shadow
First Post
I've been developing a fantasy campaign world for some time. I recently have ran into a big question with far reaching implications. Should I include an evil darklord in my campaign? First some background of my campaign world:
Thousands of years ago there was a mighty techno-magic empire of Sarynth. However legends tell of its spectacular downfall. The rulers got too power hungry and the kingdom soon devolved into a civil war. With the powerful magic the war ended up destroying not only the Sarynth, but also scarring the land itself (think the magical equivalent of a nuclear war.)
In the aftermath people struggled for survival. It was during this time that the dark wizard Hexus arose. He led a campaign to dominate the continent. During those days people were really desperate and many looked toward his conquests with hope. For as he conquered, Hexus brought order and civilization back to the scarred world-for a price. Hexus was also a cruel tyrant who slaughtered all who opposed him and declared himself a prophet, or a godlike figure in a dark religion which everyone under his dominion had to worship.
A group of warriors refused to be decieved and staged a counter-offensive against Hexus. Using both magic and the sword, this small but powerful fellowship eventually overcame Hexus and his dark minions. However, although they won the war, the defeat of Hexus left his former empire in chaos. Without a powerful ruler, the remenants of the empire devolved into feudalism and members of the fellowship soon became seen as conquerers, meddlers, and not as heroes.
Although Hexus' body was killed in the war, his dark spirit lived on. He was able to manifest in the far North, on the continent of Naðor (far removed from the main continent of my campaign) hundreds of years ago, and gathered an army of dread only to be eventually defeated.
Nowadays the people live in a feudalistic society. Stories of Sarynth, Hexus, (and even magic for the common folk) are nothing more than legends.
(Note: I know that a lot of the history of my campaign sounds a little cliched, but this is a homebrew afterall!)
So my question is, should I have Hexus return as a darklord in my campaign? In someways I would like to have a big evil villian in my campaign to give the PCs someone to fight against. Afterall, every good fantasy story has some powerful evil arch villian figure (Think of Sauron, Sauruman, The Dark Quenn, Iuz, Kefka, etc.). However, I'm a little concerned if I introduce a big evil villian, that my campaign will become too focused on the standard "save the world" plot. Moreover, I'm afraid that it will quickly become very cliched for the players. If I do have the darklord in my campaign, how should I handle him? Should he rule a kingdom (thus having a lot of political power, rather than just combat power)? Should he be gathering an army of evil outside the bounds of civilization(thus, the kingdoms and initially, the PCs are unaware of his existence and power)? Should he not yet have corporal form? Also if I do add him, how should I handle adventures so that not every session revolves around foiling Hexus' minions, or getting ready for the final showdown? I would appreciate any advice from experienced DMs. Thanks in advance.
Thousands of years ago there was a mighty techno-magic empire of Sarynth. However legends tell of its spectacular downfall. The rulers got too power hungry and the kingdom soon devolved into a civil war. With the powerful magic the war ended up destroying not only the Sarynth, but also scarring the land itself (think the magical equivalent of a nuclear war.)
In the aftermath people struggled for survival. It was during this time that the dark wizard Hexus arose. He led a campaign to dominate the continent. During those days people were really desperate and many looked toward his conquests with hope. For as he conquered, Hexus brought order and civilization back to the scarred world-for a price. Hexus was also a cruel tyrant who slaughtered all who opposed him and declared himself a prophet, or a godlike figure in a dark religion which everyone under his dominion had to worship.
A group of warriors refused to be decieved and staged a counter-offensive against Hexus. Using both magic and the sword, this small but powerful fellowship eventually overcame Hexus and his dark minions. However, although they won the war, the defeat of Hexus left his former empire in chaos. Without a powerful ruler, the remenants of the empire devolved into feudalism and members of the fellowship soon became seen as conquerers, meddlers, and not as heroes.
Although Hexus' body was killed in the war, his dark spirit lived on. He was able to manifest in the far North, on the continent of Naðor (far removed from the main continent of my campaign) hundreds of years ago, and gathered an army of dread only to be eventually defeated.
Nowadays the people live in a feudalistic society. Stories of Sarynth, Hexus, (and even magic for the common folk) are nothing more than legends.
(Note: I know that a lot of the history of my campaign sounds a little cliched, but this is a homebrew afterall!)
So my question is, should I have Hexus return as a darklord in my campaign? In someways I would like to have a big evil villian in my campaign to give the PCs someone to fight against. Afterall, every good fantasy story has some powerful evil arch villian figure (Think of Sauron, Sauruman, The Dark Quenn, Iuz, Kefka, etc.). However, I'm a little concerned if I introduce a big evil villian, that my campaign will become too focused on the standard "save the world" plot. Moreover, I'm afraid that it will quickly become very cliched for the players. If I do have the darklord in my campaign, how should I handle him? Should he rule a kingdom (thus having a lot of political power, rather than just combat power)? Should he be gathering an army of evil outside the bounds of civilization(thus, the kingdoms and initially, the PCs are unaware of his existence and power)? Should he not yet have corporal form? Also if I do add him, how should I handle adventures so that not every session revolves around foiling Hexus' minions, or getting ready for the final showdown? I would appreciate any advice from experienced DMs. Thanks in advance.
