15 Tips for Running RPG Villains: Playing BBEGs Your PCs Will Love to Hate - a podcast by Thorin McGee

It’s the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG)! The font from which all the pain in your campaign should spring. … So, how do you make sure that NPC is epic and inspires your PCs to true desperation like Darth Vader and not a sniveling mama’s boy like Joss Whedon’s Steppenwolf?

It can be a fine line to walk. You need to make the villain powerful, intimidating, and willing to do things that the players will hate. But you can’t make them so bad that the players will come to hate your game. There are levels to this, and finding just the right level for your players is part of the magic hidden in every great RPG campaign.

In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave dig into how they create villains, from concept to motivation to final confrontation. Along the way, they talk about what makes a good evil and how to trigger their players and characters just enough to motivate them to put a stop to it.

2:00 What are you trying to achieve with your villains?

5:00 5 reasons your big bad doesn’t just kill the party (or why Strahd didn’t wipe us out at lvl 3)

13:00 Hiding in the shadows: When should you reveal your BBEG?

18:00 DMG tools for changing up your campaign style

22:00 What kind of villain do you want to run? Power broker? Archmage? Giant immortal dragon? Unspeakable tentacle monster? Kaiju-sized flying bear? Motivated tax collector?

26:00 DM Dave’s Triangle of Evil: Monster – Villain – Amorphous Organized Enemies

34:00 Anticlimaxes: What do you not want to have happen to your villain?

38:00 Making Strahd Scry: Ways to give your villain an advantage over the party

42:00 A boss battle needs mortal tension, but how much tension is right for your players?

47:00 How long should your boss fight last?

49:00 Preparing your villain for the final showdown: What special measures (cheats?) are OK?

56:00 Adding levels and minions to keep the villain powered up with the party

59:00 The players need to know they beat something worth defeating

67:00 Character motivations: Creating an enemy that pushes the buttons these characters care about

72:00 What the BBEG can’t do: No sexual assault, no “women in refrigerators,” no acts so dastardly they ruin the game for the players.

76:00 Final thoughts and a 5-step plan for creating great RPG villains

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