Especially if the villain doesn't interact directly with the PCs too often, having a few recognizable mental traits can go a long way to developing them as characters. Distinctiveness can also come into play in non-physical ways with the villain's personality traits and flaws. This is easiest for a DM to achieve with a distinct physical characteristic, such as Voldemort's snake-like face or Darth Vader's ominous breathing - the point being to make the villain theatrically memorable and probably a little creepy or uncanny. The stakes don't need to be world-shattering for them to be emotionally compelling or for a villain to have reach. Krenko might only be a goblin gang boss, but to the extorted denizens of Tin Street, he might as well be as deadly as an archlich or dragon goddess. Characters like Tiamat and Acererak are powerful monsters with significant personal abilities that could cause catastrophe wherever they choose to direct their efforts. This is the threat they represent in the immediate tense.

No matter what scale the game is on, great villains need to have enough power to start changing the world around them. A simple bandit leader or goblin boss could become a more serious threat once they are motivated by vengeance or their goals are specifically designed to hurt the PCs.

If there isn't a bevy of options for villains already written in the backstories, then it is advisable for DMs to keep some of their early enemies alive for later. Perhaps a paladin's mentor turned out to evil, but he still taught her everything she knows about hunting down villains, making the mentor more than capable of being a thorn in her side now that she's hunting him. Did the rogue get an old partner arrested? That's a premade nemesis. For cases like this, revenge, family ties or broken relationships all make great motivations, and DMs should scour the PC's backstories for inspiration. One of the easiest ways to make a villain more memorable is to make their motivation personal. RELATED: Dungeons & Dragons: Ravnica, the Worldwide City, Explained This sets up Krenko and the player characters on opposite ends, with a confrontation becoming inevitable. For example, the goblin gangster Krenko wants to become rich, and he's going to do so by robbing and extorting his way through every business in town, including the ones protected by the players. The goals don't need to be complex or public information, and they don't need to make sense to outsiders (at least not at first), but there should be some overarching deed they need to accomplish or state of being they want to attain. Memorable villains are much more than a stat block, so let's break down what really makes one great and examine some different villainous archetypes to use in campaigns.Ībove all, the villain of any campaign needs goals and objectives, and these must eventually bring the villain into conflict with the player characters.

At first glance, it can be hard to see through the math and design involved with homebrewing villains, but in reality it's knowing the baddie's motivations and how they fit into the campaign's narrative that's important. For Dungeon Masters, creating a big bad evil guy or girl for their Dungeons & Dragonscampaign might seem like a daunting task.

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