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View Full Version : Recurring Villains: Static power vs dynamic power.



Dualswinger
2018-04-02, 03:32 AM
Interested in people’s thoughts on this one. In a campaign, do players prefer their villains that show up repeatedly to either have a static power, thereby acting as a milestone for the group to eventually overcome, or for villains to develop their strength alongside the heroes, remaining relatively the same threat level as a constant but giving the villain more of a “real” feel

Koo Rehtorb
2018-04-02, 04:03 AM
Both are fine.

Sometimes it's nice to have a villain that showcases how much the heroes have grown. That kid that you struggled against way back when you can now just swat aside effortlessly because you've outgrown him.

Other times the archvillain is making her own plans and gathering her own power throughout the campaign and it makes perfect sense that she's found the Staff of Ascension since the last time you faced her and can now shoot lightning bolts out of her eyes.

Frozen_Feet
2018-04-02, 04:36 AM
Both are fine. How well either works depends somewhat on the stakes of play and development curve of player characters. To wit:

1) any kind of recurring villain is hard to do if default mode of conflict is lethal combat.
2) static villains work best when player characters develop slowly and/or defeating the villain is primarily a matter of tactics or strategy, facilitating trial and error gameplay.
3) dynamic villains are a must when player characters develop quickly, otherwise they only get to recur once, if at all.

Spore
2018-04-02, 05:13 AM
Both are good. But as a player I prefer fixed villains. They can still alter their toolkits a fair bit. A fierce warlord that easily defeats the group in the first meeting can sic his villain or monster hordes on the heroes in the second encounter.

We had a 2 year campaign where we gained significant power (from Level 7 to 12) but somehow the archvillain being a half-fiend redwyrm (CR 24) always remained out of our grasp. We were just having enough HP and magical defenses to not be immediately wiped out but a save or die (generally Blasphemy). But the importance is that you need a real obstacle to overcome. This DM had a knack for overpowered villains. And while the story was great, I hated him for just that.

Evil Orc Barbarian King? Got an artifact that emanates an antimagic field.
Halfling Necromancer? Got an artifact that revives him once a minute (and making him madder and thus more dangerous with every reincarnation).
Half-Fiend Great Red Wyrm? If summoning a Glabrezu/Nalfeshnee is not enough to keep us busy while she casts Unholy Aura and Blasphemy (instantly killing everyone failing their will save), and we get incredibly lucky with our saves, the dragon still rips my paladin apart with one full round attack or a few pot shots (ubercharger).