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How to be a Great Game Master: so I'm running my first campaign, and I really need the BBEG to hit home. He's an ancient, clockwork-manipulating "savior" of the world. He is essentially working alongside the party to keep time itself from falling apart, and when he and the party dispatch of all dangers to their quest, he will become corrupt. He'll try to persuade the party into manipulation of time alongside him. How can I truly make him a friend of the party, so that his betrayal is extremely painful?
@@Deadbox_2002 Give him a few endearing qualities that other lovable mentors in fiction have. Draw inspiration from characters such as Uncle Iroh from Avatar - it absolutely wrenches my heart to even mention the possibility of him becoming a villain. But that's speaking in terms of just the characters. As far as the actual players playing those characters go, I'm not sure. There are different kinds of players and they will respond emotionally to different moments. I guess one universal thing to keep in mind is to avoid overexposing that character, if he's there all the time, he might eventually become boring.
For me, a BBEG who works as a metaphor is the best kind. In my campaign, solo hypercompetent heroes fighting huge threats used to be the norm, but now both the heroes and the threats are in the past. Now, it's everyman adventures fighting much more mundane problems. My BBEG is one of those old heroes, and he wants to keep the world in the age of heroes, and he's willing to destroy nations to do it.
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Galaxy Brain: The “Greater Good” BBEG is redeemable if the players convincingly present a better solution or outright solve the problem before the BBEG finishes their plan. Related: A “Greater Good” villain-tier enemy makes for a great “enemy of my enemy” team-up.
To more easily defeat the B.B.E.G. of my last campaign, half of the party made a deal with the B.B.E.G of my next campaign. The new B.B.E.G. is going to act the part of a mentor until such time as the party is forced to make a decision which path to follow.
There is a villain tipe that I think that is unused and can be really good. "The OTHER GOOD Villain" In a set of vampire hunters, the vampire hero that tries to save his kind of an only-vampire plage. The Other Good Villain is very similar to the "Greater Good" Villain. The main diference is that they make the pc's "the true villains" In the previously stated set, it is the character that sows the players that they are agresive, uncontrolled and xenophobe. Not all vampires are murderous beast. They have killed families that only wanted to have a peaceful live with their "stock". And this mindset can be "true" and still be good. Some villains, as you mencioned, have a "blind spot" so they keep being evil. The Other Good Villain is the contrary. Is there to show the players their own blind spot.
I think the best Traitor-Type BBEG I've ever heard of in my life is Gittur Dunn, the "RedNeckromancer" from All Things DnD. Probably the most awesome, "Should've-Seen-It-Coming, Way-To-Break-It-Hero" moments I've ever heard of a DM actually pulling off.
Love the return to form with the advertising at the end. Been watching for a long time and this feels nostalgic and is a good summary of previous content.
Another way to list the four types of antagonists is like: Nemesis: the final boss of the entire game Villain: the boss of that specific "level" (like that adventure) Henchmen: mini-bosses in that "level" Goons: trash mobs that you kill to get to the henchmen
Love your videos! They always provide a much needed structure to control the chaos that are my ideas. :D Currently working with this concept (my first campaign): The children of the first BBEG (Paranoid psycho Wizard) are soldiers of the second BBEG (Greater Good type) who abandoned their mentally ill father. They act as allies in putting down their family member, then as a hook to a second campaign if we get to finish the first.
Awesome video, thank you! You‘ve might forgot one interesting type of nemesis. There could be a nemesis who tries to corrupt the party to make them work for him. Then the party becomes the new henchmen, until they realize their mistake.
Great video, btw. :) I struggled trying to find the video on your channel that explained the types of nemesiseseseseseses (dafaq is the plural? lol), but this explained it quite succinctly
Love the video, I think this is just scratching the surface of villainhood, but got me thinking. When you were talking about the Nemesis types around 8:00, I think this is a great starting point, but can get so much deeper! For me, a great villain comes from pain. This is probably the most detailed NPC in the game, and deserves a rich backstory. Real people are warped into evil, making a merciless evil that resulted from horrible circumstances can be both heartwrenching and anger inducing. My favorite Nemesis would be one you can relate to in a sickening way, and know it must die because their morality cant be salvaged.
I like the idea of 2 BBEGs the ultimate villain the PCs are trying to defeat is a power psycho who cares for nothing but power (Palpatine) the secondary villain is the lost evil who believed he was doing something righteous by following the big bad (Vader) this makes the Power Psycho even more hated and evil for twisting a character the PCs should grow to love and by the end the Lost Evil overthrows the Big Bad Power Psycho and ultimately becomes even more beloved.
It was very interesting to see. I use a bit of a mix of those options in my campain. He is a Mastermind that had good intentions when he got an artifact that could change smaller things in time. Using it the first time he got split into two versions of him. One devestated by a possible future he wants to change at any cost. The other one only gaining the power to send few people to certain times in history. Both versions do not know of each other and while the first one tries to do the greater good his other version is the mentor trying to stop himself by sending the players. So the clue for them will be to find out about the two versions of him and getting control of that artifact.
Mastermind: Kingpin, Rita Repulsa, Lex Luthor, (and me) Never Present: The war on terror, the war on drugs, the Devil's Evil, the Nothing, Cthulhu. Traitor: Benedict Arnold, Lando Calrissian, Benny (the Mummy), Princess Malty Melromarc. Blunt Force: The Joker, Magneto, Shredder, Bowser.
This video doesn't talk about my favorite kind of nemesis, the force of nature. Something that's beyond morality, has no goals, and just acts. I would love to hear your take on that kind of nemesis. (Ex. the kraken, natural disasters, a coming winter, death as a character, etc.) True, they can be more of a ticking clock than a nemesis, but would you ever run a campaign where they are the big bad? Love your videos. Great discussion.
...Forces of Nature make TERRRIBLE big bads. You think they would...but the issue is that a true Force of Nature...simply doesn't have the Charisma to be a Big Bad. You can't punch a Force of Nature in the face. Death isn't doing the WRONG THING. They do, however, make great things to be USED by Big Bads.
Here's an example of a work with a Force of Nature as a BBEG... Lord of the Rings. Sauron is a force of nature. And sure enough. He never appears onscreen, and is never confonted by the heroes. Which would be anti-climatic... Except the "True" Nemeiss...was the RING ITSELF. With Saruman, Denethor, and Gollum as Villains. (Denethor COULD be a Henchman for Saruman, depending...or even a Goon)
@@MitchellTF I don't know about that. The Nothing in "The Neverending Story" is a force of nature, yet it makes a good story. In Marvel, Galactus is also a force of nature. Or the Great Evil in "The Fifth Element". But you're right, you can't really "punch them in the face." It cannot end with a fight against it. Not directly. You can only defeat it by defeating its main agent or by enabling an equally powerful opponent.
Note that, in 2/3 of those cases? The BBEG actually had a more direct villain who was the 'true' confrontation, or who moved the story along. This person functionally served as the BBEG. And the Nothing was replaced by Xayibe. With Gmork also serving as the functional BBEG. (Even if TECHNIcALLY he was only The Villain). The Nothing was also controlled by the Manipulators. (And, in the book...essentially got a lot of symbolic characterization) Galactus, meanwhile...isn't a TRUE "Force of Nature"...as he has a real personality. He's "Unknowable" to an extent...but, he's also there, and DOES things. But, it's a moot point...as a "Force of Nature" would just be an Unknowable In Your Face Nemesis.
