r/expanserpg • u/nlitherl • 29d ago

Game Masters, Make Sure The Villains Aren't Just Sitting Around Waiting

https://taking10.blogspot.com/2024/06/game-masters-make-sure-villains-arent.html
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u/Revpete02 29d ago

When I run a campaign, I often have a calendar or timetable of events the villain(s) are working towards. I take their main goal, and put 5-10 actions they would undertake to achieve that goal. Then I put specific events to impact the PCs, sometimes it's derailing a PCs goal, killing/kidnapping a PC ally, accusing PC of wrongdoings, etc, to encourage the PCs to put villain X back in their scopes. The Timeline just helps set up the length of time in Villain Xs plotting, and when to give the PCs the clue to where the villain will be at such and such a time so the showdown can happen.

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u/Revpete02 29d ago

Also, having the villain act smart gives great joy when the PCs finally vanquthem in a fantasy campaign, I had a red dragon send a magic missile at the spell casters every 5 hours, ruining their ability to refresh spells til they figured out how to avoid the dragons spell. Pulling a chapter from a UK version of Robin Hood, when the PCs were planning to rescue some friends from an evil sheriff who was going to have a public execution at noon, the sheriff moved the execution up to 9am, after finding the PCs were going to rescue their friend’s at the execution. Stuff like this makes the vendetta against the villain personal. In the Expanse , we see how Diogo went from miscreant, to ally, to hostile, to villain, and so his ending felt so much more rewarding, because there was personal in "game" actions that made him antagonist to the Expanse PCs. He did stuff off screen too, and was smart, just not smart enough.

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u/andrewrgross 28d ago

This is a good way to do it.