SHOULD THIS VILLAIN ESCALATE?

When choosing whether a Villain will escalate, the Game Master should consider the antagonist's importance within the story, their personality, and the way the heroes chose to confront them: a Villain's escalation shows that the heroes might win a conflict but still make the situation worse.

Most of the time it's best to simply let a Villain be defeated: maybe their resolve is broken, maybe they even realized they were wrong and will turn into an ally.

Escalating your Villains sparingly will make them more memorable and also ensure that Players feel like their actions have an impact on the world.

In general, you should only have two to four escalations per campaign.

VILLAIN AND FABULA POINTS

Whenever a Villain makes an entrance during a scene, each Player Character gains 1 Fabula Point.

• Multiple identities. If a Villain has more than one identity, the heroes only receive Fabula Points when they appear using their "antagonist persona". Once the deception is exposed, however, they will begin awarding Fabula Points every time they appear on a scene, whether disguised or else.
• Multiple Villains. If two or more Villains appear during the same scene, each Player Character will gain 1 Fabula Point per Villain, up to a maximum of 3 Fabula Points per Player Character earned this way during the same scene.
• Back-to-back scenes with Villains. If a Villain's presence extends for several consecutive scenes, the Player Characters only gain 1 Fabula Point at the beginning, and no additional Fabula Points for the following scenes.

Whenever the heroes are running low on Fabula Points, the Game Master should run a Game Master scene and show a Villain in action — this is a great way to push the story forward while also giving the heroes a bit more "fuel".

Great evil is born when good intentions are met with mistrust and despair.