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Help needed in giving a villain depth
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<blockquote data-quote="VariSami" data-source="post: 6142017" data-attributes="member: 6698543"><p>Hey, great. Just what I need.</p><p></p><p>1. He still considers himself "righteous" which justifies his actions. While he might understand having strayed what from the ideals of good and being tainted as a consequence, he still considers himself a champion of good since his actions result in the destruction of evil. So, in a way, he considers himself good.</p><p></p><p>2. I would say that he is loyal to his backers since they assure the continuation of his crusade. Of course they are evil - but their support is merely one more way evil turns against itself (of course he does not consider his own actions a manifestation of this principle, while they are exactly that). This also means that he needs to answer their demands. Originally the PCs were nothing but collateral but they were also the ones who caused the execution of Plan B which caused the danger of collateral in the first place. The man was ready to have hundreds of Karrnathian civilians die a horrible death (they are dirty followers of the Blood of Vol, after all), so I see him more as a monster who can justify any and all of his actions to himself. So no giving hints except maybe as a real accident.</p><p></p><p>3. When the time for a final showdown finally comes, he will probably question the PCs quest from every angle using his twisted logic of justice. Also, there exists a connection in the form of the Paladin. The paladin already knows someone from the Church is involved as their opponent and it would be easy to have something hint at the possibility that the villain is actually a man from his Order in particular. Since his character is aware of the rumor and I have hinted at Aurum involvement (rings, rings everywhere), they might manage to connect these clues if they realize who they are up against. Also, they still have a ring of communication which is attuned to the villain's ring.</p><p></p><p>4. His backers are actually extremely shallow in their motives. It should come up at some point: they only want the box since they heard that it contains an ancient artifact of unknown power. A pretty artifact at that. It would make an excellent addition to their collection. Of course, it is not really as simple as that: the Aurum are greedy and power-hungry so they realize that the behelit might also help them further their agenda (but the first reason is sufficient in itself). As such, the changeling's mission is actually one commissioned by the Aurum. So, he too is helping the enemy without realizing it. The point of all this is to drive through the indifference towards human life and the twisted hierarchy of values that the enemy has: they are ready to have hundreds killed simply because they want a fancy trinket. They mostly use Ryle Galt because the fallen paladin is effective at having the job done due to his single-minded determination. Since the beginning they have used him to fight against whoever was standing in their way. Could they have just funded the same people without using the paladin? Sure - but they would have missed the opportunity to gain a very capable minion. It was a gamble on their part.</p><p></p><p>Ok, so:</p><p>Not a friendly character (and will not become one unless the situation changes radically); self-righteous ("good"); schemer with a larger plan (although he also misses the fact that he is but a pawn); prone to Hannibal Lectures.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="VariSami, post: 6142017, member: 6698543"] Hey, great. Just what I need. 1. He still considers himself "righteous" which justifies his actions. While he might understand having strayed what from the ideals of good and being tainted as a consequence, he still considers himself a champion of good since his actions result in the destruction of evil. So, in a way, he considers himself good. 2. I would say that he is loyal to his backers since they assure the continuation of his crusade. Of course they are evil - but their support is merely one more way evil turns against itself (of course he does not consider his own actions a manifestation of this principle, while they are exactly that). This also means that he needs to answer their demands. Originally the PCs were nothing but collateral but they were also the ones who caused the execution of Plan B which caused the danger of collateral in the first place. The man was ready to have hundreds of Karrnathian civilians die a horrible death (they are dirty followers of the Blood of Vol, after all), so I see him more as a monster who can justify any and all of his actions to himself. So no giving hints except maybe as a real accident. 3. When the time for a final showdown finally comes, he will probably question the PCs quest from every angle using his twisted logic of justice. Also, there exists a connection in the form of the Paladin. The paladin already knows someone from the Church is involved as their opponent and it would be easy to have something hint at the possibility that the villain is actually a man from his Order in particular. Since his character is aware of the rumor and I have hinted at Aurum involvement (rings, rings everywhere), they might manage to connect these clues if they realize who they are up against. Also, they still have a ring of communication which is attuned to the villain's ring. 4. His backers are actually extremely shallow in their motives. It should come up at some point: they only want the box since they heard that it contains an ancient artifact of unknown power. A pretty artifact at that. It would make an excellent addition to their collection. Of course, it is not really as simple as that: the Aurum are greedy and power-hungry so they realize that the behelit might also help them further their agenda (but the first reason is sufficient in itself). As such, the changeling's mission is actually one commissioned by the Aurum. So, he too is helping the enemy without realizing it. The point of all this is to drive through the indifference towards human life and the twisted hierarchy of values that the enemy has: they are ready to have hundreds killed simply because they want a fancy trinket. They mostly use Ryle Galt because the fallen paladin is effective at having the job done due to his single-minded determination. Since the beginning they have used him to fight against whoever was standing in their way. Could they have just funded the same people without using the paladin? Sure - but they would have missed the opportunity to gain a very capable minion. It was a gamble on their part. Ok, so: Not a friendly character (and will not become one unless the situation changes radically); self-righteous ("good"); schemer with a larger plan (although he also misses the fact that he is but a pawn); prone to Hannibal Lectures. [/QUOTE]
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