James Jacobs
Adventurer
Another thing that helps make a great villain is great art. Humans are visual creatures, and if a villain has bad (or no) art, his chances of becoming wildly popular dramatically reduce.
Are only high level monsters memorable? [Spoilers]
- Thread starter Glyfair
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Glyfair
Explorer
James Jacobs said:
I will agree that it helps. The "Chimes at Midnight" villain, to pick my favorite example, has great art that conveys his personality. Having the transformed version in "Quoth the Raven" would have been great. I understand why the more central characters took precedence, though.
Last edited:
ShadowDenizen
Explorer
I agree.
And (to your credit) I think the AP's have steadily grown better in terms of the visual style.
And art work for allies, too.
The majority of our group (who are normally QUITE suspicious of potential employers) had ZERO qualms about agreeing to help Lavinia in the STAP, after I showed them her picture. (Indeed, many commented it was the best piece of art they had seen in a player's handout.)
James Jacobs
Adventurer
Glyfair said:
Actually...Viktor is illustrated in Quoth the Raven. He's a little worse for the wear, though. He's supposed to be the dude in the wheelchair.
BEWARE! SPOILERS FOR SAVAGE TIDE AND AGE OF WORMS BELOW!
What makes a great villain? Great, memorable interactions with the PCs. Lots of screen time.
Thus, Obmi, from G3, can be a great villain. He is introduced to the PCs as a captive, and only gradually do you realise his complicity in the giant raids. He has time to interact with the PCs.
I had a dwarf - Alberich of the Frost Dwarves - in my Ulek campaign and he was really memorable because he always escaped. He'd always appear with minions, and sacrifice them to keep himself save. He'd taunt the heroes, and appeared time after time after time. At the point when the PCs finally killed him... fantastic!
Great villains come primarily through play. It's harder to point at a Dungeon Magazine villain and say, "that's memorable", but the structure of the adventure works for it.
Lashonna was great. So is Vanthus (in Savage Tide). With Lashonna, you have plenty of time hearing about her, finding her, then interacting with her... and then you realise she's a traitor. Vanthus, you hear about a lot before you meet him, but his actions are very evident in the evidence he leaves behind...
Smenk is very much dependent on the DM, because the adventures don't give him enough screen time. Really, there is a great campaign to be run in Diamond Lake around all the mine bosses, and it's unfortunate we didn't get it in Age of Worms.
Cheers!
What makes a great villain? Great, memorable interactions with the PCs. Lots of screen time.
Thus, Obmi, from G3, can be a great villain. He is introduced to the PCs as a captive, and only gradually do you realise his complicity in the giant raids. He has time to interact with the PCs.
I had a dwarf - Alberich of the Frost Dwarves - in my Ulek campaign and he was really memorable because he always escaped. He'd always appear with minions, and sacrifice them to keep himself save. He'd taunt the heroes, and appeared time after time after time. At the point when the PCs finally killed him... fantastic!
Great villains come primarily through play. It's harder to point at a Dungeon Magazine villain and say, "that's memorable", but the structure of the adventure works for it.
Lashonna was great. So is Vanthus (in Savage Tide). With Lashonna, you have plenty of time hearing about her, finding her, then interacting with her... and then you realise she's a traitor. Vanthus, you hear about a lot before you meet him, but his actions are very evident in the evidence he leaves behind...
Smenk is very much dependent on the DM, because the adventures don't give him enough screen time. Really, there is a great campaign to be run in Diamond Lake around all the mine bosses, and it's unfortunate we didn't get it in Age of Worms.
Cheers!
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