Deceptive Disciple

Basic Information

A Deceptive Disciple is an apparently devoted follower and subordinate of a leader of a religion, school, or other organization - but secretly he has his own agenda and plans to betray the leader. Perhaps he tries to usurp them, or perhaps merely steal their secrets. Killing the leader in the process is optional, but common.

See Also

• A Pupil Of Mine Until He Turned To Evil
• Bastard Understudy
• Betrayal Tropes
• The Paragon Always Rebels
• Stock Characters
• Villain

Sources

Bibliography

1. TV Tropes Wiki entry

Game and Story Use

• A Deceptive Disciple who studied at the same school as one of the PCs makes for a good villain, since he is likely to be quite familiar with the capabilities of the PC - and vice versa.
• If the PCs are dealing with a hierarchical organization, then discovering that there is a Deceptive Disciple among them and identifying him makes for a good investigative adventure - and the PCs might have a hard time because they are not trusted by the other members of the group if they are outsiders.
  • Alternatively, they might have to deal with the aftermath when a Deceptive Disciple has finally revealed himself and is running away with the secrets of the group - now it's a race against time to stop him before he can use those secrets for evil!
• One of these in a Religion of Evil, on the other hand, can be a useful ally for PCs, or a Deus Ex Machina to save them from the consequences of a screw-up.