>the friendly quest giver npc at the start of the campaign

>>52671565
If you give them no reason to doubt the NPC, you're doing it wrong. (And hiding the clues in such a way that the PCs are pretty much sure to miss all of them does not count, either).

The clues should also not be big enough to cast suspicion on the NPC. Then you've been too obvious.

For this to work you need to walk a thin line, a line where the players will go "OH SHIT, that's why x met with y / x always said this or that / that happened!" when you reveal their true nature.

Nope. Use a different plot.
Also, someone is going to post
>BBEG
Ugh
In a minute

>>52671565
>BBEG

Ugh.

>>52671565
>BBEG

No thank you.

>>52671663
>>52671679
>>52671706
>>52671741

>>52671636
You did this.

>>52671565
Big bad big bad evil guy? How evil do you have to be?

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>>52671565
You could do it effectively but you got make sure that any potential hints about the npc's true nature should be extremely subtle.

What is your current set-up to the campaign where you plan on using this twist?

>>52672579
probably 100 burning orphanages worth

>>52671565
I much prefer the twist they did in Anachronox, where the mundane quest given to you at the beginning of the game ends up to be the final quest of the game. I don't think I've seen this anywhere else.

>>52672579
He's a big guy.

>>52671565
>This Fucker

YOU LIED TO ME!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef4aI-Woduc

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>>52671565
They have to see it coming, but don't let them know how.

So Airy from Bravery Default or something?

>>52671616
>For this to work you need to walk a thin line
This.

Because this line is so hard to walk, your plot cannot hang upon the twist or reveal.
You have to plot for all three possibilities:

>1. They spot it in advance, before you can do the reveal.
Now you just have to scramble to make it interesting for them without taking their discovery away from them..

2. They never see any clues you drop and the reveal would seem like unjustified bullshit.
This is the hardest to watch out for, but if you drop hints and they never remember them at all, your reveal is going to seem like it came out of left field.

3. It all goes according to plan.
Congrats if this actually happens.

>>52680441
I meant to add that I tried to do this once and just ended up playing Obi Wan like Hank Scorpio.
When they connected the dots early, they didn't feel betrayed, they just tried to find a solution where they could find another BBEG to send their evil friend after, instead of the good guys.
I went with it.