If you are at a loss for a really good bad guy (if that makes sense) for your game, maybe one of the villainous NPCs presented here will fit the bill. There are some twenty-four of them, each presented with a wealth of detail about their histories, motivations and personalities. However, plenty is either left vague or is easy to modify to make them fit into your game. From a one-off villain to a campaign-long nemesis these versatile villains may have a part to play in your plots.

Each villain is presented in a standard way, a bit like entries in a monster book. Name, an outline of who they are, stats... a special combat block with all the bonuses figured in, and a personality/goals section with other material round out the character. There's also a dedicated section of ideas for how you could use them in a campaign. Oh, and they have a few minions too.

Most are of a very high level, perhaps more suitable to use as a campaign villian rather than the everyday one the party bickers with all the time. However, the 'campaign use' section of each entry gives suggestions as to how to use each NPC villain at 'low', 'medium' and 'high' levels of play.

It's the details that are the most amusing, putting each villain's deeds into context and explaining why they are the way they are and what motivates them. The desire to be the most beautiful person alive, a sadistic serial killer, a lycanthrope searching for the killers of their tribe and barely holding their bestiality in check, a well-resourced youngster with an overriding hatred of adventurers... their stories are many and varied and, even without the suggestions, spawn quite a few campaign ideas of their own.

The whole work provides plenty of ideas. You still need to select a villian and weave your plot around them, fit them in to your campaign world and write the adventures that include them... this is a source of inspiration for those who like writing their own materials.

Return to Villains page.

Reviewed: 8 July 2019