Making a dangerous, villainous bard

[Volaran]

I agree with Cyberzombie. A lot of parties don't really know how to deal with problems that they can't simply kill their way through without consequences. Merchants that won't sell to them, cities where no one will rent them a room, longtime allies suddenly turned against them after hearing of their misdeeds.

If the party has neglected their social skills, this can get them back into that mindset. So long as they don't assume that the GM is just being a jerk

 

[MichaelSomething]

Remember, every good NPC bard should have a posse to follow him around and protect him whenever he goes someplace where he may be attacked.

 

[MortonStromgal]

Depending on level I would give him the leadership feat and surround him with minions.

 

[Volaran]

I wouldn't recommend the leadership feat for an NPC. Since NPC's are basically story devices, the GM is pretty much free to give them as many subordinates as they like, with whatever degree of loyalty is necessary for the plot.

 

[Thanael]

So a werewolf bard villain, huh? This reminds me of Ravenloft's Harkon Lukas, who is a wolfwere bard.

Harkon Lukas, currently a NE wolfwere with the powers of a 7th-level bard, was
born and grew up in Cormyr in the Forgotten Realms. Unlike most wolfweres, he
was a gregarious creature who prefered his human form to his wolf form, and he
was a devious and far-seeing schemer rather than a wild, chaotic beast. He
tried to organized a group of wolfweres into a tribe, and he was rejected by
his own kind.

Furious, Lukas fell upon the farmlands of Cormyr, brutally slaughtering
innocents in his way. Harkon decided that it was time to join the world of
humans and see what kind of schemes he could formulate among our kind. He had
alreadly learned that his natural talent for singing could get him by in a
human society. So Harkon started off on what he hoped would be a career of
prestige and conquest.

Unfortunately, Harkon had his head in these hopeful clouds when he wandered
into a more earthly mist, which changed into a more unearthly mist...in a few
steps, Harkon traveled infinite distances, crossing dimensional borders of the
ethereal, without even knowing it. By the time he realized something was
amiss, he was in Barovia in the year 610. Furious that his plans had been
thwarted by fate, he embarked on yet another killing spree among the hills of
Barovia. Of course, his mayhem attracted the attention of the land's
caretaker, Strahd von Zarovich. Barely escaping with his life a confrontation
with Strahd, Harkon fled into the mists once again...this time he emerged in
Kartakass, a domain of his own, over which he had control. Kartakass is a
beautiful, hilly domain in which all inhabitants have lovely singing voices.
Harkon, however, is morose, for even with a whole domain to rule, nothing of
consequence is there, and his ingenious plans for conquest are moot.

Read the novel "Heart of Midnight" for more about Harkon, and "Death of a
Darklord" (at your own risk, it's a BAD book) for info about Kartakass you
might not have considered.

The Ravenloft novel "Heart of Midnight" (available for cheap here) paints a great picture of the wolfwere's society.

 

[Herobizkit]

One of the best Lawful Evil characters I've seen on TV is Ba'al from Stargate. If you ever get the chance, check him out.

Here's an example from a wiki about how he cleverly sets up a seat of power:

With his power base gone following the destruction of the System Lords and the rebellion of the Jaffa, Ba'al needed a place to hide. Fleeing to Earth, Ba'al set himself up as a business man and took control of The Trust, at the same time using Asgard cloning technology to make a series of clones of himself. He also planted a Naquadah bomb in a building in Seattle and threatened to blow it if Stargate Command and the Jaffa tried to kill him. They attacked anyway and the building was beamed into space and one of these clones was caught and executed by Gerak and his Jaffa, the real Ba'al and an indeterminate amount of clones escaped, allowing them to institute a series of plans to regain their power base.

Your bard villain's greatest strength is his winning charisma. Use it to full advantage.

What I would do is make the Bard an extremely successful Merchant Lord who is also the mayor of a town, in which he is unilaterally adored. The best part - they love him because he is genuinely a great leader and provider. If the LE character can end up 'on top' and stay there by way of kindness, he'll do it.

Now, in addition to the town's support, he can make the lives of PC's miserable by sending word through other merchants that the PC's are not to be dealt with. Means they can't trade/sell treasure or goods, won't be allowed to 'set up shop' in towns without pressure from local guildsmen etc., and may even be driven into the wilderness by local patrols.

The Bard controls people and his environment.