Tinker Gnome
Adventurer
So, what are your villains like in your games? Are they dramatic and over the top? Or are they much more subtle? Or are they even really villains at all?
Villainy
- Thread starter Tinker Gnome
- Start date
Crothian
First Post
Tommorrows villians are today's allies. And todays villians are tommorows allies. I run a game where there are few true good or true evil beings. So, the evil king is still taking care of the people, the taxes might be high, and he might imprison people for small crimes to go on work camps, but he still protects and feeds them all. The true evil is very subtle and they know that power comes not in artifacts and spells (though they help a lot) but in getting others to do the work; especially the good guys. I have a race of truely evil creatures and I managed to have one adventure with the PCs for a few weeks. Not through subterfuge ort deciet, they knew who and what he was. But he was smooth, had good reasons why they should work together and he helped. But now many months later they are feeling guilty and argue about it still. I love my job!! 
The_Universe
First Post
I love having red herrings, and I deeply love forcing hard decisions on players - nothing better than making them choose the lesser of two Evils! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Christopher Lambert
First Post
I use Romance of the Three Kingdoms for ideas. There aren't really any villains in that book ... everyone is a villain. Including the "protagonist" brothers (but it's heavily disguised by propoganda).
shilsen
Adventurer
I'm not big on dramatic over the top villains. My villains can come from all sorts of situations, whether it be the cliched evil vizier behind the throne, or the storekeeper trying to ruin his competitor's business, or the paladin whose interests and beliefs just happen to oppose the party's, or the serial killer who also happens to be a very good husband and father. In short, anyone and everyone has potential to be a villain.
Psion
Adventurer
All my villains have waxed mustachios and demand rent from impoverished commoners. 
Okay, seriously: My villains are usually evil, but often the players find themselves being forced to ally with the lesser evil.
This next campaign, chaos will be the principle villains, and there will be many wild eyed and crazed antagonists. But there will be more neutral factions to run across that the players may not find their relationships with too... straighforward.
Okay, seriously: My villains are usually evil, but often the players find themselves being forced to ally with the lesser evil.
This next campaign, chaos will be the principle villains, and there will be many wild eyed and crazed antagonists. But there will be more neutral factions to run across that the players may not find their relationships with too... straighforward.
Depends on my games but I normally have a mastermind, then thugs, and a few creeps. Every now and then I will throw good guys as the villians just to make the players think.
Masterminds are the big plans, long term.
Thugs are just muscle and have short term plots.
Creeps are those petty creatures that laugh when they kick a puppy and like things best not discussed
Good guys are people just doing their jobs that come into conflict with the players.
Thugs are just muscle and have short term plots.
Creeps are those petty creatures that laugh when they kick a puppy and like things best not discussed
Good guys are people just doing their jobs that come into conflict with the players.
My PC's come from a relatively small tribe. I have a CG priest of Kord, a LG Paladin of generic LGness, a LG mage, and a N rogue.
The leader of the tribe is a young charismatic mage who ended up with the job when his father died suddenly.
The tribe is under attack from giants (G1-3 module) and suffering quite badly. The leader of the tribe decided to animate the bodies of the slain to help defend the tribe. Without these undead the tribe would be overrun. true tribesman wouldnt object to serving the tribe in undeath would they? and the giants deserve to serve in undeath. Right?
A lot of the menfolk have been killed and the tribe may fade in the next generation due to this ongoing war. Also the local Elves are quite hostile and on the verge of open conflict due to land rights and the spread of humanity.
He decided the tribe needed more people, stronger people, and soon! he made pacts with Succubus to bear children for the tribe. Half fiend tribesman who mature to adulthood in 2-3 years. All for the good of the tribe.
The leader is assumed to be a powerful mage, but noone has ever seen him cast a spell. he uses his charisma to persude people he only wants to protect the tribe.
Can anyone guess my villains name? or the name of his tribe?
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Vecna of the Ur-Flan
The leader of the tribe is a young charismatic mage who ended up with the job when his father died suddenly.
The tribe is under attack from giants (G1-3 module) and suffering quite badly. The leader of the tribe decided to animate the bodies of the slain to help defend the tribe. Without these undead the tribe would be overrun. true tribesman wouldnt object to serving the tribe in undeath would they? and the giants deserve to serve in undeath. Right?
A lot of the menfolk have been killed and the tribe may fade in the next generation due to this ongoing war. Also the local Elves are quite hostile and on the verge of open conflict due to land rights and the spread of humanity.
He decided the tribe needed more people, stronger people, and soon! he made pacts with Succubus to bear children for the tribe. Half fiend tribesman who mature to adulthood in 2-3 years. All for the good of the tribe.
