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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 1558119" data-attributes="member: 63">Yesterday I was discussing with one of my players some ideas I had to encourage 'dramatic moments' in the game.  Things like the heroes and the villains exchanging insults or threats before a fight; or the group watching in awe for a moment as the dragon swoops overhead, trying to intimidate them; or a hero making a dramatic speech about how the villain's villainy is at its end.  I've only ever had one dramatic villain's speech before a big climactic showdown, and do you know how I did it?  Power Word Stun.Yep, the villainess, just for the sake of her own ego, showed up and wasted a power word stun on the party so she could insult them for a few rounds.  the players were amused by it, and admitted that, if they'd had their way, they would've just attacked her the moment they saw her.So anyway, yesterday, I was getting a little angry that my friend didn't appreciate dramatic villain speeches, or dramatic hero speeches, for that matter.  I was trying to say how important they are to fantasy and heroic storytelling, but he replied that no, they aren't.  We had just finished watching (don't worry, I won't spoiler anything) Van Hellsing, and in that movie, one of the villains taunted a hero long enough for that hero to come up with a way to kill the villain.My friend swears by the thought that any scene that is dramatic with a villainous speech would be more dramatic without that speech.  I countered that such moments of pause are important for the pacing of dramatic climaxes.  They let you know, "Oh *bleep*, the *bleep* is about to hit the fan.  Let's watch!"  He says that villains ought to just win, then taunt the heroes as they kill them.  Or better yet, win, kill the heroes, then gloat over their corpses.As you may guess, my friend is fond of stories where the hero loses.  He is, all in all, a depressing individual.But I do wonder, why do we want villainous speeches, and why won't many players let us have them?  I mean, we all see them in movies.  The players ought to know that I, as a GM, am not going to use the speech as a way to hurt them.In movies, TV shows, books, and stories, that last little bit of drama before the big showdown is there to remind the hero what he's fighting for, and to make the audience remember why they want to see the villain go down.  In a D&D game, often you only get one chance for a villain to express himself before he goes down in combat, and so for him to make his presence known, he needs to do it before the fight.  It makes the villain something more than just a monster to kill.If a dragon flew overhead and tried to be an impressive presence for the PCs to fear, he'd pay for it by having the party blast him with arrows and spells.  The GM understands that the Dragon was just trying to look cool, but the party just sees an opening.If the villainess catches the heroes in her sanctum and wants to thank them for falling into her trap and inadvertently helping her fulfill her evil plan, she'll get two words out of her mouth before she's having to make Fort saves and dodge sneak attacks.  I as the game master want my character to have a chance to roleplay, but the party just thinks 'villain' and turns off all roleplaying circuits in their brains.Am I wrong to want dramatic villain speeches and moments of roleplaying before the big fight?  Are the players wrong to just want to kill things and not enjoy the drama of exchanging words with the villain?  All narrative aside, on a purely logical level, is it stupid for a villain to try to taunt?What are your thoughts and experiences?</blockquote>

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