I'd say something like the leader of a Religous order. Imagine the Pope but LE and the nations that bow benefit and the nations that don't suffer.
D&D 5E Building A Campaign Around The BBEG
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
A BBEG that’s a Vampire or Rakshasa seems like would fit here.
Edit, saw later posts, you definitely want a Rakshasa.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
My alt- Earth 17th century had Grand Inqusitor become Pope Innocentus Ferox I uniting the Spiritual authority of the Papacy with the Inquisitions strict fanaticism. He embarks on a campaign to stamp out heresy, enforce orthodoxy and unite all the Catholic monarchs under The Inquisitors Papacy. This begins by gaining the capitulation of Spain thus giving him control of the Spanish Armada and thus the most powerful military in Europe…
Quartz
Hero
How about romance? The BBEG is an immortal evil wizard-king, one of the last of his race. The PCs accidentally (?) discover a magically entrapped woman of the same race who can communicate with them. Naturally, he desires her, and tries to use the PCs' connection to her, so the PCs have to work to protect and / or free her before he can draw her into his clutches. Maybe they have to find a Good member of that race? Maybe she's every bit as evil as he and they have to work against both?
TaranTheWanderer
Legend
Regarding levelling up, I think that should be something that's a difficult moral choice.
I would have the first few levels be free leveling but cap it at something like 5th. This is the most powerful someone can become 'naturally'. (The Most naturally powerful wizards can only cast 3rd level spells, for instance). After that, there are items or amulets that let you become more powerful. Nobody knows how they work but they let you "get the most learning" out of a combat. Or let you understand more difficult spells. That kind of thing. They let people go beyond what a normal mortal can become. They are a training device and status symbol.
Of course, rich people and those under the BBEG all have them. They are some of the most powerful people in the country/world. Maybe it even marks you. This way there are visual cues of how powerful/rich/influential people are.
People know about these amulets and know they are rare. What people don't know is that these amulets steal the souls of defeated enemies. Even those that find out, only use them to steal the souls of animals. . Others are less choosy of whose souls they eat. When the PCs find out how they work, it'll be a tough choice to decide whose souls they choose to steal to further their goals. Maybe the souls of intelligent creatures are the juiciest of souls.
This is all done with xp, of course. Easy!
Furthermore: Magic items are powered by souls.
Furthermore: Potions are created by taking the body parts of creatures and turning them into magic. Want an invisibility potion? Go find some pixies and rip their wings off. Want powerful healing? Find a unicorn and cut it's horn off. Want a cloak of evasion? Skin a displacer beast.
Make this kind of trophy hunting a widely accepted practice. Have alchemists pay money to have adventurers bring them these items.
Basically, magic, taken too far, is destructive and evil. The further they go to destroy the one they hate, the more they learn how power really works and realize how evil the BBEG is and the more they have to become just like him to defeat him.
It would be neat too, if they could keep some xp - maybe up to 500xp - in their amulet and use it to power things. Like, power spells without a spell slot. Or create magic items etc... Then there's incentive to steal the amulets from other people. How far are they willing to go to get these items? Maybe they murder someone for an amulet and its empty.
In any case, the first thing they need to do is acquire an amulet....
I would have the first few levels be free leveling but cap it at something like 5th. This is the most powerful someone can become 'naturally'. (The Most naturally powerful wizards can only cast 3rd level spells, for instance). After that, there are items or amulets that let you become more powerful. Nobody knows how they work but they let you "get the most learning" out of a combat. Or let you understand more difficult spells. That kind of thing. They let people go beyond what a normal mortal can become. They are a training device and status symbol.
Of course, rich people and those under the BBEG all have them. They are some of the most powerful people in the country/world. Maybe it even marks you. This way there are visual cues of how powerful/rich/influential people are.
People know about these amulets and know they are rare. What people don't know is that these amulets steal the souls of defeated enemies. Even those that find out, only use them to steal the souls of animals. . Others are less choosy of whose souls they eat. When the PCs find out how they work, it'll be a tough choice to decide whose souls they choose to steal to further their goals. Maybe the souls of intelligent creatures are the juiciest of souls.
This is all done with xp, of course. Easy!
Furthermore: Magic items are powered by souls.
Furthermore: Potions are created by taking the body parts of creatures and turning them into magic. Want an invisibility potion? Go find some pixies and rip their wings off. Want powerful healing? Find a unicorn and cut it's horn off. Want a cloak of evasion? Skin a displacer beast.
Make this kind of trophy hunting a widely accepted practice. Have alchemists pay money to have adventurers bring them these items.
