Exploring a villain based on the sunk cost fallacy

Sep 8 in Advice

The idea: players are hired to run a line of wire, strung on poles, from a monastery to a distant town along their route. They'll be paid ten gold for every km they cover, and a 500g bonus if they get there within a reasonable time frame. Frank the Overseer is sent with them as the monk's representative. As they travel the money they stand to make rises higher and higher, but Frank's demands become ever more bold - whatever it takes to get the wire done on time. Think of the train track being laid in Once Upon A Time In The West. So at some point the players have to ask themselves, "do we do bad things to finish the job, or do we walk and lose it all?" Along the way there could be townsfolk that welcome them, homesteaders that refuse to let the line through (uh oh), animal dangers, engineering puzzles, and all the while the villain of the piece is travelling *under their protection*. What say you?

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