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@FangofFate

Жыл бұрын

I know it’s not your question specifically but two of my favorite villains that come to mind are Emperor Belos from the Owl House, and the Ancestor from Darkest Dungeons. Both are very compelling and charismatic villains who are both terrifying and incredible in their own ways

@abramelbin5631

Жыл бұрын

Mine is a toss-up between Acarerak and Tiamat. Evil dragon goddess or powerful, crafty archlich?

@tysondennis1016

3 ай бұрын

@@FangofFate Honestly, Belos is a perfect BBEG. The characters all have personal reasons for taking him down, he's utterly despicable as a person, he poses a legitimate threat, he's a twisted version of Luz, he adds to the themes of the show, his ultimate downfall is satisfying, especially with the massive amount of healing that happens afterwards, and his presence is inescapable.

@skidmoda

3 ай бұрын

I know people love Strahd but...he has zero motivation or reason why he doesn't just kill the party day 1. I know he is "playing with them"...weak sauce. I had to create a real reason of why he brought the party there.

@tysondennis1016

3 ай бұрын

@@skidmoda I'd portray Strahd as someone who'd want a challenge. Like, he's not gonna nip problems in the bud, that's too easy and an easy victory is a boring one, he'd rather motivate the party to get strong enough to legitimately threaten him, then he'll kill them.

Scheduling. Scheduling is the greatest D&D Villain.

Asmodeus. He doesn't need to get his own hands dirty, because he's just always at least one step ahead, of the party, of the other archdevils, of the gods.

@angiep2229

Жыл бұрын

In a similar vein, the demon lord Graz'zt is also a lot of fun. He's all about seduction, and I see great potential for manipulating and tempting player characters with him.

Azar Kul is a half-hobgoblin-half dragon leader of The Red Hand Horde in the adventure Red Hand of Doom. With rumors abound he’s a guys with an army that steadily takes over the region and you get to fight his Lieutenants to learn more about him for the final battle. He’s not a god, Demon Lord, or rule a domain of dread. He’s just a Hobgoblin with motivations to dominate for Tiamat and his Goblinoid homies!

@Gibbons3457

Жыл бұрын

RHoD is a god tier adventure, Azar Kul and the other Wyrm Lords and Dragons are so good as foes.

@mikecerutti4721

Жыл бұрын

RHoD is my favorite adventure ever written, you can easily take the concept of it an plug it into a homebrew too!

IIRC, the reason that Vecna art still has both hands and both eyes is that the statblock was made for pre-betrayal Archlich Vecna (presumably because god Vecna would be harder to stat)

@SupergeekMike

Жыл бұрын

Oh that would make sense

@Ocaisionallysane

Жыл бұрын

I thought it was a pretty fun conceit in the writeup for arch lich vecna that he’s apparently a time traveler! Meaning archlich vecna can apparently be running around after he’s ascended to godhood! A time travel campaign with vecna as the big bad has been simmering on the back burner ever since.

@thedootlord

7 ай бұрын

​@@SupergeekMikeI've always assumed that was ST vecna (the guy in the show)

Strahd is a favorite of mine too. One of my favorite things about him is that he has this tragic story and he's stuck in his own personal hell but its all his fault. Really a great example of how to give a villain complexity and depth without making him sympathetic.

@skidmoda

3 ай бұрын

Issue with him there is no motivation factor for him.

Klarg the bugbear in the goblin hideout in Lost Mine of Phandelver has likely killed more PC than any other villian

@altasilvapuer

Жыл бұрын

A friend of mine DM'd that adventure as our intro to 5e and his portrayal of Klarg (and the slightly-expanded role we ended up giving him) was so iconic that he's made cameos in our campaigns ever since. Good times.

@tysondennis1016

3 ай бұрын

Klarg the PC Killer

@albertmartinez2539

2 ай бұрын

Ah, like the Defias Pillagers in old school WoW.

@CthulhuOnCam

2 ай бұрын

@@albertmartinez2539 Like Hogger.

Vecna is amazing not just because of all the reasons you described, but he's also literally started major changes between editions TWICE. 1st to 2nd Edition is because Vecna Lives! (which is an amazing adventure I played in college) and the last 2nd Edition module was Die Vecna Die!. I wouldn't be surprised if he causes the world-changing events that bring on "One D&D" (5.5e) too.

@jameseustice7144

Жыл бұрын

Considering his rich history and Lore, Vecna is definitely a top villain. He was a lich, a demigod, a greater God (I think?), Greyhawk villain, banished to Raven loft fighting and endless war against Kas, escaped to Sigil... It's crazy, and there's so much to pick and choose from

@Violmania

Жыл бұрын

They've already said that they are working on a big vecna campaign for onednd, so he's definitely gonna have a hand in the new edition change aswell

@tysondennis1016

3 ай бұрын

Vecna is the final boss of each edition.

I agree, most of the time people don't get Strahd, he isn't sympathetic. He is a complete monster who shouldn't be empathized with instead he should just be smote out of existence. A monster who is petty and angry that he didn't get the woman he felt entitled to. He is a great villain in my opinion because he is just that a monster who needs to be destroyed (and that he is more of an active villain instead of a passive one waiting at the end of the dungeon to fight the party). Because of what he choose to do. He wasn't forced to kill his brother. He choose to do that. He choose to become a monster because he thought he could take whatever he wanted and was entitled to it. (One reason why I really really liked playing a Paladin in that campaign where I could bring light to the darkness and smite the absolute fuck out of him.)

@firelordeliteast6750

Ай бұрын

Oh believe me, most of us don't empathize with Strahd. But don't you just wanna hear him whisper possessive stuff into your ear as you lay in his lap?