Basically, magic, taken too far, is destructive and evil. The further they go to destroy the one they hate, the more they learn how power really works and realize how evil the BBEG is and the more they have to become just like him to defeat him.
It would be neat too, if they could keep some xp - maybe up to 500xp - in their amulet and use it to power things. Like, power spells without a spell slot. Or create magic items etc... Then there's incentive to steal the amulets from other people. How far are they willing to go to get these items? Maybe they murder someone for an amulet and its empty.
In any case, the first thing they need to do is acquire an amulet....
So any thoughts on what the weapon of the Ancients you mentioned upthread might be? Would it be required to defeat him or just something to speed the battle along, like the Sunsword in Curse of Strahd?
Since you said the BBEG exists in the open, they could potentially decide to go confront him at any time they've decided they're strong enough. Maybe the BBEG has some form of shield spell that reduces damage and the weapon can dispel it? That way it isn’t essential to winning, but the PCs are at least encouraged to seek out the weapon if they want the extra help.
I haven't thought about that part too deeply, but building a legendary weapon used by Markoth the Mageslayer or whatever should be easy. If that legend is present in the setting, the PCs can choose to try and seek out the tomb, etc... to bring it to bear.
Yup. This is the key to player agency. But One of the resons I want "leveling" to be in-fiction is because I want them to be aware, in character,m that the enemy is powerful.
Again, I want to build a high level statblock after I see what the new MM does for such things. There are lots of options for "don't mess with this guy unless properly prepared!"
Rakshasa usurper pope......
Two potentially relevant media samples here:
If finally sat down and started my GM document:
----------
“In The Shadow of the Stolen Throne”
Campaign Overview
“In The Shadow of the Stolen throne” is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition campaign designed for use with the 2024 rules, as well as additional materials compatible with 5th Edition from various publishers. The campaign will be played via Fantasy Grounds, using Discord for communication and record keeping.
The campaign is intended to be a player driven sandbox with a singular motivating factor among the PCs: the long-serving wizard advisor to the Realm has usurped the throne and murdered the royal family except for a singular heir meant to legitimize his reign, and the PCs have all been wronged (directly or indirectly) by the usurper and swear revenge. The PCs are starting the game as neophytes without the resources or personal power to enact their revenge. Play will be built around what the players choose to do in order to achieve that power, until they decide they can finally face the usurper.
To this end, I will be using a regional map (called “the Autumnlands”) by Dyson Logos and filling it with both randomly generated and published locations, lairs, settlements and mini-adventures. Players may literally do anything they want within the capability of their characters, with the table agreement that their ultimate goal is to eventually take down the usurper. Of course they will develop other goals as time goes on, and relationships with factions and NPCs, and so on. As such, I am going to establish some foundational information and populate the map to some degree, but prep will often happen on an “as needed” basis based on the choices made by the players.
The Rules
We will be using the 2024 5E D&D rulebooks with very limited (if any) player facing supplemental material -- at least at first. It may be as we play that we realize these rules are inferior to other 5E material and we will make adjustments as needed. Initially, though, we will be testing the 2024 rules. Ability scores will be determined using the standard array or point buy, as the player chooses.
----------
“In The Shadow of the Stolen Throne”
Campaign Overview
“In The Shadow of the Stolen throne” is a Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition campaign designed for use with the 2024 rules, as well as additional materials compatible with 5th Edition from various publishers. The campaign will be played via Fantasy Grounds, using Discord for communication and record keeping.
The campaign is intended to be a player driven sandbox with a singular motivating factor among the PCs: the long-serving wizard advisor to the Realm has usurped the throne and murdered the royal family except for a singular heir meant to legitimize his reign, and the PCs have all been wronged (directly or indirectly) by the usurper and swear revenge. The PCs are starting the game as neophytes without the resources or personal power to enact their revenge. Play will be built around what the players choose to do in order to achieve that power, until they decide they can finally face the usurper.
To this end, I will be using a regional map (called “the Autumnlands”) by Dyson Logos and filling it with both randomly generated and published locations, lairs, settlements and mini-adventures. Players may literally do anything they want within the capability of their characters, with the table agreement that their ultimate goal is to eventually take down the usurper. Of course they will develop other goals as time goes on, and relationships with factions and NPCs, and so on. As such, I am going to establish some foundational information and populate the map to some degree, but prep will often happen on an “as needed” basis based on the choices made by the players.
The Rules
We will be using the 2024 5E D&D rulebooks with very limited (if any) player facing supplemental material -- at least at first. It may be as we play that we realize these rules are inferior to other 5E material and we will make adjustments as needed. Initially, though, we will be testing the 2024 rules. Ability scores will be determined using the standard array or point buy, as the player chooses.
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