Need help with one more major villain

[Slarg]

So the campaign I'm making is more of Skyrim than a story, and I have several major villains. Each villain starts off as a minor nausance and upgrades into a world ending threat as the party follows their story line. Naturally, nothing happens if the party doesn't find them, other than the odd scenarios that the party occasionally comes across (Escorting a rancher and his cattle through a plain, with a Bullette eating cattle while they run for their lives (it's a lvl 3 encounter), finding a farmhouse beseiged by a multitude of scarecrows).

So, my major villains are:

-A Dragonborn Paladin, who acts as a Knight Templar (Ends justify any means, I am good, therefore any action I take is good) who is trying to resurrect the ancient Dragonborn empire that had control of the continent this campaign takes place on. There are no dragons until later on in his story, when you start fighting dragon welps. High Octane villain; this is the combat centric one.

-A Half-Elf Warlock. He is trying to bring his Great Old One god into the world, through trickery and his cult. Missions involving his storyline deal in various espionage situations; trying to figure out who of the king's servants are Enthralled and trying to poison said king, trying to figure out where he is in a giant crowd, that sort of thing. The Moriarty to the party's Sherlock Holmes.

-A Tiefling Lich. In an attempt to escape a contract her father made, this Tiefling became an undying Lich. The kicker is that the Lich isn't the BBEG; the party actually tries to help the Lich (assuming they don't just murderhobo her) and the climax is the PCs against a large group of peasants/Templars. A mix of combat/social situations.

-A Dark Elf Ranger. Least developed of the lot so far, but is basically a Hunter of Men storyline where the PCs get thrown into a hunting ground and escape so they are constantly being chased by this guy.



Special mention goes to a city on the southern side of the island; after prosperity due to a baby tarrasque being captured and put to sleep (So they can continually harvest it for meat) and the adult Tarrasque is going all Godzilla on the city.



I want at least one more villain that people can discover, but maybe it's just because I've been working on villains for the past day and a half so I've fizzled out. I also want a NPC character that joins the party against one of each (For instance, the Warlock has a Duergar Dwarven Barbarian that didn't descend into slavery when he was granted his freedom and he does NOT want more psychic abominations running around, or an ancient warforged fighter who remembers what the Dragon Empire was like).

Give me your best shot at an awesome villain. Anything inspired is welcome :D

[DragonSorcererX]

When you say Skyrim, you mean that one of the villains will be the main BBEG (like Alduin) and the others will be secondary but as dangerous as the main villain (DLC villains like Harkon and Miraak)?

[Slarg]

Nah, it's more like none of them are the BBEG, and when you find one that one becomes the BBEG until you finish their quest. They're randomly strewn about the land and you can't "activate" one until you finish your current one.

[DragonSorcererX]

Nah, it's more like none of them are the BBEG, and when you find one that one becomes the BBEG until you finish their quest. They're randomly strewn about the land and you can't "activate" one until you finish your current one.

Yeah, this is totally Skyrim (or the whole Elder Scrolls Series)... I will be stealing your idea sir!

[RickAllison]

Why did the dragons go away? It would take an awful lot of firepower to take down creatures that can simply fly away when trouble calls, unless...

The Aarakocra Slayer (Monster Hunter Fighter, from Gothic Heroes UA). To defeat a great flyer, one must either corner it or fly better. Trapping dragons may work while they are confident, but even proud dragons know to survive is better than to die foolishly. The sky-people, a myth and unseen since long before the dragons died, were supposed to be a powerful people single-minded on removing those who would challenge their ownership of the skies. Thus it was that the Ravagers were created, brutal warriors who finished off the dragons before. Now that the dragons have returned, what of their long-time foes?

Meanwhile, in a peaceful town of Dragonborn people, a feather drifts down...

[Sigreid]

How about a shadow monk that doesn't just want to kill the party, but destroy them by destroying their reputation. "That comely lass you were flirting with in the bar, is lying dead beside you in your bed."

[Notafish]

My submission: A crime boss who is actually a Rakshasa in disguise, running its mob with the goal of pushing people to sell their souls ("I see you're having some trouble making your protection payments. I can forgive this, but there's some paperwork to sign first...") The ally here could be a rival gangster, or a member of the city watch who is sick of the corruption in their city.

[Herobizkit]

Might as well toss in a Bard who's convinced he's the living embodiment of some Mad God. His sole purpose is to cause random acts of Terrorism... er... violence... er... "Art" by changing the landscape to match his creative vision.

His singing has been known to move mountains. Literally.

[MrStabby]

How about a hag coven? A single purpose maybe but naturally multiple people in a fight.

Potentially a good mix of casters and combat abilities. Character can be very sneaky.

Maybe running enterprises in the city - an orphanage to recruit children, a brothel to seduce men, a temple to find those down on their luck and looking for something more on the world...

