Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Bobfred21 11-12-07, 02:07 PM	Well, lately I've been getting a bunch of ideas for recurring villains. Watching a lot of Stargate and other tightly woven shows gives me the desire to include a lot of villains with differing motivations and personalities in my campaigns, so I've been brainstorming a lot of villains lately. Does anyone have any cool ideas for villains? Preferrably keep the ideas short but unique, not mandatory though. I'll start with a few. 1. A child. This villain at some point is sleighted by the party, perhaps a villainous parent is killed and the child probably about 12 years old sets out for revenge. Being young of course the child is no match for the party, but always manages to cause trouble and raise ethical questions about killing a child. 2. In my world where Orcs (half-orc stats) are, for the majority, slaves working in plantations and what not: A villain who the PCs free from cruel slavers. He's nice at first but with a serious inferiority complex. Sets out to prove that Orcs are the superior race, only to be thwarted by the PCs when his goal becomes tyrannical and further develope his inferiority complex. I'll be back with more later. :)
ArkhamInmate 11-12-07, 08:36 PM	One villian that i've run into during my last stint as a player was a LN(though we though he was evil) fighter/monk that was the driving force behind the destruction of not 1 but 2 nations, 4 wars and assorted other things, that as it turned out wasn't for any of the standard reasons but all because he was trying to stop a prophecy that would have released and evil godling upon the face of the world, sadly, the players managed to kill him just before we discovered what he was trying to do and were all killed by the afore mentioned godling
Goldenmaxter 11-12-07, 10:15 PM	3. A really sweet villain is one that is summoned by some divine people your party ****** off, like an avatar of an evil diety. Give him wings and a huge-ass sword. Make him only killable by a sacred weapon of a rival deity i.e. to slay Hextor's avatar, use the Longsword of Hieroneous (+# Bane[Hextor] Longsword).
JohnnyWeird 11-12-07, 10:15 PM	4. Lovers. Matching combat styles. Hers is defensive, his is offensive, except when they switch. 5. An illusionist has risen to prominence in the city council as a demagogue attacking the influence of the wizard's guild. When he begins to outlaw magic, he keeps his own talents hidden. 6. An enchanter thrown into a prison camp soon becomes the most powerful man inside. 7. Brains in jars. Classic. 8. A familiar whose master died gains a measure of his power from spellbooks and spell-storing items. 9. The world's greatest archer, whose sights have become set on the PCs.
Goldenmaxter 11-12-07, 10:23 PM	10. A gnome that builds strange and disturbing mechanical behemoths. 11. A half-celestial that sees your characters as threats to the existence of good/law in the world. 12. A Orc brawler teamed with a halfling in full spiked armor. The orc throws the halfling into combat like a little ball of death and then rushes group. The halfling flips out and spikes things. 13 A dwarf in full spiked armor that charges and bull rushes the PCs like an insane tank.
swccgf 11-12-07, 11:06 PM	14. This is kinda taken from Cityscape, but its still cool. Have a priest of a good aligned temple actually be the leader of an evil cult. Only certain people know about it. 15. Some one is possessed by a evil intelligent weapon, throw the PCs for a loop and make the person possessed someone they know
Meles_Meles 11-13-07, 02:50 PM	16. The intelligent weapon, using its wielders (And sometimes PCs) to achieve nefarious goals. 17. The awakened animal that seeks revenge on one of the PCs who, when farming, killed its family. 18. An elemental trapped on the material plane, just trying to get home. 19. The hivemind. 5000 gnomes, all working together. We are the gnomes. Resistance is futile. We will cast illusion spells at you. 20. "Mommy, is that you?" (From one of the PCs)
white_daemon 11-13-07, 03:53 PM	How about this: An evil vampire (or some other race) who joins the party. His only problem? He is restrained by a collar placed upon him centuries ago by a powerful wizard. The collar prevents him from doing evil, and if he does something that hurts the party, it stings him like crazy. So all he has left to do is help the party, even though he is constantly searching for a way to ditch the infernal device and wreak havoc upon the world once again. This can also be a PC idea or an NPC idea. Either way, it turns a normally difficult villain into a funny thing.