This was VERY valuable. I want to reboot my game soon andhave been thinking about trying to have a more structured, less "kitchen sink" campaign. Having a major BBEG, but lots of underlings as you suggest will really help unify things. Great work, and all the best!
In my current dnd campaign I have two villains, Vecna and Tiamat but I’m home brewing something for our next campaign, I’m making a villain who wants to merge all the planes into one and destroy the gods because he feels that they’re so selective in when they intervene that it isn’t fair and he’ll do anything to ensure that his version of fairness is achieved
I am running an adapted AL Tyranny of Dragons campaign, due to lockdown party availability I have added in a BBEG not from the campaign itself, and is basically a high level assassin, working for the greater good.
My nemesis being a “greater good” actually has a very easy fix if the players ally with him. Extreme moral sacrifice, but an ally forging the Eldrich God setting its sights on the world.
The greatest npc I think I ever made was a mercenary businessman. Yes he was a sell sword but was loyal to the contracts. He dedicated only enough forces and efforts as the agreement stayed. He has appeared in many campaigns as an ally/enemy/ and neutral. He always was playing the role of a villain in the video's terms while he was building his resources working towards a bigger plan. The one time he was the Nemesis he had been building his plan for months and years with so much consistency plans that even if they were to meet an untimely end his plans would still be successful. If I consider who he was most like I would say someone like Darth Bane. Knowing his plans might not be complete within his lifetime but the long term goal would be his.
I have this idea for a villain in a campaign I'm saving for when I have enough experience with D&D. Dark sorcerer who wields immense power using this crystal of unknown origin. He rules over the Monarchy of these lands as a shadow King, and uses his enforcers to ensure the King bends to his will. What he enjoys is obtaining knowledge and gaining more power through the manufacturing of artificial crisis and giving the King "solutions" to the problems he caused, as well as forcing the King to start overseas wars with other nations to expand the military for greater power, and to protect his other schemes, such as money laundering, human trafficking, smuggling of illegal substances, et cetera. He puts himself and his Shadow Council (the enforcers) above everything else. Now because of how he commits his crime, he must be very careful in his controlled demolition, otherwise there wouldn't be a Kingdom left to rule and he'd have to start over. As for when he slithers about his business, he hides in plain sight. He's a liar, a deceiver, and he does things to people to get what he wants, no matter the cost. He will appear as a friend to those who don't realize they are their enemy. He is always watching, being able to summon bats to track the unknowing citizen's moves. The only thing left in his conquering is putting down the outer islands of the archipelago he rules, as they're far away enough to be not nearly as affected by his influence, salutary neglect if you will. As for his enforcers, you have four in total, being a Dark Paladin, Artificer, Cleric, and a Barbarian. They each control operations going on within their jurisdictions, but like I said, some areas get more attention than others, and the further out you are from the main island, the less influence there is. They each have their own goons that work things out for them as well, usually within the ranks of the military and other domestic forces. Lastly, I came up with how the fight sort of goes. Phase 1 with the BBEG is simple, you fight him as a Sorcerer, Phase 2 is when he pulls out the big boy spells and attacks, and Phase 3 is where you destroy the crystal, the tower caves in, the party lands in a cave below. The sorcerer out of pure power and will, returns in a form akin to Giygas from Earthbound/Mother 2. He has no rational thoughts, he is in severe pain, his screams and words fade in and out as his speghettified organic matter swirls around, barely resembling the sorcerer he was. The fight ends when he's beaten to the point where there's no physical form to grab onto, and he finally dies. Players would probably be one of three reactions, "Dammit, how tf is he still alive," "Good God... what happened..." or "Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of your actions, let's dance." I'm hoping for the more scared/sad reaction, because maybe one of my future players is a sensitive person, all about Diplomacy and they just see this thing suffering, no longer human, just pure pain and rage. To me, it sounds like a pretty metal boss, perhaps in the "ow the edge" department for many. As for actually pulling off his whole agenda and crime thing during the campaign, I don't anticipate my players to do squat about it, I just hope they get to him and take him out, either to free the people or put them under new management, we'll see. If it's a cool villain concept, cool I'll use it, and if you want to, go ahead.
Most helpful thank you. I agree on Darth Vader. Another good lost to evil villain are the game super paper mario villian. Count Bleck wants to destroy the multivers but is a broken man that lost the love of his life. And are now insane and want to end it all and then die, redemtion the love of his life is still alive. Many "a greater good villians" are from JRPG:s. And another blunt force villain is Transformers Megatron emperor, warlord and warrior use minions/henchmen or fight himself on the front lines.
I think Darth Vader is not a great example of a lost villain at least in cinematic portrayals. Yes, theoretically and from the audience's perspective, he did become a good guy. However, the idea is where this similarity ends. He doesn't really seem to care about what he's done to the people of the galaxy, only caring about Luke and arguably Leia. In TTRPG campaigns, especially story-based and "realistic" ones, this can be hard to gloss over. But I do agree Megatron is an awesome bluntforce bad guy along with the first incarnation of Godzilla and the classic movie monsters.
I plan a nemesis who once had god-like power (was defeated by literal gods and stripped of most of his power). He seeks to take revenge (actually it's more like he wants a rematch with the gods) and thus collects powerful artifacts to strengthen himself. But at the same time those artifacts need to be discovered, conquered and so on. So he makes quite a mess while collecting them which leads to the premises of the earlier games before the players know anything about the Nemesis. Right now they are in their second adventure in my world and even though this is new for me (and they won't encounter the Nemesis in this campaign) I really like it and am looking forward to my players reacting to the Nemesis.
Thulsadoom, from Conan the Barbarian movie, is my favorite Nemesis with the Barbarian Brothers, Rexor and Thorgrim, as his Villains are quintessential bad guys.
I once had a BBEG that was once a Greater Good Villain but shifted into Power-hungry Psycho over the years. Their original motive was to create a world where the prejudice against races outside of the big 3 and the midgets. Tieflings like him have it the hardest due to basically the backstory plot of that one movie where 2 police officers, one being an orc, have to save the world by getting a magic wand.
Now they just want the power to just make a world of his own for its own sake. That said to do so he would have to destroy the world that the game takes place in but that is why he is a villain.
Examples of well written villains in media (spoilers for Bionicle, Guilty Gear Xrd & Ergo Proxy): Power Psycho - Makuta (Bionicle) Elusive, strategic, maunipulative. Endangers the universe, good guys team up with him (despite knowing his intentions, but not his plans) and save the universe which is where he succeeds in taking over the universe Greater Good - Bedman (Guilty Gear Xrd) Operates under the assumption that if he succeeds, he can revive everyone he kills in the process, still has a moral code of not killing innocents, gets betrayed by the nemesis in his last moments and dies saving his sister from being locked in an alternate dimension Lost to Evil - Ergo Proxy (Ergo Proxy) Rejects the purpose as to why he was created with the intention of destroying everything he's created as a middle finger to his own creator, dies without redemption
How I keep my players from siding with the BBE? I create two or more opposing sides. One can become an allie, if the players want to go that route, but that puts them in direct opposition to the other side(s).