[GorogIrongut]

Imagine a powerful Sorceror caught in a rivalry with an even more powerful witches coven on the other side of the continent. Witches do what witches do and in a group curse/spell, they maim/enfeeble the Sorceror's daughter. With two paths in front of him, trying to save his daughter from a kind of magic he is unable to understand... or wreak revenge on the Coven, he finds himself going down a very dark and twisted path.

Depending on how and when they encounter him, they can help him to try and save his daughter. They can be caught in his machinations against the coven. If they take too long, he's gone beyond Breaking Bad in his attempts to 'control' the situation and instead he's lost his mind in his grief.

The fun part about this is that the players can be good and helpful. They can be disgusted by his actions and choose to turn against him for the greater good. Or they can get embroiled in the intricacies of his politics and maybe get sucked down to his level.

[Slarg]

Yeah, this is totally Skyrim (or the whole Elder Scrolls Series)... I will be stealing your idea sir!

No point; I intend to put it online when I'm done :P


Why did the dragons go away? It would take an awful lot of firepower to take down creatures that can simply fly away when trouble calls, unless...

The Aarakocra Slayer (Monster Hunter Fighter, from Gothic Heroes UA). To defeat a great flyer, one must either corner it or fly better. Trapping dragons may work while they are confident, but even proud dragons know to survive is better than to die foolishly. The sky-people, a myth and unseen since long before the dragons died, were supposed to be a powerful people single-minded on removing those who would challenge their ownership of the skies. Thus it was that the Ravagers were created, brutal warriors who finished off the dragons before. Now that the dragons have returned, what of their long-time foes?

Meanwhile, in a peaceful town of Dragonborn people, a feather drifts down...
I'm in love with this idea as a sort of After Story part of the campaign; After the PC defeats the DB Paladin and his Welps, the Aarakocra start slaughtering innocent Dragon Born so the party has to make them knock it off. Thanks man :D



My submission: A crime boss who is actually a Rakshasa in disguise, running its mob with the goal of pushing people to sell their souls ("I see you're having some trouble making your protection payments. I can forgive this, but there's some paperwork to sign first...") The ally here could be a rival gangster, or a member of the city watch who is sick of the corruption in their city.Good idea, but I feel like it would be better as a One Off. I'll keep it in mind, but it seems like more side quest material (Since it's a continent, not just a city :P )


Might as well toss in a Bard who's convinced he's the living embodiment of some Mad God. His sole purpose is to cause random acts of Terrorism... er... violence... er... "Art" by changing the landscape to match his creative vision.

His singing has been known to move mountains. Literally.

I LOVE this idea. Not only does it give a BARD as a villain, but the idea of being able to play with him singing and converting townsfolk into monsters, just this giant encounter salad of different monsters. I can work with this :D


How about a hag coven? A single purpose maybe but naturally multiple people in a fight.

Potentially a good mix of casters and combat abilities. Character can be very sneaky.

Maybe running enterprises in the city - an orphanage to recruit children, a brothel to seduce men, a temple to find those down on their luck and looking for something more on the world...


How about a shadow monk that doesn't just want to kill the party, but destroy them by destroying their reputation. "That comely lass you were flirting with in the bar, is lying dead beside you in your bed."

I'm going to try to fit both of these into the Half-Elf Warlock campaign, especially the Monk. The Hag Coven might be a sidequest.


Imagine a powerful Sorceror caught in a rivalry with an even more powerful witches coven on the other side of the continent. Witches do what witches do and in a group curse/spell, they maim/enfeeble the Sorceror's daughter. With two paths in front of him, trying to save his daughter from a kind of magic he is unable to understand... or wreak revenge on the Coven, he finds himself going down a very dark and twisted path.

Depending on how and when they encounter him, they can help him to try and save his daughter. They can be caught in his machinations against the coven. If they take too long, he's gone beyond Breaking Bad in his attempts to 'control' the situation and instead he's lost his mind in his grief.

The fun part about this is that the players can be good and helpful. They can be disgusted by his actions and choose to turn against him for the greater good. Or they can get embroiled in the intricacies of his politics and maybe get sucked down to his level.

I like this idea, but I dunno if it should be a BBEG. Definitely will throw this into the campaign as a quest chain though.

Keep em coming; as long as it's a good idea it can find a way into the campaign in some form :D

[RickAllison]

No point; I intend to put it online when I'm done :P


I'm in love with this idea as a sort of After Story part of the campaign; After the PC defeats the DB Paladin and his Welps, the Aarakocra start slaughtering innocent Dragon Born so the party has to make them knock it off. Thanks man :D


Good idea, but I feel like it would be better as a One Off. I'll keep it in mind, but it seems like more side quest material (Since it's a continent, not just a city :P )



I LOVE this idea. Not only does it give a BARD as a villain, but the idea of being able to play with him singing and converting townsfolk into monsters, just this giant encounter salad of different monsters. I can work with this :D





I'm going to try to fit both of these into the Half-Elf Warlock campaign, especially the Monk. The Hag Coven might be a sidequest.



