gojira Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 The concept of Villain archetypes was brought up in Steve's thread, where we really shouldn't derail the discussion. So, what kind of villain archetypes should there be? I'd assume that the main archetypes would be the same as the hero ones: brick, blaster, gadgeteer, skilled normal, etc. Then add mastermind and minion, and you've pretty much got it. But I suppose that you could think up more ideas. What about Infiltrator? A villain archetype designed to "go behind enemy lines" and sow dissent, lay traps for the heroes, or gather information that the villains normally shouldn't have. The only other provision should perhaps be teamwork: most villains don't work well together. Each villain might need to be a little tougher on their own, so the heroes can team up and beat them without the villain being too much of a push over. That's all I can think of right now. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbdaury Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Classics like Brain in a Tank should show up, maybe a Taskmaster-like Trainer of Henchmen type, Unstoppable Monster like Blue Demon from Gurps supers... that's all I have right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba smith Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? The concept of Villain archetypes was brought up in Steve's thread, where we really shouldn't derail the discussion. So, what kind of villain archetypes should there be? I'd assume that the main archetypes would be the same as the hero ones: brick, blaster, gadgeteer, skilled normal, etc. Then add mastermind and minion, and you've pretty much got it. But I suppose that you could think up more ideas. What about Infiltrator? A villain archetype designed to "go behind enemy lines" and sow dissent, lay traps for the heroes, or gather information that the villains normally shouldn't have. The only other provision should perhaps be teamwork: most villains don't work well together. Each villain might need to be a little tougher on their own, so the heroes can team up and beat them without the villain being too much of a push over. That's all I can think of right now. What do you think? a ninja would be good for getting info or an industria espionage agent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Serpent Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? I think for villains as well as heroes there really would be two sets of archetypes, one for powers/abilities and one for personality/motivation. Dr. Destroyer (at least earlier incarnations) and Armadillo are both basically battlesuits but would play very differently even at the same power level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? 1. Big Bad - the brains behind the plot 2. Lieutenants - the ones who run the various parts of the plot 3. Mooks - the ones who make the plot happen, under the direction of a Lieutenant. The rest is just SFX. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndianaJoe3 Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? 1. Big Bad - the brains behind the plot 2. Lieutenants - the ones who run the various parts of the plot 3. Mooks - the ones who make the plot happen, under the direction of a Lieutenant. There's always The Dragon - the Big Bad's bodyguard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utech Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Big Bad the shadow Bad who actually pulls Big Bad's strings Big Bad's toady the accidental villain the hero blackmailed/mind-controlled/cursed to be a villain the demon the casual killer the sociopath Big Bad's love interest the bad girl who falls for the hero the bad girl who plays the hero like a cheap violin the obsessed with power/money/fame the collector the genius convinced he must destroy the world to save it the nihilist the professional contract killer / mercenary the heavy the nerdy accountant / hacker / gunsmith / mechanic the bullied who has become the bully the religious / mystic zealot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peregrine Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? There's always The Dragon - the Big Bad's bodyguard. I forgot that one. I think I mentally associated that with the Lieutenants, but it should stand on its own. Sometimes, though, the Big Bad is their own Dragon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted October 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Big Bad's love interest Dr. Girlfriend! This seems like a pretty good list of motivations. As mentioned by Supreme Serpent up thread, actual powers might be a separate list. I guess I am looking for powers too. Like the Infiltrator, who is often a skilled mimic (like Mystique), heroes don't tend to have that sort of power set. And heroes, ime, don't tend to go for "deep cover" the way some villains do. OTOH, some villain powers seem similar to hero ones. Like Reeves of the Fantastic Four is a scientist who invents stuff. Lots of master minds (the big bad) are evil scientists who invent stuff too, they just use the similar powers for Evil instead