One of the most fun things I have done was a faction war story. In this specific one, I had 2 villain characters in the game at the same time, both falling into the greater good category, but don't agree on what this greater good is. One elf-supremacy superpower, inspired a lot by the daimyo mentality. and a freedom fighter group doing it "for the people" without actually knowing what the people they fight in the name of actually want. and one that is power psycho nemesis, controlling both sides from the backline, head-advisor to the first, and inside spy to the 2nd. Not an original story by any means, loosely based on a book by Terry Pratchett (Interesting times), just in a more serious manner and other twists to make it my own.
My players befriended the villain, not knowing he was a villain. He is currently have them aquiring workers and materials to build his lair. If they find out who he is they can stop him easily. Unless they continue to help him....
"The BBEG becomes the PCs hero, and you don't want that" Don't we? I can see it as a seriously interesting idea where the players play PROPERLY evil characters, not "muahaha, let's kick puppies" but "Let's blow up the moon where all the Fey live to scare everyone into peace if there has been a full generation of war everywhere and this is a good way to make them stop. If anything, I think that would make for a greater scenario where the players don't try to keep the universe the way it is, but they try to change the universe in a way that only a single person has any chance of even dreaming up!
The thing about greater good is thinking you're doing good but you're doing evil and it inevitably leads to grey areas that often swing poorly. Blowing up the moon is actually a perfect example of this and would have some serious consequences if not destabilization of a whole planet. You might be thinking of more Neutral organizations that players can join rather than Big Bad.
Yeah You definately lost me when you said you dont want your players to think the nemesis is the hero. Cause thats a Really good narrative arc, and can throw out the previous BBEG Idea and now the party is siding with evil.
You misunderstood, I think, what he meant. A Nemesis should always think they are the hero...but there should always be something to make the PCs not actually want to tip the scales...unless you want to offer that as a twist. In that case, then...the Nemesis is not ACTUALLY a Nemesis. It's a 'potential hero'...but then you should have a DIFFERENT Nemesis, who is actually the "True" BBEG. In that case, the "Nemesis" they are siding with is a Red Herring. If the players just want to be evil for the sake of evil...that's fine, and that's a fun game. But then they need a reason to go against the "Heroes"...In which case, you just kinda reverse the morality of the Advice. (Do you have a hero who just hates Evil, do you have a hero who's confliccted at fighting the PC Villains, do you have one who can be 'corrupted') The problem is, if you're not careful, you can easily make a 'grey and grey morality' game, where things don't MATTER... An example is Fallout New Vegas. SURE you can side with the legion, in theory...but, when you get down to it, they are EVIL. They rape, murder, and kill. The players know THESE GUYS ARE THE BAD GUYS...they just don't care.
I agree with Mitchell. If the players choose to side with the nemesis, are they not "redeemed" from their perspective and the nemesis's perspective? Unless you're working with static morality, in which case the heroes would become fallen heroes universally. This could be a good arc if it actually arcs. As in, if the players discover/realize the hidden evil of their role model. But if the players are evil or become evil, their nemesis is "defeated" because whatever it was became an ally instead of an antagonist. This would leave a nemesis spot open among the antagonists of the party which would usually be filled by whoever opposes the villain.
The nemesis will not think twice before using the hand players lend them to throw them into a pit of lava if that makes a good path to step on. That's what players need to be aware of, regardless of their alignment.
Looking forward to bringing my first act henchman back as a third act villain/nemesis. The lowly Goblin boss was captured and turned over to the local authorities. And promptly forgotten. After a medieval style interrogation he fled downriver with the connivance of a scheming member of the baronial court to set up a crime syndicate in the capitol. Will ambition trump revenge? Time (and the PCs) will tell...
Had an strong NPC attack the party in the first game, steal a thing, and retreat. A few games later they learned about some sort of evil wizard with a funny name that was driven off in the past. Many games later the party is thrown into the past via divine intervention during a cataclysmic event. Party wanders about looking for familiar places. Party meets a good fellow with a funny name. He guides them around and is generally a good person that aids them with all their endeavors, he even comes with them to fight. He opens his home to the party. They meet his family, his village, his friends. They battle against those in power who want to kill off his kind and grow very close while gearing up for the looming threat. Party defeats the ancient lich that threatened the country. And in the process, returns to their time. As this is happening they watch in horror as the lich binds the last vestiges of his soul to funny named NPC. 300 YEARS LATER.. Their former friend for over 100 sessions is now a husk of himself and, despite having been left in the past, is still very much alive. He's been driven mad by the lich's influence and the kingdom's murder of his people in the aftermath. The party has no choice but to fight him. He's beyond saving and has been scheming to destroy this land for 300 years. The person they'd read about so long ago. The person who'd stood watch for them at night, broke bread with them, celebrated and mourned with them.. ..Must die if his soul is to rest. The Mcguffin he stole in the first session was the final piece needed to complete the ritual. Its a race to reach him before it's too late. Final battle ensues.
I'm a new DM with a party of 7 that wants to go to level 20. Only problem is I'm having a hard time making a big nemesis that could be a deadly or even hard encounter for that many players at that high level. Any suggestions?
The first tip I give to anyone in that situation is to throw Challenge Ratings right out the window. That calculation never truly works as well as it should, especially for parties above 4. Now the real advice: 1) Power game. This is a bad thing for players to do, but DMs have the ability to craft enemies that specifically target the PCs weaknesses. Is your heaviest hitter a greataxe-wielding barbarian with a wide critical range? Make an enemy that’s immune to slashing damage and wields an adamantine shield. Powerful Wizard causing problems? Staff of counterspell. 2) Break and steal their stuff. Players love their stuff. Get some goblins to steal their money from their camp. Have a Minotaur step on the ranger’s quiver and break all their arrows. Have a vengeful sorcerer cast dispel magic on their shield guardian’s amulet. 3) Separate them. 7 players is a lot. Villains know that, so they could try to split them up and take them on in separate groups. 4) Traptical Retreat. In a dungeon or lair? The villains know where the traps are. Lead the party to them. 5) No rest for the weary. Haunt their dreams. Don’t let them sleep a wink. Exhaustion mechanics are brutal if stacked high enough. 6) Trick them into giving up power. Maybe the enchanted silvered great sword the Paladin carries is a family heirloom belonging to the dying father of the leader of a small barony and him giving it to his heir is the only way to ensure the people will respect the new Baron’s leadership. Maybe the Paladin will part with it willingly right away. Maybe the Baron pays with a favour or gold. Great down the line, but useless in a combat that comes before the party can spend it. Or maybe the Warlock’s patron demands to be given some powerful material components they need for high level spells. The above may or may not serve as evidence that all DMs are Lawful Evil.
@@nickclark9725 Of course, if you do too many of these too often, and without allowing the PC's any recourse to mitigate the misfortunes through play, you'll be solving the issue of having too many players by getting them to quit your table.
@@Shalakor That is a worthwhile warning, yes. All of that advice comes with the caveat that a DM is not there to beat the players but rather to make them work for victory.
