As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)
Mastermind - Drow Elf. My best one to date that messed with the players' heads was a drow.
Cannon Fodder - Humans, if they're the victim, or orcs if I'm throwing them at the party.
Scapegoat - I love using elves as unknowing bad guys - their apathy to anything non-elf is such great fodder for conflict.
Mover & Shaker - Dragons. Particularly the shapechanging kind.
Player Punishment - Nothin' says "That was dumb" than a pyromaniac sorcerer with a seven-headed pyrohydra laying waste to the PCs favorite tavern.
Beat-Down Machine - Haven't had to use this one yet...but a souped up, tricked-out oni with levels is in the works somewhere.
I'm tempted to put humans in every catagory but I guess that would be no fun.
Mastermind - Humans or powerful undead
Cannon Fodder - This one is hard to answer because Cannon Fodder changes so dramatically as the campaign carries on. I'll say I have a particular love for 3.5 Bugbears however.
Scapegoat - I use Elves too - Even though their all dead in my campaign. The Elves, in their hubris inflicted great evils upon the world and they where destroyed by their own errors. Sadly the ancient evils where mostly not destroyed along with the ELves and remain to terrorize the races that still walk the earth.
Mover & Shaker - Again usually Humans - often clerics.
Player Punishment - My play style does not really include punishment monsters. I'm always trying to kill the players and take it in stride if they don't die this time - there is always next time after all. My style is more like I set the obstacles and they overcome them or they don't. I'm never extra mean or extra lenient. I never make a creature to go punish the players but its possible that the players don't fully deal with an obstacle and it later bites them in the butt. This however would be an organic part of the obstacle in question. An example might be Gnoll Rangers. Gnoll Rangers can track - hence there is a danger that they track down PCs if that would be an appropreate response for the Gnolls in this adventure
Beat-Down Machine - Its all about the Dragons.
Mastermind: I'm rather fond of mind flayers, although we've yet to get to a high enough level for me to use them.
Cannone Fodder: Kobolds. The little guys are nasty if you give them an advantage (like terrain), planning and maby e a class level or two. And they're just cool.
Scapegoat: Why, the PCs themselves of course!
Mover and Shaker: Devils, powerful undead or powerful aberrations.
Player Punishment: Death squads composed of creatures with class levels in rogue/assassin, wizard, fighter or monk, and favored soul. I prefer ambushes, where the death squad has time to prepare. The only thing that stops me from killing more characters is that they're lucky, otherwise they'd be dead because they have no mind for strategy. Inevitables work too.
Beat-down Machine: Can't think of one at the moment.
Player Punishment - My play style does not really include punishment monsters. I'm always trying to kill the players and take it in stride if they don't die this time - there is always next time after all. My style is more like I set the obstacles and they overcome them or they don't. I'm never extra mean or extra lenient. I never make a creature to go punish the players but its possible that the players don't fully deal with an obstacle and it later bites them in the butt. This however would be an organic part of the obstacle in question. An example might be Gnoll Rangers. Gnoll Rangers can track - hence there is a danger that they track down PCs if that would be an appropreate response for the Gnolls in this adventure
Don't you mean you're always trying to kill the characters? If not, then how do you keep finding new players? :P
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
|
Don't you mean you're always trying to kill the characters? If not, then how do you keep finding new players? :P
Player Punishment - My play style does not really include punishment monsters. I'm always trying to kill the players and take it in stride if they don't die this time - there is always next time after all. My style is more like I set the obstacles and they overcome them or they don't. I'm never extra mean or extra lenient. I never make a creature to go punish the players but its possible that the players don't fully deal with an obstacle and it later bites them in the butt. This however would be an organic part of the obstacle in question. An example might be Gnoll Rangers. Gnoll Rangers can track - hence there is a danger that they track down PCs if that would be an appropreate response for the Gnolls in this adventure
He's just a really really popular DM
im not sure if all of them are my favorites,but i do like useing them.
MASTERMIND mindflayers and demigods
CANNON FODDER orcs and skeletons
SCAPEGOAT humans
MOVER AND SHAKER vampire lords,dragons
PLAYER PUNISHMENT drow
BEATDOWN MACHINES giants,golems,and template critters
|
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)Mastermind - Drow Elf. My best one to date that messed with the players' heads was a drow.
