BBEG Crafting... [Archive] - Wizards Community

BBEG Crafting... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Fithero
05-25-07, 12:35 PM Originally just a Half Red Dragon/Fire Giant, he was slain by a legendary party and sent to the underworld.

After years of slowly corrupting one of the parties members, he was raised and brought back into the material world. His time in the underworld changed him however, he had been tainted by the evil of the realm (gained half fiend template.)

Killing the paladin king who sent him to the underworld, and taking the throne for himself, he has now ruled over the land for 10 years. In this time he has faced many trials, and recieved boons from even the gods (gain the creature of legend template.)

Now is the time when the game begins, and this is the BBEG. I dont even want to know what this guys CR is...

The party will begin at 1st level and work they're way up to defeating this bad boy. They will recieve help from the original party that killed him (those still alive...) but in the end, the battle will be theirs alone.

What im wanting to know is, what sort of traits would you have this creature exibit?

He is smart, he is Lawfull Evil, and he has a kingdom to run. He knows dead peasants dont profit him, nor do those in prison. Instead he just harshly punishes those who break his harsh laws and puts them to work.

He has a kingdom to run and he is planning on taking over alot more of the world (The kingdom is about the size of Australia... strangely enough, its an island/continent too :P)

So yeah, any help with this guys personality would be great.

Peace
Terjon of the Blue Rose
05-26-07, 12:25 AM To start with go back to a piece of literature by George Orwell. 1984. His enemies should be made his servants by breaking down their will till they are empty shells who have nothing left. Better example still if you want inspiration find yourself a copy of Orson Scott Card's Maps in the Mirror. Its a collection of short stories and one in particular could make for a truly evil villian. It's called A Thousand Deaths and the basic premise is that the villianous government has discovered that if you kill a man and bring him back to life he usually comes back with such fear that he will not only say he loves you he will mean it. All it takes is a homemade forced resurrection spell, though I'd limit its use to actuall rebellion rather than random targets.

You have an openly Lawful Evil Villian who has already won and taken charge. As I see it this most likely will lead to a particular type of setting. You therefore need re-education camps, mindspys, secret police, etc. People should be afraid to help the PCs and the classic setting with this type of villian is going to create a situation where betrayal is commonplace. Also consider breeding camps (though this can push the limits on taste) or (less blatantly) magical experimentation on children to provide him with half-demons, half-giants and other templated creatures. Don't forget real-world villiany as a source for the creative spark either. Perhaps the most villianous deeds I've ever heard of are the Hitler Youth Brigades, if not for their actual deeds then for their cult-like devotion. If you really want to play what I've suggested make sure the group knows it has to be played heavy on RP if its going to be done right.
Fithero
05-26-07, 07:43 AM Yeah... there will be a very overt "big brother is watching you' theme for the game.

Royal guards will be positioned througout every single city/town/village. They will wear armor in the form of a demoinc dragon (kinda like how the jaffa look like snakes in Stargate).

Only the officers will be half dragons and the like, but those who join the guard will be seriously bad people. They will go through training programs such as "kill this bound, innocent person because for no reason" and the like.

It may seem stupid, but it will be used to make sure people follow any order given to them. Also, the things they do in training will be so horrific, no act out in the real world will seem shocking or evil to them.

Any more ideas?
TalinXT
05-26-07, 03:48 PM Alternatively, you could go with a much more subtle "knives in the abck" sort of feel. Afterall one too many paladins woud visit his kingdom and give trouble if people were overtly oppressed, not to mention the normal robin hood types.

No, instead he does not dominate the local commoners. In fact he tries to ahve as little to do with day to day affairs as he can stand in order to focus more on hsi world-wide plots.

Instead he has a tight grip on the nobility of the country. He portrays himself as a benevolent god-king to his people (not hard to do considering what he is). However, his nobility runs the day to day affairs. The giant controls this with well placed agents of his secret police who deal with thsoe nobles who so much as think of rebellion. To make it even mroe intimidating don't make the secret police rogues, but wizards who specialize in illusionadn divination. In this way they can know who's doing not so good thigns for the kingdom and kill them with a series of unfortunate accidents.

Inwardly he enjys this, but outwardly he displays a brutish charm and enjoys military might above all else. In fact it is this military might that has kept this country alive with allied giant tribes and powerful fiends summoned adn bound for service.