I will never forget the end of my first non-Star Wars campaign. PCs found the secret organization's lair, etc, and were given the "Join us in maintaining stability of the country against this possible threat or die." PCs: Well... you're kinda suspicious, but you're trying to keep some kind of balance here.. Alright, but we need to talk about this racism problem against Orcs. Me:... Well, I guess that's that. I guess I get to invent some more stories. The threat wasn't real, so I had to make it real. Then they basically kept assuming the threat was still looming, so I made 2-3 bonus adventures before reaching a conclusion that finally got them to stop.
Love the video but I think there is one more type of nemesis, The Revenge Driven. This is the villain that became a villain because of something the PCs did. This one is fun to show the players that they're actions have consequences.
Analyze the Final Fantasy villains, they run the gammot. Exdeath is just evil personified, Kefka is a laughing mad power hungry clown, Ultimecia is just trying to escape persecution by compressing time, Sephiroth has delusions of godhood etc In X, Yu Yevon is just trying to save his city, Sin is a mindless monster to thay end, Jecht just wants to see his son prospher. Only Seymour is a traditional mwa ha ha villain.
Isn't Vegeta more Lost to Good? I know it's splitting hairs, but his "I don't want to be a good guy"-attitude cracked me up as a child laughing about it
I'm currently starting up my own campaign and am aiming for a greater good type nemsis with a possible redemption arc based on how the pc's play it. He's of the mastermind variety and I'm planning on this campaign taking about a year with weekly sessions. Hopefully I'll have enough content for all of that but I think I've got the basis formy world and story pretty well fleshed out I'm just nervous. It's my first time DM'ing in quite some time and while I've done it before and am fairly comfortable behind the screen I always get nervous. I'm very much a meticulous planning kind of person and that generally goes out the window once I'm with my group lol
Any ideas for dendar as a ultimate evil? Obviously the villains will be yuan ti summoner, but their personalities are quite hard to pinpoint... Why would someone want to summon a world devouring snake?
The only part of the prequel trilogy that I did not like, was where Vader killed the Younglings. That made him irredeemable in my eyes. I think that, at best, Vader is a "Greater Good" type of villain.
A bit late to the comment party here, but ima ask anyway. Is it possible to have a Psycho BBEG that’s never there (until the reveal/end). Then a Lost to Evil BBEG that’s trying to stop the Psycho that no one else seems to even know exists? 🤔🤔🤔
Missed One? How about the classic "nation vs. nation" situation where the other nation is the bad guy? From your "Management Style" list, this will fit as #2, the "Never Present." But the "Three Types of Evil" list does not appear to have a fitting choice. The "Evil One" seen by one side is the "Heroic Patriot" seen by the other side. The "Patriot" brushes against the "Greater Good" concept, but does not really fulfill that role. The players will be up against a villain (not the Nemesis) who is fulfilling his patriotic duty to the Nemesis (foreign power). While this action might constitute "evil" to the villain's opponents, it is purely good in his eyes and in the morals of his nation. Thoughts?
That's still greater good except it demands political context for players to decide which side they like. Add a spin with the 3rd actually evil nation making both nations fight so they are weakened and then take over both.
I like the idea were the BBEG is Not actualy the greatest evil, but is overthoun by one of his or her lutenends. Like in Final Fantasy 6 - I hated Kefka more than I can say. More than any other badguy in all my life. I always think of him, if I want to portrai an evil person.
What is the extent of Dungeon Fog? Is it just encounter maps? Or could you do town/city maps as well? Could you use it for a region/world map? Thanks! Edit: I have answered my own question, it can do it all! (ua-cam.com/video/w97iYob_ypc/v-deo.html)
My world has convergences occur, breaches from other worlds that bleed their element into this realm. The bbeg has witnessed these convergences and uses his dark power to steal the elemental energy from an Apex creature that comes from these breaches. Since the birth of his power, this bbeg gained immortality, but watched as his power over shadow has corrupted and left dark wounds on the realm as well as his own soul. He steals the power of other elements in order to build the original magic of creation so that he can destroy and then rebuild the world without his shadow cast over it. My players discover his influence first within an adventure called Book of Sands, where they see his power leeching the energy from a giant worm entity over time that came from a convergence several thousand years ago. So my players will step into each "book" so to speak and see in the background what shadow has cursed and wounded in the world, all while interacting with the remnants of 5 different convergences all of different elements. They'll figure out that the bbeg, just an immortal man, is his own convergence of darkness, but that it never came from a convergence. They discover that the very world they live in is the world of darkness which is why darkness was born there, then either defeat the big bad, cleanse the darkness and release him from his fate, or use creation itself in whichever way the players see fit.
Thanks for watching! Let us know in the comments below what you think makes a great BBEG?
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Style makes a great BBEG in my opinion, a striking appearance and theme noticeable throughout the campaign
How to be a Great Game Master: so I'm running my first campaign, and I really need the BBEG to hit home. He's an ancient, clockwork-manipulating "savior" of the world. He is essentially working alongside the party to keep time itself from falling apart, and when he and the party dispatch of all dangers to their quest, he will become corrupt. He'll try to persuade the party into manipulation of time alongside him. How can I truly make him a friend of the party, so that his betrayal is extremely painful?
@@Deadbox_2002 Give him a few endearing qualities that other lovable mentors in fiction have. Draw inspiration from characters such as Uncle Iroh from Avatar - it absolutely wrenches my heart to even mention the possibility of him becoming a villain.
But that's speaking in terms of just the characters. As far as the actual players playing those characters go, I'm not sure. There are different kinds of players and they will respond emotionally to different moments. I guess one universal thing to keep in mind is to avoid overexposing that character, if he's there all the time, he might eventually become boring.
For me, a BBEG who works as a metaphor is the best kind.
In my campaign, solo hypercompetent heroes fighting huge threats used to be the norm, but now both the heroes and the threats are in the past. Now, it's everyman adventures fighting much more mundane problems.
My BBEG is one of those old heroes, and he wants to keep the world in the age of heroes, and he's willing to destroy nations to do it.
you all prolly dont care but does someone know of a trick to log back into an instagram account?
I stupidly forgot the login password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me!
Galaxy Brain: The “Greater Good” BBEG is redeemable if the players convincingly present a better solution or outright solve the problem before the BBEG finishes their plan.
Related: A “Greater Good” villain-tier enemy makes for a great “enemy of my enemy” team-up.
Power Psycho: Emperor Palpatine
Greater Good: Grand Moff Tarkin
Lost to Evil: Darth Vader
The Perfect triad of the Empire
For the Greater Good villain, I am thinking of Ozymandias from watchmen .
What about thrawn?
How about Thanos as a rep. for the greater good?
To more easily defeat the B.B.E.G. of my last campaign, half of the party made a deal with the B.B.E.G of my next campaign. The new B.B.E.G. is going to act the part of a mentor until such time as the party is forced to make a decision which path to follow.
There is a villain tipe that I think that is unused and can be really good.
"The OTHER GOOD Villain"
In a set of vampire hunters, the vampire hero that tries to save his kind of an only-vampire plage.
The Other Good Villain is very similar to the "Greater Good" Villain. The main diference is that they make the pc's "the true villains"
In the previously stated set, it is the character that sows the players that they are agresive, uncontrolled and xenophobe. Not all vampires are murderous beast. They have killed families that only wanted to have a peaceful live with their "stock".
