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View Full Version : DM Help Writing Villains: looking for some tips



CrazyCrab
2017-03-07, 05:45 PM
Hi everyone,
first of all, yes, I know that there are more pages on google about this than villains, most likely, but I'm always up for a fun little discussion so here I am. Also, while those threads are perfect for writing literature villains, there are little to no resources on making RPG villains memorable. I'm looking for some general information, as well as maybe some tips regarding this little guy below, in no particular order.

I have a character in mind, yet I feel like he's not as interesting as he potentially could be. The whole setup is that, as a descendant of Cain, his whole lineage has been cursed and he cannot change his fate - he inherently makes bad decisions and is placed in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading to a terrible death, then his spirit is banished to a prison realm. Then he breaks out, is reborn on Earth with a blank state, makes a bad decision, dies again. He only gets his memories back when he is in that realm, growing more and more frustrated each time. He is the crewman on the Hindenburg, a passenger on the Titanic. A Vietnamese resistance fighter during the war, just to die as a a Chinese student during the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

So, frustrated with his 'choices', he decides to overthrow the system as it is. The 1st human to support the Reagent, a strange, God-like entity that promises no free will. No guilt, no bad decisions - all choices will be made for you. No more bad people, or anyone to blame, with the certain knowledge that your fate has already been decided for you, he seeks to accept himself for who he is, all the time wondering if humanity has any free will in the 1st place - after all, with a God-Emperor that is both omnipresent and omniscient, can one truly have free will? Is it even possible to 'overthrow' an entity like that?

Yeah, it's not a truly 'dark' villain - in fact the whole game is sort of philosophical, between hacking and slashing it's all about the nature of mankind, our deepest desires as a species and what it actually means to be free. Deep, I know ;)

One thing that is sort of bothering me is the whole 'overthrow the system' aspect. I feel like it can be done well, but with so many recent villains doing the whole 'some men just want to watch the whole world burn' thing I feel like it's become a bit of a saturated market. Any tips on delivering that well?

zinycor
2017-03-07, 08:42 PM
It just doesn't seem that tragic. In my opinion a good villain is the victim of his own mistakes and fails to realize this.

I would make it so this tragic fate that you speak of is only how HE sees pasts lifes, but in the end, the reason he failed so much was HIS fault.

ATHATH
2017-03-07, 09:21 PM
Red Fel, Red Fel, Red Fel.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?448542-Compliance-Will-Be-Rewarded-A-Guide-to-Lawful-Evil
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?446414-No-Limits-No-Regrets-A-guide-to-the-Chaotic-Evil-alignment

Cluedrew
2017-03-07, 09:54 PM
Well... I'm not the master of evil, but I can through in a few ideas.

I think a villain has to be wrong in some way, otherwise they are just a victim lashing out (which you can make into an antagonist, but that isn't the same thing). For the feel you seem to be going for in Cain Jr. I would recommend in a way that we can understand/sympathize with. In this case the villain may have made mistakes but rather than taking responsibility for them is trying to ascribe them to something higher. So maybe there is no curse, that is just a scape goat, or each time there was an opportunity to redeem himself that he keeps missing. Its not an infinite punishment, it is an infinite number of opportunities, and he is wasting them all. Of course if Cain Jr. is still supposed to be sympathetic, it should probably be a hard choice that he isn't making.

Dienekes
2017-03-07, 10:45 PM
Just a general rule I follow, it doesn't matter how great, original, and deep a villains backstory is. What separates a great villain from any old villain is the way they interact with the heroes (assuming this is for a tabletop rpg of course).

What is the villain doing that directly threatens the heroes?
Why do the heroes like or dislike him?
What personality traits make him memorable for your heroes?
How can this be conveyed in the most efficient terms for your players to grasp? So the wow factor happens right away.

Because ultimately one villain trying to become god emperor because he wants to help people or because he's just a jerk doesn't really matter. They're all basically cliches at this point.

