How do you like your villains, and why?
Brash bullies?
Cold and calculating chessmasters?
Asshole pretending to be virtuous and kind?
Trickster jerk?
Nice but selfish enough to do bad things for their own preservation?
Fabulous.
>>44143003
Charismatic manipulative chess-masters make for the best villains.
The magnificent bastard. A villain who you end up rooting for, not because "evil is cool" but because they're interesting, intelligent, maybe even justified or respectable, and not the cut and dry bad guy you'd expect.
>>44143328
>>44143556
This. I'm currently in a game where the BBEG was just introduced, and he's more or less a manipulative chess-master with an arguably justified position.
My character is also a manipulative chess-master with an arguably justified position, so this makes it even funnier.
Nothing quite like the feeling when one of my plans comes through, like it has for several of his "not-quite-as-chessmastery" minions so far.
>>44143621
What are your and his motives, I'm pretty interested now
>>44143003
Bros
>>44143721
The setting: A Chrono Trigger-esque campaign where the characters are drawn from all ages of time with the goal of preventing an entity more powerful than the gods [who aren't that impressive in this setting, basically powerful Highlanders] from destroying the world in the far future.
BBEG: A seer with godlike scrying abilities through space and time who runs an order of time travelers who harness that Overgod's powers to seek to defeat it. That power has possibly put them under its control unwittingly, but that is ambiguous. He has kidnapped my character's daughter, had his minions attack him on numerous occasions, and have tried to steal the macguffin that grants him his divinity.
My character: The god-king of an ancient empire that is basically the "ancient advanced civilization" of the setting, on par with the fantasy setting's modern era in most respects. Arrogant, inspiring, and always has a plan for everything.
Basically we share the same goal, stopping the Overgod from destroying the world, but he has really fucked me royal in numerous instances. So I fully intend on wrecking his shit and taking my one year old daughter back.
>>44143919
So basically you likely would have been allies and possible friends if not for the circumstances?
>>44143003
Destructive, ominous, chaotic evil, extremely powerful
Old Gods from WoW are a perfect example.
>>44144138
Episode 10, Balance of Terror.
>>44144138
Not quite. My character being pulled through time is actually what saved him from regicide, and his regicide in the "original" timeline is what permitted the entire course of normal history.
Basically imagine if Alexander the Great had superpowers, was immortal, and survived past thirty. The mere fact my PC still exists throws all of time through a loop, if I return home at the end of the adventure, all of history is permamently changed.
That is why my ultimate motive is as "questionable" as the BBEG. The BBEG supposedly wants to stop the apocalypse and save the timeline, and thus we likely would have been enemies anyway.
Not to mention, its entirely possible he's working for the Overgod and doesn't know it. But for the most part, we would likely have been allies if he hadn't have kept fucking me over and viewing me as an insignificant non-factor. I mean its basically like you're running a futuristic time traveler association trying to save the world, and suddenly you learn that Gilgamesh has gotten himself a DeLorean and won't stop killing your guys.
Shit's frustrating.
>>44144221
More like Episode 9, loser!
I'm trying to build up a villain for my campaign but I don't know what alignment he falls into, or whether such villain would be any fun to fight against.
BBEG is a wizard who basically created a massive cataclysm that wrecked a whole continent, by tapping into forbidden magic. He wasn't trying to destroy the world but in his lust for power he did so by accident.
BBEG realises the error of his ways and is struck by grief for years.
As the campaign starts he begins to take action. He sees that magic is the root cause of the evil in this world and tries to find a way to abolish all of magic and saving the world (in his eyes). He is trying to redeem himself.
To achieve this he is going to aid with all sorts of evil forces in exchange of forbidden knowledge that only demons, devils, drow, dragons, and so on have access to. He is finding a way to kill the gods of magic.
I guess he should be some sort of evil even though he truly believes he is doing good for the world.
I find the character concept intesting. A powerful wizard that is a massive hypocrite by abolishing magic with magic.
>>44143003
Slippery, twisty, and nasty, They will never give you a fair fight, an even chance, or a fair break. They don't do things straight up, they fight indirectly with bribery, manipulation, curses, poisons. They are out to get you, and whatever hurts you is fair game, no matter who or what it is, or who or how it hurts.
In a word, deluded, or simply wrong. I don't like villains who are evil for the same of being evil. But villains that think that they're doing something good and aren't purely evil? Hell yeah.
>>44143003
Over the top, completely ridiculous, overpowered and sometimes cowardly
>>44143003
Fabolous trikster jerks who feed of the misery of the PCs.
One example:
A boss character used alter self to change his appearance into a qt girl and ensured that one of the PCs fell in love with him.
He then reveals him self as the man he is, laughs at the PC who confessef his love to him and starts a boss fight.
And when the PCs beat him his remains turn into a treasure chest.
After oppening the chest in excitement for loot the PCs find only a note in it with this written on it: "Thank you for your patronage!"
Then the chest grows wings and flies away turning out the boss character is still alive and kicking and ready to harras them at another opportunity.
Lunatics and extremists.
Manipulators are the most hateable to varying degrees, with the imposter type being the worst. Fuck those guys.
Dramatic as fuck. Being a chessmaster is all well and good, great if you can pull it off effectively, but if the villain can't pull a scene by their own weight than what's the point?
>>44143003
Mute and worth lots of xp.
>>44143621
Absolutely amoral asshole chessmasters only constrained by appearances and silly "codes of honor"
