I'm needing to start a new campaign for the solo adventures I GM for my wife.
Unfortunately, I'm a bit brain-dead (probably due to lack of sleep with a teething infant) and just can't think up a main villain that "clicks".
I can come up with lots of interesting plot ideas, but I know the story-telling will suffer with some villains (especially the main villain) that inspire role-playing and make me excited about how the story will develop next.
So...
GMs...what villains have you most enjoyed role-playing? Why?
No stat blocks needed. Just general, descriptive, motivating ideas. ;-)
My favorite was a Cleric named Unoc. He was the nicest guy in the world. He loved kids, little old ladies. When the PCs came into a town looking for him, everyone they met loved him. He was horribly burned in the face, with a scarred eye, but his demeanor made it all the better. You couldn't judge someone by looks alone, right?
Of course he had a decent charisma, skilled in bluff and sense motive. He killed people and used their corposes as undead or summoned demons while sacrificing their souls. But NO ONE believed the PCs, because he was also smart.
At one point the PCs actually managed to wind up in jail with him, and to be honest he was a victim of circumstance more than the Sherriff suspected Unoc. The PCs on the other hand were guilty of burning down a boat at the time (one Unoc had just bought passage on). With a villain like that, every town you come to is full of enemies. After all, what could the nice cleric have done?
I'm not sure if its what you are looking for but I have a favorite character in my campain who is a very old traveling monk. To any who meet him he puts up a great act in seeming like a frail old monk who just travels around collecting stories of adventurers and "Seeing whatever is worth seeing in the world". What he actualy is is an ex zen archer (he always carries his bow as a walking staff) turned rogue(sniper archtype)who takes on assassination contracts by collecting as much info on his mark as he can the crafting an arrow of slaying for the mark and taking them out in ambush. Right now my players think he's just a kind old traveler with a ton of stories but they are getting powerfull and someone is bound to put a price on their heads eventualy.
I had an orcish monk in a game who was a henchman for the BBEG. He was a combat maneuvor/grapple fighter with a seemingly endless bag of magical tricks and doodads. The best past about him was that he was pretty non-lethal and faster than the PCs so fights against him were always really interesting.
The PCs described him as "Batorc" because of his fighting style and versatility.
The trick was, he was never out to kill the PCs. He was out to beat them. He'd show up when time was an issue or when things were precarious and proceed to simply get in the way. He would imprison people with single use Bands of Billarro or Beads of Force, knock people off buildings or cliffs, throw nets and bolos, disarm people and chuck their weapons off bridges, and all manor of other spiteful things.
He was fun to roleplay because he himself was always having a good time. He enjoyed combat, respected worthwhile opponents, humiliated weak ones and eventually came to actually like the PCs quite a bit. There was also a language barrier, so everything had to be conveyed with expression and pantomime.
You can google "Paridon: The Dark Metropolis" on ENWorld, and read about Alekalargo Combledorn. He was a gnome bard that completely scared the pants off the PCs.
Personality wise, start with Malcolm McDowell's Alex deLarge from A Clockwork Orange, give him Amadeus fashion sense, a leering Carnival mask, and have the character played by Johnny Depp's and Snoop Dogg's love child. Add a dash of Hannibal Lecter.
The PCs arrested him, yet even in his cell, no one dared try raising a finger against him. They had NO IDEA what he was capable of, but they knew that he was a few steps ahead of them at every moment.
Hmm.
How about The Shadow?
Quote: Lodge: I've got a new villain lined up. Got it from a friend. Sort of a ninja-swashbuckler... the Shadow.
Joanna: (surprised) The Shadow?
Gary: (confused) The Shadow?
Mark: (scared) The Shadow?
(Mark runs off screaming)
Or...
I always wondered what Vencarlo Orisini from Curse of the Crimson Throne would be like as a bad guy...
1)The polished mastermind intellectual: I enjoy this archetype immensely as a DM. It lets me exploit my, "I know all the background information" that I get as a DM (subsequently meaning I don't have to worry as much about separating what the NPC does/doesn't know), and they allow for a lot of fourth wall breaking fun "Tell me your evil plan!" "Honestly? You must think I'm some kind of idiot, does anyone ever actually do that anymore? I thought they'd all died off by now..." (example purposes only)
2) the insane villain: I usually play up the tragedy of a good person driven insane/to extremes of virtue, rather than just the frothing sort. However I also had fun with a "cursed" NPC who spent too much time in the shadow realm and besides having serious bats in the belfry (nice guy but prone to rages and broken inane rambling)he was compelled to devour magical essence to keep the shadow tainted "voices" in his head quiet/from possessing him.
3) the unwitting/witless villain: a hero who's trying really hard, but has absolutely no notion of consequences. Like the paladin who slays the evil lich king (who was actually a good and decent ruler-if ruthless) only to leave the prosperous kingdom prone to civil war and conquering hordes as foreign armies now scramble to grab up the much desired land. The good guy, who's doing good only makes horrible horrible things happen.
