Author Topic: 101 Big Villain ideas  (Read 6274 times)

Offline ImperatorK

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101 Big Villain ideas
« on: June 13, 2013, 11:56:01 AM »
I'm gonna have a meeting of the settings biggest and most powerful villains. I want them to be interesting, cool and flavorful, also fairly different from each other, thus I need some ideas from people with better imagination, because I want to fill a room with them.
By villain I don't simply mean any powerful evil individual, but more like leaders of evil organizations, cults or circles. Think FR's Faceless, Fzoul Chembryl, Obould, Xanathar, etc., basically the potential movers and shakers.
I'm primarily interested in NPCs of the humanoid-ish types, but some of them can be monsters (for example there will be a lesser Demon Lord present). I want to keep all of them at more-or-less 20 CR.

EDIT: What I look for in your ideas is a short description of how/why is the proposed character a villain, what's his mechanical shtick (simple build, abilities you see him as possessing, or at least a class suggestion) and something about his organization.

Example: Faceless - he's a powerful vampire Wizard who's the leader of a criminal organization operating in a big metropolis.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2013, 05:17:06 PM by ImperatorK »
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Offline Amechra

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2013, 04:39:03 PM »
Just ideas?

The Chief Architect, Grandmaster of the Architects of Disquiet. A short, slightly overweight man with too dark hair and eyes the color of clouds. He focuses a lot on, well, architecture; non-euclidean a specialty.
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Offline ImperatorK

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #2 on: June 13, 2013, 05:08:11 PM »
Umm, how is that a villain?
Yeah, I see I probably should add in the OP that a short description of how/why he is a powerful villain would be appreciated. I'll try to think of an example to make it more clear.

Other than the fluff, it would be nice to also get an idea for the villains build or appropriate abilities.
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Offline Chrononaut

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #3 on: June 13, 2013, 08:21:02 PM »
Well that's vague enough to work!

Adonia, the Empress of Carnage, (any base race works) Dragonheart Mage 10/Sorcerer 5/Abjurant Champion 5. Proud, arrogant, always trying to sway the conversation her way. Turns into a dragon when she gets pissed off with Dragonshape (which she would have at 20) and leads a barbaric empire on crusades to take whatever she wants or kill whoever slights her.

Herzmm the Abomination. Wizard 7/Master Transmogrifist 10/Archmage 3, nightmarish conglomeration of grotesque monsters (using its unlimited options class feature with aberrations and oozes and fiends mainly) whose original identity is unknown, reaps its way across the countryside devouring everything in its path.

Is that the sort of thing you want?

Offline ImperatorK

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2013, 10:43:36 PM »
Heh. They're both a little too extreme, but other than that, yes, it's perfectly nice!

BTW. Did you mean Master Transmogrifist's Infinite Variety feature, right? Because I see no Unlimited Options ability there.
« Last Edit: June 13, 2013, 10:48:41 PM by ImperatorK »
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Offline Chrononaut

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2013, 04:37:59 PM »
Yeah I did, mea culpa.

They're not super optimized because they have 8th level spellcasting at least, what more do you people WANT

Offline ImperatorK

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2013, 04:42:06 PM »
They're not super optimized because they have 8th level spellcasting at least, what more do you people WANT
Huh? I didn't say anything about them not being optimized enough, or anything like that. :huh
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Offline SolEiji

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2013, 09:56:15 PM »
Here's one I plan to use...

Undead King Zod-El
(No particular build, as it can go many ways.  The only thing certain is that he is undead.)

All know him as the brave king Zod-El, an Arthurian figure from ancient past who helped establish an empire, then perished.  In truth his history is far more bloody and brutal, leaving a whitewashed memory of heroism.  His methods to create an empire were not born of natural skill either, for the king and his court had made a deal with the devil for power.  This power came at a price; eventually the land would be consumed by Hell itself when the king's 1000th's year of reigning was over.  Through fell trickery, the 1000th year never came to pass as Zod-El "died" and vanished before its passing, becoming undead and hibernating for an eternity in a divination-sealed tomb.

Until some asshole adventurer broke it and woke him up, simultaneously exposing him to an angry outsider coming to collect.

Now undead and thousands of years in the future with the future-spawn of his former nation, he is a mute villain (either by being unable to speak the language, or simply unable to speak) but he still possess his amazing fighting powers and ability to dominate the will of others.  Knowing the devil will be here soon, he goes to re-conquer his own kingdom and prepare them with a war against Hell. 

He is a leader of both his ancient undead hoardes, former soldiers and citizens, and any he dominates.

The king poses as a villian being a no-nonsense dictator who aggressively seeks to amass power for reasons which may not be clear to any heroes beyond mere powerthirst.  If the king is defeated, or somehow pacified and made into an uncertain ally, the problem remains of the king and his descendants, the people of this age, being dragged into Hell.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2013, 09:57:52 PM by SolEiji »
Mudada.

