No one’s entirely good and no one’s entirely bad, and sometimes, bad people do good things. Usually, we’re all just normal people with failings who make mistakes. Sometimes we talk about redemption—but what are we redeeming? Most religions accept that people won’t be able to live up the tenets.
And it’s just fun sometimes to subvert expectations. The hero isn’t an anti-hero, just a person who made a mistake. This isn’t redemption, they’re not a bad person trying to atone, they’re just a person who can’t ignore suffering when they have the means to alleviate it.
Story
The PCs encounter a village on the edge of ruin. Its residents almost entirely succumbed to a plague, but were saved by a Witch who happened to be passing through. The Witch didn’t want to stop—they were on the run—but couldn’t leave these people to the merciless plague. Further, though the Witch hasn’t discovered the source of the plague, they believe it is in the vicinity of the village, and if they don’t find it, it might spread. Unfortunately, they might not have time to even save the village let along stop the plague, because the Thugs to whom the Witch owes a massive debt have almost arrived, and they are not the type to abandon a big stack of coins even for all the lives of in the village.
Places
The Village: It’s not exactly out of the way, but it’s also not on the most travelled route. It’s offseason, and the Village is on the route that leads to the main market town in the region. In a few weeks, hundreds of people will pass this way every month as they travel to and then from the main market.
The Cave: You knew there’d be a cave. It’s a bad cave. In the cave is something terrible. The terrible thing can be as concrete or as abstract as you would like it to be, but it is the source of the plague. It might be a real plague—a virus or something else that we would recognize with our modern science. It might be supernatural. The PCs might help the Witch find it, or they might buy them the time to find it.
People
The Witch: They definitely aren’t an evil witch, but they’re also not exactly a good witch. They are actually a gambling addict, though they are working very hard to overcome that. They are also working very hard to overcome the massive debt they have accumulated with the Thugs. They first thought they could get far enough away that the Thugs wouldn’t follow them, but then they had to save the Village. Just can’t get a break.
The Thugs: These are not nice people. They are greedy, violent bullies who intend to make an example of the Witch. They don’t care about plagues—like most people with wealth and privilege, they figure they can find a way to avoid it, that they need not suffer the indignities imposed on other people. Other people like the Witch.
Events
The Collapse: The Witch has been doing this all by themself. It is physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. One of their body’s responses—once the PC are there and might be able to assist—is to shutdown. The Witch is exhausted on many levels. For a few moments, the PCs will be the ones holding back the tide, being given a glimpse of what the Witch has been doing. It is harrowing. The Witch might not be a saint, but they are doing a saint’s work.
The Confrontation: You know there’s going to be one. The Thugs want the Witch. At this point, it’s not even about the money. It’s now about being denied something. The Thugs both want to make an example of the Witch and also to exercise their power—prove they are the most powerful and most important. It’s important to note, they’re not. They’re not either.