Need Help Creating A Creepy But Sympathetic Villain

[Leliel]

Anyway, one of the head henchmen of my BBEG, Jacob Bok (the henchman, not his boss), is a voodoo-slinging pirate in the Psycho for Hire (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PsychoForHire) mold. And not just any crazy psycho with a flair for dramatics either, but one who likes to scare the crap out of his enemies, has a legion of terrifying creatures at his command to do so, and due to the effects of his native Ravenloft, has partially become one himself (Specifically, a bogeyman, a type of fey that feeds on myths about them...And not very nice fey either). Sounds like your typical semi-horror campaign baddie, right? Wrong.

You see, one of themes of this band of not-really-that-bad-guys might be creating a world that's actually better then the one they're trying to destroy to make room for it. Of course, a straight-up villain isn't suitable for such a campaign, so each one has highly complex motives, some of them even heroic. In Jacob's case here, his family was killed by ignoramuses afraid of their "curse" of all of them being sorcerers (Sorcerers with an addiction to magic, but other then that, meh). This caused him to want a world free from all sorts of prejudice and discrimination, which his boss shares. He isn't irredeemable, either: He truly loves the BBEG's daughter, Edena, and his relationship with her has caused him to reasses his resentment of other beings.

The trouble is, although I can do the "creepy" part of him just fine, I have trouble with how to illustrate his "nice" side.

So, how am I supposed to show Bok's soft side without detracting from his scary side, and vice versa?

Post on this thread...Or I'll kill you...

Or not.

But better to make sure though.

[Smiley_]

Perhaps, because he want's this prejudice free world, he would want humanoids that are considered savage, such as minotaurs and goblinoids, to live alongside the 'civilized' races like gnomes, humans and elves. However, his views are blocked by the same prejudice that he wishes to stamp out. The same prejudice that would probably be fed to the PCs.

This guy, creepy as he may be, might actually be doing the right thing in the only way he knows how, given the circumstances, through brute force and fear.

It would be hard to pull off exactly what you want, but I would suggest revealing his softer, nicer side slowly over the course of the campaign to the PCs as they begin to understand his true motives for a better world.

The BBEG is another matter entirely.

[AKA_Bait]

Yeah, I think a good way to show this might be to have the PC's become aware of his stamping down and terrifying some races that are typically considered 'monsters' as well as the typical player races.

He hears about Orcs that keep Human slaves? He lays the smack down.
He hears about Elves that have standing bounties on Orc scalps? He lays the smack down.

[Falrin]

Just by not killing the litlle girl he finds.

You can have him even save her, be nice to her and then kill the whole 'intollerant' monestary ahead.


I kind of like the idea to introduce him to the PC's as a nice friendly guy helping them out killing an evil band of bandits (that killed x or y, he just tracked them down). He's a warm, sharing person spreading the love, but utterly ruthless to those he dislikes. Killing of injured bandits and even surrendered or unarmed ones. Next he has a nice chat with the PC's (see if they have predjudices) and head of again. This chat is good way to show his gentle side, but with a hint of 'happy' extremism.

They'll think he is a possible important, but helpful PC. Maybe even a lame Deus ex Machina that gets to much spotlight. Then they hear about a town that got slaughtered. The town that hired them to rid them of those nasty (insert generaly evil race).

Investigation shows use of a certain signature spell they saw the nice NPC use.

[NorseItalian]

Read "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley and you'll learn some great techniques for this.

[Glawackus]

Perhaps something along these lines? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_(1986_musical))

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Hmmm...

What about this?

Jacob Bok wants a world free of prejudice. It's his life goal and his greatest ambition. Begin (without allowing a fight) by showing just how terrible he can be. Make the PCs afraid of this person, and the terrible things he can do.

Then a revelation hits him, and his resolve is shaken apart. The problem is that, in slaughtering only those displaying prejudice, he has become that which he hates most. The thought is to much to bear. He won't stop, but if he continues to kill the prejudiced, people begin to find things. Money left with the bodies to compensate the widows or orphans along with notes of sincere apologies, possibly even tear-stained. Emphasize the strangeness and contrasting natures of the two sides of his personality...the note, written by someone crying out in heartfelt sorrow for his victim and apologies to their family and friend, lying atop the burned and ruined bodies of a man and a woman...discovered by their child.

As his relationship with the BBEG's daughter progresses and he realizes how much she means to him, he breaks further. After all, how many times has he slain someone's loved one? What horrors has he unknowingly committed on the innocent by murdering the guilty?

None of this will stop his actions, although they will tear him apart. If approached correctly at the right time, it's possible he might even be able to be persuaded to cease in his mission...but approach him incorrectly and he attacks in a wild fit of emotional rage; a tear-stained berserker whose horrendous attempts to create his dream world are slowly but surely eating away at his sanity

[Doresain]

Hmmm...

What about this?

Jacob Bok wants a world free of prejudice. It's his life goal and his greatest ambition. Begin (without allowing a fight) by showing just how terrible he can be. Make the PCs afraid of this person, and the terrible things he can do.

Then a revelation hits him, and his resolve is shaken apart. The problem is that, in slaughtering only those displaying prejudice, he has become that which he hates most. The thought is to much to bear. He won't stop, but if he continues to kill the prejudiced, people begin to find things. Money left with the bodies to compensate the widows or orphans along with notes of sincere apologies, possibly even tear-stained. Emphasize the strangeness and contrasting natures of the two sides of his personality...the note, written by someone crying out in heartfelt sorrow for his victim and apologies to their family and friend, lying atop the burned and ruined bodies of a man and a woman...discovered by their child.

As his relationship with the BBEG's daughter progresses and he realizes how much she means to him, he breaks further. After all, how many times has he slain someone's loved one? What horrors has he unknowingly committed on the innocent by murdering the guilty?

None of this will stop his actions, although they will tear him apart. If approached correctly at the right time, it's possible he might even be able to be persuaded to cease in his mission...but approach him incorrectly and he attacks in a wild fit of emotional rage; a tear-stained berserker whose horrendous attempts to create his dream world are slowly but surely eating away at his sanity

that was wickedly awesome

[Weirdlet]

Darn thing ate my post the first go-round... as I was saying...

I like Falrin's notion there- what I'm thinking is if he's in love with the boss's daughter, something that might be interesting is the PCs interrupting the big splashy wedding, er, gathering where they've been hearing that all the people they've got supicions about are coming to town and congregating.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

that was wickedly awesome

Thanks! It's what I do.

This stuff is the basis of a good horror game...screw the zombies and undead. This sort of character, properly done, strikes more fear and uncertainty than anything the Far Realms can come up with. :smallbiggrin:

I love this stuff.

[Ominous]

I like the idea of having him presented as a bad guy at first; then have the PCs discover later on that he's also attacked "monster" races who display some form of discrimination, such as slavery.

[MorkaisChosen]

I like the idea of introducing two seperate people- the nice, if slightly fanatical, bloke they saw down the road helping the little child, and a robed, masked, magic-wielding psycopathic murderer.

Then drop a few hints, and eventually show the PCs that they're one and the same...