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canyonwalkerI saw an interesting article on Gnome Stew, the (roleplaying) gaming blog, last week: Meeting The Villain— And Letting Them Live. It's about the challenge GMs face in a roleplaying game in creating a compelling villain the players don't just mow down in a few rounds of combat. "Well, just make the villain more powerful," is the simplistic solution. But if the villain's too powerful, then what chance do the players have? The story's hard to make compelling if the players can't score any kind of win.
I've made a lot of compelling villains in my D&D games. I know they're compelling because of how the players respond to them. And part of my success has been that my villains have staying power. They remain villains across a story arc, possibly a long story arc; but they're aren't unbeatable. The players always have some way to find victory in the end, even if it takes a lot of time and effort. Here are Five Things I do to make compelling villains with staying power:
1) Do they even know who the villain is? There's a familiar trope from TV and film that the villain appears to taunt the protagonists, twirling an oiled mustache or swirling a black cape while saying something witty. It's definitely okay to play that trope for fun— I often do!— but it doesn't have to come first. I often introduce the villain's story not by showing the villain but by showing the results of one of their plots. The PCs arrive in town just in time to avert an attack by minions, or are called to a scene to help the survivors of a disaster nobody understands the cause of. They investigate and determine that someone is behind it; they just don't know who. Yet.
2) The villain moves fast. One way to block the party from engaging the villain in combat right away and chopping him/her/it/them down in 3 rounds is to give the villain mobility. Think of it from the villain's perspective: a smart villain doesn't loiter at the scene of the crime to be arrested or killed. They're there to see the results of their dastardly planning and escape before facing much risk. Mobility could be as simple as having a fast horse or being a creature, like a dragn, who can fly away. Or it could involve magic or supernatural effects, like teleporting, or turning invisible, or being able to shapeshift and blend into a crowd. In a scifi game, mobility could mean a fast spaceship or transporter technology that's beyond the garden variety bad guy's means. Seeing the villain and seeing them escape really hooks the protagonists' desire for justice.
3) The villain works through minions. Pretty much no self-respecting villain is a solo act. 😅 Even mad egotists who regard no one as being up to their level will still use grunts and patsies to carry out some of their dirty work— and defend them from trouble. The villain's escape á lá #2 is likely enabled by minions keeping the good guys at bay just long enough. The protagonists can still score a partial victory in scenes like this. Defeating minions chips away at the villain's power and is a necessary step toward the ultimate victory (see below); plus maybe they arrived on scene early enough to thwart the villain's dastardly act even though the villain lived to villainize another day.
4) The villain's lair is protected. Going straight at the villain is a simple idea many players will come up with. While as a GM you can't just saying "No" to a player idea, you absolutely can make it clear, through storytelling and action, that this is a tough, uphill battle. The villain's lair, or wherever they hang their hat, is going to be protected. Whether it's magical wards or high tech traps, the front door isn't just open for anyone to come in. There'll be minions here, too, as guard. Oh, and possibly the local law protects the villain! The PCs may well come at the villain this way— and they may well succeed, too— but to do so they're going to have to use a number of different skills and have a plan to whittle down the villain's defenses.
5) The villain is strong— but not insurmountably so. I pretty much always create the villain as being more powerful, even stripped of all their minions, than the PCs can defeat in a fair fight. At least initially. The protagonists have to earn their victory. In addition to finding/identifying the villain, defeating their minions, disarm the traps, etc., they have to decipher what else gives the villain and advantage— and how to neutralize it. That often involves gaining a level or two while pursuing the villain and also figuring out some sort of magical/technological mystery, like how to overcome the villain's weird power armor or antimagic aura. It could also involve convincing reluctant allies to join the fight.
When the group decodes the final pieces of the puzzle, it's time for the big fight— and then, if they're lucky and good, the villain goes down in 3 rounds.
I've made a lot of compelling villains in my D&D games. I know they're compelling because of how the players respond to them. And part of my success has been that my villains have staying power. They remain villains across a story arc, possibly a long story arc; but they're aren't unbeatable. The players always have some way to find victory in the end, even if it takes a lot of time and effort. Here are Five Things I do to make compelling villains with staying power:
1) Do they even know who the villain is? There's a familiar trope from TV and film that the villain appears to taunt the protagonists, twirling an oiled mustache or swirling a black cape while saying something witty. It's definitely okay to play that trope for fun— I often do!— but it doesn't have to come first. I often introduce the villain's story not by showing the villain but by showing the results of one of their plots. The PCs arrive in town just in time to avert an attack by minions, or are called to a scene to help the survivors of a disaster nobody understands the cause of. They investigate and determine that someone is behind it; they just don't know who. Yet.
2) The villain moves fast. One way to block the party from engaging the villain in combat right away and chopping him/her/it/them down in 3 rounds is to give the villain mobility. Think of it from the villain's perspective: a smart villain doesn't loiter at the scene of the crime to be arrested or killed. They're there to see the results of their dastardly planning and escape before facing much risk. Mobility could be as simple as having a fast horse or being a creature, like a dragn, who can fly away. Or it could involve magic or supernatural effects, like teleporting, or turning invisible, or being able to shapeshift and blend into a crowd. In a scifi game, mobility could mean a fast spaceship or transporter technology that's beyond the garden variety bad guy's means. Seeing the villain and seeing them escape really hooks the protagonists' desire for justice.
3) The villain works through minions. Pretty much no self-respecting villain is a solo act. 😅 Even mad egotists who regard no one as being up to their level will still use grunts and patsies to carry out some of their dirty work— and defend them from trouble. The villain's escape á lá #2 is likely enabled by minions keeping the good guys at bay just long enough. The protagonists can still score a partial victory in scenes like this. Defeating minions chips away at the villain's power and is a necessary step toward the ultimate victory (see below); plus maybe they arrived on scene early enough to thwart the villain's dastardly act even though the villain lived to villainize another day.
4) The villain's lair is protected. Going straight at the villain is a simple idea many players will come up with. While as a GM you can't just saying "No" to a player idea, you absolutely can make it clear, through storytelling and action, that this is a tough, uphill battle. The villain's lair, or wherever they hang their hat, is going to be protected. Whether it's magical wards or high tech traps, the front door isn't just open for anyone to come in. There'll be minions here, too, as guard. Oh, and possibly the local law protects the villain! The PCs may well come at the villain this way— and they may well succeed, too— but to do so they're going to have to use a number of different skills and have a plan to whittle down the villain's defenses.
5) The villain is strong— but not insurmountably so. I pretty much always create the villain as being more powerful, even stripped of all their minions, than the PCs can defeat in a fair fight. At least initially. The protagonists have to earn their victory. In addition to finding/identifying the villain, defeating their minions, disarm the traps, etc., they have to decipher what else gives the villain and advantage— and how to neutralize it. That often involves gaining a level or two while pursuing the villain and also figuring out some sort of magical/technological mystery, like how to overcome the villain's weird power armor or antimagic aura. It could also involve convincing reluctant allies to join the fight.
When the group decodes the final pieces of the puzzle, it's time for the big fight— and then, if they're lucky and good, the villain goes down in 3 rounds.