Cannon Fodder - Humans, if they're the victim, or orcs if I'm throwing them at the party.
Scapegoat - I love using elves as unknowing bad guys - their apathy to anything non-elf is such great fodder for conflict.
Mover & Shaker - Dragons. Particularly the shapechanging kind.
Player Punishment - Nothin' says "That was dumb" than a pyromaniac sorcerer with a seven-headed pyrohydra laying waste to the PCs favorite tavern.
Beat-Down Machine - Haven't had to use this one yet...but a souped up, tricked-out oni with levels is in the works somewhere.
Lets see,
Mastermind- usually a monstrous cleric, Trog cleric,lizardfolk cleric, etc. Nothing like a god-sent mission to wreck stuff.Cannon-fodder- I like gnolls alot for this position, they hit good, have good staying power, level well, and can have allies from almost any type of creature.
Scapegoat- usually a misunderstood townsfolk of questionable repute.
Mover and shaker- evil rogues.
Player Punishment- BFC, the Big F*#king Crab, usually used to rip munchkins limb from limb and render Min-maxing powergamers ineffectual. The + 30natural armor, SR45, DR25/-, and the +40 BAB usually works well enough. He is getting ready to make an appearance in my current STAP campaign to say hello to a certain short character......
Beatdown machine- Gotta go with either leveled ogres, or intelligent undead (Vamps, Ghasts, wights, etc.)
FH
Mastermind - I have to choose? Abberations, fey, undead, dragons... Oh, and kobolds.
Mover & Shaker - More kobolds, PCs.
Cannon Fodder - Any PC race (y'know, the PCs kill humans and elves just as readily as orcs and zombies).
Scapegoat - Anything that fits.
Player Punishment - N/A
Beat-Down Machine - My most recent attempt was an ogre/Warlock 4 with the Tainted Raver(?) template from Heroes of Horror. Next version gets the Eldritch Claws feat. :)
Mastermind? Human. Preferrably an aristocrat with maxed out Charisma and no combat ability, but the entire state legal and political system behind him.
cannon fodder?Ninjas, preferrably human.
scapegoat? Hotel bellhops, preferrably human.
mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)? PCs.
player punishment? I don't usually like to punish my players, although the reverse is most certainly not true!
beat-down machine? A lion? Or a human.
I usually introduce monsters in my homebrew campign only if there's a clear and compelling reason that humans won't work. For example, in a village where everyone has starved to death, there might be a famine spirit, but I wouldn't just randomly insert one under someone's house or in a "dungeon" unless there was a reason for it. Likewise, I'd never pick a mind flayer mastermind that I'd have to hide in a sewer or something, if I could just have a perfectly "normal" human psion instead. Villains are often more fun if they're a bit less obvious.
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)Mastermind - Dieties primary; Dieties Heroes secondary
Cannon Fodder - Followers of said diety and those they coherse
Scapegoat - follower who failed
Mover & Shaker - Outsiders; Guild leaders, nobles, H Lvl casters
Player Punishment - Theives and Assassins, girls with attitude
Beat-Down Machine - sheesh, there are so many, vampire I guess, I think the two tuffest fights were a mezzodemon named Harold, he was inspired and a abberation like a centipede made up of humanoids for segements, imagine a giant worm going through a string of like 15 or so dead pc types with a tail at the end that sprays a musk; if you attack anything but the front or rear the creature breaks into additional creatures; each link has the old pc stats; armor; gear; skills ect, but no spells; was a truly tuff fight for a high level party. Vampires can actually fit and do quite nicely; every category here;
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)
Mastermind - Various: Dragons, demons, devils, politicians, gods, priests, mind flayers, liches, etc, etc. Stat blocks (and frequently names and fragments of motivation) generally pulled from Dungeon. Ogre Mages are fun and rarely expected. (Currently Demogorgon, as I'm running an extensively modified Savage Tide)
cannon fodder - usually a lower-level humanoid class-build, into which various races can easily be slotted. I like the "Mos Eisley Effect" of having hit squads be composed of multiple races. These encounters can actually be quite dangerous for "cannon fodder." (Formerly "Lotus Dragon" Sohei, minus the spells and with a few stealthy skills - since the group's been at sea, there hasn't been much cannon fodder.)