But if you get that right sneer at the right moment when a villain does something completely disturbed. Or the perfect little "I'm sorry speech" as he makes his final wrong decision. So that the players will remember this one guy for all their gaming days. That's the important note. That's how you get them excited to be playing your game.

zinycor
2017-03-07, 10:53 PM
Just a general rule I follow, it doesn't matter how great, original, and deep a villains backstory is. What separates a great villain from any old villain is the way they interact with the heroes (assuming this is for a tabletop rpg of course).

What is the villain doing that directly threatens the heroes?
Why do the heroes like or dislike him?
What personality traits make him memorable for your heroes?
How can this be conveyed in the most efficient terms for your players to grasp? So the wow factor happens right away.

Because ultimately one villain trying to become god emperor because he wants to help people or because he's just a jerk doesn't really matter. They're all basically cliches at this point.

But if you get that right sneer at the right moment when a villain does something completely disturbed. Or the perfect little "I'm sorry speech" as he makes his final wrong decision. So that the players will remember this one guy for all their gaming days. That's the important note. That's how you get them excited to be playing your game.

I really want this forum to have a way to give this post a +1. For now, I only can say that I absolutely agree with you.

Kane0
2017-03-07, 10:55 PM
The nature of a game determines a lot about a villain. Some are intentionally throwaway and encountered only once, others comically escape each time. Some are all dialogue and intrigue, others are defined entirely by their ferocity in combat. What your game needs is unique to your story, your table and your style of play.

Memorable villains mesh with the world and story, much like any other character. The benefit of tabletop games means that you don't have to script it and lock it in stone, the villain can act and react naturally within the world you craft. Don't think of what the story would have them do, think of that they would plan to happen followed by what actually occurs.

And don't forget personality! Flaws are important, as are motives, eccentricities and other traits. Portraying them in a way that is relatable is a key part of a high quality villain.

That said everything goes out the window if you deliver your villain well. You can have the most miserable excuse for an opponent and have it be the most impressive, engaging villain with a bit of skill, timing and luck.

What more can you tell us about this guy and the world he lives in? What about your players? What is the tone of the game, and how long do you expect it to run for? All good villains are tailor-made.

Stealth Marmot
2017-03-08, 09:06 AM
Just a general rule I follow, it doesn't matter how great, original, and deep a villains backstory is. What separates a great villain from any old villain is the way they interact with the heroes (assuming this is for a tabletop rpg of course).

See, this is solid advice on the sort of mindset you should have when making a villain. In games, the players are only going to really relate to things that affect them. Make sure your villain is tied to them and makes his presence known.

I'm going to refer to one of my Favorite Villains of All time, and how he was used effectively: Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2




What is the villain doing that directly threatens the heroes?

Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2 first tricked the Vault Hunters into coming to pandora, then blew up the train they were on. Then he directly threatened the town and people who helped them out, aiming to utterly flatten it. Throughout the game, he constantly misdirected the players, all the while trying to kill them, and eventually intended to wake up and take control of a creature that would terrorize the world, and made no shortage of promises to wipe out literally everyone on the planet of Pandora that didn't work for him.


Why do the heroes like or dislike him?

At first the Vault Hunters find Handsome Jack sort of funny and even charming in a way. Sure he's out to get you, but he's so casual about it and so funny that you don't hate him too much. Then he tricks you, setting you up to be a hero then revealing that you were taken for a chump. Then he kills an innocent creature you were attached to and bonded with out of spite, in front of you, AND made it feel like your fault because you triggered it unintentionally. Then his own daughter begs you to end her life to stop him and he won't even show up or surrender to prevent you from going through with it, then he shows up just to murder one of the most likeable and stable characters in the game, and trap another and the list goes on. Handsome Jack attacks the Vault Hunters in a personal way, and a general sense, and is increasingly revealed to be vicious, callous, hateful, cowardly, and even willing to throw his own daughter under the bus for his own benefit. You atart off amused by him, you end up hating him on a visceral level.


What personality traits make him memorable for your heroes?

Handsome Jack is loud, petty, boistrous, humorous, and egotistical. He is not only rich, but is rich in a petty manner. He takes the time out of running a multi-planet conglomerate to mock you. He also is not as smart as he thinks he is.