The leader is assumed to be a powerful mage, but noone has ever seen him cast a spell. he uses his charisma to persude people he only wants to protect the tribe.
Can anyone guess my villains name? or the name of his tribe?
.
.
.
.
.
Vecna of the Ur-Flan
Chimera
First Post
Well, as the 'Too Big To Deal With' villains, there are the Calaseans. The Calaseans are powerful natural magic users who, for all intents and purposes, control the world. Every other race is either enslaved by them, allied with them, or at war with them. They're not over the top, they merely ARE. Calaseans are extremely evil in that they don't see any other race, especially their slave races, as worthy of any sort of consideration at all. The bottom line with the Calaseans is that what we call Moral is of no concern to them - it isn't a part of their thought processes.
Humans are the number one slave race of the Calaseans, living in great plantation areas on four different continents.
The action takes place in The Wild Lands, which is essentially a neutral zone between the Calasean plantation area on this continent, and the homelands of the Elorhim, the only race capable of standing up to and defeating the Calaseans on their own terms.
In this neutral zone are approximately 200,000 (for current setting) Humans trying to establish the first "free" Human nations.
In the north of the Wild Lands are the Morgothians - worshipers of Morgoth, the LE God of Strength and Fire. The Morgothians are kind of like the old Soviet Union on steriods, except without any pretenses of serving the common man. Everybody spies on everyone else and every priest of Morgoth is a part of a great monolithic organization bent on turning the entire region into a vast darwinian state ruled by themselves. In their minds, this is the only way of creating the strength to deal with the Calaseans and/or survive any attempt by the Calaseans to wipe out free Humanity.
Then, of course, there are several organizations bent on much smaller aims, such as the personal power of one individual or group of individuals. (And as the players will eventually find out, one or more of these may be fronts for the Calaseans or their servant minions.)
Humans are the number one slave race of the Calaseans, living in great plantation areas on four different continents.
The action takes place in The Wild Lands, which is essentially a neutral zone between the Calasean plantation area on this continent, and the homelands of the Elorhim, the only race capable of standing up to and defeating the Calaseans on their own terms.
In this neutral zone are approximately 200,000 (for current setting) Humans trying to establish the first "free" Human nations.
In the north of the Wild Lands are the Morgothians - worshipers of Morgoth, the LE God of Strength and Fire. The Morgothians are kind of like the old Soviet Union on steriods, except without any pretenses of serving the common man. Everybody spies on everyone else and every priest of Morgoth is a part of a great monolithic organization bent on turning the entire region into a vast darwinian state ruled by themselves. In their minds, this is the only way of creating the strength to deal with the Calaseans and/or survive any attempt by the Calaseans to wipe out free Humanity.
Then, of course, there are several organizations bent on much smaller aims, such as the personal power of one individual or group of individuals. (And as the players will eventually find out, one or more of these may be fronts for the Calaseans or their servant minions.)
WayneLigon
Adventurer
Right now, there are two main villains in the Arcana Unearthed game I'm running. It's a homebrew setting: humans lands are almost devestated after decades of war as city wars against city, clan wars against clan, and no-one can make alliances last past a few weeks. The human lands are tired, and war has only stopped because there is not means to wage it.
Into this steps The Crimson One, a high level Mind Witch with a humanoid army that she means to use to take over the human lands. She gathers her forces over the course of the campaign, and the party runs afoul of her minions and plans a few times. In steps the queen of the largest city state, whom the adventurers have aided a couple of times indirectly. She's heard of their exploits and grants them a few missions, where they deal more directly with the Crimson One's forces. Throughout out all this, they also hear of another evil in the land, a terrible dragon-demon.
Come to find out, the Queen IS the dragon-demon (a maralith), having replaced the real queen some time ago. She's maneuvering the Crimson One into creating a situation whereby she can unify the human nations, weld them into a strong force, and then attack and destroy the Giant empire to the north, plunging the entire continent into a chaotic dark age that will never end.
Into this steps The Crimson One, a high level Mind Witch with a humanoid army that she means to use to take over the human lands. She gathers her forces over the course of the campaign, and the party runs afoul of her minions and plans a few times. In steps the queen of the largest city state, whom the adventurers have aided a couple of times indirectly. She's heard of their exploits and grants them a few missions, where they deal more directly with the Crimson One's forces. Throughout out all this, they also hear of another evil in the land, a terrible dragon-demon.
Come to find out, the Queen IS the dragon-demon (a maralith), having replaced the real queen some time ago. She's maneuvering the Crimson One into creating a situation whereby she can unify the human nations, weld them into a strong force, and then attack and destroy the Giant empire to the north, plunging the entire continent into a chaotic dark age that will never end.
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