Bobfred21 11-13-07, 05:57 PM	Wow. Absolutely loving these! We have some truly awesome ideas here. Anyway, I'll continue. 22. A rival group of adventurers, who arn't really evil. In fact their quite good aligned, and often times on civil terms with the PCs, only they have radically opposing goals which sometimes leads them into conflict with the party. If the PCs have a Paladin this works really well: Give the rival group a Paladin as well and the rival Paladin will talk peacefully and even show great respect for the PCs and their cause, showing mercy and recieving mercy in turn when it comes to blows. Eventually of course, the groups have to set aside their differences to take down some bad ass villain. Kinda cliche and not as good as my first too, but still. 23. An incredibly intelligent wizard/wizardress who is on the run from some good aligned planar organization comes to the material plane and tricks the PCs into helping her fight off the good guys. By the time the PCs realize they've been tricked she's gone.
white_daemon 11-13-07, 06:46 PM	Exemplars of Evil, anyone?
ArkhamInmate 11-13-07, 06:57 PM	Exemplars of Evil, anyone? How is that book? it didn't really make me want to pick it up from what i've seen 7. Brains in jars. Classic. also is it just me or did they actually publish stats for these things, does anyone else remember it?
white_daemon 11-13-07, 08:11 PM	1. I don't own it, but I looke through it for like 10 min. Pretty cool stuff. 2. Brain-in-a-jar is in the Libris Mortis, among the greatest books ever for Necro-freaks like me. Pale Master and True Necromancer are the greatest Necro Prestige Classes out there. :D
ArkhamInmate 11-13-07, 08:18 PM	Think it's time to get my copy of libris mortis out of my closet and give my PC's a few undead to fight
echelon_house 11-14-07, 02:06 AM	26. What appear at first to be evil magical copies of the PCs attempting to kill their patron wizard/cleric/noble who sent the PCs on their adventure. Eventually, however, the PCs discover that *they* are in fact the clones, and their patron is a twisted evil genius who has been using them to fight the *real* heroes. 27. A mighty empire is the sole force of civilization in the world, and holds back the tides of horrifying monsters outside its borders. However, its economy is entirely dependent on slave labor. Now the slaves are rebelling, slitting their masters' throats in the night, looting, and generally trying to deal as much damage as possible. What side will the PCs join? 28. When people die, they are interred in the earth ... but they are not truly dead. Everyone knows there is an entire subterranean society made up entirely of the undead, and as long as they stay down there nobody minds. But one day the undead run out of room in their cramped caverns and decide to move into the sunlit world, hoping for peaceful cohabitation. Humans freak out and begin doing everything possible to destroy the waves of undead that continue bursting out of the ground. Drop the PCs into the middle of this with no explanation, and have them eventually work out that the true villain is the human leader.
steenan 11-14-07, 10:04 AM	29. Let's take a typical LN empire, maybe with a slight evil bend. Taxes are high, law is strict and lifes of people are hard - but safe and survivable. Of course, most would prefer more freedom... Then we have a young hero, who believes he can change the unfair order. A "good outlaw" at first, he finds more and more followers, finaly starting a civil war, a revolution to overthrow tyrants and nobles. As every revolution, it starts with high ideals and quickly turns into a massacre - but he cannot stop it now, not without confessing to himself that it was a bad idea from the beginning - and that's what he won't do. He uses more and more evil ways to attain his goals, turning into a bloodthristy tyrant himself. He does everything that's possible to prove to everyone (including himself), that he really was right - even if it means slaughtering all that oppose him and damning his own soul. The best way to use it in a campaign is to put PCs as a part of his "band" when the story begins. They are the "good guys", they are fighting against the oppresion. They are breaking the law, sometimes using violence, but it's for good cause. Then let them see the revolution from inside. Their violence will be treated as an example and followed, their mercy for "enemies of people" lauged at. If they don't see something went wrong, put them in an extreme situation that will open their eyes. They will see children of a noble raped and murdered - and, after they report it to the leaders, will get an answer like "That's a war, guys, and they are enemies. We must exterminate the vermin before we make this land a better place.". And then see how the party fights against the storm they helped to start.
Talaisan 11-14-07, 10:15 AM	Not a villain idea per se, but villain advice. If you want to drive the part crazy, have your villain take the advice on the '213 things I'd do if I were an evil overlord' list. It will make the villain very, very hard to get rid of.
setekh 11-14-07, 10:17 AM	30: A paladin. No. Not fallen, not corrupt, not evil, your normal up his own butt L/G paladin who has found some of the parties actions to be rather... questionable. Ohhh yeah, looting that Elven tomb wasn't a Lawful act after all.