Scapegoat - Anybody and everybody, and often the player characters. (and we can't forget poor Sklad...)
Mover & Shaker - Competing groups of masterminds. (For savage tide right now, pretty much Lavinia and the Ravens for "onscreen" and various demonic and celestial factions for "offscreen, but often referred to.")
Player Punishment - I don't really "punish" players, but the masterminds frequently do. Generally, the "death squad" takes the form of a leveled-up hit squad, perhaps with an exotic and powerful race (yaun-ti purebred, half-fiend, or whatnot) represented as well. (That Hydra was a bit of a system shock)
Beat Down Machine - Dragons, Giants, Hydras, Owlbears, Dinosaurs ... it's not about what the beatdown machine is so much as its about springing it on the PC's when they're not quite ready for it, in such a way as its advantages are maximized and theirs are not. (Bleeding, confused, and largely unarmed, the just-shipwrecked group - with several NPCs - won't have any time to get organized before a T-Rex meets them on the shore. Keeping it busy while casting about for improvised weapons, then putting it down or chasing it off with said weapons, will make for a harrowing encounter of the "beat down" variety.)
Mastermind - Pirates with parrots
Cannon Fodder - Pirates with one eye
Scapegoat - Pirate ship cooks
Mover & Shaker - Ghost pirates
Player Punishment - Big pirates
Beat-Down Machine - Sea monster controlled by telepathic pirates
=)
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Mastermind - My favorite is some kind of templated outsider or dragon. (Or a half-fiend dragon. That's always fun.)
Cannon Fodder - Orcs. Classic, easy to scale, and varied enough to make encounters with them different enough that it doesn't become dull.
Scapegoat - Ummm... not really sure on this one.
Mover & Shaker - Wizards. Race doesn't matter. Wizards rock.
Player Punishment - Anything big that has improved grab. Purple worms are a house favorite.
Beat-Down Machine - There's nothing I love more than a raging barbarian with a two-handed weapon buffed all to hell by an evil cleric.
Mastermind - Bards. Their various abilities allow them to be sneaky evil bastards AND be loved by the masses. Bringing an evil bard to justice is often far more entertaining/difficult than your standard evil wizard or dragon, due to the role-playing involved.
Cannon Fodder - At early levels, Goblins or Trogs. At later levels, Owlbears (See below).
Scapegoat - Familiars, Animal Companions, Cohorts... rather than killing these optional class abilities, I like to make my players seriously consider dismissing them on their own.
Mover & Shaker - Lizardfolk and Stone Giants. Primarily because their motives cannot necessarily be determined by a default alignment.
Player Punishment - Terrain. Seriously. Until my players learn to use the terrain of an encounter to their advantage, this is the most effective punishment without draining XP or metagaming against them.
Beat-Down Machine - At high levels, Clay Golems. At low levels, Owlbears. The mutant beasts have a surprisingly high kill / near TPK rate against my players. That's why they're treated as a horrible threat, and are quite satisfying for the players to kill as cannon fodder in later levels.
|
Mastermind - Kuo-toas or aboleths. Inscrutable, nasty monsters with strange, long-term goals.
Cannon Fodder - Monstrous humanoids. I like gnolls - they're kinda dumb and seriously violent. Just point 'em in the right direction and watch the fun begin... You also can't go wrong with zombies.
Scapegoat - Followers and hirelings. I don't mess with familiars and cohorts, but you'd better watch the guys who only stick around because you pay them.
Mover & Shaker - Spellcasters, preferably wizards or clerics.
Player Punishment - Serious grapplers - I like dire bears - or anything with the swallow whole ability. And rust monsters, preferably with a template and advanced hit dice.
Beat-Down Machine - Leveled giants. A couple of stone giant rangers will ruin any PC's day.
|
Lets see,
Mastermind- usually a monstrous cleric, Trog cleric,lizardfolk cleric, etc. Nothing like a god-sent mission to wreck stuff.Cannon-fodder- I like gnolls alot for this position, they hit good, have good staying power, level well, and can have allies from almost any type of creature.
Scapegoat- usually a misunderstood townsfolk of questionable repute.
Mover and shaker- evil rogues.
