1- Is a must, if the relationship isnt explained and built up first its a nonstarter. That is the main reason FMC is usually bad.
2- I agree here in most cases, but I am a big fan of instant loss. like -
You must be registered to see the links
But its more of just a quick start to the corruption and not the finished product.
3- This one can go both ways, I enjoy the guy slowly noticing the small changes and starting to get suspicious but never finding anything and letting his guard down. But I also like where he just gets blind sided with it in the end. Like in Leane 2 where after about 2hrs of playing the tedious combat (i was about to drop the game), I go back to the castle and the King is fucking the MCs companies who hated the king before out of nowhere. lol