of Good. Etc. I don't know if a catalog of such combination would be ultimately useful. Just fun to try, maybe. I think you missed a couple of villain motivations. One, the villain who seeks to correct injustice, but by any means necessary. Magneto. The perceived problems of the world are so overwhelming that he believes an iron fist is required to force an immediate solution. There's also the Lark or the Hedonist. A villain who's is bored or out to make their own life more interesting or more pleasurable. A subset of these two are the Pacifist. These are people who break the rules or disrupt society, but don't actually (intentionally) hurt people. The group Grab in CKC might be one, and Foxbat might be another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Mad Scientists Brains in a Jar Sexy Burglars Theme Villains Interdimensional Imps Evil Counterparts Weakness Targeters Alien Invaders Giant Monsters Killer Robots Snoopy Romantic Interests Gorillas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomGM2602 Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Don't forget about the Manipulators- the masterminds behind every supervillian team or organization who'd weave their webs of deceit while thier minions would take thier lumps. Perfect examples:Wilson Fisk[The Kingpin],Annanias Topps[original NORMALS UNLEASHED},The Rose[amazing SpiderMan],MING the Merciless[Flash Gorden],Doctor DOOM[Fantasic Four] The Leader[incredible Hulk]Kruzitter[sAS] and many more too numerous to list here. Add to the mix the Sociopathic Villian: he kills an maims just for the fun of it Sabertooth comes to mind anyone likewise the Hobgoblin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Holck Posted November 8, 2009 Report Share Posted November 8, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? This seems like a pretty good list of motivations. As mentioned by Supreme Serpent up thread, actual powers might be a separate list. puts up hood the monster/villain creator the pro-generator the designer of life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Samson Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? I think for villains as well as heroes there really would be two sets of archetypes, one for powers/abilities and one for personality/motivation. Dr. Destroyer (at least earlier incarnations) and Armadillo are both basically battlesuits but would play very differently even at the same power level. I agree totally. I try to create my villains following the same guidelines I use for my heroes, but with differing motivations. 1. Big Bad - the brains behind the plot 2. Lieutenants - the ones who run the various parts of the plot 3. Mooks - the ones who make the plot happen, under the direction of a Lieutenant. The rest is just SFX. That said, this seems to be what I actually end up doing. It is simply alot of work to give every villain the same proper treatment that the heroes get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gojira Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? Don't forget about the Manipulators- the masterminds behind every supervillian team or organization who'd weave their webs of deceit while thier minions would take thier lumps. Perfect examples:Wilson Fisk[The Kingpin]' date='Annanias Topps[original NORMALS UNLEASHED},The Rose[amazing SpiderMan'],MING the Merciless[Flash Gorden],Doctor DOOM[Fantasic Four] The Leader[incredible Hulk]Kruzitter[sAS] and many more too numerous to list here. Yeah, good. Also, like the Shadow King, who mostly operates by possessing others and making them do his foul bidding. The Shadow King doesn't seem to run a large organization (although he kinda did with Baron Strucker), he just uses targets of opportunity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal'El Wayne Posted November 11, 2009 Report Share Posted November 11, 2009 Re: Villain Archetypes? This can come under the other categories, but...theme villains. So, for instance, a Rock & Roll villain (DisChord or something) could be any one of a dozen different styles of villain, and may actually switch between them, but still keep being a Rock themed super-villain. He first appears as the leader of a five man band of mutants who rob banks. One plays bass and is superhumanly tough. His cohorts are a lead singer with sonic blasts, a drummer who can teleport the whole team and about two hundred pounds to spare, a lead guitarist who can stretch and has four arms (so he can fight and keep playing) and DisChord, a keyboard player who is a genius with gadgets built into his keyboard. But he is defeated so he returns as a basic attention seeking minor villain mind controlling a crowd of civilians to attack the PCs. Then he disappears for a while and later, when the mysterious bad guy is finally revealed, it's DisChord! And now he's wearing power armour with a synthesizer built into the arm for blasters and flight controls and things! And he has built a flying chariot/throne with his old keyboard adapted into the controls! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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