RobbyPants 11-14-07, 12:28 PM	Heroes of Horror does a lot to give advice on how to create villians and give the motives. They even give three examples for each of the base classes. It wouldn't be too hard to turn any of these into recurring villians. That being said (some from HoH, some from me): 31) A druid that desides that civilization is ultimately evil and corrupt sends his animal minions to destroy a small town. Perhaps he simply hunts from the outskirts. 32) A Rakshasa. These guys are awesome to begin with, and coupled with som very high resistances, they're tough to take down. Thus, it's not too difficult for one to escape and come back again and again. Add in the fact that they're malevolence incarnate, it won't take much for them to have a serious vendetta against the PCs. 33) One I ran in an old 3.0 game: a psion who believed that he was the only person who existed. He thought that everyone else was either a figment of his imagination, or that he was in a semi-lucid dream. Either way, he had no moral problems doing whatever he wanted because he wasn't actually hurting anyone. He would do horrific experiments just to learn more about the world around him. Anyone he couldn't control (i.e. those who made their saving throws) would baffle him, and he would fixate on them (read: the PCs).
Tsochar 11-14-07, 11:45 PM	34) A kid who runs around and beats people so that they have a means of escaping their problems (cookie for the reference) 35) A bratty teenager the PCs have to babysit turns out to be a cleric of some long-forgotten vile deity, not because she is evil, but because she is bored. 36) A man who is good-natured and kindly, but likes to kill people. No reason, he just likes it, and he sees no conflict between his actions. 37) A book kills any who possess it for any more than 24 hours. Libraries have burned, owners have fallen ghastly ill, and whenever someone suspects the book, they lose interest and forget what they were suspicious of.
roninwolf1981 11-16-07, 08:50 PM	[QUOTE=Tsochar;14337059]34) A kid who runs around and beats people so that they have a means of escaping their problems (cookie for the reference) QUOTE] Lil' Slugger from Paranoia Agent!
Voran 11-16-07, 09:06 PM	A child possessed by an ancient source of evil, who has added frustration by being stuck in the body of a yknow..child. Think "Stewie" from Family Guy.
roninwolf1981 11-16-07, 09:53 PM	36) A man who is good-natured and kindly, but likes to kill people. No reason, he just likes it, and he sees no conflict between his actions. Reminds me of Neska from the show Firefly: he looks like the grandpa you wish you had but his name is a byword for an unnessiarily slow and painful death anywhere in the 'verse...
Talaisan 11-19-07, 12:41 PM	A child possessed by an ancient source of evil, who has added frustration by being stuck in the body of a yknow..child. Think "Stewie" from Family Guy. Oh. My. God. Best idea ever! :cookie: :cookie: :cookie: :cookie: :cookie: :cookie: :cookie:
Bobfred21 11-19-07, 03:32 PM	39) A villain who is quite certain that he/she is a God. Think the Goa'ould from Stargate or Xerxes from 300.
Voran 11-19-07, 04:21 PM	39) A villain who is quite certain that he/she is a God. Think the Goa'ould from Stargate or Xerxes from 300. Or your average pop-tart starlette.
Fly666monkey 11-19-07, 05:13 PM	39) A villain who is quite certain that he/she is a God. Think the Goa'ould from Stargate or Xerxes from 300. 40) EVIL IN-LAWS. Bastards owe me money.......
necrom99 11-19-07, 07:50 PM	41) LN OGRE MAGE MONK with a school of Ninjas at his disposal. makes for a great recurring villain with awesome henchmen. 42) illithid on the run from the Gith-yanki begs the PC's for help...but only after the Gith have challenged the PC's. However eventually the Gith threat ends, and Illithids get hungry. especially if he's joined the party...
