D&D General In D&D, the Big Bad is the Main Character

[Clint_L]

I completely agree with giving NPCs more depth and motivation!

I disagree, very strongly, with the statement that the Big Bad is the main character. The players are 100% the main characters in my campaign. Antagonists come and go, but the underlying narrative is driven by the player's goals for their characters. I run a very sandbox style of campaign, though, so there is no Big Bad driving the narrative, like in a Marvel movie.

I think this is maybe more of an issue if you run pre-packaged adventure style campaigns.

 

[Oofta]

Doesn't the DM need to be concentrating on what the PCs are doing, not playing a little game on their own?

And if they are not interacting with the players, how are they characters at all? How does it differ from "the DM decides some stuff happens"?

If it involves the DM playing D&D by themselves it is.

It doesn't take any game time, it's world event plotting that I'm doing between games. Just another aspect of prep.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

It doesn't take any game time, it's world event plotting that I'm doing between games. Just another aspect of prep.

Then you aren't really talking about a character. They are like Sauron, moving behind the scenes. Sauron doesn't have a personality, he doesn't even need a stat block!

 

[Oofta]

Then you aren't really talking about a character. They are like Sauron, moving behind the scenes. Sauron doesn't have a personality, he doesn't even need a stat block!

I usually think in terms of actors, which is even more generic. An actor can be an individual, group, movement. It's anything that can act on and impact the world.

In any case Sauron absolutely had a personality, motivations and goals. I don't know how you could have an actor or influential NPC without thinking about that kind of stuff. Just because those details were never revealed by Tolkien (or maybe they were, I'm not a Tolkien expert) does not mean they don't exist.

There are many, many times I don't bother determining stats for the BBEG until I actually need them. After all, I may set up Noruas as a potential BBEG but it's up to the players if they're going to do anything about them. Doesn't mean my absolutely not Sauron isn't a character. They may just be a character that fades away from direct interactions with the current group.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

As others have said, "main character" is about where the metaphorical "camera" is looking, not who is the most active or dynamic or impactful.

Most "main characters" in fiction are pretty reactive too! Villains are usually the ones who seize the initiative, cause the problems, inspire the search, etc.

 

[NotAYakk]

Doesn't the DM need to be concentrating on what the PCs are doing, not playing a little game on their own?

And if they are not interacting with the players, how are they characters at all? How does it differ from "the DM decides some stuff happens"?

If it involves the DM playing D&D by themselves it is.

I'm puzzled. What do you think a "character" is?

Maybe you are using some narrow definition I am not.

To be clear: from my perspective, a novel (not even an RPG novel) has characters. I am using "character" in the story-writing or story-understanding perspective.

A character can do things in a narrative that don't involve directly interacting with some specific other characters in the narrative. You seem to think that this isn't the case.

 

[niklinna]

Then you aren't really talking about a character. They are like Sauron, moving behind the scenes. Sauron doesn't have a personality, he doesn't even need a stat block!

It's D&D, one-time home of Deities & Demigods. Everything needs a stat block.

 

[overgeeked]

Not really, no. In action stories (like D&D almost always is), it’s true that the antagonist drives the plot, but they are not the main character. The protagonist is the main character. We spend the most time with the protagonist, we often see thing from their POV, we empathize with the protagonist, etc.

Look at any action story. In Die Hard, Hans drives the plot but McClane is the main character / protagonist. We spend most of the movie seeing things as he does, following along with him, etc. Same with superhero fiction. The supervillain has a plan to conquer the world and the superheroes have to stop them. Doesn’t mean the supervillain is the main character.

That’s what antagonists do in action stories, they drive the plot. If not for them, the protagonist would be home warm in bed. In no way does that make the antagonist the main character.

 

[Orius]

If the party's a bunch of murderhobos, that's for DAMN sure.

 

[Starfox]

In most D&D games, the big bad is the main character.

Just as in most action movies, the villain is the guy that actually wants to DO something, to change the world. The heroes are usually just kneejerk conservatives who try to preserve the status quo.