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Arch-Villains in your game?
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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7214814" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>I think this is a clever way to approach an arch villain. It is good to first of all give your arch villain some clear limitations and weaknesses. He has rules he needs to abide. In the case of Saith, he is stuck in his location. In the case of Hydra (the arch villain my current campaign), he is stuck in another dimension, and can only send out his minions to do his bidding. Of course the goal of the minions is to set Hydra free, so there's always a looming threat that the big bad will be released. </p><p></p><p>But another thing this does, is to put the big bad out of reach of the players, until they are actually meant to fight him. He won't accidentally be killed by the players by a lucky roll of the dice; thus forcing the DM to end his campaign early, or be forced to facilitate some way for the big bad to escape. And you definitely don't want to put yourself in the latter position.</p><p></p><p>This supports my number one rule about villains: Never put a villain on the stage, unless you're prepare to have him die. If you present an enemy to the players, they WILL attempt to kill it. So unless you're prepare to let him die right then and there, don't put him on the stage.</p><p></p><p>Another thing I did for my villain, is to make him vulnerable to the power of faith. Whenever you have an arch villain who is basically an invincible god-like being, it becomes important (in my opinion) to establish some rules regarding how gods and faith work. Any evil god-like being is also going to have to deal with the good deities that also exist in the same world. This makes a priest something more than just another class that tosses around spells and hits things with his weapon. He is a character that can invoke various gods, and ward areas against the influence of said evil god-like entity. That makes playing a priest in such a setting far more special and rewarding. You can do incredibly powerful things that no other class can.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7214814, member: 6801286"] I think this is a clever way to approach an arch villain. It is good to first of all give your arch villain some clear limitations and weaknesses. He has rules he needs to abide. In the case of Saith, he is stuck in his location. In the case of Hydra (the arch villain my current campaign), he is stuck in another dimension, and can only send out his minions to do his bidding. Of course the goal of the minions is to set Hydra free, so there's always a looming threat that the big bad will be released. But another thing this does, is to put the big bad out of reach of the players, until they are actually meant to fight him. He won't accidentally be killed by the players by a lucky roll of the dice; thus forcing the DM to end his campaign early, or be forced to facilitate some way for the big bad to escape. And you definitely don't want to put yourself in the latter position. This supports my number one rule about villains: Never put a villain on the stage, unless you're prepare to have him die. If you present an enemy to the players, they WILL attempt to kill it. So unless you're prepare to let him die right then and there, don't put him on the stage. Another thing I did for my villain, is to make him vulnerable to the power of faith. Whenever you have an arch villain who is basically an invincible god-like being, it becomes important (in my opinion) to establish some rules regarding how gods and faith work. Any evil god-like being is also going to have to deal with the good deities that also exist in the same world. This makes a priest something more than just another class that tosses around spells and hits things with his weapon. He is a character that can invoke various gods, and ward areas against the influence of said evil god-like entity. That makes playing a priest in such a setting far more special and rewarding. You can do incredibly powerful things that no other class can. [/QUOTE]
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