Creating Your Villain!

    Every story needs a villain, even if that character doesn't know they're the villain. In TTRPGs it's nice to have a clear adversary, someone to battle with on different levels, or maybe a secret identity that you work to reveal. Some villains are just the toughest challenge around, but other villains make a lasting impression on us. Everyone knows The Joker or Darth Vader. These are characters with a presence and story that are memorable. Not every villain needs to be blockbuster worthy, but they should always be more than the toughest fight at the end of a quest. 

    Let's take a look at what makes a quality villain and how you can create yours. First, we should ask ourselves what villain left a lasting impression on us and why. I like Spiderman villains, because most of them were good at one point. Something drove them over the edge AND gave them the power to take their rage out on society. Maybe you want a pure evil like Sauron. There is something about a character with no glimmer of good that rouses us to action. Maybe we prefer a more complicated villain that sees themselves as the hero, and some may agree with, such as Magneto. It can be helpful to choose a known villain to partially emulate. 

Agenda

    Personally, I always start with my villain's agenda. What the villain wants and why they want it shapes your game and may be the most memorable aspect of the villain. This will dictate what problems they will cause, what your players goal will become, and how your characters view the villain. Money and power is always on the table. They are super cliche, but often accurate to real life. What makes the Joker so exciting as a villain is that he doesn't want either of these things, therefore he's unpredictable. Something I think that always makes a villain interesting is when they have an agenda that's very personal, yet destructive. There was a Star Trek episode where Riker encountered a man that had a time ship that could rewrite the timeline of space in their area. The captain of this ship could erase whole civilizations off the map by shifting the timeline. He did this for decades just so he could find a timeline where his wife didn't die in their war. That's a compelling Villain. 

    My suggestion to anyone is come up with a very personal agenda for your villain. Make their goal something that interrupts everyday life and requires throwing out notions of morality. A villain like this is not only compelling, but dangerous! A singularly obsessed villain that has abandoned morals is the most dangerous. As long as you keep giving your villains their own agendas they will never be boring.

Personality

    Whether your characters get to interact with your villain directly or not, you should have a firm grip on their personality. Their personality is big part of how they carry out their plans and how they justify them. You can give your characters glimpses of their personality through NPC who have been unfortunate enough to have come face to face with them. I love to arrange the occasional meeting between players and my big bad. Give them a taste of who they are after. Sometimes the villain's personality can be the shocking and terrifying quality. Let's compare Thanos and The Joker. Thanos had an agenda that put a chill down your spine, but his personality wasn't especially compelling. On the other hand, The Joker had virtually no structured goals, but it's his personality that shakes people to their core. Which will your villain be? 

    Here are some practical tips to creating your villain's personality. 

1. Try to picture your villain in action and take note of how you portray them in your mind. What does their voice sound like, what mannerisms do they use, do they do anything unique. You can get a start from envisioning your idea. Jot down what comes to mind and then move to more structured creation.   

 

2. Start with the basics: Is your villain happy or depressed? Manic or somber? Serious or detached? Coherent or a mess? These basic questions are at the foundation of their personality. Depressed on somber can signal that they are hurting and troubled by their backstory and their agenda. Happy and manic says they are detached from reality and unreasonable. 

3. Is your character intelligent or dull? Do they need intelligence for their agenda? Or is their agenda due to them being ignorant and hateful? Do they speak eloquently or do they grunt out answers? Can they even explain why they're doing what their doing? Intelligence can alter personality greatly, so figure where your villain stands. 

4. Does your character care about anything? If so, what are those things? Does their agenda revolve around one thing they care about? Are their actions or motives restricted at all by emotions? Even the most twisted villains have a soft spot somewhere, may a romance or their hometown. Decide if your villain cares about anything and how if affects their personality. 

5. Now work on their appearance! Obviously, we all express ourselves through our clothing and villains are no different. Use your imagination, look through some art online, or use a character creator like Hero Forge. Hero Forge is my go-to way to bring a character to life.   

6. Finally, ponder unique personality traits, ticks, habits, gestures, sayings, and all the little things that players see. If you do some searches, I'm sure you can find writer's resources that give lists or tables for these types of features. 

Background

    A creative background is always important to any character, but it's one that you players likely won't have access to right away. For this reason, I make a detailed background my last priority. You may work it out after playing a couple sessions. That's okay. There are just two basic ideas that you need from this category to bring your villain together. The first is to have a reason for your character's agenda. This doesn't need to be fully fleshed out, but it will help you understand your villain much better. The second is a vague reason for their personality. For instance, if you said you wanted a serious and somber personality then what triggers this somberness? Is it a loss, a tragedy, their own sin, a dark philosophy? Get a category in your head and you can fill out the details later.     

    When writing your villain's backstory, remember that hurt people hurt people. Anakin didn't become a villain because he just decided to be evil, his natural anger was pushed over the edge because he believed his love died. He "lost it." Harvey Dent (Two Face) was a good man! He was hurt over and over by a system and characters who he felt powerless to change, so he changed. Unless you're dealing with a supernatural evil, most villains don't start that way. There are a million different tragedies that can happen. Pick one that fuels your villain's agenda.

    

    With these three categories you can make a quality villain. Sure, there are many other factors you could consider, but these are the ones everyone will see and are the most crucial to your character. Approach villain creation through these three and you'll always have something substantial to work with.    

As usual, you can contact me if you have any further questions. If you'd like to see me write a post on a specific topic. I am a GM supplement writer for hire. I will talk to you about what you're trying to create and put your ideas into a design to improve your campaign. 

You can find me on Twitter @flayer85

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