Ideas for a BBEG

[The Sandman]

I figured I'd try to start a thread where people could post their concepts for BBEGs and related plot hooks as potential ideas for DM use. If anyone wants to develop the stats for a given character, that would be great, but don't feel like you have to in order to post.

I'll start it off with an idea I had for what would probably be an enemy suitable for high-level parties. What the BBEG in question is trying to do is to, via a ritual, either transmute or destroy all diamonds on the planet. I expect this would be for religious reasons; while he's willing to accept people being resurrected via such higher means as wish and miracle, he feels that the trio of normal resurrection spells are an abomination against the natural order. For bonus points, he would be good-aligned if at all possible, with his additional motivation for his plan being that resurrecting good people involves tearing them away from paradise while resurrecting evil people involves both avoiding their punishment and alllowing them to continue plaguing the rest of the world.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Have you considered a Marut with class levels? It fits them to a T, destroying the source of revival spells.

[SoD]

An advanced (to the size increase) Gugalon (I think. The icey one). He basically has plans to rule all the devils. But to do this, he's cast himself away from the other devils to set out on his own...he plans on ascending to godhood by consuming several thousand souls at once. I'm going to have it have something to do with that substance from CWar, you know, the one that absorbs the soul of what it kills? I'll spare you the exact details, but he's started a slaving group, for the purpose of gain people to kill, but, as far as all but a few of the slavers know, they're just slavers for profit. If he reaches godhood, he's going to proove to the other devils that he can rule them by using his godly powers to single handedly kill all the demons.

All demons. Dead. The players will find out that this is his eventual plan, and, hopefully, they will realise that with the demon/devil war finished, there's going to be no more demons, but a helluva lot o' devils who no longer have a plane of demons to kill. And need some other way to keep them selves amused...

[Illiterate Scribe]

If he reaches godhood, he's going to proove to the other devils that he can rule them by using his godly powers to single handedly kill all the demons.


"No! I must kill the demons" he shouted.
The radio said "No, Gelugon. You are the demons"
And then Gelugon was a zombie.

[TheThan]

Hobgoblin cleric with weather and earth domains, she’s got the magical macguffin the heroes have to return. It controls the weather and the evil cleric is using it to wage a war against humanity.

[Ossian]

Try with THIS (http://kensirou.altervista.org/gaiden-raoh.jpg) guy. Epic level Monk/Fighter/Paladin of Tiranny/Shintao Monk/Henshin Mystic (like 18/4/n/m) who wants to rule the world by means of fear. Insane physical stats and charisma. He has summomed an army vast enough to subjucate nations and on his steed ( a CR 6 warhorse) he leaves piles of dead warriors in his wake. Buff it up with some Oriental Adventures martial feats and stats well beyond 20, and lo! there is a nice BBEG...

[Maxymiuk]

You didn't specify this thread to be D&D specific, so I'm going to post my idea anyway, despite the fact that it probably wouldn't work in your standard High Fantasy D&D campaign.

Two dragons - I envisioned them as a brother and a sister - who got sick of seeing their kin slaughtered in the name of progress (humans encroaching on their territories, etc). They realize that this may well be a sign that their time on this world is up, but they refuse to succumb to inevitability. Their solution is to destroy humanity - or at least curb their numbers to the point that they stop being a threat. And what better way to put this plan in action than to use human tendency towards warfare against them?

The setting this scenario would take place in would have to be fairly polarized: on one side you'd have an empire which is already pursuing the goal of world domination, on the other a loose coalition of independent kingdoms which just barely managed to drive the imperial armies back once before.

The dragons first obtain the support of all other dragons. This can serve as the first sing of "something's rotten in X" most likely in the form of sightings of dragons fighting each other to the death, as our two ringleaders quickly adopt an "or else" approach to dealing with the more fatalistic of their kind. Then (using their innate shapeshifting abilities), they infiltrate both the imperial court and the coalition and begins their slow work.

Unless someone manages to uncover and interfere with their plans, the scenario plays out like this: the empire is goaded into attacking the kingdoms again. The offensive begins as soon as the snows melt and roads and mountain passes become accessible again (the timing is important, so pay attention). Through either magical help or simply good intelligence regarding enemy tactics, manages to score a series of decisive victories, nearly bringing the coalition to its knees. The imperial commanders allow their troops to commit unspeakable atrocities - effect of either magical influence or plain old drugs an poisons that made them deranged. Then, during what is to be the final victory for the empire, the army is led into an ambush and summarily slaughtered.

This is not the end. The aforementioned atrocities are then used by the dragon in the coalition to ramp up the resentment and outrage, resulting in launching an immediate counteroffensive, practically on the heels of the retreating remnants of the imperial army. Once again, magical influence, drugs, or even blackmail may be used to push this plan forward, no matter how short-sighted it is.

By the time the coalition army mounts its hasty expedition it's summer - on their march across the empire they will adopt a pillage policy as crops in the fields ripen in order to compensate for overextended supply lines the army will have to deal with. During their march through the empire it will be their turn to be aided by sound tactical intelligence. Needless to say, the atrocities committed by the coalition will be just as horrifying as those of the imperial troops - here a simple desire for retribution will be enough to spur them on. "You know what them sons of dogs done to our women, Billy?"