DarthCestual 11-19-07, 10:27 PM	The Reluctant Necromancer- The 3rd son of a feared warlord king and his sadistic sorceress queen, Justinian wanted to follow in his fathers & brothers footsteps and be a warrior, but he had no talent with weapons and displayed quite an aptitude with magic, so he was schooled in the dark arts and became a necromancer. At first he thought it would be cool, black outfits, skulls, bling, but after awhile he couldn't stand it anymore, "It's the smell!!!" So now he sends out his undead minions to bring him living people, usually against their will, to spend time with, socialize, and enjoy a real meal with someone that doesn't have diets restricted to brains, blood, or the flesh of the living.:D
Tsochar 11-20-07, 04:07 AM	Lil' Slugger from Paranoia Agent! Nope! Just kidding, here's your cookie: :cookie: Reminds me of Neska from the show Firefly: he looks like the grandpa you wish you had but his name is a byword for an unnessiarily slow and painful death anywhere in the 'verse... And here I thought there was only one episode I hadn't seen...
roninwolf1981 11-20-07, 10:48 AM	Nope! Just kidding, here's your cookie: :cookie: And here I thought there was only one episode I hadn't seen... YAY!! I GOTS A COOKIE!! lol :dancin: Niska is in the episodes War Stories and The Train Job. Fear him. I mean seriously. Fear him. :)
roninwolf1981 11-20-07, 10:50 AM	Double post
Kaede 11-20-07, 11:39 AM	#?) A hole tribes of XX race with CR lesser than 1 (kobolds, goblins, etc.) arise as an army backed up with his leader who teachs them Character Classes (Fighter, Rogue) and wants to make a NEW order where they can be free, because they are sought as evil for the actual order, but they will put on a new one in which they are not.
valcarde 11-20-07, 04:12 PM	44) Take a white mask with no mouth, give it stylized markings, enchant it, and make it supress the personality of whoever wears it, and turn them into a sociapathic swordsman with a flair for the dramatic, a love of rapiers, and plans for world domination. Bonus points if the mask prefers to dress its wearer like a court jester. Who doesn't like evil clowns that can keep coming back?
Tygriannis 11-20-07, 04:33 PM	45) A good aligned cleric or paladin discovers that they have a demonic lineage that did not fully awaken until they reached maturity. As a result, their church and deity abandon them which makes them highly spiteful and want to take control of at least a decent sized empire. 46) 6-year-old girl with a pet great wyrm that can shift into a tiny size stuffed version of itself that she constantly reffers to as "Pookie" 47) Got one of those players that constantly plays one type of character over and over? Especially a flourishy dex fighter that likes to flirt a lot? Create an NPC that is AN EXACT COPY OF THIS PC IN EVERYTHING BUT ALIGNMENT. Watch the sparks fly. (this has actually happened with a pair of PCs. It's highly amusing) 48) The ugly, acne-riddled nerd that couldn't get a date to save his life grows up into a high CHA sorcerer that keeps a harem of beautiful drow (either all female, all male, or a generous mix, but the men would be hilarious) and wants to kill all of the shallow women who slighted him as a teenager. 49) Playing off that theme, an androgenous male who dresses more like a scantily clad female and ties his loincloth too tight so his voice is decidedly feminine. (anyone here play Final Fantasy IX? Yeah. Kuja could solve half his problems by loosening his loincloth) 50) A CE sorc/wizard decides he's bored/finally finished with his research and decides to take over random small kingdoms to gain test subjects for some new line of research. Enjoy!
Kersyk 11-20-07, 06:27 PM	51) A NG weretiger druid who uses a bastard sword and is king of the pirates, he doesn't have an animal companion and he never uses wild shape and never uses buffing spells. In fact the only spells he ever uses are ones with obscure and/or vague text which he uses to find loopholes to use them in ways unintended by WotC.
necrom99 11-20-07, 07:34 PM	52) a Djinn who is oath bound to destroy a certain ruling family, however he has been trapped for generations and the family is no longer evil. this particular Djinn abhors direct confrontation so he'll use subterfuge and infiltration to kill them when least expected. 53) Were rat Sorcerer, who specializes in Enchanment to convince people being a wererat is a good thing. All the while creating a wererat epidemic. 54) Temple of Boccob creates a golem(add templates to make him savagely bad-ass) to reclaim some lost magic item, however the wording to his quest is done poorly so that he kills everyone in his path. Give the Golem a name instead of a type so that its difficult to recognize how to stop it.
