerful individually, they nevertheless have quite a bit of power as a group. Moreover, by pooling their resources and abilities, they have accrued a great deal of power by trading favors with other devils. The Bloodfire Cooperative has even become something of a power and information broker in the Underworld, executing complex trades involving favors, secrets, mortal souls, and raw power.
Thaddeus worships Asmodeus (obviously), but he's also made his own deal with the devils, as it were. As part of this deal, he seeks out powerful individuals and persuades them to sign over their souls to the Bloodfire Cooperative in exchange for power. Traveling through the politically fraught Galt and the River Kingdoms, Thaddeus has had a great deal of success on the Cooperative's behalf.
And now he has set his sights on the player characters ...
The Plan:
If you plan to use Thaddeus, you could sprinkle a few seeds early on. Perhaps Grigori or Lily Teskerton is an agent of Thaddeus, or perhaps Thaddeus anonymously sends the players some important bits of info at key points in the narrative.
In any case, the players first come to Thaddeus's attention sometime during the events of Rivers Run Red. Thaddeus would have seen them as potential marks to keep an eye on, but not completely worthy of his attention. As the players grow the newest River Kingdom, Thaddeus will keep a closer eye on them. Such ambition, needless to say, is Thaddeus's bread and butter. Once the players take down Vordekai -- an especially impressive feat -- Thaddeus will begin to think the players are worth his time, provided their deeds show that their ambition outstrips their virtue. And even if they are virtuous, Thaddeus may decide that he could overcome that little hurdle ...
Thaddeus should approach the players directly sometime during Blood for Blood. If the players are on the edge of a shooting war (as it were) with Fort Drelev, they might be looking for whatever help they can get. At this point, Thaddeus shouldn't offer the Bloodfire Cooperative contract at this point. Rather, he should offer his own services -- information, some spellcasting, or calling in a couple favors from the River Kingdoms -- to help the PCs accomplish some goal. Thaddeus knows that at this point, it's too early to present them with a contract. Such relationships must be built over time, after all.
Thaddeus can be a presence in the players' kingdom through the end of Blood for Blood and into War of the River Kings. Thaddeus should make the Bloodfire Cooperative offer sometime in War or Sound of a Thousand Screams. Infernal aid in exchange for the player characters' immortal souls ... and some other, more immediate thing as well. The exact terms of the contract are, of course, up to GM and player. But they could include:
From the Cooperative:
* Giving players the devilbound template.
* Devilish servitors, or even a small army of low-level devils.
* A powerful magic item.
From the players:
* Desecrating shrines to Erastil
* Making Asmodeus-worship the official religion of their kingdom.
* Conquering a neighboring kingdom and giving it to Thaddeus or other agents of the Cooperative.
Now, if your players are good little heroes, they're probably going to refuse Thaddeus's offer. If that happens, Thaddeus could do any number of things. But Thaddeus is certainly not going to attack them out of spite. After all, if they don't want the Cooperative's assistance, there are plenty others who do.
Some possible uses for Thaddeus:
* He could pull the strings in either Drelev's attack on the PCs, or in Irovetti's aggression against the kingdom.
* The Bloodfire Cooperative (with Thaddeus as its agent) could become a behind-the-scenes villain for action after (or during!) the Kingmaker campaign.
Some DMs here on the board have proposed an alternate view on Irovetti's involvment in the campaign.
It has been suggested that the King of Pitax learned about Nyrissa's menace and is on a mission to unite the Stolen Lands and keep the sword Briar from the hands of the fey queen. In this scenario, Irovetti sees the PCs as rebels who refuse to submit to him and endanger the lands he's out to protect.
That seems like an individual who could be desperate enough to seek infernal aid...
Some DMs here on the board have proposed an alternate view on Irovetti's involvment in the campaign.
It has been suggested that the King of Pitax learned about Nyrissa's menace and is on a mission to unite the Stolen Lands and keep the sword Briar from the hands of the fey queen. In this scenario, Irovetti sees the PCs as rebels who refuse to submit to him and endanger the lands he's out to protect.
That seems like an individual who could be desperate enough to seek infernal aid...
I've actually played with that plotline myself ...