And this mindset can be "true" and still be good.
Some villains, as you mencioned, have a "blind spot" so they keep being evil. The Other Good Villain is the contrary. Is there to show the players their own blind spot.
I think the best Traitor-Type BBEG I've ever heard of in my life is Gittur Dunn, the "RedNeckromancer" from All Things DnD. Probably the most awesome, "Should've-Seen-It-Coming, Way-To-Break-It-Hero" moments I've ever heard of a DM actually pulling off.
Love the return to form with the advertising at the end. Been watching for a long time and this feels nostalgic and is a good summary of previous content.
One time I had an evil guy planned out, but my parties characters were all evil so they ended up teeming with him . That was a lot of improvisation
Love me a villain you can side with.
Little we know guy is the villain we all wish to be
big bad evil GUY :o
Thank you, this really brought my antagonists into focus! A Blunt Force here, a Mastermind there, a Traitor all too close...
One of your best videos. You always calm me when I m overthinking about my next session , or my general purpose as a GM
Another way to list the four types of antagonists is like:
Nemesis: the final boss of the entire game
Villain: the boss of that specific "level" (like that adventure)
Henchmen: mini-bosses in that "level"
Goons: trash mobs that you kill to get to the henchmen
Your fritzy and fanciful delivery is very endearing to me, love these videos. They’ve really helped me gain the courage to make my first homebrew!
This information will be extremely helpful. I see the structure of Villainy in a new light now. Thank you for sharing this.
New video from Guy on a topic I was thinking of! Hooray!
The beginning was blowing my mind 🤯
Good tips
I’m creating a BBEG now for the end of my campaign
Love your videos! They always provide a much needed structure to control the chaos that are my ideas. :D
Currently working with this concept (my first campaign): The children of the first BBEG (Paranoid psycho Wizard) are soldiers of the second BBEG (Greater Good type) who abandoned their mentally ill father. They act as allies in putting down their family member, then as a hook to a second campaign if we get to finish the first.
0:50 We are watching: How to be a great Guy?
Thank you Guy, I really enjoy your videos. The way you break down and explain your subjects is just great and super useful. Keep up the good work!
Awesome video, thank you!
You‘ve might forgot one interesting type of nemesis. There could be a nemesis who tries to corrupt the party to make them work for him. Then the party becomes the new henchmen, until they realize their mistake.
Great video, btw. :) I struggled trying to find the video on your channel that explained the types of nemesiseseseseseses (dafaq is the plural? lol), but this explained it quite succinctly
Love the video, I think this is just scratching the surface of villainhood, but got me thinking.
When you were talking about the Nemesis types around 8:00, I think this is a great starting point, but can get so much deeper! For me, a great villain comes from pain. This is probably the most detailed NPC in the game, and deserves a rich backstory. Real people are warped into evil, making a merciless evil that resulted from horrible circumstances can be both heartwrenching and anger inducing.
My favorite Nemesis would be one you can relate to in a sickening way, and know it must die because their morality cant be salvaged.
This makes a lot of sense.
Wonderfully helpful video! Thank you for the great insights!
This actually solved a tricky but of business I have upcoming in the next session, thank you
Brilliant! My 4-year long campaign had the psycho mastermind nemesis, time to level up for my bext campaign :-)
I like the idea of 2 BBEGs the ultimate villain the PCs are trying to defeat is a power psycho who cares for nothing but power (Palpatine) the secondary villain is the lost evil who believed he was doing something righteous by following the big bad (Vader) this makes the Power Psycho even more hated and evil for twisting a character the PCs should grow to love and by the end the Lost Evil overthrows the Big Bad Power Psycho and ultimately becomes even more beloved.
It was very interesting to see. I use a bit of a mix of those options in my campain.
He is a Mastermind that had good intentions when he got an artifact that could change smaller things in time.
Using it the first time he got split into two versions of him. One devestated by a possible future he wants to change at any cost.
The other one only gaining the power to send few people to certain times in history.
Both versions do not know of each other and while the first one tries to do the greater good his other version is the mentor trying to stop himself by sending the players.
So the clue for them will be to find out about the two versions of him and getting control of that artifact.
Are there any tips for soft worldbuilding you could give us?
His channel has some amazing videos on it. I highly recommend watching his older stuff too.
As previously stated. Check out his older videos. They are pretty good videos to watch to get some help.
Mastermind: Kingpin, Rita Repulsa, Lex Luthor, (and me)
Never Present: The war on terror, the war on drugs, the Devil's Evil, the Nothing, Cthulhu.
Traitor: Benedict Arnold, Lando Calrissian, Benny (the Mummy), Princess Malty Melromarc.
Blunt Force: The Joker, Magneto, Shredder, Bowser.
Rita Repulsa was alright but should have replaced her with Lord Zedd on the list.
This video doesn't talk about my favorite kind of nemesis, the force of nature. Something that's beyond morality, has no goals, and just acts. I would love to hear your take on that kind of nemesis. (Ex. the kraken, natural disasters, a coming winter, death as a character, etc.) True, they can be more of a ticking clock than a nemesis, but would you ever run a campaign where they are the big bad? Love your videos. Great discussion.
...Forces of Nature make TERRRIBLE big bads. You think they would...but the issue is that a true Force of Nature...simply doesn't have the Charisma to be a Big Bad. You can't punch a Force of Nature in the face. Death isn't doing the WRONG THING.
They do, however, make great things to be USED by Big Bads.
Here's an example of a work with a Force of Nature as a BBEG...
Lord of the Rings. Sauron is a force of nature. And sure enough. He never appears onscreen, and is never confonted by the heroes. Which would be anti-climatic...
Except the "True" Nemeiss...was the RING ITSELF. With Saruman, Denethor, and Gollum as Villains. (Denethor COULD be a Henchman for Saruman, depending...or even a Goon)
The force of nature might be a good framing for your story but I think something with personality and goals is much more compelling.
@@MitchellTF I don't know about that. The Nothing in "The Neverending Story" is a force of nature, yet it makes a good story. In Marvel, Galactus is also a force of nature. Or the Great Evil in "The Fifth Element". But you're right, you can't really "punch them in the face." It cannot end with a fight against it. Not directly. You can only defeat it by defeating its main agent or by enabling an equally powerful opponent.
Note that, in 2/3 of those cases? The BBEG actually had a more direct villain who was the 'true' confrontation, or who moved the story along. This person functionally served as the BBEG. And the Nothing was replaced by Xayibe. With Gmork also serving as the functional BBEG. (Even if TECHNIcALLY he was only The Villain). The Nothing was also controlled by the Manipulators. (And, in the book...essentially got a lot of symbolic characterization)
Galactus, meanwhile...isn't a TRUE "Force of Nature"...as he has a real personality. He's "Unknowable" to an extent...but, he's also there, and DOES things.
But, it's a moot point...as a "Force of Nature" would just be an Unknowable In Your Face Nemesis.
I am having a BBEG were I am adapting to what the players do and try and I switch betwen psycho, greater good and redemption over the years.
This was VERY valuable. I want to reboot my game soon andhave been thinking about trying to have a more structured, less "kitchen sink" campaign. Having a major BBEG, but lots of underlings as you suggest will really help unify things. Great work, and all the best!