If you want good inspiration for personality partifulars look toward the Archdevils each one has abotu the same CR as he does and is prolly jsut as smart.
Terjon of the Blue Rose
05-27-07, 12:52 AM Only the officers will be half dragons and the like, but those who join the guard will be seriously bad people. They will go through training programs such as "kill this bound, innocent person because for no reason" and the like. That goes a little far as every guardsman killing even one innocent would leave very few citizens. Instead let criminals join up if they not only turn over their allies but participate in the execution of any who don't join.

Now burning down illussary villages and murdering images of women and children can make for a very effective means of de-sensitisation on the other hand. If it looks real and acts real but I can kill it because its not then when I have to really do such things I just say to myself its just another simulation. Even so I'd keep such things to higher ranks and elite squads of rebel hunters. Training the average guard in this way can cause serious backlash. Not only do you wind up with a far worse image than you want on the surface but troops trained to do unthinkable actions tend to be very difficult to control. You want your villian to be big brother or hitler not some african warlord who will be replaced next weekend.
Fithero
05-27-07, 06:43 AM They wont be killing innocent people left right and centre, they will only do it once or so when they are in training.

But i do agree that even that training aspect should only be done by officiers.

Any actions that you think would be appropriate for this sort of character?

Remember he wants his kingdom to be a fruitful one :D

Cheers
Terjon of the Blue Rose
05-27-07, 07:55 AM Depends on his final goal. He wants to rule the world but why? Most megolomaniacal super-villians like this have a vision of a perfect world order they are trying to promote. What is his? Seems so far like he wants a world free of chaos. Absolute law without any frivolities like personal freedom.

