VILLAIN You KNOW
d6 Villain
A con artist takes advantage of people who fall for
their scams, but leaves behind no proof of any crime.
2 A cowardly politician fleeces the poor of their last few
coins without technically doing anything wrong.
3 A righteous zealot is continually poking into the char
acters' business, judging their actions and methods
while doing even worse things in the shadows.
45A powerful figure in a dragon marked house is using
the house's resources for criminal deeds, but there's
no trail of evidence leading back to the villain.
A crime lord has the local authorities on the payroll,
so no official action will ever be taken to stop their
criminal activities.
6 A villainous mastermind cooperates with local law
enforcement to track down and eliminate rival villains,
without ever giving the authorities a peek into their
own evil deeds.THE MYSTERIOUS VILLAIN
In contrast to a villain who is a part of the characters'
everyday life, an otherworldly villain isn't only anony
mous but also fundamentally mysterious. It's not just a
question of who the villain is, but also of what the villain
is, and what extraordinary measures might be required
to put a stop to their villainy. Even after the adventurers
discover that their long-term nemesis is one of the In
spired, for example, they still need to learn the secrets
of the Inspired and their quori masters in order to figure
out how to deal with this threat.
Sometimes the mystery is enough to make such a
villain compelling, with curiosity driving the adventur
ers to delve ever deeper into their foe's secrets. When
the time is right, you can turn a mysterious villain into
an unnervingly familiar villain-as a quori spirit takes
delight in speaking through the mouths of multiple dif
ferent Inspired hosts, taunting the adventurers for their
inability to reach the spirit itself. Then resentment com
bines with curiosity to drive the adventurers to further
exploration. When characters dig deeply into the myster
ies of the world, your campaign benefits as they become
more immersed in and attached to the setting.
Ultimate Evil. Some mysterious villains wield enough
power to threaten the entire world through colossal
strength, mastery of magic, dizzying intellect, or
overwhelming charisma (or often some combination
of these factors). These villains typically lurk in the
shadows, pulling the strings of minions and partners
while rarely making an appearance themselves.
These villains are especially hard to get rid of, even
if they are banished or imprisoned-their magic and
their network of servants ensure that their reach ex
tends far beyond their physical presence.
Driving Forces. Most villains in this category are
numbered among the driving forces described later
in this chapter. You can use the Villain You Don't
Understand table to choose one of these forces, then
consult the adventure seeds and villain ideas in the
appropriate section.
VILLAIN You DoN'T UNDERSTAND
d6 Driving Force
l The Chamber (see page 19 3)
2 The Cults of the Dragon Below (see page 18 8)
3 The Daughters of Sora Kell (see page 19 9)
4 The Dreaming Dark (see page 19 6)
5 The Lords of Dust (see page 215)
6 The Order of the Emerald Claw (see page 225)ACTION!
Adventures in the pulp tradition tend to start with a
bang and proceed at a breakneck pace, reaching a cli
max in pulse-pounding encounters aboard high-speed....