Player Punishment- BFC, the Big F*#king Crab, usually used to rip munchkins limb from limb and render Min-maxing powergamers ineffectual. The + 30natural armor, SR45, DR25/-, and the +40 BAB usually works well enough. He is getting ready to make an appearance in my current STAP campaign to say hello to a certain short character......
Beatdown machine- Gotta go with either leveled ogres, or intelligent undead (Vamps, Ghasts, wights, etc.)
FH
Funny you should mention this. When I ran return to white plume mountain (although the first time through with us), the monk/paladin went into the big room with the huge/gargantuan crab, tried to run past him, and was hit on the AoO. Claw damage, constrict damage, got to go like next.
Claw, Claw, Constrict. Snip. There go two halves of the paladin.We still talk about that one, and it happened years ago.
-the hamster
Humans. I have not yet fully plumbed the depth of their diversity.
Mastermind: Human mages. They’re in the best position to
know a lot,
have the funds to pay for it (or be able to get them),
get around plenty so they can use it,
trick others into thinking they just couldn’t be one, etc.
Otherwise, I use Beholders. They’re just too good…heh.
Cannon Fodder: Any of the Goblin Tribe types: Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, etc. They breed like flies, so there’s no argument about numbers and they’re cheap to equip and replace.
Scapegoat: Definitely, Elves. They’re just too perfect for taking blame, especially if they deserve it.
Mover/Shaker: Drow. These guys just have the knack for affecting things on a large scale.
Player punishment: Magical traps. If characters are off track and I can’t get them back onto the railroad, things start going blooie! with a vengeance. They always curse the bad guys for having such foresight, but they get back to the business at hand fairly quickly.
Beatdown machine: A couple of dozen Fire Giants with a full complement of Hellhounds each. There’s not much that says pain quite like that…unless of course it’s a Catoblepas on Meth…or Trolls with Rings of Fire Resistance…you get the idea…
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)Mastermind - Demonlords and high level undead or humans (preferably with arcane class lvls)
Cannon Fodder - can't go wrong with goblins! or zombies! (arrrg brains...)
Scapegoat - The lowest guys in the badguy foodchain (refer back to cannonfodder)
Mover & Shaker - Aristocrats, they have the power and usually get to do things legally
Player Punishment - Terrain is a good one. My players have horror faces everytime they have to make something simple like a balance check in combat.
Beat Down Machine - It's all about the Dragons baby. (someone already said it but that doesn't make it less true!)
Good topic Lilith!
-Roth
In my last game:
a mastermind: Disguised Lich (former human, king)
cannon fodder: Various types of undead
scapegoat: Old husband to one of PCs who was forced to marry at a young age (the lich king set it up to make it look like he was trying to kill his "wife")
mover & shaker: Angels, dragons
player punishment: Don't really use "punishment", probably the closest thing I did use was some mindflayers as an ambush for the party as they got to the end of the campaign. The spellthief liked to sneak ahead and open doors, well this door had several mindflayers on the other side who had heard the fighting upstairs, so were invisible. When the door opened up, even though they couldn't see the person, they mind blasted the area.
beat-down machine: Golems
In the current Game:
a mastermind: Yuan-ti, he's going to set up something like the Pathfinder organization and try to get the PCs to find stuff for him, he'll be disguised as a human.
cannon fodder: goblins and orcs. Though accepted more widely in this world, they still are the ones willing to do the nasty jobs.
scapegoat: gnomes. In this game when a spell is lost (missed concentration check, arcane spell failure, etc) the magic manifests as some kind of wild magic. Gnomes are a bit more flipant with using magic (most other races consider it dangerous), and so people are nervous around gnomes (it is actually kind of good thing, nobody wants to invade their homelands as it is rife with wild magic regions).
mover & shaker: The Order of the Magi (think Jedi) and the Gish (think Sith), Paladin Warlord, Dwarven Clergy, and a colony of formians will all be playing major parts in the story line.
player punishment: human duskblade (Gish), almost killed the annoying pixie
beat-down machine: Haven't really had anything like that yet, though I did have a hill giant push the PCs out of the way (they were 2nd level), he had a mission to do, surprising they did keep him busy for a time, but he was able to finish his job (needed to pick up something heavy so it could be teleported out).
