Not everyone plans to be the BBEG
Not everyone plans to be the BBEG
Not everyone plans to be the BBEG
My Artificer wants to help people.
That's why he's building out magic-tech that can cyborgify(steampunkify?) animals.
Just because towns don't want rats equipped with eldritch cannons, flamethrowers or healing pulses isn't his fault. Its a stepping stone to putting those things on people.
Unfortunately, your Artificer has accidentally ended up with a sworn enemy: a blue were-hedgehog with a need for speed and a taste for sausage sandwiches topped with chili.
I now need to find a way to shift out the Hermit Crab that turns into his Eldritch Cannon for a mysteriously blue Hedgehog with attitude.
The only thing that can stop a hedgehog is another, edgier, hedgehog.
And if that doesn't work your party can set up a side business saving people from rats equipped with eldritch cannons that seem to be increasingly common