Shadowshimmer 11-21-07, 09:21 AM	55) The mad evil wizard who is trying to combine animal/monster and humanoid DNA to unlock the secrets of life and death. 56) The mad evil wizard who is trying to unlock the secrets of time travel and uses the innocent villagers as test subjects. 57) The weapons master/dualist who is trying to find their equal in the world. 58) The great/ancient dragon who seeks to purge the world of anyone but dragons. 58) The epic Doppelganger who wants to terminate anyone who is not a shape changer. 59) The evil little halfling who has a inferiority complex and leads a private army against the "tallers". He slaps his ogres around or any of his minions who are taller then him.
cacheek 11-21-07, 02:11 PM	One villian that i've run into during my last stint as a player was a LN(though we though he was evil) fighter/monk that was the driving force behind the destruction of not 1 but 2 nations, 4 wars and assorted other things, that as it turned out wasn't for any of the standard reasons but all because he was trying to stop a prophecy that would have released and evil godling upon the face of the world, sadly, the players managed to kill him just before we discovered what he was trying to do and were all killed by the afore mentioned godling That's an AWESOME idea for a villain.
Orihalconis 11-21-07, 04:57 PM	#?) For one of mine, I reflavored Incarnum so that the use and production of Incarnum is a decidedly evil act (it can only be procured by capturing the souls of the freshly killed and processing them into the stuff in my setting). Now imagine a blue dragon Totemist holding a desert city hostage and demanding sacrifices every day to fuel his Incarnum abilities (lest he destroy the town's water supply and doom them all), forcing the city guard to capture and bring in innocents to torture and kill for the soul-fuel. #?) White dragon highwayman. He's fun. Opening line to every traveler "Either your life or your valuables are forefeit, pick one now!"
necrom99 11-21-07, 05:52 PM	62) The Prince of a principality has sworn to protect it. He sees disorder everywhere. He then decides to peacefully unite all other principalities into his kingdom for there own safety. One downside, along the way he becomes obsessed with doing this and won't let anyone get in his way, for the greater good. Starts off as a Sorcerer then moves to Paladin, then moves to BlackGuard..... 63) Medusa Assassin who leaves only crumbled stone as evidence of her crimes. 64) The lord of a town is a Vampire, however no one knows this because he can go out during the day(make up ure own magic item, RAW be dammed) the town boards up all there windows at night instinctively and all the taverns close too. However everyone in town seem to love him... and every now and then someone goes missing, but the local authorities don't even look into it. and as a bonus once the PC's are done with him, they have to destroy somehow said Magic Item of Vampirey goodness, 'cause other vampires will want it too.
dungeon_dude 11-22-07, 02:21 AM	#65) A psychopathic Doppelganger that amuses itself by destroying friendships, creating love triangles ending in murder, and generally screwing with peoples minds. #66) A simple fighter that has some major beef with the PC(s), and continually tries to murder him/her. Easily killed, however, mere days after killing him, he appears again, and continues his efforts to kill you. He is, in fact, just 1 of thousands of clones, all being controlled by a highly intelligent, but immobile being (think, giant floating brain in a jar, psychically controlling things.) Unless you destroy the hive mind, the clones will mercilessly strive to kill you in any way possible, bringing more and more clone helpers every time they fail. #67) A Hobgoblin that hunts humans for sport, and has friends.
JohnnyWeird 11-24-07, 09:00 PM	68) An artificer whose Construct minions are so elaborate and numerous that he's actually a level behind the PCs from all the sacrificed experience. Fans of Sky Captain's Totenkopf may identify here.
Tsochar 11-24-07, 10:04 PM	#65) A psychopathic Doppelganger that amuses itself by destroying friendships, creating love triangles ending in murder, and generally screwing with peoples minds. Sounds like Iago, from Othello not Aladdin. Iago had a definite (if imaginary) beef with his victims, though...
happy_fuzzy 11-24-07, 10:23 PM	69) Pun-Pun's child- JK Real 69) A Warforged Frankestein thing (A warforged whose body looks like an amalgam of parts, etc.) who was created and put in stasis, when the PCs kill his nefarious master (prob an evil artificier) a contigency activates and the warforged is released. After seeing his fallen master (as of yet the warforged has no alignment) the warforged's outlook on life becomes extremely negative and depressed. He hounds the PCs in revenge for his master's death and doesn't care what he has to do to get vengeance. Maybe give him warforged jeggernaut levels, etc.