@crazyscotsman9327

Ай бұрын

@@firelordeliteast6750 No. I want to smite him from existence.

Lord Soth from the Dragonlance modules has always been a personal favorite of mine, I played a one shot campaign where he was the final boss. They way the DM showed his honor, that had been twisted by jealousy, and wrath was a really fun experience.

Solid list. I really like that you're looking at the core of Strahd, cuz you're completely right.

I'm not deep into D&D lore so I'm not really familiar with most of this list but everytime I hear something related to Curse of Strad makes me want to give it a chance.

@angiep2229

Жыл бұрын

It's considered one of the best modules. I think it's worth seeking out a professional DM for this one. It's so complex and will be awesome with the right DM. An inexperienced DM is likely to have a harder time running it. Go for the best experience you can here.

@manueltorresart2345

Жыл бұрын

@@angiep2229 Noted, thanks for the tips. If possible I'd love to play it as a character, if not. someday. Fortunately I'm in the middle of a homebrew campaing to get better as a DM.

Minor spoilers for Icewind Dale RotF I find Auril very interesting as a DND villain. Her motivations are very human to me. She’s made to be very simple in the module but her foundation has allowed me to turn her into a much more complicated threat and villain and it’s been a ton of fun. Also the Arcane Brotherhood wizards are really really fun to throw at the party.

Probably the most interesting dynamic for tiamat is her duality with Bahamut and contrast between gods of order and chaos

I recently finished up running Call of the Netherdeep, so spoilers for the end of that adventure. I think Alyxian is a really good redeemable villain. The party hears legends of him as a hero before getting to see his flaws and has the opportunity to either help him overcome those demons or judge him as irredeemable, and it really made for an emotional final encounter and an opportunity to explore the way self-loathing can become a self fulfilling prophecy.

@angrybirdboy985

9 ай бұрын

Whoa I found Flando by accident again!

One DND villain I like a lot is from an adventure called "Red Hand of Doom" A half-dragon, half-hobgoblin warlord by the name of Azaar Kul. He's a faithful of Tiamat and towards the end tries to summon an aspect of her. He's pretty basic but that makes hin very mailable imo

Your comment about Strahd being such a beloved villain because he represents something real made me realize that's probably why the players and fans of Critical Role had such an intense reaction to Trent Ikithon. Because that kind of manipulative, gaslighty authority is something that too many people have had to encounter IRL

In my groups storm king campaign the DM has put in a lot of extra enemies and groups. The best being a recurring enemy in the form of a sorcerer lich who put himself in a golem suit. He’s funny, old, and knowingly fucks up everythjbg to keep the war going.

@annak1042

Жыл бұрын

The canonical villain of Storm King's Thunder (not naming names to avoid spoilers) is one I have a big soft spot for, simply because SKT was the first full campaign I ran & they were thus the first long-term villain I got to play. I had a huge amount of fun pitting them against the players, fleshing them out & introducing even more Dastardly Schemes than the module alone provided!

Lolth. Best villain and a lot more of a personal goddess/demon than other gods. Able to connect to the party more

Love this list! A personal favorite for me is Asmodeus

@matthewmoran1866

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, imho Asmodeus has always held the undisputed title for Ultimate Final Enemy, Orcus is definitely one of the most iconic and cool demon lords but Asmodeus is The Lord of The Hells. Tharizdun is the only other evil that I would think might be on the same level as Asmodeus.

The cassalanter's from Dragon Heist are so human it hurts. I run them like Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil from Dangerous Liaisons. Stellar couple.

All of those are great. I really like, Xanathar, Nyarlatothep, Ashardalon, Lord Soth, Azalin Rex, Graz'zt, Igglwyv and Asmodeus.

Not a particular villain but the best enemy I've faced as a player has to be the githyanki. By the time we were high level we were literally being chased across the multiverse by those guys, it was awesome

@jameseustice7144

Жыл бұрын

I mean, I can see why. Essentially Alien Time/space pirates riding red dragons, hunting down mindflayer and raiding whatever they want across the astral Sea, while being ruled by a timeless Lich Queen? Badass

This video gave me the idea to make a dragonborn character who worships Tiamat.

I absolutely love that you put a note about your own subjectivity at the top of this video. Not many folk do that and it's really refreshing to hear that.

For Strahd, My favorite portrayal of him is in the AP Dragon Friends, a criminally overlooked podcast. He shows up in season two and is real good. Other classic villains, obviously you've got Red Wizards, which are gonna be back in the spotlight after the movie. I was always a fan of the cult of Cyric, or followers of Mask as villians as well. If i'm feeling goofier, I like using Urdlen or Ghaundaur as god villains

I've never played CoS and I probably never will, due to a list of reasons among which is personal experience with this type of predator. I think it's really cathartic for some people to be able to destroy that type of monster in a game, and I've considered giving the module a chance for this reason, but my experience with the way people TALK about the module is all around how hot or relatable Strahd supposedly is and I just cannot see myself sitting at a table with people making excuses for an abuser, because I've been through that and I don't want to relive that trauma. But it does hearten me to see a DM I respect, like you, talking about him as the vile, irredeemably horrible entity he is. That does make him a compelling villain, if you actually play him that way. I appreciate the fact that your players are getting that catharsis, if they're looking for it. Good job, you.

@SupergeekMike

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Yeah, the way people talk about Strahd also bums me out/bothers me, that was a big inspiration behind making this video.

@thenorthian3667

Жыл бұрын

Super irredeemable. My players tried to get him to turn good but I just had him be like, nope lol Im gonna continue to kill people and try to get what I want. He's evil. While he has an empathetic and tragic backstory, he is now a monster with no hope of redemption. Even in the backstory he chooses to do some pretty evil stuff.

