If I had a group like this, I would have so much fun with the first one. Player paranoia is one of my favorite toys.
They show up and the ruler is healing children. The ruler hires them to help people constantly, even lets themself be taken hostage to free the previous hostage, a little old lady. But the whole time, they keep speaking in indirect ways, leaving things up to player imagination, which player paranoia would fill with devils and monsters. There’s nothing wrong with them, though. They really are just trying their best to help everyone. It’d be great because I know the players would be shitting themselves trying to figure out what nefarious plan is supported by setting up a hospital, despite there being zero reason to assume there is one.
I’m querying my internal meme database and if I recall weren’t these pictures of before and after Square announced FF VII port for the PS3. Not the remaster, just a playable port. And the pictures are reversed timeline, meaning they were very excited (bottom picture), but then quickly disappointed (top picture) after realized Square pulled a switcharoo? Could be wrong but going crazy with the thought now!
So disappointed they changed clothes and went to a different venue 😉
You always have to package good people with secret shames so suspicious players can gauge how good or evil they are. What people feel they need to hide is a good measure of what they consider acceptable. For example, a lawful good character could be ashamed by ignoring a person asking for help, but a lawful evil character might be ashamed that they indiscriminately murdered adults & children.
the ruler is a sentient kitten made immortal by a witch. it can’t talk but it listens to its advisors and stamps its tiny little pawbeans down on laws that it agrees with
My players favorite ruler they ever met was a crippled, emaciated dwarf king who could barely sit up right while wearing his crown because it was too heavy for his weak neck.
One of my players almost cried when that ruler died at the end of the campaign.
I’m stealing this
Go for it. For more info: He was fairly young, considered wise and intelligent, and beloved by his people. He spoke softly and struggled to stand on his own, and died sacrificing himself for his people. When he was told that his advisor had been shown the future, where the king dies because he stood against the forces of a dark god, he was fine with that future because to him it was better to die standing for others than to live cowering on his throne.