4)Conversely, the villain as a dark hero. Someone who does horrible, horrible things for the "greater good". Like say, sacrificing three children to a demon- the villain in question never bothered to explain that the demon is now bound to spend eternity protecting the village and that the children were terminally ill/plague ridden/actually cannibalistic monsters. The guy who does the perceived bad thing for a good reason but is so fed up explaining he just doesn't bother anymore and lets folks think what they want. At this point, he's powerful enough that he doesn't have to care.
Just my four favorites I rely on, and also types that I love seeing done well.
Balabar Smenk.
That dude was a slimeball, aware of it, and not apologizing for being so. Pleading pathetically when it suited the ends he needed, and ruthless and remorseless when the opportunity arrived.
Loris Raknian.
Spending days in the guy's own turf, the party had plenty of time to get to know this guy, and they were still tricked at a crucial moment. The "A-HA!!!" moment was priceless.
Really, I loved running Age of Worms generally, and the more time spent to interact with the villains made them all the much cooler to fight (or whatever the conflict with them was).
My favorite was Glyrenden. I took him from an old short story called, "The Shape Changer's Wife." Most of that games adventures were the PCs dealing with this old wizards shenanigans over a couple of towns near his keep.
His schtick is that he is the most powerful Alterationist in the world and uses his powers to support the king through subterfuge. When he is home, he passes the time by turning plants and animals into people, people into plants and animals, cursing useful items and telling everyone he cursed them so he can laugh when they try to use them, pitting people against each other, and basically using creation as his plaything.
When he does interact with the party directly, I try to use my best Sean Connery voice. I do my best to describe him as the most interesting man in the world, except that he is prick.
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Another character that is infamous with my groups is "The Huntsman." He was a rich noble, born with a magnificent 20 Charisma. He spent his days traveling the world, making women fall in love with him. He would promise them the world and try to talk them into tattooing their faces.
He became epic when he did this to a sorcerer who punished him by gating him to the edge of the abyss. He walked back, through the out lands, becoming a Bard or Magus 6 / Arcana Archer X on the way back to the prime material. He isn't so much the mega-villain as his ex wives and girlfriends are. Think of him as a super villain generating machine. Especially after he got the robe of eyes and the epic bow, "Windforce," the women he could score were otherworldly beings in the high CR range who can really make a problem for the prime material plane.
davidvs wrote: I'm needing to start a new campaign for the solo adventures I GM for my wife.
Unfortunately, I'm a bit brain-dead (probably due to lack of sleep with a teething infant) and just can't think up a main villain that "clicks".
I can come up with lots of interesting plot ideas, but I know the story-telling will suffer with some villains (especially the main villain) that inspire role-playing and make me excited about how the story will develop next.
So...
GMs...what villains have you most enjoyed role-playing? Why?
No stat blocks needed. Just general, descriptive, motivating ideas. ;-)
My favorite villain is a wealthy lawful evil noble. For profession he is a duelist, while he has recently dabbled just a touch in cleric.
Concept: Count Silano is from an old family, and he has access to an absurd amount of money. Due to this he has never learnt to temper himself, but spends coin freely, and sees those who need to earn coin to live as second class citizens. However, he has no issues with hiring people to do his bidding. He has grown up trained in the finest skills, he is an avid swordsman, and he is well connected. He has been taught how to use the law for his purpose.
Description: He is 6'0, and slim of build, but slowly starting to gain a few extra pounds as his good living is taking a toll. He is in his late 30's. Hair is dark, and eyes brown. He has a commanding presence, and he enjoys keeping his temper under control in any situation. He will always make sure that he is appropriately dressed for any occasion.
Mentality: If he uses hirelings to do his bidding, he will never, ever, back down on a deal. If he has offered money or items, he will always stand by his word (which greatly confuses many PC's I have noticed). This assures that he has a solid reputation as an honest person. If people fail him, he will make sure they never find work again. If they cross him, he will make sure they are killed, but he will also take great precaution that it is never linked to him.
If he hires people for adventure, he will not stand in the front ranks with them. He expects the peons to die before he does, while he makes sure he has a way out (magical or otherwise).
Throughout my campaign, Silano has hired the players on several occasions, both through brokers, as well as directly.
Goals: Silano's goal is to find as much information about a sleeping or forgotten God. It is his wish to get this deity back again, and by doing so be suitably rewarded with a longer life and even more mortal influence and power. he has been working towards this for the last 10 years, and have had some success. His secondary goal is to find a weakness in the Gods "defenses", and find a way for himself to usurp this power (perhaps not to be a God, but he does enjoy power).
As can be seen, he is not the guy who runs up and down the world killing babies, he is instead a likeable swordsman who enjoys fine dining, educated company, and always keep his word, while having a hidden agenda he pursuits while staying within the law, or making sure he is in a spot where there is either a suitable law, or no law, when someone needs to be taken care of.
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