### CHAPTER VILLAINS

Some Non-Player Characters are a bit more important than others — these are Villains, the main antagonists in the story. You will find more information about them starting on page 100, but what you need to know right now is that they enjoy several privileges when compared to normal NPCs.

When reduced to 0 Hit Points, a Villain must choose one of two options: escaping or surrendering.

### Escaping

Villains have a pool of special points, mirroring the Player Characters' Fabula Points: these are called Ultima Points (see page 101). When reduced to 0 Hit Points, a Villain may spend 1 Ultima Point and safely disappear from the scene; the Game Master describes how this happens.

Example: Held at gunpoint by the sky pirate Morgan, Commander Duna grins and leaps from the airship's deck, plummeting towards the ocean below. But when Morgan leans over the railing to see where the armored warrior fell, he's clinging to a large winged salamander. "You win this battle, pirate!" he shouts, before the powerful beast carries him away towards the capital.

If a Villain has no Ultima Points left, they may still escape by escalating into a more dangerous version of themselves (see page 102).

### Surrendering

The Villain surrenders and is treated as any other Non-Player Character; their fate rests in the hands of those who defeated them. In general, a Villain will only choose this option if it's the only choice they have left; if the Player Characters show mercy to a Villain, they might even earn a new ally — this would also be a spectacular way to introduce a new Player Character in the group.