Twin2 11-24-07, 10:52 PM	70: The land itself. Either magical mishap, or just **** poor treatment the ground beneath everyone is suddenly aware, and not happy about how things have been going. Bonus points for having it go mad from how it's consciousness exists and having it try and end itself in one really screwed up suicide.
happy_fuzzy 11-25-07, 11:39 AM	70: The land itself. Either magical mishap, or just **** poor treatment the ground beneath everyone is suddenly aware, and not happy about how things have been going. Bonus points for having it go mad from how it's consciousness exists and having it try and end itself in one really screwed up suicide. And its actually statted out, MM4 Spirit of the Land I believe, if its not MM4 then i think its 3
Shadowshimmer 11-27-07, 07:29 AM	71: Centaurs trying to take over because of some radical belief of Manifest Destiny.
necrom99 11-27-07, 10:42 AM	72) A Verdant Prince from MM4 takes dominion over a Sylvan area of a deep forest on the frontier of some country....he then manipulates all the Fey of the region to begin expanding his "borders" until it begins to kill off innocent farmers and trappers and woodsmen. 73) Enchanter mage/Mindspinner, who also happens to be a slave trader, and he owns his own flying ship crewed by Enchanted minions. 74) Fiendish Minotaur with barbarian levels, with power attack and leap attack, who keeps dire rats as pets.
DarkRaven18599 06-17-08, 03:45 AM	75) A simple alchemist/apothecary who begins as an NPC hook that employs the PCs to find a rare ingredient needed to provide a cure for a disease his child has that defies regular magical treatment. The cure is brought back but is taken away from the PCs to be used to treat the land's ruler who has also become sick while the PCs were away. (Only enough can be found to cure one person). The poor alchemist's child dies and he focuses his rage on the kingdom and the PCs who gave up his last chance (willingly or unwillingly) for a cure. From here you can turn him into a necromancer skilled in the ways of poison and rare herbs, or the devious background manipulator skilled in mind control potions.
Eini 06-17-08, 06:34 AM	76) Once I had a vampire return after he escaped the party. They saw him next on a snowy day with a young woman on his arm as a nobleman in the town square. He taunted them as he stroked her neck and invited them to a party that the Paladin in the party insisted they attend in order to catch him alone and in private. They sneak up to the nobles chamber and break in to find themselves magically frozen in place in the room with the "Real" noble, that the Vampire executes in front of the helpless party just before screaming for help, disappearing and releasing the PC's. The elf noticed the secret passage behind them as the guards burst into the room. It was great watching the Paladin protest his innocents as his companions fled knowing that if he held his ground he would kill innocents or be killed himself. He fled with the others, a hunted criminal...the vampire nemisis his highest goal
Veratio 06-17-08, 10:07 PM	#77 A ruler of an elven kindom begins war and seems as if he doesn't care for the lives of his race. Upon further investigation the PC's find out that he is really a half demon/ half elf that hates both races and is partially controled by his childhood tormenters (A small group of demons), and has a slight case of schizophrenia.
wolfscape 06-17-08, 10:37 PM	78# A pychotic princess who is intent on capturing and killing a dragonborn child and all its aquantances. The dragonborn is rescued from the princess but that causes the princess to track down the PC's with her army of soldiers Daddy lent her. Have a big fight happen in the dragonborns parents lair.
Comrade_Winston 06-18-08, 01:08 AM	79. In a world were [lycanthropes/vampires/dopplegangers/other] prey on humanity, a secret society creates the ultimate fighting machines to destroy them. Unfortunately these engineered [warforged/teiflings/dragonborn/enhanced humans/other] are highly unstable, and high stress can drive them to become the very monsters they hunt. A powerful noble wishes to gain his own super-soldiers, and highers the PCs to find out how the [war...ect.] are produced. If the PCs discover the method he gives it to his best troops, who become nigh unstoppable monsters. It is up to the PCs to make right their mistake. 80. Alternately, the new army is created without a hitch, but the secret society isn't keen on competition. Somewhat inspired by Claymore
Angelic_Demon 06-19-08, 12:25 AM	80. Someone with the appearance of a small, crippled child, but in fact a very, very powerful Wizard with the powers of destruction at his fingertips.
Eluxis 06-19-08, 04:51 AM	Since others have brought up Firefly, I loved the villain in Serenity. For those who haven't seen it: A guy who is articulate and likable, would prefer to reason with the party rather than fight them, and truly feels in his heart that he is doing what is best for the world. He also believes with absolutely no question that the ends justify the means and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. He does not relish killing or torture, but would utterly destroy everything in his path to acheive victory. As an added twist, have him being misled by his masters, who are the true villains of the campaign.
