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How MYTHIC are your bad guys?
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<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 24439" data-attributes="member: 1106"><p>You seem to be taking a "sexual symbolism", perhaps even freudian angle on villainy here. Although I appreciate that such subconcious themes may be present when they confront players, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with the idea of using them as a concious design decision.</p><p></p><p>I think that's purely an oddity of taste on my part - I'm not so hesitant to draw on themes of violence in presenting villains, although I think a villain that appeals to the emotions is the highest form of villainy (e.g. betrayal, arrogance, loss etc.). Other paths you could draw upon for villainy could focus on the villain's actions rather than what they are - after all, the actions define the character in many cases, and could enhance the themes you are presenting.</p><p></p><p>Although I agree that symbols embodied by a villain are useful, I think their role and what they do is more important. A good example of convergence of these two approaches is Lord Soth. He symbolises the fallen knight and the curses that follow the fall from grace. Additionally though, he has the dimension of the story of how he gave in to lust and selfishness when given the chance to prevent the Cataclysm. Without this detail, he would be just another Death Knight archetype - but because of what he is done, he becomes a tragic, fully defined villain.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rounser, post: 24439, member: 1106"] You seem to be taking a "sexual symbolism", perhaps even freudian angle on villainy here. Although I appreciate that such subconcious themes may be present when they confront players, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with the idea of using them as a concious design decision. I think that's purely an oddity of taste on my part - I'm not so hesitant to draw on themes of violence in presenting villains, although I think a villain that appeals to the emotions is the highest form of villainy (e.g. betrayal, arrogance, loss etc.). Other paths you could draw upon for villainy could focus on the villain's actions rather than what they are - after all, the actions define the character in many cases, and could enhance the themes you are presenting. Although I agree that symbols embodied by a villain are useful, I think their role and what they do is more important. A good example of convergence of these two approaches is Lord Soth. He symbolises the fallen knight and the curses that follow the fall from grace. Additionally though, he has the dimension of the story of how he gave in to lust and selfishness when given the chance to prevent the Cataclysm. Without this detail, he would be just another Death Knight archetype - but because of what he is done, he becomes a tragic, fully defined villain. [/QUOTE]
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