Villains (spawn of "I Miss Ward Keys")

Toddo

Toddo

Virtuoso
NEPA Staff
Marshal
The I miss ward keys thread has spawned a question near and dear to my heart, what is an effective villain? Bad guys in our game run the gamut from the 8th level artisan who rules the underworld through guile and cunning to Dragon-Magic powered uber-liches. I've seen villians on both extremes be decribed as fun to fight, and now I'd like to get input on people's personal favorite "types" of bad guy. I'll go first:

My favorite villains to fight are the ones whose goals you sympathise with and may even agree with, but they end up doing the right thing the wrong way. HQ had a great example of this in the Dur Namarie a few years back, and if you want to see a movie version of this type of baddie, rent or buy "The Rock," Brigadier General Frances X Hummel is one of my favorite characters ever.

-toddo
 
I miss the crazy villian that does things for no apparent reason, but he always has an agenda.
Like Hannibal from Silence of the Lambs.

Also another example: John Travolta in Broken Arrow...he wanted to get paid then said F it lets blow up denver....


Onitt
 
Not gonna lie, I do also enjoy fighting just pure evil. But smart pure evil. Like a genius mastermind who is bent on the death of everyone. A little bit of personal doesn't hurt either.

But I like a clear enemy, and something like this definitely is.
 
Emilio (not lots of spells or even lots of NPC craziness) but he just thinks it's all a joke, or fun and games. I'm scared that the game involves a Void Shard.

Cousin Clint/Chickenbone/Dreads because no one's gotten them mad yet. So far they've just been running around like idiots, just having a good time causing mayhem. And I'm terrified of Hooknose ever making an appearance.

Good and Evil are labels placed on people/things, usually by the good guys, because they want justification for disliking or outright attacking the "evil" thing. Power is viewed by the good guys as bad if someone else has it, but good if they possess it (or so thinks one of my baddie NPCs.)
 
The best bad guys I have seen on any medium is that they are always so very dispicable. You love to hate them. They know their bad but take great enjoyment out of it anyway. Take Baron Vladamir Harkonen from "Dune". Not only is he discusting to look at but also he is a vile person on the inside. He murders his own slave just to watch his eyes while he dies. He also lusts after his own nephew Fade. The list goes on and on. This provides the audience a great dislike for his character and gives them a reason for the good guys to do something about this Villian. Thus making the story more powerfull for this reason. So the better the reason to fight against this villian the better the story will be.

B~>
 
Unsure said:
The best bad guys I have seen on any medium is that they are always so very dispicable. You love to hate them. They know their bad but take great enjoyment out of it anyway. Take Baron Vladamir Harkonen from "Dune". Not only is he discusting to look at but also he is a vile person on the inside. He murders his own slave just to watch his eyes while he dies. He also lusts after his own nephew Fade. The list goes on and on. This provides the audience a great dislike for his character and gives them a reason for the good guys to do something about this Villian. Thus making the story more powerfull for this reason. So the better the reason to fight against this villian the better the story will be.

B~>
Click to expand...



Great Bad Guy. Gosh that guy was a prick . And how god did it feel when the little girl snuffed him?
 
I like villians that think they're good guys.

I like villains that have some redeeming qualities and therefore garner empathy from the good guys, but overall are evil.

I like straight out evil bad guys trying to rule the world.

I like racial enemies that are bad simply because they were born a troll or naga or gnoll.

I'm not much into the random chaos bad guys. They just annoy me, especially if they are an arc plot villian. A villain should have an agenda if he wants to entertain me.

I like political, grey villains that keep you must ouththink and you can't just beat down.

Ivan Drake is my favorite Alliance villain. He has you all fooled.

Scott
 
I like villians that circle res you.

I like villians that create you and tell you to walk in the woods.

I like villlians that I can hate with a visceral passion. Not for back-story reasons, oo he ate a baby, but things done IG in front of me.

I like villians that I feel a sense of accomplishment when they finally drop.

Above all else I love villians who do all the things above, FOR A REASON! And if you figure out the reason, it help you defeat them. Not just add flavour.
 
Villians that are villians simply because they're doing what they think is right, even if it's horribly wrong to you.

Like the noble who's turned his lands into a haven for undead, letting them help out at night while the living take care of the place in the day and treating them as valued citizens. The lands are prosperous and the living look at the undead as a blessing instead of a horrible curse.

Or the "slave-holders" who treat their "property" better than the average peasant, and said slaves will defend the institution to the death because of it.
 
Come to HQ, the villains give you cake.
 
My favorite villain isn't a traditional villain.. but someone that lives in the shades of grey. It causes awesome RP and lots of soul-searching for the characters, and challenges the IG cultural beliefs about right and wrong.
 
CrossRoads said:
Perhaps they knew who you were.
Click to expand...

Hey! I split this thread because I saw what was coming, only good vibes allowed here. :P
-toddo
 
CrossRoads said:
Perhaps they knew who you were.
Click to expand...
Nah. One of the most rewarding comments was on Sunday of the event: "You're West Coast JP? But... you're so nice!" ;)

Honestly, I like variety in my villains. I like some that are sneaky, hide-in-shadows bastards, some that are "lay waste to all that sits before me", some that are nice-to-your-face, plotting and scheming your death behind your back, and some that are "Oh! I didn't know that was wrong!". I dislike events that are filled with only one kind of bad guy. I especially enjoy events that have two bad guys that both mean the end for you, but are competing or scheming against each other.

But a good pie... that takes the cake.
 
My favorite BBG is Morganna in HQ. In 1996 at my first HQ weekend, Morganna kicked my butt. Not personally - the minions had me covered. But Morganna scared the crap out of me. 13 years later I'm in a position to challenge Morganna (if Morganna isn't permanently dead). The cool thing about Morganna is that when I met him first I was helpless and scared. The second time I was a little less helpless and still scared. If there's a third time I'll give Morganna a good fight (unless I'm alone in which case I'll outrun Morganna).

So anyway, I like the BBG that your character grows into fighting. There's nothing to sympathize with or whatever so I'm not worried about the BBGs motivations. I just want to kick that guy's butt for scaring me when I was 2nd level - nostalgia in that Morganna was the first BBG I ever saw.
 
I like villians that circle res you.

I like villians that create you and tell you to walk in the woods.

I like villlians that I can hate with a visceral passion. Not for back-story reasons, oo he ate a baby, but things done IG in front of me.

I like villians that I feel a sense of accomplishment when they finally drop.

This !

Also, I like Villians that wont take me talking smack to them
I like Villians I cant talk smack to because I'm worried what they might do
I like villians that are played by NPCS who are quick on their feet with come backs
I like Villians who dont really have boundries when it comes to the role, they will rez the town if need be, they will raise bodies and have em walk into the woods.

An awesome villian is one that the players inadvertently created by their actions. having had a good guy turn to the dark side or reconsider things and become a uber heinous dark lord.

---------------

A true Villian...

A true villian you talk smack to if he's / she's suppose to be uber heinous is the villian that will not kill you...it's the one that puts you in a circle while he / she kills the entire town for you to watch and the town knows you caused it.

a true villian is one that you know in the back of your mind is going to be at least a 5 year plot line at least, cause he did more then bring a lunch to kick your butt.

that is an F'ing villian in my book
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top