Hedon 06-19-08, 10:45 AM	82) Similar to that LN Fighter trying to stop a prophecy earlier, this is actually the theme I'm going with the campaign I'm about to start: going to run the group through KotS (Orcus), and RHoD (Tiamat), and continue after that with some homebrew stuff involving different cults of evil gods attempting to summon avatars of their patrons for some malevolent purpose. The recurring thought is that they're all trying to prepare for something or take advantage of some event that the PCs have no information on. Once the final cult has been defeated, though, the truth is revealed. The real BBEG is my brother, one of the PCs, playing a Star Pact warlock. His mission has been to prepare the way to summon his patrons from the Far Realms into this world (perhaps heavily influenced by Hellboy, but the character itself is based on the movie's Rasputin), and the rest of the party has unwittingly helped him to that end - by stopping the evil cults from stopping him. Considering he'll be played as a simply eccentric, though possibly a bit nutty, character, the PCs should have no idea the evil he wishes to unleash.
Angelic_Demon 06-19-08, 02:57 PM	82) Similar to that LN Fighter trying to stop a prophecy earlier, this is actually the theme I'm going with the campaign I'm about to start: going to run the group through KotS (Orcus), and RHoD (Tiamat), and continue after that with some homebrew stuff involving different cults of evil gods attempting to summon avatars of their patrons for some malevolent purpose. The recurring thought is that they're all trying to prepare for something or take advantage of some event that the PCs have no information on. Once the final cult has been defeated, though, the truth is revealed. The real BBEG is my brother, one of the PCs, playing a Star Pact warlock. His mission has been to prepare the way to summon his patrons from the Far Realms into this world (perhaps heavily influenced by Hellboy, but the character itself is based on the movie's Rasputin), and the rest of the party has unwittingly helped him to that end - by stopping the evil cults from stopping him. Considering he'll be played as a simply eccentric, though possibly a bit nutty, character, the PCs should have no idea the evil he wishes to unleash. o_o I really wish I could be there for when you reveal to the party that he's really evil...that is a really evil idea for a villain. I'm doing a similar thing for a campaign, but it'll be a quest-giver who appears in a different form every time. The first time he appears, he ends up sending the heroes off to do the menial task of destroying a kobold-infested dungeon while he destroys the heroes' home town.
marroon69 06-22-08, 09:16 AM	How about the classics (well classic to me at least). The great thing about modeling your villain after something well know….is it is well known to you at least and it helps bring them to life. 82.1 A chaotic evil bumbling masked villain with infinite resources, a desire to take over the world and a brain the size of pea. I.E - Cobra Commander for the old G.I. Joe cartoons 82.2 A shape-shifting Master of Darkness that unleashed an unspeakable evil! Something that has only one weakness and the PC’s have it!! I.E. Aku from Samurai Jack 82.3 An chaotic evil necromancer and his death knight minion that plan to bring order to the republic by forming a empire. E.I Darth Sidious and Darth Vader
DarkRaven18599 06-23-08, 04:26 AM	83) Perhaps the most sinister villain that could be put against a typical adventuring party is your plain old run of the mill Lawful Good antagonist. Your average adventuring party makes it a habit to raid crypts, defile once holy places now overrun by monsters and acquire all loot that lays within said crypt. But how many actually go to the trouble of returning their ill-gotten gains? How many paladin's actually go to the trouble of tithing their profits to their churches followers as soon as they can. How many adventuring clerics tell their adventuring partners to donate a portion of their treasure to make up for the divine spells they were granted in the quest for their booty? Perhaps some divine power takes offense to this and sends one of their own followers to extract a measure of vengeful retribution for this? And what follower is better suited to this then a paladin of high standing in their service? So here is a foe that is fully pledged to the quest of their rightfully wronged deity, who believes whole-heartedly that bringing the party to justice is the right thing to do, and has the backing of a powerful deity to do it. Not to mention that just when the divinely charged paladin catches up with your adventurers the deity in question begins to start denying the prayers of the parties holy-folk due to the reasons the paladin is there to begin with. And any party members of a lawful alignment that don't consent to a fair and just trial are now facing a loss of alignment. (Really bad for monks and paladins or lawfully aligned clerics.) So the real villain is the parties own greed. And that's a hard villain for a typical adventurer to overcome. :D