How can this be conveyed in the most efficient terms for your players to grasp? So the wow factor happens right away.

He shows you he has a LIVING Pony made of diamonds that he got because he is so rich, and then names it Butt Stallion after you.

This is one of the first things he does after first talking to you.


Because ultimately one villain trying to become god emperor because he wants to help people or because he's just a jerk doesn't really matter. They're all basically cliches at this point.

It is a hard sell to create a villain that has a unique goal. It is either power, or utopia, or personal gain for the most part.

I still like that Brooklyn Nine-Nine quote: "Cool motive. Still murder."

End of the day, a high stakes villain is a high stakes villain. Someone who needs to be stopped otherwise something bad will happen. End of the day, Handsome Jack is a guy trying to gain control of a giant powerful monster for his own benefit, and yet I still see him as one of the greatest villains ever.



But if you get that right sneer at the right moment when a villain does something completely disturbed. Or the perfect little "I'm sorry speech" as he makes his final wrong decision. So that the players will remember this one guy for all their gaming days. That's the important note. That's how you get them excited to be playing your game.

What makes the villain memorable for a player is not the backstory, though that helps, or their interesting motives and goals (though again they still help) but instead their interaction with the players.

Games are different from most media because they are, by definition, interactive. And because of that, the best characters and by extension, villains, are the ones that the players have actual interaction with. the villain speaks to the player by proxy through the character, and the player has to respond accordingly.

Handsome Jack mocks the player. He interacts with them. He jokes with them. He even makes a fool of himself a few times in front of them. He makes it personal.

If you want a villain that is memorable for your players, make him show up over and over, make him say something funny, or vicious, or callous, but at the very least memorable. The villain is basically the other PC, the one who is working against them, so e should be at the very least, as interesting as any of your PCs.

JeenLeen
2017-03-09, 01:15 PM
One thing that is sort of bothering me is the whole 'overthrow the system' aspect. I feel like it can be done well, but with so many recent villains doing the whole 'some men just want to watch the whole world burn' thing I feel like it's become a bit of a saturated market. Any tips on delivering that well?

Building on Dienekes and Stealth Marmot's comments: one way I could see this character interacting with the players is to have him start off as their mentor or recruiter, someone who hires them or gives them their first big shot at greatness. The end goal (not in any obvious way) is tied to the overthrow of the system. Maybe something to give the Reagent more agency in the material world, but that's tangential at this point. Perhaps even have him grow attached to the players and want them to experience and, more importantly, appreciate the goal. He tries to recruit them, and only then do they realize that their quest has been horrible.

The details of how this could work would depend on the system and setting, but should be applicable for most games.

Note: depending on the players and PCs, keep in mind that the team might agree with and join forces with the Big Bad.

Question that may matter: since this person only has memories when he's not incarnated, how does he act in service of the Reagent and how can he interact with the PCs? (If I misunderstood your opening post, my apologies.)

Segev
2017-03-09, 03:47 PM
To borrow from the same mythos from which Cain is drawn, there are at least some interpretations of the Devil which state that it was because he proposed a plan wherein he would deny all mankind free will and guarantee their perfect adherence to God's law that he was cast out. (Well, it was because he proposed it and rebelled when it was rejected by God.)

It could be that your descendant-of-Cain is a new high priest of the ancient Adversary, but may or may not be aware of it.

In a compounding of his curse, this is yet another bad decision he's making.

And, yes, I'd strive to make this a thing where each of his bad decisions is something he could or should have known better, but chose anyway in pride and arrogance and bitterness...but that he blames circumstance or God or fate or whatever for it.

Flickerdart
2017-03-09, 03:48 PM
Writing villains is easy. Just remember that everyone is the hero of their own story, and write the villain as a hero...from his point of view.

5a Violista
2017-03-09, 06:56 PM
Rich Burlew actually wrote an article on creating good, memorable villains who are definitely not cliché.
Here it is (http://www.giantitp.com/articles/rTKEivnsYuZrh94H1Sn.html).

