[Dthclaw]

Okay, so, what all do you guys have for your uber-villain(s)/antagonists?

Currently mine is a Wiz22/Archmage3 vampiric lich (homebrew template for that, nasty buggers).

[Rintaran]

My favourite "villain" was a level 20 human paladin. It was so much fun having a party of mostly good adventurer continually attempt to thwart the plans of a fanatically good paladin.

[Dthclaw]

That must have been interesting. How'd the players get around the whole "good alignment" thing? Or were their characters actually good good?

*Note* Planning on unleashing a Paragon Pseudonatural Fire Human Clr21 as the next major threat to the world. Bit much?

[Rintaran]

The players were good, but they valued freedom over a strict code of conduct. The other axis of alignment can be just as entertaining to fight over as the old fashioned good vs evil.

[Dthclaw]

Yes, but a little more... unusual.

[jack(tim)]

So far my favorite villain to use is a demi-god named Maester... he doesn't really do anything to the party of adventurers but he is more there for comic relief... until the opportune moment... I like it especially because they think he's their friend. (Modeled after Apep from Egyptian Mythology and the name came from the Maesters in FFX) I can't wait until they find out he's been pulling the strings this entire campaign... I don't even think most of them know he's a deity...

And playing Law vs. Chaos is just as good as Good Vs. Evil... I referrence Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne... In there there was no Good and Evil really.... Just Law and Chaos/Individuality.

[Rintaran]

True, but it's usually my goal to keep things unusual. People get tired of the same old fashioned dungeon crawl, zombies, and taking down an ultimate evil after a while. I like to blur the lines. I could just as easily see two fanatic LG paladin orders fighting it out over a few differences in their laws as I could see freedom fighters taking down a government, or an archfiend controlling a population for its pleasure.

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Planning on unleashing a Paragon Pseudonatural Fire Human Clr21 as the next major threat to the world. Bit much?

It's pretty big and powerful, but I'm sure if you're thinking of putting it in, the players are powerful enough to eventually bring it to a halt. I'd like to know what kind of story you'll have surrounding this thing though.

[jack(tim)]

That sounds like a cool battle Rin... we might have to do test runs... **Enjoys a good paladin Fight**

[Rintaran]

Not right now though jack(tim). Between my university stuff, and re-making my campaign world, coming up with a lvl 20 pally for the sake of a fight against another lvl 20 pally would probably take up more time than I can afford (as I would inevitably create a character history).

Keep it in mind for April maybe?

[jack(tim)]

I said might... rin.. Take it easy... I have the college life too ya know...

[Dthclaw]

Well, the paragon thingy isn't going to be for a while. They'll have to worry about Bysiras first and foremost, but after that they'll start encountering these seemingly weak "convert or die" priests. Once they actually fight one, they'll probably be rather shocked at how disgustingly difficult they are (paragon Clr10), and investigations will turn up links to the Far Realm, Hell, other fun and exciting places, with the head honcho basically a demigod.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

That sounds awesome, Dthclaw. Right now I am using the stereotypical big bad evil guy cuz this world needs some myths, and i figure who better to write the myths than the players themselves. Everyone likes to hear about their own exploits (in past PCs) and feel proud that they are part of the world. As a result, this group is going to deal with the first human encoutner with another sentient species. Unfortunately, that species happens to be a crapload of orcs, hobgoblins, and goblins (all subspecies in a unified society) being lead by a god or two. I plan on making the actual battles (once they start to get enough levels to survive war) involve gods fighting each other in the same manner as in the Illiad. Gods fight gods, but the tide of war is determined normally, with the PCs completing important missions and winnign battles and what not. The gods are more just for show and to make it seem more important; not deux de machina.

