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GameMastery Guide / Nonplayer Characters / Villains / Playing Villains

Hands-On Management

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 93
Spells like detect evil are the bane of any villain whose identity needs to be a surprise. There are spells and magic items that can conceal a character’s alignment and even make an evil character appear to be good, but the greatest defense is a crowd. At a royal court, for example, there should be a cross-section of people, many of them neutral. Inevitably, though, some will be evil or chaotic. Are the PCs going to scan the alignment of everyone in the castle, or the city? What will they do about those who read as chaotic or evil? If the villain keeps his head down, it could take the PCs forever to work through the list of suspects— time which the true villain can use to great advantage.