Rust Monster

While truly wicked villains are the headliners in any game, no villain is a threat without some serious minions. All of those followers gave a big villain heft and authority; he commands armies of orcs, legions of flying monkeys, herds of barbarian-driven dinosaurs, or automaton assassins. Even lone villains often have at least an Igor to fetch body parts for them, a powerful improved familiar, or a devil who serves them under duress.

How can you maximize the value of those minions? There are a few simple ways to get the most from minions in any adventure. I like to think of them as: scenery, weak spots, traitors, alarms, spies and (ultimately) fall guys.

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Villains may have their plans, minions, and secret backstory, but let’s face it—they earn their stripes when it’s time to throw down and make the heroes suffer. Unfortunately, all too many supposedly big bads don’t live up to their billing. They get knocked down in a couple rounds, their henchmen flee, or they lack a fall-back plan.

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From the Wizards.com website

Why Be a Villain?

A good villain is not planning to destroy the town because he’s Chaotic Evil. He’s going to destroy it because he’s Chaotic Evil and he’s got a good reason to hate that town: they branded and exiled him, they executed his father after a rigged trial, or just because they laughed at his froggy familiar.

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Roleplayers seem to give off an awkward odor. Perhaps it comes from the lack of hygiene that many exhibit or perhaps it really is their unusual nature. Many go to great lengths to subdue this “tell” to the point of masquerading as a normal person when deep down inside they can’t wait until their next gaming fix. You gamers know what I mean - even if you try and deny it here.

But in MMPORGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games) shouldn’t RPers be in their natural element? Isn’t this the domain of the Roleplayer? Well, maybe not. This article seems to indicate that RPers are still the smelly awkward kids of the online games:

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Back in the good old days — the “Golden Era” of roleplaying — it was easy to separate the men from the boys (sometimes called “Real Men” and “Quiche Eaters” in the literature). During this period, the Real Men were the ones who played Dungeons and Dragons, and the Quiche Eaters were the ones who didn’t.

A Real Man said things like “save vs death or die” and “THAC0″ (they actually pronounced the zero in THAC0, you understand), and the rest of the world said things like “Dungeons and Dragons — isn’t that Satanic?” and “dragons don’t exist”. Real Men brush off such trivial issues, and have never had problems killing things that don’t exist. But, as usual, times change. Dungeons and Dragons is no longer the only force in roleplaying. We are faced today with a world in which vampires can be player characters instead of monsters, and rules exist for creating microwave ovens and toasters that are more detailed than those for creating humans. There is a clear need to point out the differences between the typical pasty-faced goth poseur or aspiring gearhead, and a Real Man. If this difference is made clear, it will give these people something to aspire to — a role model, a father figure. It will also help explain why, despite 25 years of progress in roleplaying games, the Real Man continues to be the force that he is today.

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