One of my favorites is Jarlaxle from Waterdeep Dragon Heist.

I love RPing Strahd, you nail it pretty on the spot: he is an abuser, abusers don't see themselves as the bad guys, plus he is elegant and can be respectful as he sits in front of the players, I like to have the "dinner" invitation as a real dinner he invites the party, he showcases his wives, he talks about his story (from his perspective of course) and even asks for favor from them in order to let them leave Barovia, he can seem as decent as the next abuser and gaslighter to the point the PCs could argue to be confused about whether or not he IS as much of a bad guy as they think. My favorite phrase for him to describe himself is "indeed I am a monster, yet in this realm, I'm only a jailer, the prisoners of Barovia are horrible monsters as well and so, I must be a bigger monster to keep them inside"... man I love that monster XD

@SupergeekMike

Жыл бұрын

1000%!

What if SupergeekMike is himself the villain gaining our trust 👀

@SupergeekMike

Жыл бұрын

😈

Vecna, Asmodeus, Iuz, Iggwilv, Graz'zt are my top 5. Acererak, Demogorgon, Orcas, Tiamat, Lord Soth and Nerull are my close runner ups.

I would say Bargle, the mage of Black Eagle Barony, holds a special place in many OG players’ hearts. IIRC he was the villain scripted to kill a companion of the party in the starter adventure in the Red Box Set for the BECMI edition of DnD. Was a deviant fellow in his own right regardless. Look into him.

I'd love a video or something on how you're running Strahd as a character, and how he is interaction wiith the PCs. I'm gonna run CoS this summer and I want him to be all of what you just described him as, I just don't really know how. How do I make him gaslight characters played by players that know he is the villain?

@SupergeekMike

Жыл бұрын

That’s a great question! Hm I’ll have to sit on that and think about how I can describe how I play Strahd; I know I can slip into the character easily but I have to figure out the best way to describe it and convert it into actionable information. But that’s an awesome question, and one that I will definitely have to tackle in a future video!

@B-oj4nh

Жыл бұрын

I second this! I just started running CoS a week ago, and I can see a lot how I'm going to run it, but I'm having the most trouble with Strahds personality. I think there's a lot of ways to do it but want to do it that really engenders what's being mentioned here...I want my characters to hate and fear him more than anything else.

@blablablubb7623

Жыл бұрын

We were a pretty religious group (mostly cleric, Paladin, celestial warlock and multiclasses thereof) and for a while Strahd would pretend to be our deities and made us discard powerful items and distrust friendly NPCs and when one of us finally found out, Strahd told her he only could answer her prayers because her deity had forsaken her and have her a major identity crisis. Not sure if this is what you're looking for but it sure was memorable

One of my favorites is Kensidan from The Pirate King by R.A. Salvatore. Not sure if he ever appeared in any modules but I liked him a lot because he wasn't really powerful he was just smarter than everyone else. Be tough to run as a BB unless you're running a game for kids I suppose but still: he cool.

The Xanathar. I just love the idea of a normal… well, as normal as a beholder can be, behilder who has a hold in Waterdeep, intelligent and paranoid… But he thinks his fish, Sylgar, is the only goldfish in existence, and loves it more than anything. His minions have to swap it out without Xanathar noticing the fact that this is the fiftieth Sylgar he’s had. The Cassalanters are a close second.

Zariel is probally the biggest missing one here from 5e stuff at least

The real best villains were the frenemies we made along the way.

This happened recently in my campaign: Me: I want to cast detect thoughts on Vecna DM: You want… to read the thoughts… of a god… Me: Let me do the stupid thing!!

Minor Spoilers for Waterdeep Dragon Heist & Ed Greenwoods lore videos I enjoy both Manshoon (or his clones) and Jarlaxle Beanre as villains very much. Both are found in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, as villains. Mostly for the same reasons you named for humanoid villains that can talk to you. Jarlaxle is a wonderful option to make deals with and deceive your players, expecially in a Setting where his mercenary group, the Bregan D'aerthe is a bit deal. Manshoon is just as eternal as Acererak having cloned himself way too many times to count and can still use great ressources and story tie-ins with the Zhentarim. Also the recent Episode of Ed Greenwoods channel revealed that the real Manshoon is still out there somewhere, having achieved his goals and some kind of demigod status, he now just pulls strings and impacts events to see what might happen next.

I’m running Dungeon of the Mad Mage, and the Undermoutain feels like Halaster’s left overs that got ants all over it, except the ants are drow and monsters and such and Halaster made a deal with half the ants to help them become crazy wizards like him. He almost feels like a force of nature in the Undermountain. A common through-line or permeating force. I think it’s pretty cool! And he can just appear and talk with the players whenever, as a silly friend one day and a (still kind of silly) sociopath the next. One of my pc’s have kissed him.