Offline BeldakSerpenthelm

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2013, 03:04:18 PM »
Luciana's mother was turned into a vampire when Luciana was too young to even remember her as a human. Luciana grew up as one of the few humans in the vampire cult that her mother joined, being raised to believe that most mortals exist only as food for those worthy of immortality ("just because most people have to die doesn't mean that everybody does, and one immortal being killed is a greater loss than any number of mortals dying early"), but that she did deserve immortality and that she would be turned when she was old enough.

Luciana's mother, who had promised to turn her, was killed by a vampire hunter when Luciana was still a teenage human, and Luciana has sworn her life to hunting down all those "envious" mortals who feel that nobody should be allowed to enjoy immortality. However, she has recently decided not to be turned into a vampire unless her "life" depends on it, having discovered rituals to become a Lich and decided to use them if at all possible.

Luciana is a Lawful Evil, level 14 Mystic Theurge (4+7 Sorcerer, 3+7 cleric of Kyuss) whose favorite combat tactic is to cast Fly and Greater Invisibility on herself so that she can stay close enough to the fight that she can react quickly to any vampire allies that come to need specific magical aid.

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #9 on: August 22, 2013, 11:03:32 PM »
Here is a "villain" I've played a few variations of as a PC, but which I've always thought would make a better BBEG. The build could vary, but one essential is the ability to steal other peoples' bodies permanently (via Magic Jar + Imprison Possessor, (True) Mindswitch, the homebrew Stranger with the Burning Eyes PrC, etc) plus the ability to either permanently dominate minions (Necrotic Tumor, etc), or to replace their minds with his own (Mindseed). Ur-Priest also fits him well. Here is the most recent backstory I used for him.

(click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 11:06:14 PM by phaedrusxy »
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Offline Dkonen

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2013, 02:47:26 PM »
I'm fond of the "champion of good gone too far", I've used it in differing varieties, but two different ones immediately spring to mind, Ur-Priest and Paladin of Slaughter *or* Tyranny (flavor dependant).

Premise: Champion of good takes his job too seriously, and rather than relaxing when it's revealed that life is more grey than black or white, resolves to wipe out anything not of "pure goodness"

In the Ur priest version, it's a priest who is disgusted with their church's corrupt nature and eventually, via a few communes or suchlike, disgusted by their purportedly "good and pure" god. Driving motivation: wipe out the god and restructure the church.

Mid level encounters: members of the faith are being found tortured and dismembered inside the temple, perhaps even several different temples (depending on how high you stat the first intro), and valuable articles of the faith get stolen.

High level: Articles of the faith summon an aspect or (in showier campaigns) the god itself, chaining it to a nearly mortal (though powerful body) wherein it can be found out that the villain plans to sacrifice or siphon

In the Paladin version, it's a bit more straightforward: either many many bodies start showing up (paladin of slaughter) massacres happen, chiefly among "goodly" faiths-or temples and holy sites are being destroyed with a calling card (or some sort of clue for PCs). Enter chase scene trying to find the villain as he jaunts around murdering folk in the cause of "good"-starting with the ultimate deception-the "good faiths" that (in his/her eyes) are leading their faithful into darkness.

Paladin of Tyranny: plop him in with the PCs as an NPC out to help them. Eventually showcase a few moments where he/she is so unbendingly "good" that people begin to wonder. Have him disappear later as the reveal that maybe he's not as "good" as they thought. Enter chase scene of trying to hunt him down before he finishes gathering power to "fix the world" (via politics, religion, magic or just money and goons). Also makes for good "grey" campaign, making characters question their morality, and what it is to be "good" or "evil". (like having the paladin kill two young children, only to find out later that they were actually demons in disguise- noone else knew, etc)

Edit: you can also do this in reverse-having a big nasty villain turn out to actually be a champion and hero who's stuck doing awful things to save the town/country/world-and can't tell anyone-for one reason or another-be it secrecy and security (keeping the bad guys from finding out), or just humility, and the fact he understands that what he's doing is still evil and he doesn't want to try and explain it, because while it is for the better, he's still guilt wracked and thinks he deserves it.
« Last Edit: August 24, 2013, 02:50:41 PM by Dkonen »
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Offline zipster

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2013, 01:09:10 AM »
In one of my old adventures, one of the main factions was a group of necromancers. Within the game world, all forms of restorative/healing magic were considered to be a form of necromancy by what would be The Archmage. And, as such, magic was highly regulated by the empire and any form of necromancy was outlawed.

The PC's encountered numerous necromancers in their encounters; they were stronger than the average caster and a single one was often a difficult challenge for the group. Eventually, the PCs learned of the leader of the necromancers. This particular necromancer was the original necromancer - he discovered and perfected the magic to the point of nigh immortality. All sorts of people followed him and learned the magic and very few necromancers opposed him (those who did so with a challenge wouldn't survive the fight). Throughout the entire adventure, this necromancer had been painted as quite the bad guy - it was known that he killed children, ordered the razing of a village, and even abducted a valuable NPC party-member. My PC's were ready to actively hunt him down and try to bring him down.

