52 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
52 lines
2.4 KiB
HTML
<h1>GAME MASTER</h1>
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<p><strong>PRESSURE</strong></p>
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<p>
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Your Villains should actively work towards their goals. If the Player
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Characters spend an extended amount of time resting or taking care of issues
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that are not related to an antagonist’s plans, then that antagonist will not
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sit idly and wait for the heroes to do something: they will get closer to
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their objective.
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</p>
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<p>
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When a Villain’s plans advance, you must always clearly communicate it to the
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Players — perhaps with an appropriate Game Master scene, or through rumors and
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conversations the heroes have with NPCs in the game world. Don’t just surprise
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them with a casual “Oh yeah, did I mention this guy you didn’t know about has
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successfully rewritten reality?”
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</p>
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<p>
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If you plan on having multiple Villains in your campaign at the same time — or
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if you play at very irregular intervals and it's hard to remember everything —
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consider using <strong>Clocks</strong> to track the progress of each Villain’s
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goals.
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</p>
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<p>The more complex or dramatic objectives will require larger Clocks:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>Minor Villains should have Clocks with 4 to 6 sections.</li>
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<li>Major Villains should have Clocks with 8 to 10 sections.</li>
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<li>Supreme Villains should have Clocks with 10 to 12 sections.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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If the Player Characters manage to foil the Villain’s plans, the current Clock
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will reset to 0 or possibly be replaced with an entirely different one,
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representing how the antagonist is now seeking to achieve the same end through
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a different method.
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</p>
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<hr />
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<h2>AN UNEXPECTED SIDE</h2>
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<p>
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Never create one-dimensional antagonists. Villains should have a deeper layer,
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a tragic or at least unexpected side to them: perhaps they genuinely think
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they are doing the world a favor, they have their own reasons for forsaking
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everyone else, or they feel trapped in a path of ruin and are simply waiting
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for someone to stop them. Maybe an antagonist is so honorable that they will
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fully heal the heroes before a battle!
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</p>
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<p>
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This doesn’t mean the PCs should necessarily sympathize with all Villains — a
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few will be beyond redemption. But even then, dark emotions must come from
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somewhere... and upon discovering those tragic roots, Player Characters will
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see that antagonist under a different light, and perhaps even find a way to
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help them realize that what they're doing is harmful.
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</p>
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