The PCs are the protagonists of the collaborative story that is roleplaying. As the DM, your job is to create engaging villains. Many campaign arcs contain the idea of the Big Bad Evil Guy, BBEG, who the players are ultimately struggling against. The question we have to ask ourselves is, how do I make my players really want to take down the BBEG?
Note: Not all campaigns need to have a BBEG! This post is about those games that have one.
To create a BBEG that really engages your players, think through the 6 questions below:
What is BBEG's end goal?
It is really important for a BBEG to be working towards some goal. This should just be a one sentence phrase that says what will happen if the players fail to disrupt BBEG's plans.
-Gurak, the half-orc, half-elf high priest of Gruumsh,wants to kill all elves.
-Walter White wants to be the most powerful drug kingpin.
-Darth Vader wants to be an efficient galactic leader, which requires absolute control.
Why is that the BBEG's end goal?
Motivation is king. Villains can be evil for evil's sake and that works in a hack and slash style of game, but if you really want to make your villains believable then you need to ask WHY they are choosing to walk the path of wickedness. For certain villains the answer is inherent to the creature's nature, but I think this makes for black-and-white villains, which tend to be less interesting. When creating your villain's motivation, you want your players who find out to say, "Huh, wow. I kinda get that. Too bad I need to kill you anyway." For example, Gruumsh, the god of Orcs, wants to kill all elves. Gurak wants to kill all elves because an elvish adventuring party slaughtered his tribe but left him to live because of his half-elven blood. Who is the better villain, Gruumsh or Gurak? The answer is Gurak, because Gruumsh, by his very nature, MUST be evil because he just IS. Gurak, on the other hand, has a compelling story of why he chose the path that he did. When your villains have motivation, rather than just being evil, it is easier as a DM to figure out what actions your villain would take and for the PCs to buy into their villain.
-Walter White spent a lifetime being an unrecognized genius.
-Darth Vader has mommy issues and thinks he can fix everything.
What makes your BBEG different?
Any experienced player of rpgs is familiar with the concept of a BBEG and has watched, read, or roleplayed almost every single trope of villain. Using tropes is just fine, but you have to give your villain something that makes him, her, or it unique.
-Gurak is a half-elf and is self-loathing, a twist on the classic evil orc priest.
-Walter White is a desperate, dying, poor man who turns to crime, but it turns out that crime actually makes him feel more alive than he has his entire life prior.
-Darth Vader is Luke's father.
Giving your villains something unique and notable makes remembering them much more "sticky," which allows for a memorable experience with the villain.
What makes your BBEG awesome/dangerous/badass?
Something has to set your villain apart from the normal run-of-the-mill villain. The benefits of having awesome aspects to a villain are obvious: it's more exciting for the GM and it creates a very fun and terrifying image for your players to get behind. Fallen paladins are popular because there is something inherently badass about a shining star turning into a burning comet in black full plate. Maybe the villain has a really cool magical weapon or ability. Maybe the villain has a truly insane level of tenacity and zeal. Maybe the villain has a life perspective that is really similar to the PCs perspectives, but with a much darker conclusion.
-Gurak's hatred makes him an illogically powerful warrior under very stressful situations, kind of like a WWE wrestler on PCP
-Walter White has 99% purity heroin.
-Darth Vader has the Death Star, a red laser sword, and ranged choke attacks.
Spend a fair amount of time thinking about what your villain looks like as well.
-Gurak has long scars on the side of his head where his ears are supposed to be because he cut them off.
-Walter White is bald from chemo and has a dopey hat.
-Darth Vader is in a black robo-suit with a flowing black cape.
What makes your BBEG totally normal?
If the BBEG is just big and bad and evil and awesome and terrifying, he will certainly have a large cool factor. That being said, you should also design villains with a mundane touch. This serves several purposes:
1) it gives the idea that the villain could have been anyone, which is one of the most chilling concepts of evil in gaming and the real world
2) it can help inform your BBEG limitations (which we will talk about below)
3) it helps to remind the players that there are always more evils in the world, possibly those that are even more evil than their BBEG
-Gurak makes tactical mistakes in favor of vengeance
-Walter White wears tighty whities and is a bumbling idiot at many points
-Darth Vader has kids
What are your BBEG's limitations?
This is a really important question. In my opinion, there is no villain that is lamer than the lich who sits patiently in his arcane tower waiting for the adventurers to show up and kill him. Your villains should be active in the world and attempting to reach their goals, otherwise they aren't believable. So the question is, why is the BBEG incapable of having reached his goal already? Maybe the lich will die if he leaves his tower, so he sends his minions to do his bidding so that he can eventually escape the tower. A limitation does two things: for one, it explains why the villain hasn't succeeded yet, and second, it might give the players a way to hamper the villain before they go to the final confrontation.
-Gurak has the entire orcish horde under his command but lacks the arcane knowledge to cast the Genocide ritual
-Walter White leads a double life
-Darth Vader isn't the one who is actually in charge
If you can answer these 6 questions while crafting your BBEGs, you will already have a very good idea of who your villain is and what makes him, her, or it a dangerous force to be reckoned with. Happy villain crafting!
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