When they found where he was  hiding at the moment, he was in a severely weakened state. The PC's had every opportunity to kill him, but before combat began they decided they wanted to talk with him, as they didn't get why he was so weak. The necromancer achieved his immortality by transfering his soul into a new body every number of years. This produced a heavy strain on the body for a couple of days, and the body would eventually break down (organ failure, cancers and etc) which required him to constantly look for others to stay alive.

Of course, this was seen as somethign similar to human sacrifice, but one of the PC's eventually chastised him for raising the dead and sending them to battle. His response was, "And by raising the dead, I save lives - the dead are already dead, but you send the living to their graves. Wars will be fought no matter what - at least this way, not as many people have to die."

The head necromancer, after all that had happened, became the PC's ally as he was genuinely interested in saving lives. He understood the risks, and costs of what he had done. The necromancer system was more of an anarchy than anything; he felt the restriction of magic was unfair, and he would offer to teach any who wanted to know, but what they did with that knowledge he distanced himself from.

To this day, this was one of my favorite "white villians" I have done.

Offline Mortadelas

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #12 on: September 18, 2013, 07:25:16 AM »
The King of Haven (a port city in the underdark version of my cosmology)

Noone knows who he is, everyone can actually show up in Haven and say " I am your King and I order you to do X". Ofcourse that is a silly thing to do cause the next morning all false kings so far have been found dead in VERY public places. Also the city is CE so he doesn't have to distribute justice etc.

When someone really wants to meet him, he goes to meet them instead. He never appears though, just wispers. If he thinks he would like to help anyone he just hands him a flag with a number. The number on the flag represents how many close friends and family the King of Haven will kill before he kills the person who stoped/killed the person holding the flag. (Creating a false flag is easy but results in very humiliating and prolonged deaths).

Once a flag was reported to simply hold the word "ALL" instead of a number and that was how the city of Ject turned into a ghost town.

In my version The King is a Human/Assassin/Tef.Shadowlord. My players think he is a ghost or an outsider though. In any case without 10 levels of assassin he doesn't make much sence.
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Offline BeldakSerpenthelm

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Re: 101 Big Villain ideas
« Reply #13 on: January 19, 2015, 01:22:09 AM »
The Locusts: a Baatorian crime syndicate founded on the idea that Imps should develop their strengths without transforming into "stronger" species. The Imps who prefer stealth train primarily as Rogues as fight primarily as Imps (delivering invisible, poisoned Sneak Attacks), while those better suited to direct combat train as Monks and fight as Boars.

Turcenian (Monk 12, ECL 15): The brains behind the syndicate's original construction, Turcenian is far more paranoid than his high WIS score would suggest: he is constantly coming up with fantastic connections between distant trivias, disregarding the vast majority of them most of them but occasionally finding one that he cannot talk himself out of. When talking to specific people, his Sense Motive is extremely accurate, but even when somebody else believes that his conspiracy theories are absurd, Turcenian convinces himself that they merely don't know "the truth."

He has a particular fixation on the "transformations" from one species to the next that Devils are routinely required to undergo as they advance in "proper" society. Officially, a devil simply shape-shifts from one body to the next while remaining fundamentally the same person; Turcenian has become convinced that the "weaker" devil dies in the process, creating an entirely new person who simply has several people's memories.

Turcenian refuses to risk his own life "just in case" the Barbazu (or whatever else) that comes out of the process is still the real him, and he has built a following of Imps that he has convinced to share the same fear. Eventually, they became a powerful enough presence in Baator's further-underworld that even Imps not convinced by the mission statement itself were now willing to risk their official overlords' wrath in exchange for the benefits of membership, be it openly or in secret.

Turcenian himself is better suited to fighting than to senior management: as his organization grew, his sister Milrenia started running the syndicate itself so that Turcenian could continue leading strike teams on specific assignments.

Turcenian displays many superficially Chaotic behaviors, mistrusting the authorities and preferring flexibility and improvisation in the field over step-by-step battle plans, but is still Lawful Evil because everything comes from a fundamentally Lawful motivation: field captains (Turcenian) should be tactically flexible enough to get their team where they need to go, but they must still allow the commander (Milrenia) to decide where the team should go in the first place, and he opposes The System (Asmodeus's government) not because he doesn't think that there should be any system, but because he wants to build his own.

Milrenia (Monk 7, ECL 10): The brains behind the syndicate's continued survival, Milrenia is almost as powerful a fighter as her brother Turcenian, and she is far more skilled at controlling large groups of people.

She herself is not entirely convinced by her brother's conspiracy theories, but still uses them to to great effect when scaring other Imps into submission.