Because the villain has a grudge on said Earth?
Possibly for not accepting his scientific discoveries?
Possibly for not accepting his scientific discoveries?
Why destroy the world?
- Thread starter Technomage333
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why destroy the world? because you don't want to go on living but you want to leave a mark on the world that you destroyed
My advice is don't. Look to other story genres. A crime lord with the local government or even the crown itself in his pocket. Rich, well-connected mercenaries or ex-soldiers starting a war so they'll get business. The possibilities don't end with the RPGs and fantasy books.
Maybe the villain wants to destroy the world because it is too sinful and must be 'purged' before it can be 'reborn.'Technomage333 said:
Maybe the villain wants to destroy the world because the villain is an immortal that's lived for several thousand years and has experienced absolutely everything one can experience in life, and he/she figures that if he/she is going to commit suicide, the least he/she can do is bring everyone down with him/her.
I really can't say anything about being evil...
*Glares at fable badge*
Uh, I suppose that bad guys appear for the lone sake of keeping the good guys busy, we tend to get rather lazy whenever the world is'nt in danger
*Glares at fable badge*
Uh, I suppose that bad guys appear for the lone sake of keeping the good guys busy, we tend to get rather lazy whenever the world is'nt in danger
If Spore has taught me anything, it's that one destroys the world because it's so pretty to look at.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6PNbS8uIA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6PNbS8uIA
If you're a hero, and there was someone claiming to want to destroy the world, and another planning on painting it purple and throwing pies at it, which would you focus your attention on stopping?Technomage333 said:
As for reasons for ending the world, consider a chain of events leading to "if I can't have it, nobody can either".
Villains with understandable motiviations are fine and dandy, but there is plenty of room for true monsters who, while they may still be human in appearance, are so alien in thought and deed that even if they were to explain themselves it would be dismissed as the ravings of the insane.
Wait a minute...you're asking us why a villain would want to destroy the world?
Have you ever watched Saturday morning cartoons in you?re life?
Have you ever watched Saturday morning cartoons in you?re life?
"You look at my methods, and you call me mad. Who are you to judge me so, in these days of corruption? Who are you to say what I may or may not do when the world itself has gone mad? In times of madness, only the mad have the strength to prosper; and only those who prosper may judge what is sane."
(Stolen from Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor, and paraphrased somewhat.)
-- Steve
(Stolen from Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor, and paraphrased somewhat.)
-- Steve
Depends what you define as bat shit crazy, tbh half the world can be classified as bat shit crazy in one way or another.runtheplacered said:But couldn't you just sort of wrap that up as "The villain is batshit crazy"? I see where you're coming from, though.jasoncyrus said:On the contrary, a good writer can give shape and reason to that mindless violence also. example: you have a city of hostages. you need to interrogate the hero/force him to do something or you start killing people. you COULD kill them one by one, but you're impatient and kill whole city blocks at a time because you are bored and want it done NOW.runtheplacered said:
theres reason behind all senseless killings
***
Getting back on point. The best motivation for construction of a villain is his history. It usually involves him being betrayed somehow. Every villain you see has had their life messed up somehow. Decide on the size of his therapy bills and build upon that.
He could just be a crazy guy who has a deep hatred for all humanity, you could call him Yahtzee.
There was a twist in the second Ringworld book in which the only way to save an unimaginable number of people was to kill several million (or was it billion?) of them. You could create a fairly sympathetic villain who is acting with similar motives.
Why all of this "villains must be evil people with only evil thoughts" thinking? Why not have something shocking, after all? How about the "hype machine villain"? This villain is more of a scapegoat than anything: people are like "oh, he's raped and pillaged, killed so many people, is such a demonic person, etc." Everywhere you go, making you think that he's going to be evil incarnate, and so you prepare to kill him, but then...
1. You find out that he's not necessarily bad, he's just defending his homeland, tribe, etc. More of a people-at-crossed-paths type thing rather than a pure villain
2. You find out that he's a "good guy"/weak guy/etc. He tells the player what he's trying to do, sound reasoning or honeyed words (you decide), and then the player has to decide whether to join him or kill him, etc.
3. You find out he's a manipulator/being manipulated. For example, he's weak on his own, but his lieutenants believe so strongly in him that they've become monsters that you have to defeat all in one battle. Or maybe, he's just a patsy, and there's a "true evil" behind him?
4. Perhaps he's just ignorant about the whole thing. For example, a Shin-ra type corporation, feeding on some strange energy/doing some strange thing/whatever, not realizing that they're going to destroy the world at all? "Scientists have run tests on this, nothing can go wrong, etc." They stubbornly refuse all attempts to listen (unless, for example, you're a smooth talker), and then will eventually fight you if you continue to challenge them.
Villains tend to work better if they're motives spark emotion. A bored villain destroying the world may work well when they're winning, but why wouldn't s/he stop once the hero intervened/it got too costly to continue?
1. You find out that he's not necessarily bad, he's just defending his homeland, tribe, etc. More of a people-at-crossed-paths type thing rather than a pure villain
2. You find out that he's a "good guy"/weak guy/etc. He tells the player what he's trying to do, sound reasoning or honeyed words (you decide), and then the player has to decide whether to join him or kill him, etc.
3. You find out he's a manipulator/being manipulated. For example, he's weak on his own, but his lieutenants believe so strongly in him that they've become monsters that you have to defeat all in one battle. Or maybe, he's just a patsy, and there's a "true evil" behind him?
4. Perhaps he's just ignorant about the whole thing. For example, a Shin-ra type corporation, feeding on some strange energy/doing some strange thing/whatever, not realizing that they're going to destroy the world at all? "Scientists have run tests on this, nothing can go wrong, etc." They stubbornly refuse all attempts to listen (unless, for example, you're a smooth talker), and then will eventually fight you if you continue to challenge them.
Villains tend to work better if they're motives spark emotion. A bored villain destroying the world may work well when they're winning, but why wouldn't s/he stop once the hero intervened/it got too costly to continue?
You could take a page from my ADnD campaigns
1. The 'evildoer' is attempting to purge the world of an evil that infests the very land. What the players thought was "slaughter" is in fact harvesting subjects to find a cure for the disease/evil type thing. This gives the players quite the interesting choice; kill the man for slaying thousands of people to save others, or join him in his crusade?
Always loved that idea, only used it once. But it created quite the entertainign little quote.
Player Character: I won't let you ruin this world!
Evil character: YOU KNOW NOT THE POWERS OF WHICH I SPEAK!
1. The 'evildoer' is attempting to purge the world of an evil that infests the very land. What the players thought was "slaughter" is in fact harvesting subjects to find a cure for the disease/evil type thing. This gives the players quite the interesting choice; kill the man for slaying thousands of people to save others, or join him in his crusade?
Always loved that idea, only used it once. But it created quite the entertainign little quote.
Player Character: I won't let you ruin this world!
Evil character: YOU KNOW NOT THE POWERS OF WHICH I SPEAK!