Well, I should also mention that there are a couple minor bad guys to contend with. These are present more for the sake of how the world turns out after the war is over. One is one of the first wizards to start to organize and study magic. Over course, being power hungry in an extreme is standard, but it will be far more subtle than just that. He is looking for knowledge and is willing to do anything for it, including bargaining with demons. The other threat is the Inquisition of the Silver Flame. These are the psychotic anti-magic nazis. They have taken over a country in the north that has little influence, but through aggressive conversion and missionary work, they are spreading fast. The war with the orcs could be manipulated to either bolster their efforts by weakening their enemies, or redirected toward them where they will be forced to fight (and thus weakened themselves).

I figure that will help set up future campaigns in the world so as to figure out the longterm effects of the war. Perhaps the one I am most interested in discovering is what will happen to all the goblinoids that survive but cannot return home. God knows that if the Church of the Silver Flame gains power, they'll just kill them all off and incite centuries of hatred between the races....

[Dthclaw]

Nice. Have to ask, though: any relation to the Church of the Silver Flame from the Eberron CS, or just coincidental name?

Ironic that your bad guys are the Silver Flame... the paragon/pseudonatural ones worship the Holy Flame... good ol' irony at work there.

[Raven Bloodmoon]

Coincidental name. They do not worship any deity, and in fact denounce the deities as holy better-than-mortals, which is actually sort of the case. The real irony is that what they are worshipping, while they call it The Silver Flame, is actually a manifestation of the mother overdeity. So basically, they are correct in worshipping the big head honcho, but they are just going about it in an extremely narrowminded, zealous, biggoted way. Yay for religion!

By the way, I like your idea of using paragons for your clerics. I was actaully looking into toying around with some of the nastier template for both deities and BBEGs for later on in the world's development because of you. Thanks for the idea. ~Yoink!~

[RedSlayer]

Holy Flame, DthClaw? Them super-Mutants getting at you again?

Anywho, I'm actually trying a different aproach than the usual Church Inquisition. Lately I've been seeing a lot of the Over-Zealous, Persecution, If-you-don't-believe-in-my-diety-im-going-to-kill-you, take on D&D churches and Religions. You know the deal, Arcane casters are hunted down, etc. etc.

So, In one of my campaign worlds, I'm switching the roles. There is instead, a extremely powerful magocracy who rules most of the known world. These mages are trying to set themselves up as living-gods, but that is kinda difficult when real gods exsist. So, they started a kind-of "reverse crucade" against the churches. No religion, no matter good, evil, or nuetral has been spared. At first, some Dieties saw this as an opportunity to destroy their rivals, but this weakened organized religions' ability to defend itself as an Ideal. Before they realized this, the in-fighting has given the Magocracy the upper-hand.

As the Dieties realized that their chance for survival was to, belive it or not, work together. They formed a temporary truce and put together a great army of divine agents. However, the in-fighting and shear power of the Arcane Army has weakend it greatly, and the Army of the Church was loosing more and more every day.

After a great amount of time, the Magocracy found that it would take way to-much time and far to many resources to slay all the followers of a diety. So, for the next 20 years they researched and developed ways to kill dieties. No one knows exactly how it has been done, but some theorize that the mages actually incarnate the diety upon the earth, and then procede to slay them. Some say they have found a way to poison and sap away the divine essance. Either way, The Mages have found a way to kill dieties, and as of now, about half of the pantheon has been destroyed.

With their armies in ruin, and about half of their number gone, the Dieties have fled to the Prime-Material plane, hiding and fleeing. They still possess significant power, and can still grant spells, but any signifigant display of that power would bring certain death. (think
"American Gods")

The Druids, who had remained neutral throught most of the conflict, have finally started coming around to the side of churches. The Mages are defiling the natural world, with construction and with the slaying of dieties. But, this might be to little to late.

Only the Psionisists have managed to aviod persecution. Because they are so few and because they are so powerful, they either manage to stay hidden or slay any mage who comes after them. It is only a matter of time, however, before the mages finish the divine and turn their full attention elsewhere.

Word is that the Dragons have aligned themselves with the Arcane Casters, and their combined might is surely to great for any to over come.

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Anyway, thats just a quick idea. I think I'll work on it sometime in the next couple weeks. Cause the Dimention-hoppers already have a full plate in front of them.