Here are a few canonical D&D villains you might not have known about: 1) Azalin Rex, Darklord of Darkon, from the Ravenloft Campaign Setting. Azalin was once Firan Zal'honan, a human wizard-king in the World of Greyhawk. However, after he executed his only son, Irik, he sought the secrets of becoming a lich. As a lich he ruled his kingdom mercilessly for centuries, until a band of adventurers discovered his true nature and deposed him. He fled into the Mists, and ended up in Barovia. There he took the name Azalin, and became second fiddle to Strahd, who forced Azalin to teach him wizardry. Azalin was looking for a way to escape Barovia, and he and Strahd activated an apparatus designed to help them escape. Unfortunately for them, at the exact moment they turned on their device, an Alchemist in the Material world turned on his Apparatus, designed to purge him of evil. Instead, Strahd and Azalin were drawn into Mordent, to the House on Gryphon Hill. (See Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill for the 1E adventure where this took place). After they returned to Barovia, Azalin stepped into the Mists, and became Darklord of Darkon. As Darklord, Azalin Rex has lost the ability to learn new magics. He engineered the fulfillment of a Vistani prophecy, which nearly unleashed all the Darklords from the Domains of Dread, but was defeated by adventurers. (See the adventures From the Shadows and Roots of Evil from 2E.) Azalin next activated a Doomsday Device, which blew up in his face, transforming the city of Il Aluk into a city of undead. (See the Requiem: the Grim Harvest boxed set from 2E.) This was either the end of Azalin, or a temporary setback, depending on which sources you believe. Azalin is a megalomaniac, who is denied the ability to experiment and learn. He rules as a despot, believing the "common folk" can't be trusted to make logical decisions. He executed Irik for defying his authority, then blamed the events on Irik. He makes a great foil for Count Strahd, with the two sending agents to thwart each other. 2) Lord Soth from the Dragonlance setting. Lord Soth is a death knight, who betrayed everyone he ever loved, and now regrets his life choices. Even so, he played a major role in the War of the Lance, and its immediate aftermath. Soth is a controlling figure. He cheated on his wife, then had her murdered, then fled his trial to his castle. There, Paladine appeared to him, and gave him a shot at redemption: stop the King-Priest of Istar from defying the gods. Soth rode off for Istar, but he was confronted by his wife's colleagues, who accused her of infidelity. Unable to contain his rage he turned around and proceeded to beat his pregnant wife as the gods brought about the Cataclysm. His wife cursed him to live one lifetime for every person he failed to save in the Cataclysm. He was burned alive in the Cataclysm, and rose from the dead as a Death Knight. 3) The Sorcerer-Kings and the Dragon of Tyr. These villains from the Dark Sun campaign setting are some of the most evil D&D villains. They caused the ecological collapse of Athas, and now rule their city-states unchallenged. Their leader was transformed into the Dragon, an unstoppable force of nature that demands tribute in the form of humanoid lives for him to devour. The Sorcerer-Kings are irredeemable villains, who prop up a corrupt status quo on a dying planet. 4) Raistlin Majere. An anti-villain from the Dragonlance campaign setting, Raistlin was originally a member of the heroes, the Companions, before he turned evil. However, Raistlin is not without a few redeeming features, as recounted in the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies. He traveled back in time to learn from the lich Fistandantilus, then traveled to the Dwarfgate wars, seeking a portal to the Abyss to confront Takhisis. However, he learned that his plans to become a deity would destroy mankind, and in the end he closed the portal and allowed himself to be defeated. 5) Urdlen is the Gnomish god of murder. In my campaign, he has been a major adversary of the PCs, sending evil Gnomes to confront them when they least expect it, all because the party thwarted his plans to taste the pudding during the events of the adventure Pudding FaIre. Urdlen has sent both assassins and lawyers against my party, suing them frivolously just to drain their resources. The group wants to go after Urdlen and finish him off once and for all. Urdlen is mentioned in the 2E supplement Monster Mythology.

I'm partial to the Daughters of Sora Kell in Eberron. Three different hags - each a legend of myths and tales of their own right - that work together to rule a nation of monsters (mostly peacefully) who might or might not be content to give a home to every species considered monstrous or beastly. (And obviously Eberron offers the option for so many more villians and villianous allies, like Lady Illmarrow or the Lord of Blades or the Lords of Dust)

Not a published adventure, but Jon Irenicus from Baldur's Gate 2 (and his sister, Bodhi) are so engrained in my brain. Mostly due to the amazing voice acting but also because he was always a few steps ahead of the main PC until the very end! The fact that he's still *technically* *alive* in 5e is so tempting, especially in a campaign like Descent into Avernus which features the Cult of the Dead Three (Bhaal/Bane/Myrkul)

I have always had a soft spot for Lord Soth (who can be found in the new Dragonlance adventure book). He feels kinda like fantasy Darth Vader, but knows he's on the wrong side and only stays there out of despair. Basically Vader with crippling depression. I also REALLY like the Elder Evils, which haven't had any appearances in 5e (which I am VERY upset about), but they always seemed beyond cool to me. If you can find the 3.5 books Elder Evils, Lords of Madness, and Champions of Evil, or the 4e book Monster Manual 3, look them up because they are fascinating.

Love the very humble opening words!

Every NPC is a potential villain waiting to bloom.

I will be forever amused that Vecna is lower on this list than his apprentice. Then again, Vecna is my favorite villain and Strahd is #2

Probably the best villain from Pathfinder 1e's Adventure Paths is Barzillai Thrune from the Hell's Rebels campaign. Many APs suffer from villains who just kind of show up in the final encounter, but Barzillai is in the first scene of the campaign and stays in the foreground or midground from then on. He's the dictatorial mayor of a city in a kingdom ruled by devil-worshipers but has a personal agenda contrary to the royal family's interests. He's way too powerful for the PCs to just go and stab, but as long as they keep their rebellious activities a secret, he won't come directly after them. There's even a scene a third of the way through where he publicly gives the PCs medals in acknowledgement of their defeat of another minor villain. Not only are his quirks and rules repeatedly evident throughout the adventure (even when he's off-screen), the authors came up with some clever ways so that the party actually fights him three or four times, which is very unusual for a campaign villain. He's not the most original or emotionally complex villain, but his sheer amount of screentime compared to most others in his position really lets the PCs build up strong relationships with him. For D&D proper, the main one I can think of is the villain of the Candlekeep Mystery "The Canopic Being", who is a master diviner who can see the future, knows an enormous amount about the PCs and has created an elaborate plan to keep them from foiling her plans in the future. The adventure doesn't quite take advantage of these possibilities, but it's a really neat idea. (At a minimum, putting the cursed book from the following Candlekeep Mystery into her treasure hoard makes it feel like she did that specifically to screw the players over in case they defeated her.)