Relevant to your exact question ("One thing that is sort of bothering me is the whole 'overthrow the system' aspect. I feel like it can be done well, but with so many recent villains doing the whole 'some men just want to watch the whole world burn' thing I feel like it's become a bit of a saturated market. Any tips on delivering that well?"), I'll go through some of the Burlew's steps that I feel you still need to ask:

Step 1, 2 emotions: You already have the villain's driving emotion, which is...Regret? Frustration? Ashamed? Seeking a 'redemption' for his poor choices in the past? However, the second emotion is one that you haven't answered: What emotion is your villain supposed to inspire in your players? Are you trying to make them feel sorry for him? Are they supposed to think "Oh, he has a good point about that free will thing, but a wrong conclusion"? Are they supposed to be terrified about what would happen if he succeeds? Are they supposed to pity him?

Step 4-6 and 9, what is his goal and how will he achieve it: Sure, he wants to "overthrow the system as it is." What does that mean? How will he know when he succeeds? If he successfully kills the God-Emperor, does that mean he has won, or will he still have other things to do? If he manages to give enough power to the Reagent, is that a success? What are the specific details in his plan to accomplish this goal? Or, in other words, how is he going to kill the God-Emperor/grant power to the Reagent? What specific things are preventing this plan from currently working? Why will overthrowing the current system specifically lead to his goal?

Step 10, 12: Personality characteristics: Is he willing to do anything to reinstate the Reagent, or will he do anything except kicking puppies, or is he unwilling to betray his allies, or is he unwilling to allow any part of "the system" to remain? Likewise, how does he treat the people who work for him, and how do they feel about him? (Does he trust them? Do they trust him? Are they fanatics who are committed to him and his cause, or did he just convince them that his cause is what they want?

Step 13a, aka the most important step: What's his theme music?

Obviously, the steps I listed here go more into detail in the article, and the steps I haven't listed can still help you. I really feel you should read that article and write out your answers to each of the steps in the article. Maybe even post them in this thread. The steps I listed out here may help you get into the right mindset so you can separate your character from the cliché of watching the world burn.

The_Jette
2017-03-10, 09:41 AM
So, I have a question: is Cain Jr the villain; or, is this Reagent the villain? Cain Jr is the first mortal to support the Reagent, so he sounds more like "the Dragon" to the Reagent, who is the real BBEG. And, since the whole reason for Cain Jr's descent into villain domain is that he's cursed to forever be a bad guy by something that his great-ancestor did, do you have a backup plan in case the players decide that they best way to handle the threat is to break the curse? It might just be that I game with player's of a particularly noble bent, but the first thing that my group would do is try to figure out how to end the curse on this guy so he has a chance at redemption. Also, the deity that placed the curse sound s kind of like a douche. Just saying.

Red Fel
2017-03-14, 08:26 PM
Red Fel, Red Fel, Red Fel.

Man, somebody is going to pay for holding all of my calls. Seriously, I haven't been receiving any summons, and I think one of the imps in the reception pool knows why. There will be literal Hells to pay.


One thing that is sort of bothering me is the whole 'overthrow the system' aspect. I feel like it can be done well, but with so many recent villains doing the whole 'some men just want to watch the whole world burn' thing I feel like it's become a bit of a saturated market. Any tips on delivering that well?

One of the hardest parts of a character like this is that so much of his motivation occurs offscreen. I mean, his triggering moment occurred centuries before gameplay began, and his pivotal decisions are made in a sort of non-life limbo. It would be really helpful if this sort of thing could use flashbacks or monologues or something, but that's risky.

First, an observation. You say in each incarnation he makes a "bad decision" and suffers for it. As Zinycor points out, however, what you've listed aren't bad decisions - they're ill-fated decisions.

Bad decision example: Reincarnation #4192 decides to join an oppressive totalitarian regime, is gunned down by freedom fighters. It's a bad decision because he chose a negative course of action (supporting a dictator) and was killed as a direct result (slain in revolution).

Ill-fated decision example: Reincarnation #2106 boards an airplane. The plane crashes. Yes, he died as a result of the crash, and if he'd never boarded the plane he wouldn't have died in the crash, but the crash isn't his fault.

