Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Help my players are smarter then me!!
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Barastrondo" data-source="post: 5700066" data-attributes="member: 3820"><p>Another vote for "always have more villains." I favor villains who are often parts of an organization*, or who have ties and allegiances to other villains either actual or potential. If the PCs suss out a villain quickly and cut him out of the picture, awesome: but if he was a ranking member of an assassin's guild, that doesn't mean I have to abandon all those assassin stat blocks and miniatures I've got waiting in the wings. His lieutenant may take over, or his lover, or whomever; not only are there still assassins to be fought but now it's <em>personal</em>. </p><p></p><p>The Big Reveal is very tempting to any GM, but as baskets go, I wouldn't put all my eggs in it. Sometimes it won't play out. It's always good to have a backup plan of More Interesting Things going on in the setting. </p><p></p><p></p><p>*You know what players love? Numbered villains. <em>Ninja Scroll</em>'s Eight Devils of Kimon, the Forty Thieves, the Five Deadly Venoms. Make up groups like The Right Hand (a group of five), the Nine Knights of Hell, the Slaughterer Six. Players love the sense of progression they get every time they pick one of them off, and they delightedly pore over their checklists to see who to go after next. It's a fun and easy technique for getting players to get proactive. And if they kill one of your guys early, there's still several more left -- and the remaining villains will step it up all the more readily. And maybe even go on a recruitment drive if the heroes aren't fast enough.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Barastrondo, post: 5700066, member: 3820"] Another vote for "always have more villains." I favor villains who are often parts of an organization*, or who have ties and allegiances to other villains either actual or potential. If the PCs suss out a villain quickly and cut him out of the picture, awesome: but if he was a ranking member of an assassin's guild, that doesn't mean I have to abandon all those assassin stat blocks and miniatures I've got waiting in the wings. His lieutenant may take over, or his lover, or whomever; not only are there still assassins to be fought but now it's [I]personal[/I]. The Big Reveal is very tempting to any GM, but as baskets go, I wouldn't put all my eggs in it. Sometimes it won't play out. It's always good to have a backup plan of More Interesting Things going on in the setting. *You know what players love? Numbered villains. [I]Ninja Scroll[/I]'s Eight Devils of Kimon, the Forty Thieves, the Five Deadly Venoms. Make up groups like The Right Hand (a group of five), the Nine Knights of Hell, the Slaughterer Six. Players love the sense of progression they get every time they pick one of them off, and they delightedly pore over their checklists to see who to go after next. It's a fun and easy technique for getting players to get proactive. And if they kill one of your guys early, there's still several more left -- and the remaining villains will step it up all the more readily. And maybe even go on a recruitment drive if the heroes aren't fast enough. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Help my players are smarter then me!!
Top