While Strahd is definitely my favorite, Erandis Vol is the best accidental villain I've used in my home brew campaign. She is from the Eberron setting, with no canon material in what her Mark of Death actually does. Wanted to give my players the actual contents of the Tome of Strahd, and the one I found online had Vol mentioned as the entity Strahd made a deal with in the Amber Temple. Had to improvise the whole deal with who she was, having no knowledge of who she was. Took me forever to find out who she was as typing "dnd Vol" into google just gave me volumes of dnd books. Her motivations are so great and tragic, being that she was supposed to be the savior for her people and fulfilled that role by having both dragons and elves make peace to wipe out her House. Just resolved her arc that started with the parts of Curse of Strahd I co-opted. Love what she became and how she fundamentally changed members of the party. Another Lich Queen of Death, though I love it how even she doesn't know where her phylactery is as she was made a lick by her mother and when killed she just randomly reforms somewhere on the continent.

@EthanKWaters

Жыл бұрын

The irony here is that Vol was almost certainly just a name replacement for Vampyr, likely because the writer of that online version of the Tome thought Vampyr was a silly name for the entity in question (to which I agree). So a lot of additional work due to an unfortunate (but understandable) misunderstanding.

Your version of Yan-C-Bin reminds me of a villain from my homebrew game, Verkinx Kazrael The Prince of Nightmares. Kazrael had a psychic connection with one of the party members, though he was more a manipulative gaslighter who used people's fears against them, often by bringing them to life or using them to attack people in their dreams in a Freddy-Kruegarish manner.

I haven't played enough D&D to have a favourite villain for myself, but I did enjoy how Vecna was portrayed in C1 of Critical Role. It felt truly epic the way the party had to recruit/gather power to stand a chance against him and I'd love to be able to experience that in a game some day.

Re: Vecna being able to sit down with players and chat: I ran an epic length DnD 4e game and exactly that happened. The campaign centered around Tiamat having conquered a huge portion of the earth and the party trying to dismantle her empire. They were going on quests to find artifacts that held signifgance to her so they could ultimately put her down for good. They went to retrieve the axe of the primordial who split Io in twain and after retrieving it, Vecna showed up, mostly to screw with them. He offered and exchange of secrets, and the party managed to actually flatfoot him by telling him something he didn't know. Naturally, he was the secret big bad the whole time.

I'm a big fan of Victoro and Ammalia Cassalanter from Waterdeep: Dragonheist. There's plenty of cool stuff about them on paper, including an interesting moral dilemma that they can pose to the characters (no spoilers, but it's very easy to find in the published adventure), but what I love about them is that, like Strahd, they represent something very real. They're rich assholes who have cut a swath of destruction across a city because people outside of their family simply don't matter, and people outside of their social group aren't even people to them. Their position in the social hierarchy protects them from almost anything the players can do to them, especially given the low-level nature of the adventure. I've had a lot of fun having them run into my PCs in apparently innocuous encounters around the city with tons of unspoken tension.

What an excellent list! Such a great rogues gallery 😊 One of my favorite classic D&D villains is Venger, from the 80’s D&D cartoon. Deliciously campy in 80s cartoon villain fashion, but paired with an intriguing origin story that presents a potential for a much deeper and even more sinister villain. I would love to see a version of him show up in modern D&D publications, to give him the same chance Strahd, Acererak, and Tiamat had. Maybe in a module that pulls heroes from other dimensions to combat the Venger threat-much like the pilot of the show!

My favorite villain is Fraz. The concept of a Demon Lord of Lies swindling not only his own followers but pretending to be the deity of other cultists or good aligned priests. The story of him being sealed away. The nature of his magical mcguffin staff. I wish they'd do more with him, but I just love the Demon Lords so much. I know he's in Out of the Abyss but mostly love using him in my own settings.

I’m nearing the end of a modified ToD campaign, and it’s been crazy. I’ve had a humanoid Tiamat show up many times, taunting my players, and trying to convince them to keep out of her way. She has personally lead the “the cult strikes back” attacks. It’s really funny when your players don’t care about her power, because she can’t really use it until the finale.

I love the idea of Tiamat loathing all the other gods but bahamut. When I read that one poem in Fizbans I just imagined how being siblings would color their worship. Like the idea that followers of Tiamat leave followers of bahamut alone but will go to town on anyone else and they always say “Tiamat sends her regards” before walking away.

In today's world, D&D needs a Dolores Umbridge.

@hannaaxelsson3687

Жыл бұрын

In my mind, Trent Ikithon from Critical Role is a good example of an Umbridge character.

I have neither run nor played in many published adventures, so, I have no real experience with any of the well-known villains. It may be a bit conceited, but, my favorite villain has to be the main antagonist from the last 2E campaign I ran: Cephelange du'Krevviq. He was a human wizard in a position of power within an oppressive society. He was the first long-running "BBEG" that I can remember playing as someone that was fleshed out. He had goals, motives, resources, and, most importantly, a brain. He pretty much always had an escape plan, if needed. He didn't underestimate the PCs; he kept frequent track of where they were and what they were doing. The PCs **hated** him, and were (justifiably) happy and proud when they finally downed him.

