How I Introduce a Main Villain
So recently, I introduced my campaign’s main/top villain. Basically, the villain that they’re gonna be chasing around the entire campaign in their travels. And I wanted it to be extra special. So I wanna talk a little bit about how to really build up to a villain and make their first appearance truly terrifying, from the perspective of a creative writing major who’s entire life has revolved itself around good storytelling and narratives.
Introduce a common goal and get your players asking questions.
It’s very important to not just throw the villain at the players and say “fight them”. You want to build up to the experience, really set up the reputation of this villain. My villain is a prophet to a forbidden goddess of war who wants to reign war on the continent for both it’s punishment and salvation. So with her being so worldly, I intertwined her into each character’s backstory without telling any of the other characters. I’d drop something simple like a symbol they saw in each background, and told them this is their only clue to their goals. Then, when they finally all saw the symbol again, they were all like “OH FUCK! I KNOW THAT! Wait… you know that too? Wtf is going on?” And from there, they start asking questions about this symbol. You don’t have to do it this way, as it’s just one example of course. But your goal is to get them asking questions. Maybe have your players witness a brutal execution, or solve a murder, and eventually relate it back to the villain without actually having them show up. Just get them asking questions. Make them care about stopping whatever is going on, without actually knowing who is behind it.
Set the reputation of your villain and introduce some foreshadowing.
Once the players start asking questions, you obviously need to have some answers. And I say “some” very earnestly here. You don’t want them to have all the answers, so don’t reveal too much. Just give them an inch and let them take a mile if they want to. Let them build an idea of this villain in their mind. Have most relevant NPCs have at least a little bit of information on your villain, even if it’s just a name or a title. But be prepared for difficulties such as divination magics and the like. Sometimes players dig too hard before you’re ready, so think hard about what you’re ready to reveal and prepare in advance for spells and trickery. When it comes to setting this reputation, you wanna give tidbits of information like rumors of their atrocities and cruelties. Gossip can be outlandish and crazy, so don’t be afraid to have conflicting accounts of things. It makes things interesting. You can introduce encounters with henchmen of said villain and reveal information that way, too. Mislead, fool, and lie to your players to confuse them if you can. Hell, you can even throw in some things you can parallel much later on in the final reveal. The more mysterious this villain is, the more enticing they’ll be and the more the players will want to seek them out.
Think about what your villain knows about the players and how they try to stop them from getting in the way.
Players love their backstories coming into play. Everyone loves everything being about them. So maybe your villain knows some good shit about your players and uses it against them. Maybe someone gets kidnapped, or tortured, or even killed. You want some motivation to really go after this villain, so have them pull some sketchy shit long before ever revealing themselves. Having someone you’ve never met before come after you from behind a curtain can really piss someone off and motivate them to seek you out. And it can make the final reveal that much more important and dramatic.
The final reveal of your main villain.
This is the biggest and final step. You want to take everything the characters have learned and put it all together in this final reveal. There can be a lot of pressure, and yet a lot of fun involved in this step. The first you wanna do though, is set the mood/atmosphere. How I did it was I turned all the lights down to very low, but still visible lighting. I played eerie music, and then I began to use a little strobe light i got from spirit halloween from behind my dm station, and I used the scariest, deepest voice I could possibly muster when speaking as her. I gave her a long winded introduction that confirmed to everyone that this was indeed the one they’ve been seeking. I believe it went “My name is Nirnasha. Prophet to Apollyon. Among the last of the Aasimar. The only war cleric left in Sephias…. And I am the one who cannot die.” Introductions are important, because it establishes the truth of who this person is and how they carry themselves. But your villain might not even do it like this. It really depends on their personality. Maybe they just go straight for the kill. Maybe they’re super cruel and brutal and attack with a viciousness and intent to mutilate. Really think about how they fight and keep it interesting. And definitely don’t forget dialogue. Please, guys. This part is so important to keep the atmosphere. Bring up rumors, gossip, trickery, lies, shit talk, low blows, anything and everything to piss off the players and make the win even better…. if they win. You can even throw in disadvantages for being so enraged that you can’t control yourself. But the three important things for your final reveal is: atmosphere, dialogue, and descriptions. And finally, don’t forget to ask your players how they wanna do this when/if they get the final blow on their villain. That will make everything feel like a major play off.
