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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Radiating Gnome" data-source="post: 5826470" data-attributes="member: 150">I like having recurring villains, but the ability of the villain to escape the PCs (or avoid combat entirely) is the single most important part of the recurring villain.  In my experience, that's the only think that needs a lot of planning and forethought -- in the interaction with the PCs, there will be things you can riff off of to make the NPC memorable.  In the past couple of weeks in my home game I've had two minor recurring opponents that make decent examples.  Neither would probably satisfy Quickleaf, but they've been fun.  Setup: the Pcs are fighting a sort of skirmish war on the side of elves and eladrin in the ruins of an elven city, trying to force out drow and their allies.  (this is a 4e conversion of the 3rd adventure in Paizo's Second Darkness AP). Recurring Opponent #1.  The Dragon.  The Drow have a dragon ally who flies over the ruins and creates havok when he can.  In each encounter there's a chance that the dragon will appear for a small part of the battle.  He shows up one round, flies in and attacks the next (spending an action point), then makes his escape the next round.  As a complication for another encounter, he does a bunch of damage, usually uses his dragonfear to stun the PCs and really mess up their plans, but with solo HP he never sticks around long enough to get more than scratched.  In the first session where they encounter the dragon's hit and run tactics, he caught the party's shifter ranger exposed and alone, and spent his time in the scene savaging the lone shifter -- who was rescued by the party but had a very close call.  Then, while the PCs were sleeping that night, the dragon flew over their camp and dropped a dead wolf with a note tied into it's mouth -- asking the "dogman" to come out and play.  That pretty much sealed the deal, although the PCs have been "visited" in combat by the dragon once or twice more (and will again), it's become personal.  Recurring Opponent #2 Off-stage BallistaSo, in the same skirmish war, the PCs keep finding themselves fighting while they're in the crosshairs of a ballista that attacks them at the start of every round, targeting a random PC with an attack.  As long as they're on the encounter map, they're subject to the attack (the attack's bonus is sort of low for their level, so it only hits about one time in three, but those big bolts flying in from off-screen make a nice mess).  After putting up with being shelled like that in a couple of encounters over the past two sessions, the PCs were, in the last encounter of our session yesterday, able to find one of the ballista towers, fight their way in and silence the damn thing. They were pretty pleased with themselves -- far more than just winning one more fight.  Again, not a whole lot of personality, but in both cases the PCs were caught in a place where they had to put up with the abuse without having much chance to do anything about it.  In both cases, the main encounter was something else entirely -- and I'd encourage you to consider that, too.  Your take big risks with your villains if you let them go toe to toe with your players.  At the VERY LEAST I'd recommend that you have them look for the exit as soon as they're bloodied (or below half, if you're not playing 4e). Don't wait around for the bitter end -- if the PCs are getting the upper hand, get the heck out of there.  In the case of your demon, I don't think he should stick around and fight the PCs much -- he's been waiting for his chance to escape for a long time, he's not going to risk that opportunity just to slug it out with a bunch of dopes who have the drop on him.  I'd look at a way to use that snatch ability to grab on of the PCs and take him away from the part a little ways for a little one-on-one time -- but just a round. Then, the rest of the party comes galumphing in to save the day, hit the road.  Don't wait for the beating that's coming.  But in that moment of one-on-one time, lay a little lasting harm on the PC who gets grabbed -- a disease, a curse, something (book of vile darkness has a few options).  Even better, get a little meaner and have the demon plant a little part of himself in the PC -- not enough to actually control the PC or anything like that, but maybe the demon can see and talk through the PC whenever the PC is unconscious (until the PCs manage to get the curse lifted).  How much fun would it be to lay that on them the first time they take an extended rest?  Or the next time that PC drops to 0 in combat?  To hear the demon's voice come out of the PC's body, cheering on the PC's opponents?  Do that, and you'll have your excellent recurring NPC, I'll bet. -rg</blockquote>

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