I'd be curious to know your opinions on Erandis Vol from Eberron. Maybe after you get around to reviewing/evaluating Eberron in your setting series?

So I hate to be that guy, but I do think the Strahd thing is a coincidence. First off, the original appearance of I2: Ravenloft was so popular that it literally revolutionized RPG design (the much-maligned "Hickman Revolution"). Secondly, interest in Strahd von Zarovich didn't spike in 2017 - it spiked in March 2016 (Google Trends: Strahd von Zarovich from 2004 - present), about nine months before the election of Mr. Trump, coinciding with the book's actual release date (3/15/2016 - yes, WotC was tacky enough to release on the Ides of March). From there it fell off, but interest remained relatively flat until January 2020, with subsequent spikes in interest coming in August 2020 (just before CoS Revamped released) and February 2022 (not a clue as to why this spike is here). To your point, Mr. Christensen (apologies for spelling errors), I think there is something evocative about dealing with a gaslighting predator. I just think that that evocative something has been around a helluva lot longer than 45.

I never really play modules or engage with canonical villains, but my favorite villains in general are those that have perfectly reasonable motivations. If they had even slightly different life experiences, they could easily have been heroes. First example that comes to mind is Helman Ghorst from Warhammer Fantasy. He could not endure the pain of losing his family to a plague, so he becomes a vampire and master necromancer to one day find a cure for death itself. Of course this means he rides to battle in a cart pulled by his zombie brothers, because what else is a mourning guy to do?

Villain idea yourself from a different timeline and or multiverse. Thinking about a warlock hexblade who gets his powers from himself but turned into a blade for whatever reason and must follow himself to whatever his objective is.

At this point I assume Tiamat will be the BBEG in the final season of Stranger Things.

I personally love all your picks, but Demogorgon to me is much more than that in my opinion. At least, I feel like that really shows when you deep dive into his Lore. The first malformed abomination of the abyss, so wretched he was tossed aside, thrown away and forgotten... Until he returned, so powerful that all submitted before him. Absolute, unchecked power and rage. One head absolutely bloodthirsty and violent, the other endlessly scheming and plotting. Then you get into his alliance with Dagon? Strahd, Vecna, all of them I would say are better villains, especially under your criteria, but Demogorgon is far more fascinating than people realize... At least to me

This is really obscure, but back in the 80s, there was a company called The Companions that did a series of adventures set in the world of Islandia. The first module was called 'The Curse on Hareth', and it was about an opportunistic sociopath named Loni Belson who came to this small town on the King's Road, and realized how easy it would be to take it over with just a few lies and some vials of poison. And so he insinuates himself amongst the townsfolk, making great shows of piety while secretly worshiping a dark God, and any who question him suddenly become mysteriously ill and die. It's been decades since I ran that module, but I will always remember Loni Belson for his pettiness and cruelty, but most of all, his believability. Definitely my favorite villain 😈

One of the things that kind of gets to me about villains is the misconception that they just be sympathetic and complex in order to be well written. What you said about Strahd, that he is a distilled version of humanity's darkest reaches, applies in equal measure to Big Jack Horner from the new Puss in Boots movie. Big Jack is the very poster child of a psychopath; has no qualms with (literally) stepping on his own men, amasses power and wealth simply for the sake of power and wealth. That's all he is and you cannot deny that a villain like that, much like the Briarwoods who know they are evil and simply does not care, can be an extremely memorable villain.

Again, thanks for a great video! In a Video by Matt Coleville, he talks about introducing the villain early on, which is now something I'm often doing. In his case, it was a weird red floating deadish wizard handing out red coins, but I think that having that scene combined with a sit-down talk between heroes and villain is amazing. Introduce villain in a way heroes can't do shit but understand how powerful the villain is; Villain notice heroes and force himself in having an interaction with the heroes The nerve wracking situation that this xan be.... *Chef's kiss*

Thiala from Not Another DnD Podcast is honestly the gold standard of villains for me. She's a former cleric/Paladin of Pelor who consumed the divine heart of Asmodeus in order to become a god herself, with the intent of destroying all the other gods and then purging the world of everything she sees as chaos and evil. Very much Lawful Good gone very, VERY bad.

I've been running OotA for a While now, and with the talk of Orcus and Demogorgon I'd like to throw my hat into the ring for Graz'zt. He ended up as my favorite demon prince, not just of the Big 3 Demon Princes, but as a whole thanks to having a very adaptable modus operandi and potential to appeal to most parties (Hedonism can be presented without any sex or substances for tables where that is undesirable/inappropriate, and who DOESNT want to enjoy themselves from time to time). Not to mention some Very Interesting read-between-the-lines lore regarding his origins and goals.

I love Tiamat. To me she’s just a full package of being able to do anything with her and really build her up for a long running low to high level campaign. I love Dragons and being able to use all types of dragons to be milestone bosses leading up to Tiamat herself when her followers try to bring her into this plane.

This is a good channel. I like Mike.

I like the re-imagining of Zuggtmoy from a blob to something more relatable. I think she could be a fine villain for a campaign. Fraz-Urb'luu is pushed into the background by Asmodeus and Orcus so I have a lot of sympathy for the character. Aside from one adventure/campaign he doesn't appear in anything as far as I know. His missing staff could be a variation on the Rod of Many Parts and might be a basis for a campaign. As for Demogorgon, he was the focus of the 3e "Savage Tide" adventure path published in Dungeon magazine (#139 to #150). It's a bit hit or miss, but interesting. I didn't like him for many years because the artwork in the 1e Monster Manual was silly. It was much later when I discovered how rushed the art was for the book. Still, impressions last. Vecna is a favourite because it's always great when a villain's relics can be picked up by the PCs.