With most of the fighting men, battle mages, and as many mercenaries and adventurers away having a merry old time in the empire, it's the time for dragons to strike. Over the course of several nights they will hit targets across every kingdom - burning down crop fields, destroying fishing fleets, and killing as much livestock as they can.
All this would, of course, be impossible to accomplish by a few dozen dragons, no matter how awesome they may be. Enter the various bandit and saboteur types hired during the preparation stages. As many of them as they are, they have no awareness of each other, thinking their piece of work is individual revenge or underhanded business dealings. It won't be until the deed is done and the news have time to spread that they'll realize the sheer enormity of the task they took part in.

But wait, the kingdoms have the army a-pillaging over in imperial territory. They could bring back the crops from there, averting widespread famine, right?
Wrong, because at the moment the coalition is watching their wheat go up in flames, the army is being maneuvered into a no-escape position against what few reserves the empire has left. What will follow is a long, vicious, and gory fight of mutual extinction, which will break the expedition force, and render the empire practically defenseless.
Then the dragons will wreak destruction on what crops the empire has remaining. By now they can even take their time doing it.

With most crops destroyed, the entire continent now faces famine. If any kingdom thought to have made grain reserves against a bad year, they will be found poisoned. Humanity may manage to scrape by this year... but the next will find them with not enough men left alive to plow a sufficient number of fields. Food riots, cannibalism, and a breakdown of society will follow, aided by well-timed acts of sabotage from the dragons - the siblings who originated the entire plan may even have remained undetected and still be manipulating government policy to cause even greater chaos.

In as little as ten years enough humans will be dead that society will be forced to the tribal level, still existing, but not a major threat anymore. The dragons would have accomplished their goal.

------------

This particular pair of BBEG's lend themselves to several campaign styles and any number of entry points for the characters. They could be swords for hire who get embroiled in the war and try to deal with the atrocities committed by other soldiers and the sometimes suicidal orders from their increasingly deranged commanders. They could be nobles in a court who notice a new arrival, their surprisingly quick rise in influence, and the strange going ons that will follow. They could be agents hired by dragon detractors who feel that genocide isn't a valid solution to anything, working against the siblings' plans - perhaps even initially unaware of the true nature of their work, or for that matter of their employers.

Though let me reiterate that this isn't an idea meant for a system where the crucial aspect of the BBEG's plan can be ruined by divine intervention. Or Elminster and Co. Or a level three spell.

[Swooper]

An advanced (to the size increase) Gugalon (I think. The icey one).
Gelugon. Despite getting it wrong, thank you for not saying "Ice Devil". I hate those names.. Barbed Devil, Spine Devil etc. Barbazu and Spinagon sound so much more flavourful.

[Randel]

1). Convincing John- A bard who was the first to master the art of Diplomancy, allowing him to convince anyone of anything. After wrecking havoc with mostly minor abuses, he eventually got the idea to convert people to worship him and attain godhood. The church tried to stop him. Finding that even the most stalewart paladins and mages stood little chance against him, they eventually had to go to a group of necromancers to raise an army of undead to fight him and keep him away from living people.

Convincing John eventually had to flee from an army of zombies and morghs who took over the countryside to seal him in. He managed to survive in a sealed in room by convincing the angel of death that he could eat imaginary food and he was 'perpetually 25 years old'.

If the heros kill off the zombies in the area and accidentally release Convincing John then he is free to wreck revenge on those who imprisoned him. The church made a deal to the necromancers to let them continue their work (within reason) and the necromancers don't tell the world how they churches had sacrificed those mind-raped by Convincing John in order to keep him from acending (though if he did, iy would practically be The End of The World). Various laws that keep people from getting too manipulative have been put in place and the church reluctantly tries to get people to learn to combat massive bluffing skills.

(Note: the name is taken from a character from Fraggle Rock)

2). A bard turned Lich who got his hands on a lyre of building. He spends a great deal of time playing it constantly and practically reformatting areas of land into whatever he wants. After Elves tried to kill him (either out of them hating how he turns forests into apartment buildings, or perhaps he was once an idealistic human bard who won the heart of an elven maiden... but was shunned and mocked by the others saying that he was 'A mayfly who would be dead soon an was of no account.")

He has since enlisted the help of an army of gobins and orcs, he merrily strums his lyre day and night, making tunnels and houses out of elven land and forests. Those who wage war against him find that he can raze forests, collapse tunnels, tear down walls and buildings, and put up fortifications for his army in mere hours. And he doesn't sleep.

[TheCountAlucard]

Sounds more like he's a master at Bluff than a Diplomancer...

[Kami2awa]

The most likely person to do this is someone who can't be resurrected, so an Outsider. Other than that, anyone might want this. I can see this being a plan of lawful outsiders rather than chaotic; lawful goods want people to stay in paradise, lawful neutrals have decided resurrection is against the laws of nature, lawful evils want to keep the sinners in hell.