Love how this goes came out today cuz my party is about to meet the BBEG in today's game!
Helpful topic and good video. Time to watch a second time.
Great video! Thank you!
Corporations have the exact same structure:
Nemesis: CEO
Villain: Executive
Henchman: Supervisor
Goon: YOU (workers)
COINCIDENCE?? I THINK NOT!
Soooo I now have to create an evil intern, who opposes the players verbaly, but is not paid enough/at all to realy attmpt to stop them?
Very helpful, thanks.
I thought for a second it said "create the ultimate big sad evil guy"
In my current dnd campaign I have two villains, Vecna and Tiamat but I’m home brewing something for our next campaign, I’m making a villain who wants to merge all the planes into one and destroy the gods because he feels that they’re so selective in when they intervene that it isn’t fair and he’ll do anything to ensure that his version of fairness is achieved
Megaton in the original transformers show is also a good example of a blunt force villain.
I am running an adapted AL Tyranny of Dragons campaign, due to lockdown party availability I have added in a BBEG not from the campaign itself, and is basically a high level assassin, working for the greater good.
My nemesis being a “greater good” actually has a very easy fix if the players ally with him. Extreme moral sacrifice, but an ally forging the Eldrich God setting its sights on the world.
Feels like you’re in a good mood
The greatest npc I think I ever made was a mercenary businessman. Yes he was a sell sword but was loyal to the contracts. He dedicated only enough forces and efforts as the agreement stayed. He has appeared in many campaigns as an ally/enemy/ and neutral. He always was playing the role of a villain in the video's terms while he was building his resources working towards a bigger plan. The one time he was the Nemesis he had been building his plan for months and years with so much consistency plans that even if they were to meet an untimely end his plans would still be successful.
If I consider who he was most like I would say someone like Darth Bane. Knowing his plans might not be complete within his lifetime but the long term goal would be his.
I have this idea for a villain in a campaign I'm saving for when I have enough experience with D&D. Dark sorcerer who wields immense power using this crystal of unknown origin. He rules over the Monarchy of these lands as a shadow King, and uses his enforcers to ensure the King bends to his will. What he enjoys is obtaining knowledge and gaining more power through the manufacturing of artificial crisis and giving the King "solutions" to the problems he caused, as well as forcing the King to start overseas wars with other nations to expand the military for greater power, and to protect his other schemes, such as money laundering, human trafficking, smuggling of illegal substances, et cetera. He puts himself and his Shadow Council (the enforcers) above everything else. Now because of how he commits his crime, he must be very careful in his controlled demolition, otherwise there wouldn't be a Kingdom left to rule and he'd have to start over.
As for when he slithers about his business, he hides in plain sight. He's a liar, a deceiver, and he does things to people to get what he wants, no matter the cost. He will appear as a friend to those who don't realize they are their enemy. He is always watching, being able to summon bats to track the unknowing citizen's moves. The only thing left in his conquering is putting down the outer islands of the archipelago he rules, as they're far away enough to be not nearly as affected by his influence, salutary neglect if you will.
As for his enforcers, you have four in total, being a Dark Paladin, Artificer, Cleric, and a Barbarian. They each control operations going on within their jurisdictions, but like I said, some areas get more attention than others, and the further out you are from the main island, the less influence there is. They each have their own goons that work things out for them as well, usually within the ranks of the military and other domestic forces.
Lastly, I came up with how the fight sort of goes. Phase 1 with the BBEG is simple, you fight him as a Sorcerer, Phase 2 is when he pulls out the big boy spells and attacks, and Phase 3 is where you destroy the crystal, the tower caves in, the party lands in a cave below. The sorcerer out of pure power and will, returns in a form akin to Giygas from Earthbound/Mother 2. He has no rational thoughts, he is in severe pain, his screams and words fade in and out as his speghettified organic matter swirls around, barely resembling the sorcerer he was. The fight ends when he's beaten to the point where there's no physical form to grab onto, and he finally dies. Players would probably be one of three reactions, "Dammit, how tf is he still alive," "Good God... what happened..." or "Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of your actions, let's dance." I'm hoping for the more scared/sad reaction, because maybe one of my future players is a sensitive person, all about Diplomacy and they just see this thing suffering, no longer human, just pure pain and rage. To me, it sounds like a pretty metal boss, perhaps in the "ow the edge" department for many. As for actually pulling off his whole agenda and crime thing during the campaign, I don't anticipate my players to do squat about it, I just hope they get to him and take him out, either to free the people or put them under new management, we'll see. If it's a cool villain concept, cool I'll use it, and if you want to, go ahead.
Most helpful thank you.
I agree on Darth Vader. Another good lost to evil villain are the game super paper mario villian.
Count Bleck wants to destroy the multivers but is a broken man that lost the love of his life. And are now insane and want to end it all and then die, redemtion the love of his life is still alive.
Many "a greater good villians" are from JRPG:s.
And another blunt force villain is Transformers Megatron emperor, warlord and warrior use minions/henchmen or fight himself on the front lines.
I think Darth Vader is not a great example of a lost villain at least in cinematic portrayals. Yes, theoretically and from the audience's perspective, he did become a good guy. However, the idea is where this similarity ends. He doesn't really seem to care about what he's done to the people of the galaxy, only caring about Luke and arguably Leia. In TTRPG campaigns, especially story-based and "realistic" ones, this can be hard to gloss over.
But I do agree Megatron is an awesome bluntforce bad guy along with the first incarnation of Godzilla and the classic movie monsters.
Very helpful thank you
I plan a nemesis who once had god-like power (was defeated by literal gods and stripped of most of his power). He seeks to take revenge (actually it's more like he wants a rematch with the gods) and thus collects powerful artifacts to strengthen himself. But at the same time those artifacts need to be discovered, conquered and so on. So he makes quite a mess while collecting them which leads to the premises of the earlier games before the players know anything about the Nemesis.
Right now they are in their second adventure in my world and even though this is new for me (and they won't encounter the Nemesis in this campaign) I really like it and am looking forward to my players reacting to the Nemesis.
Really nice video!
Thulsadoom, from Conan the Barbarian movie, is my favorite Nemesis with the Barbarian Brothers, Rexor and Thorgrim, as his Villains are quintessential bad guys.
"Uknownable" lol
Silly nitpicking aside, I like your categories here. Will be sharing this video with peeps I know.
I once had a BBEG that was once a Greater Good Villain but shifted into Power-hungry Psycho over the years. Their original motive was to create a world where the prejudice against races outside of the big 3 and the midgets. Tieflings like him have it the hardest due to basically the backstory plot of that one movie where 2 police officers, one being an orc, have to save the world by getting a magic wand.
Now they just want the power to just make a world of his own for its own sake. That said to do so he would have to destroy the world that the game takes place in but that is why he is a villain.
