>The Main Villain has a powerful propaganda engine Should

The BBEG can, and should, be allowed to have is propaganda work if they have it.
Don't let it be a set piece.

>>52869179
Yes.
You should read about Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and compare it to with the invasion of Afghanistan.
Afghans didn't read that Soviet Army is huge and indestructible in contrast to Czechoslovakians who were taught that in school and told so on the news

>>52869206
>bbeg

Ugh.

I once had a villain lie to the players about their plans. They held onto that lie no matter how many other NPCs told them it was ridiculous.

Misinformation to the players is rarely worth it in the long run, because they need to trust the GM, and can't really make any important moves without strong conviction.'

>>52870353
I mean their needs to be a point where it's trust a gm and not believing every Npc you run into. If evrything your npcs say is 100% true that leaves no room for any intrigue

File: bbeg.png (220KB, 500x372px) Image search: [Google]

220KB, 500x372px

>>52869288

>>52869288
It worked!

>>52870353
My players do trust me. But they also know it would be moronic to trust every character I throw their way. Especially after I made fun of them for murdering a bunch of people just because a pretty girl they had never met asked them to, even after it had been made abundantly clear she was suspicious.

>>52870353
That's what sense motive is for.
If the players believe a lie, that's their fault for not rolling high enough, not investing in wisdom enough, or simply not making checks often enough.

Back in my day, when players got hit by a trap, it wasn't because the DM hated them, but because they were not being careful enough.

Absolutely. But keep throwing things at them that will test their faith and trust. This is good story development. Inner conflict and all that great stuff.

>>52869179
>powerful propaganda engine

It's a lot better if this is actually really bad.

>>52869179
I think it should. It would explain how he remains in power. Leaders who are hated by their own people usually don't last long, and even then coups usually succeed because (most of) the army stops caring enough to stop the coup from happening.

The BBEG (unless he's leading some inhuman force like demons or the undead) should be praised, or at least tolerated, by the average folk. Bonus points if the PCs know how rotten he truly is but nobody believes them.

>>52869216
60s Soviet Union is differet than 80s Sovet Union