I like this idea, but I dunno if it should be a BBEG. Definitely will throw this into the campaign as a quest chain though.

Keep em coming; as long as it's a good idea it can find a way into the campaign in some form :D

I'm glad you liked my bird-man! I knew it didn't quite fit as well, but it seemed like something that would work in some capacity no matter what :smallsmile:

[vincegetorix]

I'm working on a similar campaign with no set BBEG for some players, for the moment I've made two that you may like (or not):

1) a megalomaniac Beholder running a major smugling ring. The party may be contacted by him when they steal something in another quest or whatnot. The Beholder want them to steal for him, but not just some basic stuff like gold or gems: he wants the impossible. He wants you to steal the Name of an Angel, the last words of a long dead king, the desperate sighs of a lover, the color of the eyes of some princes etc. In the end he ask to be given the legend of the Thieves-who-could-steal-anything, turning the whole guild against the party to ''acquire'' the legend. He's mad, you know. The NPC could be a Ocular Adept thief who helps you during the thefts, and if the party is good with him (share the rewards, dont let him fall into traps etc) he helps the party in the last fight.

2) I go full-on Lovecraft and give the players Innsmouth, D&D style. The party arrives in a strange harbor village with weird looking inhabitants. The local cleric of the good Sea god ask the party to investigate a missing fishing party, find why the water around the village is so slimy, ask you to find the missing Storm cleric who went mad 'cause of the voices in his heads, defend the villagers against some crazed Kuo-Toas, go on a strange island with weird ruins, find the Storm priest, realize that he's not mad, but that the entire village is being changed in ''something'' and that the Sea priest is actualy the one that went mad after finding a fish-like idol made of soapstone in a cave under the nearby ruins. In the cave, the party finds a lost temple with an Aboleth trying to influence the surface world and mess with the servants of the Gods. The party can fight him with the help of the Storm cleric or help the Aboleth in his revenge against the gods by turning the two clerics in aquatics creature bound to the Aboleth with the special mucus of the creature.

[CursedRhubarb]

I like the idea of an Aarakocra bbeg for a plotline. Another one that could be fun would be a totem barbarian build one (good luck knocking him out of the sky) that is the leader of a floating city populated by Aarakocra. Perhaps not actually evil but a neutral alignment but are nearing war with the people trapped on the ground over resources. Would give some fun adventures trying to find a way up to the isle and if they don't go murder hobo on the isle they could get better rewards than if they do. And if they do go murder hobo they could risk killing the clerics/wizards keeping the isle afloat...

[NecroDancer]

What about a Cycopian tribe that is ravaging the country side? The leader of this tribe is a Goliath Eldritch knight, who is being praised as a god by the cyclops because of his magic.

[Biggstick]

You could always steal the plot of Fight Club to make for an interesting big bad guy. These clubs could be springing up in one or two cities (or towns, or really anything that has a tavern with a basement) that welcomes the everyman. Perhaps each club is made up of commoners, farmers, some Fighters, Rogues, Barbarians, Rangers, Monks, or whatever else fits your idea for the club. These NPC's are sick of the current world and it's repetition. Every day the same thing happens with no breaks in between. These Fight Clubs give them a sense of purpose and feeling in a world in which they've lost all sense of living.

Since you're not allowed to talk about Fight Club, there are a couple ways PC's could go about learning what's going on in these clubs. One could "climb" the ranks within the Club itself, or talk with NPC's outside the club and "convince" them to talk about it. Either way the party digs, they find out more information. While on the surface they appear to just be some people fighting, what's underneath is disturbing. In cities where these clubs have arisen, crime rate is climbing. Not so much crime that hurts people, but crimes that make a statement. As the PC's dig further, they find out these Fight Clubs appear to be targeting whatever the primary form the upper class takes. As the PC's dig even further, there appears to be a certain name that each of these Fight Clubs reports to or receives orders from (Tyler Durden, or insert whatever name you want here). The problem is, no one knows what he looks like or where he is.

Depending on who you ask, you may or may not get information that helps you. In fact, if you ask the wrong person, you might be talking to a member of one of the Fight Clubs, thus tipping of Tyler that someone is looking for him. You might even meet him in one of the Clubs before you meet him at the end, as he might introduce himself as someone else.

Tyler could be any race or class you'd like, but something with a decent Int seems most appropriate. Eldritch Knight might be appropriate.

Edit: Forgot to include the NPC who joins the party. It could be anyone who has seen a little too much of what Tyler is preparing the Fight Club's to take down. S/he might advise the party why taking upper society down would cause problems for everyone else. Maybe Tyler's girlfriend from the movie (Marla)? Maybe a disgruntled former employer of a group who all left their jobs to join the club full time?

What's appealing to me about this sort of story line is that you can pursue it both through detective work or brute force. It's also workable in almost any society that isn't already Spartan-like in how it runs things. It's also appealing in that anyone could be part of the club, making you potentially distrustful of who you talk to.