|
Ah well, back to the pit from whence I came.
|
|
Not too sure if I have an answer for each category, and some overlap somewhat:
Mastermind- the most memorable mastermind I have had my players go against was a Grey Shiver (from last year's Dragon mag); I prefer to use mid-level adversaries as masterminds, who are trying to get the attention of the Movers and Shakers for favours
Cannon Fodder- goblins; they're small, sneaky, vicious, and really seem built for the Great Cleave feat (yes, I am just as excited about Pathfinder goblins as anyone else)
Scapegoat- if I have used these, it's been either druids (because of their exclusion their motives are harder to find out) or orcs; unlike many other groups, I usually have a half-orc or two in the party, and so using family ties for misdirection adds to the role-playing experience (ie, the orcs are reacting from a larger threat that is unknown); in my current campaign, through no plan of my own (though I'd love to take the credit), the local temple to Pelor has become the party's favorite scapegoat as they suspect the church has been corrupted within (and therefore is behind every red herring or unknown factor they come across)
Mover&Shaker- currently my big M&S is a Death Knight of a player's previous character from the last campaign we had played into a TPK; I like making use of high-powered beings for this position, such as Demon Lords, liches, etc
Player Punishment- "Cause and Effect"; I run my campaign worlds based upon that the player's actions have a ripple effect through the setting, and therefore if they do something stupid it's going to come back and bite them in the butt later
Beat-Down Machine- seriously, the party barbarian is a beat-down machine on his own; I've used a Frenzied-Berserker-Githyanki in the past, and am having some fun with Blood Fiends and Slaughter Wights currently; from Dragon 300, with the "mature" section, there was a spell that caused a creature to give birth to a half-fiend version of itself, and that created a lot of fun when a party member was "retired", captured and subjected to numerous castings of this spell (which, incidentally, led to the aforementioned Death Knight)
|
Mastermind: Typically either a cleric or mage who is very close to the PCs but has sold out to the forces of evil. Although Yuggoths are alway wonderful evil powers to vex the players.
Cannon Fodder: Derro! I've said before, they are twisted little mooks that can be scaled up or down as needed. Completely without morals, scruples, or sanity.
Scapegoat: Druid circles of dubious intentions. Rival guilds with axes to grind.
Mover & Shaker: This is usually where I cast one of my pattented freaky-ass aberrations... grell taking the top spot and aboleths being a further back second.
Player Punishment: I have a dynamic dastardly duo of a kobold necromancer and goblin rogue who loves alchemical substances. He's mean with his 'Infernium Flinger' (a crossbow the shoots ceramic balls of greek fire, acid, and other fun stuff). The kobold uses his undead to help draw players attention and the rogue uses his fire, tanglefoot goo and other stuff to control the ground. I also like Neera... they are always watching!
Beat-Down Machine: depends on the level, but souped-up undead are frequently helpful, or a golem here or there to tenderize the front-lines. I generally don't like the beat-down to come from an obvious source. I like it when the players think they are going to walk all over an encounter and find out it's bringing more to the party than expected.
- Mastermind - Usually Liches (hard to keep them down permanently), but leveled fey work very well, too. Usually the long-term planning and perspective are important for a good villain
- Cannon Fodder - Shambling undead, Swarms, packs of Mastiffs etc.... human gangers (the weirder, the better )
- Scapegoat - Clerics and temples, one can easily make them look like playing an agenda ... oh, and politicans/aristocrats they are always guilty of something, if not the stuff the PCs are actually looking for, hehe.
Thieves Guilds have also faced the mistaken brunt of the PC's wrath.
- Mover & Shaker - used to be gnomes (yeah, can't trust the shifty little folk...ok, that was in Eberron, too)... organized clergy, Fey and Liches or Vampires. If you can combine liches/vampires with gnomes, all the better ! If I'd use Drow more.... but I consider them oversexed and overdone...
- Player Punishment - Sorcerers (3+) acting in concert, ninja/warlocks that harass and harass and harass ad nauseam . humanoid (evil) snipers... don't get me started ! Ghosts !!! But I go easy on player punishment, unless a player strikes me a particularly dumb over at least some sessions
Beat-Down Machine - advanced Purple worm , advanced Dune Winder, leveled-up elite-array trolls; juju Zombie giants.... Zombified Dire Creatures.... oh, and Golems !
