Villains and Families

[S'mon]

I think that may depend on who you're calling villains in the real world. Your typical serial killer, if I recall correctly, is usually single.

We seem to have plenty of married serial killers in the UK, like Fred & Rose West.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Is it just me, or does it seem that villains rarely if ever have families? And when they do, usually their children are full grown and serve as underlings of the villain or allies of the players. I mean, in the real world, almost all villains have spouses (sometimes more than one; maybe polygamy and D&D could be a forked thread) and children...

This is something that just struck me when I was trying to think up an idea for an example villain for a sort of 101 Strong Female Characters thread. I have become more of a Pathfinder person, so I was thinking of a female human cavalier in her early or mid thirties, with young or youngish children, between maybe 8 and 17, as a starting point.

And to ask the obligatory paladin question: should a paladin avoid killing a parent in front of their young child(ren) if possible?

I would say yes, the paladin would attempt to not kill a parent in front of the children, if possible.

In terms of using family:

In my last campaign, the BBEG from the first leg of the campaign was a married man who was a cleric in a religion dedicated to slavery & tyranny. One of the PCs in the group had a background that he was an escaped slave from the evil theocracy where this cleric was from. However, as a 'secret' part of his background, he was also sent into this theocracy as a spy and worked in the household of a noble there... who, of course, turned out to be this BBEG. (the PC was a cooking slave in their home, and this guy maxed out his cooking skills in game...)

The BBEG was sort of a young prodigy in the church - a rising star who was rapidly climbing the church's strict hierarchy. His wife was an ambitious young woman who had some minor arcane casting ability and was known throughout the theocracy as maybe the second most beautiful woman in the nation. She latched onto his rising star, while he thought her beauty made her the perfect compliment to his future as a possible head of the church.

After the players defeated the cleric in an epic encounter (2 PCs died and one was rescued a round away from death, not to mention an NPC ally getting flattened...), the BBEG's wife's (Selwyn) fortunes took a turn for the worse, since her now dead husband had both died and failed the church. So, she lost her status in the church overnight.

After this battle, the PCs were revealed to be heroes out of prophecy who were destined to oppose the evil god of tyranny & slavery. Selwyn then took to studying magic more seriously after this, in an attempt to get revenge on the PCs, and especially, her former cooking slave. If she could defeat the heroes of prophecy, Selwyn could restore her status in the church.

So, she gathered together a band of evil companions - including some that had been defeated/run off the PCs as well - and ambushed them several levels later. She was invisible and cast "Trap the Soul" on her former cooking slave to start the combat... but, unfortunately for her, the PC made his saving throw (barely) and a big combat ensued in which Selwyn and her companions were all killed.

Thus the house of Erdim ended with Selwyn's death only a few months after her husband's Torvin Erdim died.

 

[Umbran]

We seem to have plenty of married serial killers in the UK, like Fred & Rose West.

*shrug* I speak only of my understanding of the general profile. Not to say that married ones don't exist, but they are, as I understand it, typically rare.

 

[jefgorbach]

Depends on the villains role/occupation. Corrupted church officials, necromancers, serial killers and the like are typically unmarried individuals whereas tyrannical despots, crime lords, power-hungry sheriffs/tax collectors, and used car/insurance salesmen typically have the misguided support of loving families.

BTW, would the paladin actively working to overthrow the local Tyrant for the supposed "good" of the people (unconcerned how the resulting collateral damage and power-vacuum will affect their lives) the Good Guy or the Villain???

 

[Mark CMG]

I wonder if Sauron's third cousin made costume jewelry.

 

[Umbran]

I wonder if Sauron's third cousin made costume jewelry.

I'm thinking the Silmarils count as being a bit above costume jewelry

 

[Pentius]

*shrug* I speak only of my understanding of the general profile. Not to say that married ones don't exist, but they are, as I understand it, typically rare.

Yeah, usually one spouse is a wet blanket and turns you in after just one murder. It takes a special kind of partner to stick with you long enough to gain the "serial" title.

 

[Squire James]

I wonder if Sauron's third cousin made costume jewelry.

No, he made fireworks. And another third cousin made Uruk-Hai...

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I wonder if Sauron's third cousin made costume jewelry.

Yeah, he was really good at it too. That's why he was called the Lord of the Bling.