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The Colonel · 10-10-2013, 02:42 AM

The villain the PCs don't even recognise to be a villain until half way through the arc - ideally the villain who starts off as a patron.

Imagine, for a pop culture example, if Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer had not lampshaded Mayor Wilkins as a villain from the beginning but instead introduced him as a sometime ally of Buffy, playing up his apparently benevolent and paternal (if somewhat over formal) side. Perhaps letting him act as a patron to some degree, effecting the image of a good guy with some understanding of the supernatural problems that Sunnydale faced.
And letting that run for a season or so before revealing that Buffy had just been killing off his enemies and those supernaturals that refused to work for him.

Now that would have been an impressive bit of villainage. Try that on your PCs.

10-10-2013, 02:42 AM	#20
The Colonel Join Date: Jul 2006	Re: What makes a good villain? The villain the PCs don't even recognise to be a villain until half way through the arc - ideally the villain who starts off as a patron. Imagine, for a pop culture example, if Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer had not lampshaded Mayor Wilkins as a villain from the beginning but instead introduced him as a sometime ally of Buffy, playing up his apparently benevolent and paternal (if somewhat over formal) side. Perhaps letting him act as a patron to some degree, effecting the image of a good guy with some understanding of the supernatural problems that Sunnydale faced. And letting that run for a season or so before revealing that Buffy had just been killing off his enemies and those supernaturals that refused to work for him. Now that would have been an impressive bit of villainage. Try that on your PCs.