The most successful "beater" was a mummy/tombwarden/monk though.... omg, he really kicked their collective behinds (unintentionally, too !). They left about seven character corpses in that necropolis because of him alone
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)
Mastermind - fiends; devils and yugoloths are my favorite
Cannon Fodder - goblinoids; goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears.Scapegoat - PCs, they always end up as scapegoats. (I like to pick on pcs)
Mover & Shaker - Dragons, deities, and celestials.
Player Punishment - pixies!!! These lil buggers can be frustrating as hell. Why kill problem PCs, pixie torture is far more excrutiating.
Beat-Down Machine - Demogorgon!!!
Mastermind - Evil Human Clerics of Tharizdun. More specifically, Master Hedrack and The First from RttToEE. No remorse, no guilt, no redemption. They're in it for the destruction, and that's all that matters.
Cannon Fodder - As victims; Companions, Familiars, Henchmen, PCs' families. All guilt-free kills. As enemies; pretty much anything and everything.
Scapegoat - The PCs, or anyone that tries to befriend them.
Mover & Shaker - NPCs that befriend the PCs and then become more, whether in terms of power, a position, or outlook, especially if they were forced into it against their will.
Player Punishment - Iron rungs. If a player starts using OOC knowledge an iron rung falls on top of their PC's head, regardless of where they are, for 1d6 damage. They soon get the message.
Beat-Down Machine - Explosive Runes. So sneaky, so deceptive, so damaging. Add in a couple of these then later on, whilst the PCs are climbing up a ladder or the like have them discover a note with "Though your persistance is admirable, your intellect is not. Did you seriously believe that I would not have prepared and set an Explosive Rune here?" Then give the PC the choice of clinging to the ladder (and not being able to make a reflex save) or let go and fall from the ladder in order to try and avoid any magical effect. After the PC selects the second option (because thats what they tend to do), and falls, injuring himself, and possibly anyone below him, you can inform them that an explosion did not occur due to the fact that the note was simply that, a plain note, without anything else added to it.
Contact poison on loot works really well.
Save-or-Die spells. (Feels a bit like cheating, unless the PCs are silly enough not to take protective spells when they are able to do so, and have been well informed of what they might soon come to face).
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Explosive Runes. So sneaky, so deceptive, so damaging. Add in a couple of these then later on, whilst the PCs are climbing up a ladder or the like have them discover a note with "Though your persistance is admirable, your intellect is not. Did you seriously believe that I would not have prepared and set an Explosive Rune here?" Then give the PC the choice of clinging to the ladder (and not being able to make a reflex save) or let go and fall from the ladder in order to try and avoid any magical effect. After the PC selects the second option (because thats what they tend to do), and falls, injuring himself, and possibly anyone below him, you can inform them that an explosion did not occur due to the fact that the note was simply that, a plain note, without anything else added to it.
I am totally doing this in my next game! Thanks!
As a GM, what is your favorite creature(s) to use as...
- a mastermind?
- cannon fodder?
- scapegoat?
- mover & shaker (different than mastermind because of intent)?
- player punishment?
- beat-down machine?
Inquiring minds want to know. :)
My primary tends to be Deities and demigods, Though Paladins and Angels are used from time to time.
Humans, Dwarves, and elves
PC's tend to be my biggest scapegoats. They tend to get blamed for everything.
I have a group of epic level NPCs that control most of what is going on. my back story tends to run as a chess game between these NPCs and some of the Gods
My main player punishement is in Munchkin traps. Traps that are obvioulsly a bad idea for the PCs to mess with but knowing that there is always on PC who will do it anyway. I also scatter high level NPCs in local taverns. It has led to some interesting bar fights that have turned bad for my PCs.
Depends on the level of the PCs. at high levels, I have a reoccuring villan that I built to be almost unkillable. I can take him against a group of 6-8 epic level characters and force them to run to avoid a TPK.
One that you left out of you list is:
Mine has to be goblins and Kobolds. I did a happy dance when I got the new Pathfinder and saw how they were going to use goblins. My favorite take on Kobolds is from 'Kobolds Ate My Baby'.