Page 186 - Eberron -Rising from the Last War_Neat

VIL L A I N You K N O W VI L L A I N You D o N ' T U N D E RST N D
A
d6 Villain d6 Driving Force
1
A con artist takes advantage of people who fall for l The Chamber (see page 9 3)
their scams, but leaves behind no proof of any crime. 2 The Cults of the Dragon Below (see page 1 8 8)
2 A cowardly politician fleeces the poor of their last few 3 The Daughters of Sora Kell (see page 9 9)
1
coins without technically doing anything wrong. 4 The Dreaming Dark (see page 1 9 6)
3 A righteous zealot is continually poking into the char­ 5 The Lords of Dust (see page 215)
acters' business, judging their actions and methods 6 The Order of the Emerald Claw (see page 225)
while doing even worse things in the shadows.
4 A powerful figure in a dragon marked house is using ACTION!
the house's resources for criminal deeds, but there's Adventures in the pulp tradition tend to start with a . . . .
no trail of evidence leading back to the villain. bang and proceed at a breakneck pace, reaching a cli­
5 A crime lord has the local authorities on the payroll, max in pulse-pounding encounters aboard high-speed •
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 w h o the villain is, but also of w h at 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.