20 lines
2.5 KiB
HTML
20 lines
2.5 KiB
HTML
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/book-page.css">
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="/css/book-page.css">
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<h2>CHAPTER CONFLICT ABILITIES</h2>
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<p>When you create an antagonist, consider how they will behave during conflicts.</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Each Villain has one or more preferred conflict types: some might favor social occasions; others may prefer to engage the heroes in battle. The most obnoxious antagonists are the ones that avoid conflict scenes at all costs — but even then, Ultima Points aren't an infinite resource.</li>
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<li>To properly challenge the heroes, Villains should be elites or champions (see page 295) or be accompanied by some allies: this is to ensure they can perform multiple actions during each conflict round.</li>
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<li>Because of their importance, a battle against a Villain should be treated as a <strong>boss fight</strong> (see page 300 for details on how to design one).</li>
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</ul>
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<p>Powerful antagonists might also be protected by a “plot armor” that prevents Player Characters from fighting them unless they have a specific item, spell, or other assets at their disposal. Generally you don’t want to overdo this — one or two such “tricks” over the course of the entire campaign are more than enough.</p>
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<h2>AND FINALLY, A DRAMATIC ENTRANCE</h2>
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<p>A Villain’s entrance should be an intense moment that sets the tone for their role in the story. Think of it as a video game cutscene: you get a few seconds to show your audience what this Villain looks like and hint at the kind of forces and weapons at their disposal — soldiers, forgotten technology, powerful magic, or a healthy dose of supernatural strength.</p>
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<p>During your preparation stage before a session, it may be helpful to focus on the reveals key moments — you have to condense everything important in a couple of sentences. It should be something like this:</p>
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<p>Approaching with heavy footfalls, the figure rests a hand on a sword the likes of which you’ve never seen... a delicate gesture, but her grip is steady.</p>
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<p>“It appears we are here for the same reason,” she says. “Unfortunately, I cannot let you have that which I need. Stand back, and no one shall be injured.”</p>
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<p>With a few words, you have communicated that this is likely a proud and honorable adversary who is also very determined. That sword of hers? That’s bad news!</p>
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<p>"When you chose to fight not to protect your people, but to prove them wrong... that is what made you a villain."</p>
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<cite>— Philip Forlenza (Order #)</cite> |