Examples of well written villains in media (spoilers for Bionicle, Guilty Gear Xrd & Ergo Proxy):
Power Psycho - Makuta (Bionicle) Elusive, strategic, maunipulative. Endangers the universe, good guys team up with him (despite knowing his intentions, but not his plans) and save the universe which is where he succeeds in taking over the universe
Greater Good - Bedman (Guilty Gear Xrd) Operates under the assumption that if he succeeds, he can revive everyone he kills in the process, still has a moral code of not killing innocents, gets betrayed by the nemesis in his last moments and dies saving his sister from being locked in an alternate dimension
Lost to Evil - Ergo Proxy (Ergo Proxy) Rejects the purpose as to why he was created with the intention of destroying everything he's created as a middle finger to his own creator, dies without redemption
How I keep my players from siding with the BBE? I create two or more opposing sides. One can become an allie, if the players want to go that route, but that puts them in direct opposition to the other side(s).
2 years late but could you have your BBEG so outright evil and hateful that he refuses help from any outsiders?
@@connorbutler5900 Possibly, but then there will inevitably be that one guy, who decides to still side with the BBE, even if they die in the process.
One of the most fun things I have done was a faction war story.
In this specific one, I had 2 villain characters in the game at the same time, both falling into the greater good category, but don't agree on what this greater good is.
One elf-supremacy superpower, inspired a lot by the daimyo mentality.
and a freedom fighter group doing it "for the people" without actually knowing what the people they fight in the name of actually want.
and one that is power psycho nemesis, controlling both sides from the backline, head-advisor to the first, and inside spy to the 2nd.
Not an original story by any means, loosely based on a book by Terry Pratchett (Interesting times), just in a more serious manner and other twists to make it my own.
What if the true BBEG was the friends we made along the way
Solid advice! 🎲🎲🎲
My players befriended the villain, not knowing he was a villain. He is currently have them aquiring workers and materials to build his lair. If they find out who he is they can stop him easily. Unless they continue to help him....
"The BBEG becomes the PCs hero, and you don't want that"
Don't we? I can see it as a seriously interesting idea where the players play PROPERLY evil characters, not "muahaha, let's kick puppies" but "Let's blow up the moon where all the Fey live to scare everyone into peace if there has been a full generation of war everywhere and this is a good way to make them stop.
If anything, I think that would make for a greater scenario where the players don't try to keep the universe the way it is, but they try to change the universe in a way that only a single person has any chance of even dreaming up!
You can even include that the BBEG is disappointed in the players if they do something their newfound hero would not approve of!
The thing about greater good is thinking you're doing good but you're doing evil and it inevitably leads to grey areas that often swing poorly. Blowing up the moon is actually a perfect example of this and would have some serious consequences if not destabilization of a whole planet. You might be thinking of more Neutral organizations that players can join rather than Big Bad.
Yeah You definately lost me when you said you dont want your players to think the nemesis is the hero. Cause thats a Really good narrative arc, and can throw out the previous BBEG Idea and now the party is siding with evil.
You misunderstood, I think, what he meant. A Nemesis should always think they are the hero...but there should always be something to make the PCs not actually want to tip the scales...unless you want to offer that as a twist.
In that case, then...the Nemesis is not ACTUALLY a Nemesis. It's a 'potential hero'...but then you should have a DIFFERENT Nemesis, who is actually the "True" BBEG. In that case, the "Nemesis" they are siding with is a Red Herring.
If the players just want to be evil for the sake of evil...that's fine, and that's a fun game. But then they need a reason to go against the "Heroes"...In which case, you just kinda reverse the morality of the Advice. (Do you have a hero who just hates Evil, do you have a hero who's confliccted at fighting the PC Villains, do you have one who can be 'corrupted')
The problem is, if you're not careful, you can easily make a 'grey and grey morality' game, where things don't MATTER...
An example is Fallout New Vegas. SURE you can side with the legion, in theory...but, when you get down to it, they are EVIL. They rape, murder, and kill. The players know THESE GUYS ARE THE BAD GUYS...they just don't care.
I agree with Mitchell. If the players choose to side with the nemesis, are they not "redeemed" from their perspective and the nemesis's perspective? Unless you're working with static morality, in which case the heroes would become fallen heroes universally.
This could be a good arc if it actually arcs. As in, if the players discover/realize the hidden evil of their role model. But if the players are evil or become evil, their nemesis is "defeated" because whatever it was became an ally instead of an antagonist. This would leave a nemesis spot open among the antagonists of the party which would usually be filled by whoever opposes the villain.
The nemesis will not think twice before using the hand players lend them to throw them into a pit of lava if that makes a good path to step on. That's what players need to be aware of, regardless of their alignment.
@@DuckieMcduck Exactly. The nemesis is relative to the PCs, not to morality
Looking forward to bringing my first act henchman back as a third act villain/nemesis.
The lowly Goblin boss was captured and turned over to the local authorities. And promptly forgotten.
After a medieval style interrogation he fled downriver with the connivance of a scheming member of the baronial court to set up a crime syndicate in the capitol.
Will ambition trump revenge? Time (and the PCs) will tell...
Peak Villainous Content!
This was a useful video
Pretty sure Guy has been the villain all along.
Of course he is, he has never hidden that fact.
Had an strong NPC attack the party in the first game, steal a thing, and retreat.
A few games later they learned about some sort of evil wizard with a funny name that was driven off in the past.
Many games later the party is thrown into the past via divine intervention during a cataclysmic event.
Party wanders about looking for familiar places.
Party meets a good fellow with a funny name.
He guides them around and is generally a good person that aids them with all their endeavors, he even comes with them to fight.
He opens his home to the party. They meet his family, his village, his friends. They battle against those in power who want to kill off his kind and grow very close while gearing up for the looming threat.
Party defeats the ancient lich that threatened the country. And in the process, returns to their time.
As this is happening they watch in horror as the lich binds the last vestiges of his soul to funny named NPC.
300 YEARS LATER..
Their former friend for over 100 sessions is now a husk of himself and, despite having been left in the past, is still very much alive.
He's been driven mad by the lich's influence and the kingdom's murder of his people in the aftermath.
The party has no choice but to fight him. He's beyond saving and has been scheming to destroy this land for 300 years.
The person they'd read about so long ago. The person who'd stood watch for them at night, broke bread with them, celebrated and mourned with them..
..Must die if his soul is to rest.
The Mcguffin he stole in the first session was the final piece needed to complete the ritual.
Its a race to reach him before it's too late.
Final battle ensues.
I'm a new DM with a party of 7 that wants to go to level 20. Only problem is I'm having a hard time making a big nemesis that could be a deadly or even hard encounter for that many players at that high level. Any suggestions?
Running on 5e btw
The first tip I give to anyone in that situation is to throw Challenge Ratings right out the window. That calculation never truly works as well as it should, especially for parties above 4.
Now the real advice:
1) Power game. This is a bad thing for players to do, but DMs have the ability to craft enemies that specifically target the PCs weaknesses. Is your heaviest hitter a greataxe-wielding barbarian with a wide critical range? Make an enemy that’s immune to slashing damage and wields an adamantine shield. Powerful Wizard causing problems? Staff of counterspell.
2) Break and steal their stuff. Players love their stuff. Get some goblins to steal their money from their camp. Have a Minotaur step on the ranger’s quiver and break all their arrows. Have a vengeful sorcerer cast dispel magic on their shield guardian’s amulet.
3) Separate them. 7 players is a lot. Villains know that, so they could try to split them up and take them on in separate groups.