A great list, a couple of my favorties. I have is Szss Tam or Lord Soth.

One of my favourite Villains in D&D is the lich called lady Osterneth, a powerful sorcerer from Eberron who was married to an abusive and manipulative king and then abducted by the cult of Vecna where she was tortured and eventually released, perhaps on the orders of Vecna himself, before returning to her homeland. Shortly after that, her husband died under mysterious circumstances after which she began to take control and mastered necromancy as the kingdom around her fell into ruin before she pledged herself to Vecna as one of his most devoted lich servants. She uses illusions and manipulation to maintain the guise of a beautiful noblewoman, while hiding her horrific lich form underneath. She uses her disguise to seduce and charm powerful noblemen into doing her bidding. At one point it was rumoured that she had a relationship with a famous bard, the closest she ever came to true love, but the bard, being only human, died of old age before she could ever confess anything to him. If you’re interested, Riches and Liches does an incredible video explaining her lore in more detail.

I know from other videos that you don’t know much about Dark Sun, but the Dragon of Athas is definitely my favorite, but specifically because how the original 90’s dark sun books don’t spell out what its deal is immediately. Sure, it’s a 30th-level multiclassed super-wizard/psionicist crosses with an ancient dragon, subject of myth and legend and fear, but that’s all you know. A couple supplements lay the groundwork of concepts that, when you do learn the truth behind it, what that means for the players’ concept of the world, and realize what its goals are...all that puts the players in an impossibly difficult position. You could kill it and save a lot of lives, and spare untold ecological devastation that it causes...but you’d better be prepared to handle a lot worse than the dragon if you do.

Old and classic villains I recently got to feature to great success in my campaign were Baron Ludwig Van Hendrix, the Black Eagle, master of Fort Doom and his right hand man, evil wizard Bargle the Infamous, who is possibly most despised bad guy by whole generations of players, for what he did in Red Book, introduction to Basic D&D rules. Think an archetypical evil noble with wizard Joker for right hand man.

Xanathar will always hold a special place in my heart because i love his pet goldfish

I'd actually argue that most of Strahd's appeal was a combination of goth-fashion making a comeback around that time, and he's a super hot vampire with all the tasty red flags that people love for guilty reasons, and he was released around the time when that sort of thing become somewhat more acceptable.

Perhaps not truly a villain but I love the Tarrasque as the ultimate force of nature. It has no motive, goal or direction but simply exists to destroy. An inexorable horror.

For me, I would definitely put any of the dragonheist villains in my top 10. Jarlaxle is a character with selfish intentions that benefit his people from Luskan. The Cassalanters are trying to save their children from a terrible fate. Xanathar’s love of his pet goldfish really humanizes the beholder in a really meaningful way. Manshoon’s deep history in the city of waterdeep and the Zhentarim and his many clones gives a lot to work with.

The fact that Stradh is evil in a way that many of us can recognize is really spot on. While I don't think every D&D villain needs that (sometimes it's fun to fight an ogre who's only goal is to stomp on people's heads), those who has made the biggest impact for me are those who have aspects of real life villainy. You can't always fight the real Stradhs or Trent Ikithons in your life, but in D&D you can, and there is something extremely cathartic about that.

Areelu Vorlesh from Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. She's kinda basic in the actual module but I ran her with more inspiration taken from the Game's Portrayal and she's awesome!

One of my more successful DnD Games was titled Cat-Tiamat. The entire premise was that one of my player's character a half-dragon who was the grandchild of a dragon who sealed Tiamat's powers away and forced her to the size of a House Cat, though this was only a temporary solution, so the characters had to travel across the continent and find the most power dragon of each color- both Chromatic and Metallic- called in the game as The Harbingers, and with their combined will, find a proper solution to Tiamat. This made Tiamat really fun to run as a kind of joke, since she remembered being this monstrously powerful dragon but now was no more dangerous then a flying house cat. A lot more happened in this game, as it did run a pretty long while, but that was the main story. And then, much like how you took Yan-C-Bin and ran with him to make him fun for your group, I'm in the midst of doing the same with Murgaxor from the Strixhaven adventure. The Book doesn't really give him much other then being an Evil Wizard who got kicked out of college for being evil (Well, Murder, but you know). Instead, I've made him a full blown Mass Murderer and everything that happens in the first year is him looking allies/followers. The Black Oil the players find at every battle I turned magical- a Venom that gives most people heart attacks as it causes their heart rate to shoot up, but for select people (Read, the players and a few NPCs) it gives them an Adrenaline Rush, and extends their lifespan a bit (Hence why Murgaxor has survived 200 years when his ancestry doesn't live half that long normally). The Venom bit also help explains an issue my players have with most School stories of, "Why are students doing this and now Faculty?" - Answer with this being, "We know the students are in less danger then faculty would be in the same situation." Another change I have for Murgaxor is changing his Orb from just "Murgaxor's Orb" to a known artifact- basically a sentient Orbital Laser powered by the blood of a willing sacrifice. Which, I made something Dean Tullus (An Important NPC in year 3 of Strixhaven Adventure) has encountered before and destroyed before. With the events of Year 3 now turning into Murgaxor twisting and manipulating the one person who should know better into becoming the willing sacrifice for the Orb, proving his might, and in Murgaxor's mind, his righteousness. Will probably steal the Rey-Kylo Force Skype idea now that you've said it for year 4.

My favorite final villain is Atropos. Am undead moon that causes a zombie apocalypse. Very Jinji Ito.

