Most Terrible Act of Villainy?

[Chronosome]

All is quiet on the arid plains. A gathering of children laugh and play in a field, dancing around a maypole to a tune played by a guardian bard.

Quietly, hundreds of feet in the air, a small mote of light shines brighter than the sun. A few of the children stop their games and point, curious. One tugs the bard's sleeve as he plays his flute.

"Frequel, why has that star come so early?"

The bard's eyes grow wide...he knows the tales, the terrible tales. "Little ones! Gather your things! We must away!" He shouts to the smiling scamps, but it is too late...

The "star", now portal, expands to a tremendous size--revealing a dimension of utter darkness and negative energy... Suddenly, with a mirth-shattering roar, a great dead dragon launches itself from the skyhole! Its black flesh is tattered and rotten, and it's eyes glow a searing white... As the terrible beast dives toward the children, its ribcage opens as if hinged... Within this cavity is an iron throne, and a top the throne is HIM.

Viarme, the Lich of the Void.

As the dragon swoops, Viarme casts spells to paralyze children in space, for the necrowyrm to snatch more easily and throw into its ribcage. They must remain alive, thinks the lich, to power Castle Dreadwind's defenses through their sweet, slow agonies...

...

Well, that came out a little more detailed than I thought it would!

Hey, guys! Describe your campaigns' villains' most depraved acts of BAD!!

 

[Henry]

Speaking of gratuitous...

In my campaign, the worst things are hinted at offstage, but the one that most of my players found quite distasteful was the Wytch-King of the Old Dominions, who sacrificed his daughter's soul both in a bid for personal power, and to keep her from dying so that she would remain alive to enact his vengance should he die.

The daughter was found about 700 years later, in the center of his final stronghold. (I used her as the Centerpiece in the Module S4 Caverns of Tsojcanth.) The party found her, she thanked them for rescue... and then begged and pleaded for help as she turned into an enhanced Chasme Demon right before their eyes. However, the pity they had was quickly drowned out in the fight for their lives soon afterwards.

Second nastiest was a mage led by a group of bandits who was stealing women across the countryside and faking their murders, in order to use them for a breeding program...

 

[WayneLigon]

Oh.. wow. As a long-time Call of Cthulhu player and GM.. it's difficult to narrow it down

I'd have to say the most villanous thing was when the party, in Victorian London, came across the Baskervilles (of Hound fame.. Hound of Tindalos, that is...). Lord Baskerville had invited one of the PC's out to the manor to appraise some artworks purchased on the Continent.

There they discovered the terrible doom hanging over the family, because of the dread acts of the grandfather. It seems that Grandad Baskerville was slated to marry a beautiful young lady from a nearby village, but she heard about his odd tastes and strange experiments and refused to have anything to do with him. He used his wealth and influence to ruin her family until only by marrying him could she save them from disgrace.

The wedding day came, but at the last moment, she could not bear his kiss. She broke away from the altar and fled into the night. Weeks later, they found her veil beside a swampy area of the moors. They dragged the swamp and recovered her corpse.

Baskerville, not a man to be denied anything that was his, ordered her taken home and placed on the marriage bed. Then he locked the doors and spent the night with his wife, as was his right.

Only when this came to light did the PC's realize that they were dealing with the progeny from that union....

 

[Frostmarrow]

How utterly disgusting!

 

[Tiberius]

WayneLigon: I love it!

-Tiberius

 

[Chronosome]

BUMP! Muhahaha....

 

[Hand of Evil]

Once had a bard villian that drove young adults mad with torture and magic making them feral and releasing them onto the streets. He would then use his music to control them, he wanted to take over the town.

 

[Datt]

I would have to say it is the current theme of the campaign I play it. My moral enemy, a giant named Smyg, has kidnapped both my wife and my king. He sent a doppleganger into the dwarven stronghold where my wife's family lives and posioned my father in law and killed two members of her family using my old weapons so that I would be framed. Now he has my wife and king. We can't see them as he has scrying blocked so I don't know if they are dead or alive. It's going to make for one hell of a fight though when it comes up!

 

[dreaded_beast]

a hermit wizard lived by himself in a tower a few miles from the local village. the doorway to the tower had a rabbit, which was the familiar of the wizard, watching the entrance. the party decided to get the local children to play with the rabbit and distract it, while they snuck into the tower.

too bad they forgot to mention that the bunny was vorpal.

 

[Chronosome]

a hermit wizard lived by himself in a tower a few miles from the local village. the doorway to the tower had a rabbit, which was the familiar of the wizard, watching the entrance. the party decided to get the local children to play with the rabbit and distract it, while they snuck into the tower.

too bad they forgot to mention that the bunny was vorpal.

HHAHA... That gives me an idea for another thread...