4) Traptical Retreat. In a dungeon or lair? The villains know where the traps are. Lead the party to them.
5) No rest for the weary. Haunt their dreams. Don’t let them sleep a wink. Exhaustion mechanics are brutal if stacked high enough.
6) Trick them into giving up power. Maybe the enchanted silvered great sword the Paladin carries is a family heirloom belonging to the dying father of the leader of a small barony and him giving it to his heir is the only way to ensure the people will respect the new Baron’s leadership. Maybe the Paladin will part with it willingly right away. Maybe the Baron pays with a favour or gold. Great down the line, but useless in a combat that comes before the party can spend it. Or maybe the Warlock’s patron demands to be given some powerful material components they need for high level spells.
The above may or may not serve as evidence that all DMs are Lawful Evil.
@@nickclark9725 Of course, if you do too many of these too often, and without allowing the PC's any recourse to mitigate the misfortunes through play, you'll be solving the issue of having too many players by getting them to quit your table.
@@Shalakor That is a worthwhile warning, yes. All of that advice comes with the caveat that a DM is not there to beat the players but rather to make them work for victory.
This really helped thx
I will never forget the end of my first non-Star Wars campaign. PCs found the secret organization's lair, etc, and were given the "Join us in maintaining stability of the country against this possible threat or die."
PCs: Well... you're kinda suspicious, but you're trying to keep some kind of balance here.. Alright, but we need to talk about this racism problem against Orcs.
Me:... Well, I guess that's that. I guess I get to invent some more stories.
The threat wasn't real, so I had to make it real. Then they basically kept assuming the threat was still looming, so I made 2-3 bonus adventures before reaching a conclusion that finally got them to stop.
A "greater good" Nemesis. - Ah, there it is. I was wondering if Klaus Schwab would get a mention. :)
Love the video but I think there is one more type of nemesis, The Revenge Driven. This is the villain that became a villain because of something the PCs did. This one is fun to show the players that they're actions have consequences.
Guy, you are the man. 😎
What's your backlog of video ideas like, Guy?
Analyze the Final Fantasy villains, they run the gammot. Exdeath is just evil personified, Kefka is a laughing mad power hungry clown, Ultimecia is just trying to escape persecution by compressing time, Sephiroth has delusions of godhood etc
In X, Yu Yevon is just trying to save his city, Sin is a mindless monster to thay end, Jecht just wants to see his son prospher. Only Seymour is a traditional mwa ha ha villain.
I’m currently working on a game with vampires who are trying to summon a vampire goddess called Tyana the Blood Queen
Power Psycho: The Joker
Greater Good: Thanos
Lost to Evil: Vegeta
Isn't Vegeta more Lost to Good? I know it's splitting hairs, but his "I don't want to be a good guy"-attitude cracked me up as a child laughing about it
I'm currently starting up my own campaign and am aiming for a greater good type nemsis with a possible redemption arc based on how the pc's play it. He's of the mastermind variety and I'm planning on this campaign taking about a year with weekly sessions. Hopefully I'll have enough content for all of that but I think I've got the basis formy world and story pretty well fleshed out I'm just nervous. It's my first time DM'ing in quite some time and while I've done it before and am fairly comfortable behind the screen I always get nervous. I'm very much a meticulous planning kind of person and that generally goes out the window once I'm with my group lol
Greater Good: ‘The Operative’ Serenity.
I would have really liked this video to end with you creating an example
Good video though, very helpful
The greater good nemesis sounds like Thanos
Any ideas for dendar as a ultimate evil? Obviously the villains will be yuan ti summoner, but their personalities are quite hard to pinpoint... Why would someone want to summon a world devouring snake?
Soooo... What if you had the power psycho, greater good, and lost evil all as different parts of the BBEG?
never present
“Uknownable”
This Is funnier to me than it should be. :)
The only part of the prequel trilogy that I did not like, was where Vader killed the Younglings. That made him irredeemable in my eyes. I think that, at best, Vader is a "Greater Good" type of villain.
A bit late to the comment party here, but ima ask anyway.
Is it possible to have a Psycho BBEG that’s never there (until the reveal/end). Then a Lost to Evil BBEG that’s trying to stop the Psycho that no one else seems to even know exists? 🤔🤔🤔
What if you make a villain that accidentally creates the nemesis and then regrets it?
I felt obliged to click.
It was on 9999 visuals and I couldn't help
So uhm.. what if one of player secretly adores the BBEG? It's giving me lots to work with but I see it as a problem down the line.
Missed One?
How about the classic "nation vs. nation" situation where the other nation is the bad guy? From your "Management Style" list, this will fit as #2, the "Never Present." But the "Three Types of Evil" list does not appear to have a fitting choice. The "Evil One" seen by one side is the "Heroic Patriot" seen by the other side. The "Patriot" brushes against the "Greater Good" concept, but does not really fulfill that role. The players will be up against a villain (not the Nemesis) who is fulfilling his patriotic duty to the Nemesis (foreign power). While this action might constitute "evil" to the villain's opponents, it is purely good in his eyes and in the morals of his nation.
Thoughts?
That's still greater good except it demands political context for players to decide which side they like. Add a spin with the 3rd actually evil nation making both nations fight so they are weakened and then take over both.
I like the idea were the BBEG is Not actualy the greatest evil, but is overthoun by one of his or her lutenends. Like in Final Fantasy 6 - I hated Kefka more than I can say. More than any other badguy in all my life. I always think of him, if I want to portrai an evil person.
7:06 AKA beholders etc.
How do I make their sheets?
Dude, after he said "The Villain" my video cut to commercial with "The new Zaxby's chicken sandwhich"
Hmm... Yes those are the worst villains
How do you play a good goblin
What is the extent of Dungeon Fog?
Is it just encounter maps? Or could you do town/city maps as well? Could you use it for a region/world map?
Thanks!
Edit: I have answered my own question, it can do it all! (ua-cam.com/video/w97iYob_ypc/v-deo.html)
My world has convergences occur, breaches from other worlds that bleed their element into this realm. The bbeg has witnessed these convergences and uses his dark power to steal the elemental energy from an Apex creature that comes from these breaches. Since the birth of his power, this bbeg gained immortality, but watched as his power over shadow has corrupted and left dark wounds on the realm as well as his own soul. He steals the power of other elements in order to build the original magic of creation so that he can destroy and then rebuild the world without his shadow cast over it. My players discover his influence first within an adventure called Book of Sands, where they see his power leeching the energy from a giant worm entity over time that came from a convergence several thousand years ago. So my players will step into each "book" so to speak and see in the background what shadow has cursed and wounded in the world, all while interacting with the remnants of 5 different convergences all of different elements. They'll figure out that the bbeg, just an immortal man, is his own convergence of darkness, but that it never came from a convergence. They discover that the very world they live in is the world of darkness which is why darkness was born there, then either defeat the big bad, cleanse the darkness and release him from his fate, or use creation itself in whichever way the players see fit.
Ah. The old Guy/Gal joke. Used it many times myself!
I'm missing a concrete Example :(
I prefer the gender neutral term BBEG or Big Bad Evil Goose lol
The Big Bad EGg
@@ohyea8486 Good one lol
my baddie is all 3............. and my players love him,,, and dont wanna kill him :(((