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aegisflashfire
Commander
Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 298
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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 Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:20 pm Post subject: Villian Workshop |
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The Giant, aka Rich Berlew of Giant In The Playground/Order of the Stick fame worked writing up gaming materials for Wizards of the Coast.
While his current 'full time' job is producing Order of the Stick (a first rate webcomic I cannot recommend highly enough, if nothing else than its commentary on RPGs, plot, theme and story, but also for its compelling story of an ongoing world governed by the rules of D&D 3.5)
He also had produced a number of phenomenal articles on world and villain building.
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/rTKEivnsYuZrh94H1Sn.html
This is a FANTASTIC guide to creating a memorable enemy, and 'fixes' or helps avoid some of the pitfalls a lot of GM's have.
A few excerpts:
| Quote: | Step 1: Start with two emotions. I really believe all great characters begin with one emotion that drives them. By choosing this first, you make sure your villain will stay true to the very reason he became a villain in the first place. It's kind of a cop out after a while to have villains who are just evil for evil's sake; something had to drive them to be evil in the first place. Options for their primary driving emotion might include Anger, Angst, Greed, Jealousy, Lust, Hatred, Regret, Revenge, Shame, and Sorrow. Feel free to narrow these down as much as possible to get to the core of the villain's persona: Anger is fairly broad; Resentment is a much more specific emotion. Don't forget that "positive" emotions (such as Love or Honor) might lead to villainy as well, if taken too far.
But I did say TWO emotions. So what's the second one? The emotion you intend to inspire in your players when they encounter the villain. Not all villains need to be universally loathed by the heroes, and even those that are often have that loathing colored by another emotion. |
| Quote: | | Step 3: What is the villain's scale? Decide on what level you want the villain's actions to have repercussions. Is this a villain that will only harass the heroes and their immediate friends? Is this a villain that threatens a nation? Is it a villain that threatens all of existence? The answer will depend on how often you want this villain's actions to interject into the campaign. If the entire campaign is an epic struggle against this villain, chances are he's going to need to have a scale greater than just one village. On the other hand, the greater the scale, the more likely powerful NPCs will take notice of the villain, and it becomes more difficult to justify them not swooping in to aid the heroes. This question will also help decide what Challenge Rating you should assign to the villain. |
What other techniques do people use creating villains.
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GM of Falling Star: D6 Star Wars Campaign Podcast |
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DougRed4
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Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2269
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 5:18 pm Post subject: |
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Great stuff, aegisflashfire.
As I've analyzed villains over the years, especially for my long-running supers campaign, I've deduced that most (if not all) bad guys are motivated by one of the following basic lusts or desires for:
- Power/control
- Pleasure
- Money/things (greed)
- Revenge
I like the idea of the two emotions, though. I've sometimes written down a few (two or three) basic things about an NPC for games, just to describe their personality (driven, laid-back, intense, etc.).
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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Kytross
Line Captain
Joined: 28 Jan 2008
Posts: 782
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| Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:23 am Post subject: |
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Right now I'm starting a PBP transformers game on another site. I set it in an unexplored period, the start of the Cybertronian Civil War. Doing this I had to explore who Megatron was, what motivated him to despoil the paradise that was Cybertron?
What I came up with is that he grew up with a 'father' that put far too many nigh unachievable expectations on him and a 'brother' that exceeded those expectations with ease. The 'girl' he was interested flatly rejected him and early on he gave up on life. He lost himself in energon bars and eventually began to develop a philosophy that mirrors Nietzsche and Marx that would be the guiding principles to the Decepticon revolution.
Megatron is slowly becoming a dictator in the vein of Hitler or Stalin, but for now it is very easy to empathize with him. |
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Dromdarr_Alark
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Joined: 07 Apr 2013
Posts: 426
Location: Boston, MA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 12:09 pm Post subject: |
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But Megatron is way different from Nietsche and Marx!
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"I still wouldn't have a roll for it - but that's just how I roll." |
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2269
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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All I know is Megatron is likely catching a ton of passes again this year! 
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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