In the first example, one could argue that he - as a jack-booted thug crushing the populace - earned their ire and ultimately his own destruction. In the latter, however, it was not earned. My advice, therefore, is figure out which it is - is it that he makes bad decisions, and thus earns his destruction in each life, or is it that he will suffer irrespective of his own decisions, in which case he is simply fate's plaything?

If the former, present his frustration. As has been suggested, present him as incapable of taking responsibility; although the decisions were his to make, he asserts that the consequences remained unjust and arbitrary. Show him as incapable as comprehending why these things always happen to him. As his plans fly apart, he will become more erratic, more mad, because it's happening again, it's not my fault, it's not fair. Show his descent into madness with every interaction.

If the latter, present his despair. He isn't afraid of death; he knows he'll come back and be made to suffer more. His constant anguish renders him cold, detached, morose. He looks at the PCs almost pityingly. Perhaps he has come to believe that all life is suffering; only he realizes it because only he is locked in this endless cycle of rebirth to witness it. Have him come across as genuinely sympathetic. When he engages the PCs, he doesn't want them to suffer, he wants to end their suffering. Show him in minor scenes as an arguably descent person, petting puppies, feeding children, tending gardens, generally trying to let people suffer just a little less than they do. You know, before robbing them of free will.

Side note: How does robbing people of free will in any way end his suffering and reincarnation?

Stealth Marmot
2017-03-15, 07:56 AM
Bad decision example: Reincarnation #4192 decides to join an oppressive totalitarian regime, is gunned down by freedom fighters. It's a bad decision because he chose a negative course of action (supporting a dictator) and was killed as a direct result (slain in revolution).

Ill-fated decision example: Reincarnation #2106 boards an airplane. The plane crashes. Yes, he died as a result of the crash, and if he'd never boarded the plane he wouldn't have died in the crash, but the crash isn't his fault.


A mix of the options can actually be the idea of bad consequences despite him being well meaning. One of the more straightforward examples of this is Dracula from the Gary Oldman version of the movie. His initial action is to march with the armies of God in a crusade, where he believes he is doing God's work. (Keep in mind that they don't have to actually be doing the right thing, they just have to think they are.) He is victorious and praises God, but the enemy gets petty revenge by sending tales of his demise to his wife who ends her own life. Because of this (and the fact that suicide is seen as a sin that sends her to Hell according to the church in the movie) he renounces God and thus falls to becoming Dracula.

See, it is a mix because it combines the aspects of the other two, while he is responsible for making a decision, he feels it is the right decision and gets punished for it. It can be caused by either shortsightedness or bad luck, but in the end it was his active decision to do something for a righteous cause that lead him to suffering, and he does so potentially over and over. He does something like trying to deliver money to an orphanage, but he and the orphans get murdered by bandits for it. He tries to bring order to a town sacked by a foreign power, and they end up rebelling and killing him. He brings healing to a town and is burned for witchcraft.

This is a reason for the villain to hate the heroes, especially if they manage to do good and get rewarded for it. If you have a villain be like that, make them envious. Make them bitter at the fact that these heroes are given what he has been denied over and over. Have them rightfully point out that it isn't really fair, and despise all who even have the optimism of doing good leading to good things.

Red Fel
2017-03-15, 08:41 AM
A mix of the options can actually be the idea of bad consequences despite him being well meaning. One of the more straightforward examples of this is Dracula from the Gary Oldman version of the movie. His initial action is to march with the armies of God in a crusade, where he believes he is doing God's work. (Keep in mind that they don't have to actually be doing the right thing, they just have to think they are.) He is victorious and praises God, but the enemy gets petty revenge by sending tales of his demise to his wife who ends her own life. Because of this (and the fact that suicide is seen as a sin that sends her to Hell according to the church in the movie) he renounces God and thus falls to becoming Dracula.

