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Do scenarios need a BBEG?
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<blockquote data-quote="greywulf" data-source="post: 3189923" data-attributes="member: 4285"><p>I was going to add in my two penn'orth, then read the furore higher up this thread, so didn't. I've changed my mind again. Decisive, aren't I? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I don't think a BBEG is needed for every scenario. Sometimes the best scenarios are the ones where the BBEG is a threat in the background, a distant rumble of thunder that annoys the heck out of the players but is untouchable - for now. I'm thinking the Aboleth in it's lair, the Evil Power Behind the Throne or the Half-Fiend Prince. The ones that are too powerful (either level-wise or politically) for the players to touch. That way, when they do finally get to do the asswhupping, it's done with a real sense of achievement by the players.</p><p></p><p>Most of my scenarios run for several sessions, sometimes ten or more. Along that way they'll encounter a variety of challenges that vary in difficulty. I'm not sure I'd call any of them BBEGs though. It's that final, climactic, campaign-changing finale that marks the end of the story arc, and that might only happen after many, many individual scenarios.</p><p></p><p>Mind you, there's nothing wrong with following the BBEG rule. Then you'll know when to break it. I ran a modern CoC game once that <em>started</em> with the players defeating the BBEG serial killer. They then had to race and find where he'd hidden the bodies before they turn into ghouls and decimate the city. I guess that was a BBEG adventure in reverse (not that I thought in those terms at the time) <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="greywulf, post: 3189923, member: 4285"] I was going to add in my two penn'orth, then read the furore higher up this thread, so didn't. I've changed my mind again. Decisive, aren't I? :) I don't think a BBEG is needed for every scenario. Sometimes the best scenarios are the ones where the BBEG is a threat in the background, a distant rumble of thunder that annoys the heck out of the players but is untouchable - for now. I'm thinking the Aboleth in it's lair, the Evil Power Behind the Throne or the Half-Fiend Prince. The ones that are too powerful (either level-wise or politically) for the players to touch. That way, when they do finally get to do the asswhupping, it's done with a real sense of achievement by the players. Most of my scenarios run for several sessions, sometimes ten or more. Along that way they'll encounter a variety of challenges that vary in difficulty. I'm not sure I'd call any of them BBEGs though. It's that final, climactic, campaign-changing finale that marks the end of the story arc, and that might only happen after many, many individual scenarios. Mind you, there's nothing wrong with following the BBEG rule. Then you'll know when to break it. I ran a modern CoC game once that [I]started[/I] with the players defeating the BBEG serial killer. They then had to race and find where he'd hidden the bodies before they turn into ghouls and decimate the city. I guess that was a BBEG adventure in reverse (not that I thought in those terms at the time) :) [/QUOTE]
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