I think I have a villain coming up that could fit as a proper antagonist...though I haven't given much thought to an end game.  I often end up building towards one as the game goes on, especially when many, many times the players walk right through their foes without breaking a sweat (even ones at a supposedly impossible CR).<br/><br/>Should I mention when an npc is intended for the players to fight and when the npc is not supposed to be fought?  That sort of feels like storytelling rather than roleplaying...but the alternative is starting a war against the royal guard the moment you walk into town.<br/><br/>A bit of rambling there.  I've got a good enough idea how to proceed so now it's just getting there.