See, it is a mix because it combines the aspects of the other two, while he is responsible for making a decision, he feels it is the right decision and gets punished for it. It can be caused by either shortsightedness or bad luck, but in the end it was his active decision to do something for a righteous cause that lead him to suffering, and he does so potentially over and over. He does something like trying to deliver money to an orphanage, but he and the orphans get murdered by bandits for it. He tries to bring order to a town sacked by a foreign power, and they end up rebelling and killing him. He brings healing to a town and is burned for witchcraft.

This is a reason for the villain to hate the heroes, especially if they manage to do good and get rewarded for it. If you have a villain be like that, make them envious. Make them bitter at the fact that these heroes are given what he has been denied over and over. Have them rightfully point out that it isn't really fair, and despise all who even have the optimism of doing good leading to good things.

A caveat to the Dracula example, however - while it is a mix, he feels responsible for the wrong decision. His ill-fated decision was to join the war; his bad decision was to renounce the Church and become a vampire. He feels responsible for the former, but feels forced into the latter, which is the key point - it really ought to be the other way around. It wasn't his joining the war that created his fall, but his break with his patrons.

That said, the last paragraph is spot-on - a villain like this should envy the PCs, because when they do what they intend to, it works to their benefit. For someone who feels like everything he does is punished, that just feels cruel - Why is it that when they do it, they get rewarded? It's not right, it's not fair! And so forth. He seeks to hurt them, if only to show them what life is really like.

EDIT: And as I wrote that, I was suddenly reminded of the villains in Kevin Smith's Dogma. Fun movie, spoilers within.

In Dogma, there are actually two separate groups of antagonists, both of whom are relevant here.

First, you have the demon, Azrael. Azrael, before his Fall from Grace, was "an artist . . . inspiration." He was neutral in the rebellion against Heaven, and was thus punished with the rebels for failing to defend the Throne. His punishment was Hell, which - before humanity came along - was simply emptiness, a total lack of warmth or comfort. Then humans came and made it their own, and what was once a place of quiet contemplation of one's own actions became a place of constant torment and fire and despair. Azrael came to loathe Hell so much that he decided to enact a plan to completely end all existence, simply so that he would not have to return to Hell.

Next, you have the angels, Loki and Bartleby. Loki was previously the Angel of Death, until he and Bartleby (a "Watcher") got drunk, and Loki quit his job. The pair was then exiled to Wisconsin. All they want is to get back into Heaven, and they finally find a way thanks to a religious loophole. When they discover that doing so would result in the end of existence, Loki balks at the concept, but Bartleby doesn't - he becomes convinced that, although the world would end, they would be allowed back into Heaven, so what difference does it make? In one particularly famous rant, Bartleby denounces the fact that, as angels, they lack free will, but humans were given the choice to ignore the divine, and thus to do as they pleased. He concludes from this that the entirety of creation is unfair, and that he is entitled to return to Heaven, even if it means completely destroying humanity.

These three characters give you some great baselines for how to write this villain. Azrael is the one who says, "I continue to suffer, so I'm willing to ruin everything just to make it stop." He also refuses to take responsibility, arguing that he shouldn't have been punished in the first place. Bartleby is the one who acknowledges responsibility, but says, "We've paid our debt." Although he accepts responsibility, he concludes that the punishment is unjust, and thus becomes ruthless in finding a way out of his sentence. And Loki, poor bugger, is the one who simply wants the pain to stop. Whether he accepts responsibility is irrelevant; he doesn't fully grasp the consequences of his actions, but simply wants to end his own constant suffering. He wants to go home.
Consider these as illustrations.

Mutazoia
2017-03-17, 01:23 AM
That said, the last paragraph is spot-on - a villain like this should envy the PCs, because when they do what they intend to, it works to their benefit. For someone who feels like everything he does is punished, that just feels cruel - Why is it that when they do it, they get rewarded? It's not right, it's not fair! And so forth. He seeks to hurt them, if only to show them what life is really like.

EDIT: And as I wrote that, I was suddenly reminded of the villains in Kevin Smith's Dogma. Fun movie, spoilers within.

Technically, your own avatar is a good example of this as well...