Man, I've got so little to add here because I homebrew... or more accurately worldbuild everything I run. I've definitely got lots of villains I like, but I'm the only one who's ever seen any of them. Take my word for it though, the Great Wyrm of the Abyss, Tixurun; the Crawling Angel, Balerial; and Akoskei, the Eye in Shadow, spymaster of the Collegiate Council New Miskenos are great villains. Okay, wait, I can talk an actual D&D villain. I played Curse of Strahd, and loved to hate him. He even killed me at one point, but the ruler of the cosmic horror plane from which I drew sorcerous power decided it wasn't done with me. I came back as a Dhampir with a Warlock level and a massive, tentacled, alien parasite living in my chest and taking the place of an indeterminate number of my internal organs. At the end of the campaign, I managed to feed Strahd to this Parasite, becoming the new Dreadlord of Barovia (or at least its host), damned to spend eternity in a Ravenloft covered with tentacled trees and sinkholes full of teeth, periodically repelling a pair of Vistani brothers who keep showing up over the centuries to try and overthrow me. In Magic: The Gathering terms, I brought Ravenloft into its Eldritch Moon era, and that was fun. It did give me a reputation as the cosmic horror/body horror guy at our table though.

Here's my formula to making the perfect BBEG: 1. Make it personal-As soon as the villain's actions immediately and negatively affect the PCs, their friends, or their loved ones, they are on the warpath. Sure, if they arrive in a razed and massacred village, they will get an idea of what the BBEG is capable of, but as the BBEG murdered a whole lot of complete strangers, it's a statistic, not a tragedy. But, if the BBEG has some goons steal the fighter's completely normal sword, expect the fighter to get her sword back, and proceed to chase the thieves to the ends of the material plane. Sure, you could make it personal for just one PC, if the party's bonds are strong enough, but the best course of action is give every member of the party a personal stake in taking down the BBEG. 2. Make them intimidating-Make it clear that they are quite powerful, too far above the party's paygrade (for now), but don't massacre the party, give them the chance to get stronger. Strahd is a master of this, as he shows up, beats up the party, spares them, refuses to elaborate, and leaves, showing the party still has a lot more to grow before they challenge the vampire lord. 3. Make the villain a dark reflection of the hero-Perhaps they're the complete opposite. Perhaps the pacifistic cleric's principles are put to the test against a warmonger who believes violence is the only solution to anything. Or perhaps they're a warning of what the heroes could become if they're not careful. Perhaps the greedy rogue has to deal with a master thief who represents what the rogue could become if they allowed greed to consume them until they lost their redeeming qualities. 4. Tie the villain into the central themes of the story-Perhaps the theme is about how revenge isn't worth it in the end. You could go with a villain that already got their revenge against the people who wronged them in the past, but they're continuing on their warpath that will ultimately end in their own destruction. Brennan Lee Mulligan is a master of that, with his campaigns' rogues galleries being full of hypercapitalists and religious fanatics. 5. Let the party make the decisions-Do they see the light, and want to redeem the villain? Or do they want the villain dead? After all, as a DM, your goal is to guide the party, not choose for them. Perhaps they do something unexpected, like successfully talk down the evil lich that you wanted them to kill, or they choose to kill the sympathetic pirate king you were expecting them to align with, even just for once, and take his wealth for themselves.

Great list hard agree with all of it. I’ve it I have one recommendation for villains though they are each terrifying as a package deal they are far more dangerous than alone they are The Dread Three Bane Bhaal and Myrkul.

Gearing up to run a dungeon of the mad mage campaign that I am reworking as a game show like Takeshi castle or American gladiator I can't wait to drop my players in it

The thing about demogorgan is that in official material he's not used amazingly I think because outside of the Abyss he's much less interesting since his Mantle as Demon Prince more than others is directly linked to your ability to keep it out of others hands (capture the crown basically haha) like his layer of the Abyss imo has so much potential for the Demonic version of Nine Helks Intrigue spoiler ots much bloodier. After reading his lore I've started working on a Abyssal campaign where the players will at the end replace some kf those present in the Out of The Abyss campaign. Whether we play that sequel campaign we'll see haha

My fighter thinks she can fix Strahd (or use him for her own ends if fixing him doesn’t work)

💯 agree on Strahd. He’s like the D&D version of Mother Gothel or Judge Frollo and appropriately as disgusting for all the same reasons. Little old school, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Graz’zt. Especially when the DM plays him off like Lucifer from the show, charming as all fucking hell, manipulative, convincing, and just brutally fun to RP against. Honorable mention to Hughe Lockcross / Eldritch Author and the Dark Carnival as a non-core villain.

"It's my list, I do what I want" ^_______________^ Vecna number 1 for me :p

I had to actually stop running my CoS game when 2020 happened cause it just bummed me out too much

Atropus is always a favorite of mine that I wish was brought over into 5e

Yes

Ima need u to do some research on demogorgon brah his lore is amazing not 2 mention that in some canons he could rule the entire abyss if his 2heads could get along. Grazzt is pretty cool 2 but mayb its cuz i envy him for being the only known devil to become a demon and bed tasha on the regular

Halaster built a complex complex.

Strad has always been my favorite because he is a vampire. The other is asererak. Tiamat, because.. dragons.

I've never really felt like Orcus was as much a villain as simply the evil god some villains worship. IDK he doesn't interest me too much. I've never seen Halaster used as a villain but I can imagine he would be a lot of fun if done well. Strahd is probably my favorite. I love how he messes with the players' heads and makes things so very personal. At least that's how it is in the current Strahd game I play in. This is my kind of villain. Not just some big bad that you have to stop to save the world or whatever, but the one who makes it personal, who makes you truly hate him.