After 100 years of absolute rule what is stopping this? I mean he has access to a whole kingdom's resources in a world where magic is a dominant factor. You could probably write a good portion of the campaign on just figuring out why he doesn't already have this kind of control. How is it that rebellions keep popping up no matter what tactic he uses to quash them? If its an outside factor (neighboring kingdoms) he has a military capable of hurting if not destroying them. :thinks:Now there's an idea what if he's stopped trying to take over neighboring kingdoms and is now switching over to scorched earth policies. He is half-fiend and basically immortal now right? So just kill his foes and reclaim the land later.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Fithero 05-25-07, 12:35 PM	Originally just a Half Red Dragon/Fire Giant, he was slain by a legendary party and sent to the underworld. After years of slowly corrupting one of the parties members, he was raised and brought back into the material world. His time in the underworld changed him however, he had been tainted by the evil of the realm (gained half fiend template.) Killing the paladin king who sent him to the underworld, and taking the throne for himself, he has now ruled over the land for 10 years. In this time he has faced many trials, and recieved boons from even the gods (gain the creature of legend template.) Now is the time when the game begins, and this is the BBEG. I dont even want to know what this guys CR is... The party will begin at 1st level and work they're way up to defeating this bad boy. They will recieve help from the original party that killed him (those still alive...) but in the end, the battle will be theirs alone. What im wanting to know is, what sort of traits would you have this creature exibit? He is smart, he is Lawfull Evil, and he has a kingdom to run. He knows dead peasants dont profit him, nor do those in prison. Instead he just harshly punishes those who break his harsh laws and puts them to work. He has a kingdom to run and he is planning on taking over alot more of the world (The kingdom is about the size of Australia... strangely enough, its an island/continent too :P) So yeah, any help with this guys personality would be great. Peace
Terjon of the Blue Rose 05-26-07, 12:25 AM	To start with go back to a piece of literature by George Orwell. 1984. His enemies should be made his servants by breaking down their will till they are empty shells who have nothing left. Better example still if you want inspiration find yourself a copy of Orson Scott Card's Maps in the Mirror. Its a collection of short stories and one in particular could make for a truly evil villian. It's called A Thousand Deaths and the basic premise is that the villianous government has discovered that if you kill a man and bring him back to life he usually comes back with such fear that he will not only say he loves you he will mean it. All it takes is a homemade forced resurrection spell, though I'd limit its use to actuall rebellion rather than random targets. You have an openly Lawful Evil Villian who has already won and taken charge. As I see it this most likely will lead to a particular type of setting. You therefore need re-education camps, mindspys, secret police, etc. People should be afraid to help the PCs and the classic setting with this type of villian is going to create a situation where betrayal is commonplace. Also consider breeding camps (though this can push the limits on taste) or (less blatantly) magical experimentation on children to provide him with half-demons, half-giants and other templated creatures. Don't forget real-world villiany as a source for the creative spark either. Perhaps the most villianous deeds I've ever heard of are the Hitler Youth Brigades, if not for their actual deeds then for their cult-like devotion. If you really want to play what I've suggested make sure the group knows it has to be played heavy on RP if its going to be done right.
Fithero 05-26-07, 07:43 AM	Yeah... there will be a very overt "big brother is watching you' theme for the game. Royal guards will be positioned througout every single city/town/village. They will wear armor in the form of a demoinc dragon (kinda like how the jaffa look like snakes in Stargate). Only the officers will be half dragons and the like, but those who join the guard will be seriously bad people. They will go through training programs such as "kill this bound, innocent person because for no reason" and the like. It may seem stupid, but it will be used to make sure people follow any order given to them. Also, the things they do in training will be so horrific, no act out in the real world will seem shocking or evil to them. Any more ideas?
TalinXT 05-26-07, 03:48 PM	Alternatively, you could go with a much more subtle "knives in the abck" sort of feel. Afterall one too many paladins woud visit his kingdom and give trouble if people were overtly oppressed, not to mention the normal robin hood types. No, instead he does not dominate the local commoners. In fact he tries to ahve as little to do with day to day affairs as he can stand in order to focus more on hsi world-wide plots. Instead he has a tight grip on the nobility of the country. He portrays himself as a benevolent god-king to his people (not hard to do considering what he is). However, his nobility runs the day to day affairs. The giant controls this with well placed agents of his secret police who deal with thsoe nobles who so much as think of rebellion. To make it even mroe intimidating don't make the secret police rogues, but wizards who specialize in illusionadn divination. In this way they can know who's doing not so good thigns for the kingdom and kill them with a series of unfortunate accidents. Inwardly he enjys this, but outwardly he displays a brutish charm and enjoys military might above all else. In fact it is this military might that has kept this country alive with allied giant tribes and powerful fiends summoned adn bound for service. If you want good inspiration for personality partifulars look toward the Archdevils each one has abotu the same CR as he does and is prolly jsut as smart.
Terjon of the Blue Rose 05-27-07, 12:52 AM	Only the officers will be half dragons and the like, but those who join the guard will be seriously bad people. They will go through training programs such as "kill this bound, innocent person because for no reason" and the like. That goes a little far as every guardsman killing even one innocent would leave very few citizens. Instead let criminals join up if they not only turn over their allies but participate in the execution of any who don't join. Now burning down illussary villages and murdering images of women and children can make for a very effective means of de-sensitisation on the other hand. If it looks real and acts real but I can kill it because its not then when I have to really do such things I just say to myself its just another simulation. Even so I'd keep such things to higher ranks and elite squads of rebel hunters. Training the average guard in this way can cause serious backlash. Not only do you wind up with a far worse image than you want on the surface but troops trained to do unthinkable actions tend to be very difficult to control. You want your villian to be big brother or hitler not some african warlord who will be replaced next weekend.
Fithero 05-27-07, 06:43 AM	They wont be killing innocent people left right and centre, they will only do it once or so when they are in training. But i do agree that even that training aspect should only be done by officiers. Any actions that you think would be appropriate for this sort of character? Remember he wants his kingdom to be a fruitful one :D Cheers
Terjon of the Blue Rose 05-27-07, 07:55 AM	Depends on his final goal. He wants to rule the world but why? Most megolomaniacal super-villians like this have a vision of a perfect world order they are trying to promote. What is his? Seems so far like he wants a world free of chaos. Absolute law without any frivolities like personal freedom. After 100 years of absolute rule what is stopping this? I mean he has access to a whole kingdom's resources in a world where magic is a dominant factor. You could probably write a good portion of the campaign on just figuring out why he doesn't already have this kind of control. How is it that rebellions keep popping up no matter what tactic he uses to quash them? If its an outside factor (neighboring kingdoms) he has a military capable of hurting if not destroying them. :thinks:Now there's an idea what if he's stopped trying to take over neighboring kingdoms and is now switching over to scorched earth policies. He is half-fiend and basically immortal now right? So just kill his foes and reclaim the land later.