Been working on a big scifi setting and was wondering what sort of cosmic threats / dangerous individuals / organisations I could add to the universe to make it a little more dangerous and I had a BBEG idea.
A mad scientist who has learned his own genetic code and how to change it to his liking has created a vast clone army of himself and using advanced technology grows such clones as fresh adults with his own personality tweaked to share a common goal. That goal is to be a part of a super organism that is just himself, and conquer all.
How does that sound? Overall individuals of this mad scientist are Jacks of All Trades, and through personality altering work in near perfect unison with other clones.
What do you think?
Also BBEG idea thread.
Is pic related the mad scientist in question?
>>46420537
As funny as that would be I had him in mind to be a human of average height and build.
Part of his madness is driving his desire to remain the same. That's where he sees the fun. In my setting humans are fairly formidable, but he is just that, only human. Nothing more besides a slight gene tweak and altered personality.
It's like a game to him.
Trying to think of a name for this BBEG too.
This reminds me of the Horatio faction in Endless Space. Basically it's a guy that woke up one morning and found himself so beautiful he wanted to fill the whole galaxy with himself. He began cloning himself and he won't stop until the galaxy is filled.
This can be fun, especially if the BBEG ends up making a colony on a moon or something with a portion of his clones living there to hide his army and secret base..
>>46420490
Do the same idea but slightly more evil.
The guy doesn't clone himself. He uploads himself, Agent Smith style.
People have so much hardware up their heads there is barely anybody immune to him. Anybody could be a zombie, a sleeper or a fully active copy.
>>46420490
Don't hate me. I'm mostly new to /TG/ but what exactly does BBEG mean? (I'm assuming "big bad evil guy)
>>46420860
Why don't you try google or something?
>>46420860
You assumed correct. Ignore the faggots like >>46420884
>>46420826
Well the clones also know how to make clones so if they capture or create the technology wherever they go they can propagate like that.
But whadaya guys think?
I'm toying with the idea, it wouldn't be a main element in the setting, just a potential issue to be faced.
FYI the setting is universal scale so it's entirely possible to run forever if the party REALLY doesn't want to deal with something.
Also it's entirely possible for me to wave the GM wand if things get out hand and say "X Multigalaxy faction has taken interest in eradicating Mr McMadscience, he's largely gone but will remain a pest in the vastness of space for a very long time indeed.."
>>46420884
Usually human interaction is a more interesting way to learn.
>>46420900
Alright. Thanks.
And to state something on OP's grounds for a BBEG. A friend and I have been working on a character for DND 3.5 (we just recently started getting into table top gaming and such). Anyways!
We came up with an idea of a paladin turned Black Guard who has a weapon called Legion, which is essentially the hardened bloodand souls of 1000 men (tricked by a demon to create such a weapon with his own hands) however. When he dies, he himself becomes trapped in the blade, cursed to live for an eternity with the agony of a thousand souls torturing him.
Eventually another Paladin finds the blade, and hears the Black Guard calling to him from the blade, he picks it up thinking it is his god telling him to take the weapon up. This binds the weapon to him, and causes him to feel the pain of 1000 trapped men and a black Guard, eventually driving him insane and turning him from his God, the Black Guard slowly taking over. The party stumbles across him hidden in the woods to stay away from people. They are attacked, and try to find a way to help him or end him. Parties choice from there.
That's it essentially so far. What do you think? (Rough drafted, but regardless)
I'd recommend H.P Lovecraft or SCP Foundation for Ideas for BBEGs
The real problem with this kind of villain is the clean-up.
You may be thinking of a grand battle where hundreds of clones are attacking the heroes. The heroes fight the tide and work their way through to the main body and slay him in an epic battle.
But the reality is that there is a back-up clone 20 light years off. And another one, that was just forgotten and never meant to do anything much, is awaiting new orders in the capital. And another one... and another one... and dozens of other ones.
And 5 weeks later it'll be hundreds.
And thousands.
And you'll never be able to clean up this mess because they're all over the place and reproducing like crazy whenever you aren't looking.
>A mad scientist who has learned his own genetic code and how to change it to his liking has created a vast clone army of himself and using advanced technology grows such clones as fresh adults with his own personality tweaked to share a common goal. That goal is to be a part of a super organism that is just himself, and conquer all.
That sounds familiar. Minus the last sentence, that is.
Anyway:
>A cult that worships some sun believes that it is hungry and needs to bed fed something about the size of a planet. They're currently working towards the technology that will allow them to push a populated planet into that sun.
>Somebody is stoking tensions between two planets and trying to get them to go to full on war with each other. Both sides believe the other to be at fault. People he trusts have infiltrated the highest levels of both governments and he is actively working on getting the top dogs abducted so that the inserts can take full control and bring on the war. He's doing this so that they focus more on the war and less on some of their minor operations, such as the mining of a few particular asteroids/planets. The plan is to dry them out from under their noses.
>Just flat out jack the plot of the second half of Oban Star Racers, they probably won't notice.
>>46421119
Call him MacGuffin
>>46421323
I wasn't thinking of that and I did want cleanup to be dead hard for sure.
It's top level schtoof.
I was planning to if I were to introduce it, have it early in the onset. And via plot pieces make it possible to find were the rest him is because the technology to copy a personality mind bogglingly intricate and inordinately expensive.
But even if he gets away it's not the end of the universe. As I stated he is only human.
Although would that be annoying to players? If he just slips through the cracks and is always there? Even if flecked throughout existence in small amounts?
>>46421936
>Although would that be annoying to players?
They can either spend the rest of their characters' lives hunting him down, or they do some other campaigns only to find out that in the meantime the clone guy has raised a veritable army and has been working hard on a Death Star fleet.
Like herpes, it's just a problem that never truly goes away and that can return whenever they least like it.