CrazyCrab
2017-03-17, 08:28 PM
Good stuff, everyone. I may not be commenting much, but I assure you that I am reading it all.
Anyway, here's the Villain 2.0 - I've reassessed his traits, re-balanced the stuff, added a bit of a background.

Cain is not his name, yet he uses it anyway. A cursed lineage, perhaps, but one that he is proud of. The Codex says that millennia ago, when humans were first crafted by the deities themselves, his first ancestor committed a crime so heinous that his whole tribe was left to rot - one that rivaled the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah, one that put the architects of Babel to shame. A human sacrifice to a human god, an act so misguided that his curse was being depraved of all wisdom and guidance for centuries to come. And when the God-Emperor slew all the Nephilim in the cosmic Great Flood, the remains of the tribe were washed away, so that a crime so grievous could not be committed again.

And yet he stands here, blazing in all of his misguided glory. An ancestor of the slayer of Abel, a man claiming to carry the Mark of Cain. His followers listen carefully - the Progenitor Group, is what they call themselves. He promises them forgiveness for their actions. True abolishment of all sin, not a mere confession or a prayer. A change in the system. He tells them tales of unjust laws and rigged dice, of the viciousness of Moirai. Of great comedy and tragedy and the curse that looms over all of us - of the cruelty of being given free will.

You see, the Progenitor Group believes that free will is the curse that makes humanity suffer. The Forbidden Fruit of the Garden of Eden, oh, how he wishes the Emperor would just take it away! Yet it refuses to answer his prayers and one lifetime after another, Cain makes a terrible choice. He takes the wrong turn at the crossroads, joins forces with the losing side. He steals, just to be caught and executed. He joins the powerful and is crushed by the rebelling insect. He claims that it is the Mark, that he cannot succeed as long as he is allowed the choice. He points to the faithful, the lost, the ones full of doubt. Your child would still live, if you just stayed home. Your wife wouldn't have killed you, if you just stayed loyal. You would be still alive. You would be happy, if there was someone to guide you, admit it. You would be whoever you always wanted to be, everything would just feel right. And you there, the murderers, the thieves, the liars - you'd all be forgiven. We wouldn't blame you. We wouldn't hate you. We would understand that it is simply the path that was chosen for you by an entity far greater than us. Far greater than the God-Emperor itself! Foolish words, yet so convincing when you're willing to listen.

He points to the spiral, the holy symbol of the Regent. The symbol of change, of improvement and decay. While the Emperor's hexagon promises stability and order and the Pretender's triangle offers potential and breakthrough, the spiral has always been a source of so many questions. It is endless, potentially growing larger and larger until it will encompass all of the multiverse, some say. Look at him now, all cheery and full of hope. So determined to change his fate for the better, thinking that the Regent will make the difficult choices for him. Thinking that it's better for all of humanity to no longer bear this gift, to be given a script and play it out, without any hopes or regrets. It is the only way he can get rid of the mark, he says. It is the only way we can all be forgiven and live in harmony. The cruel and the gentle, the good and the evil - all united by a common cause, by a grand play pre-written by a master of the craft.

And now no longer listen to me, young apprentice, look away. For as they put me on the wheel, to readjust my bones and muscles to fit the great spiral, many tears and blood-lets will be shed. I wouldn't want you to watch - in fact, make a conscious decision and walk away from here. As a Shepherd, I will watch over the lost, I will listen and obey. And should you leave my flock, run and don't look back, for I will crush you with my pincers, poison you with my tendrils, adjust your flesh so that it may serve our purpose.

But don't fret yet, for that is not the terrifying part. Do you want to know what the worst part is? Well, I don't know if he is actually wrong. After all, hasn't my decision brought me here tonight? And now, as their blades cut my flesh and the needles stitch it back together in a misshapen fashion, make a decision yourself. Stay, or leave. I cannot tell you which one is right. Only the Regent knows, for it knows everything.

The prophet, the 'cursed' one, the one full of doubt, the one so generous and selfish at the same time. Thoughts?

Stealth Marmot
2017-03-18, 03:23 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd3UgedXW5E

(Yes I know, different spelling)