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<blockquote data-quote="Lord Zardoz" data-source="post: 4133427" data-attributes="member: 704">I have to techniques that I presently prefer.The first is to simply have the players hear about him often, typically by description, long before they see him.&nbsp; If they hear about the man in the blood red cloak with black cowl covering his face for a few games, they will respond with predictible enthusiasm once he makes his appearance.The second part is to spend more time working on the villains escape plan then his combat plan, and then have him show up in a fight and survive.&nbsp; I do not use an escape where the PC's cannot interrupt.&nbsp; If an NPC shows up, brings the pain for a few rounds and then escapes, and does so using the same rules as the PC's would have to, it generally gets their attention.Right now the most effective villain NPC I have that is active in my game is Koth from the Red Hand of Doom (adventure is still ongoing).&nbsp; He basically caused huge problems for my players in the fight that introduced him.&nbsp; He blinded the sorcerer and an NPC rogue.&nbsp; He put the cleric out of commission with a few lightning bolts, and was in a position to possibly pull out a TPK.&nbsp; If I had opted to keep going, it may have gone either way, so Koth opted to bugger off.In his 2nd appearance, he pulled off an ambush tailored to the players weaknesses, using info obtained from his own fight and fights where opponents had escaped.&nbsp; After a strong start, the ambush faltered, but he managed to pull of another escape while again causing a great deal of damage.In my experience, there an effective villain does not need to kick the players asses.&nbsp; He merely needs to hold his own for a while and make a successful escape.END COMMUNICATION</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lord Zardoz, post: 4133427, member: 704"] I have to techniques that I presently prefer. The first is to simply have the players hear about him often, typically by description, long before they see him. If they hear about the man in the blood red cloak with black cowl covering his face for a few games, they will respond with predictible enthusiasm once he makes his appearance. The second part is to spend more time working on the villains escape plan then his combat plan, and then have him show up in a fight and survive. I do not use an escape where the PC's cannot interrupt. If an NPC shows up, brings the pain for a few rounds and then escapes, and does so using the same rules as the PC's would have to, it generally gets their attention. Right now the most effective villain NPC I have that is active in my game is Koth from the Red Hand of Doom (adventure is still ongoing). He basically caused huge problems for my players in the fight that introduced him. He blinded the sorcerer and an NPC rogue. He put the cleric out of commission with a few lightning bolts, and was in a position to possibly pull out a TPK. If I had opted to keep going, it may have gone either way, so Koth opted to bugger off. In his 2nd appearance, he pulled off an ambush tailored to the players weaknesses, using info obtained from his own fight and fights where opponents had escaped. After a strong start, the ambush faltered, but he managed to pull of another escape while again causing a great deal of damage. In my experience, there an effective villain does not need to kick the players asses. He merely needs to hold his own for a while and make a successful escape. END COMMUNICATION [/QUOTE]

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