RPGMemes

Great old ones can be very friendly. I always understood them as having motivations largely beyond human understanding.

"INSTRUMENT OF MY WILL, YOU MUST SWITCH THE HEALING POTION ON THE SHELF WITH A POISON."

Like a week later the governor's butler gets injured, dies from poison instead of being healed, the store closes and the owner is arrested, the stock goes on clearance sending ripples through the potion economy, and the new butler influences the governor's choices through subtle changes around the mansion.

Actual end result goal: Topiary in the mansion garden gets cut in such a way that it slowly dies, serving as a false portent to some other cult.

The rest is just setting up other potential threads that could be pulled by the old one.

"GO STARTLE THAT BIRD"

"BUY A BOQUET OF TULIPS FROM THE FLORIST"

"PET THE DOG"

Just small, subtle pushes to events, at leaat until things reach "endgame". Shift a few pieces of reality and cause and effect here and there, as everything aligns. Not worth rushing things when you don't necessarily experience time in a linear fashion.