Hey Game Fans, we’re going to keep on keeping on with our discussion of Antagonists and how to get the most use of them in your adventure writing. Every Antagonist has a specific role to play in the narrative you’re putting together. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of them gives you a leg up in finding the spot to put them and how to utilize them to maximum effect. Last week we talked about the minions that make up the rank and file of the bad guys, today we’re going to take a look at the Specialists that are basically a tier up from the minions. Remember the Pyramid example we talked about last week. These antagonists are the next level up, and perform a specific task in the Antagonist hierarchy. Let’s dig into that idea and see what we can come up with.
Plot Point 12 The Antagonists (Part 3)
I have probably played too much D & D in my lifetime and after a certain point, things start to blend together. I can’t remember how many dragons i’ve fought, or the number of times i’ve been caught by sneaky traps. The dungeons start to bleed together after a certain point, and i can probably call the encounters back if i tried, but there are other encounters that stick out in my mind because they featured memorable villains. I don’t remember every tribe of goblins i’ve ever encountered or every beholder i’ve dealt with, but i do remember the time we were suckered into trying to kill Xanthalar underneath Waterdeep in his super secret underground thieves guild lair...
The Antagonists you choose to build/include in your campaign/adventure/encounter are one of the things that make it memorable for any number of reasons. I remember fondly the time we finished our campaign by slaying the Red Dragon in its Volcanic Lair. I have less happy remembrances of the time the kobold tribe decided it would be a great idea to douse us in lantern oil and then throw matches at us while we were trapped in a twenty feet deep pit. I still remember both of those encounters because the antagonists were memorable opponents in the context of the adventure.
Some critters work very well in specific locations. Orcs and Goblins are pretty omniversal as antagonists go, and you can bump into them all over the place. Other critters need specific reasons to be found in places that aren’t their home territories, like Drow outside of the underdark, or Devils outside of the 9 Hells. Sure, you can put them wherever you like, but they make better villains if you tailor the encounter/adventure/campaign to make them fit into the story you’re telling.
There is another important thing to consider when you’re putting Antagonists together. What role do you see this critter fitting into? Are they minions in nearly inexhaustible supply like the Draconians from Dragonlance or the Stormtroopers from Star Wars? Are they specialists in a key area like assassins or Necromancers that fit a specific role in the adventure/campaign? Are the Lieutenants or key servants of the main Antagonist? Are they the Key Antagonist of the entire story? Some monsters/npcs/antagonists serve in specific roles better than others. It’s possible that the goblin is the Mastermind of the entire campaign, but if he has Dragons of various types, a pet Lich, and Mind Flayers as his go to servants, then explanations are going to be required.
Specialists
Why does an Antagonist need a specialist? Some specialists provide specific abilities that allow the use of minions, typically your summoners for legions of extra-planar creatures, or Necromancers for armies of boneheads. Other specialists offer specific abilities that are valuable on their own, like trained assassins, spellcasters of a plentitude of power sources, or creatures that possess very specific sources of information that are essential for whatever the big boss is planning. The last type of Specialists are a little more mundane, but no less important. The rank and file minions of most bad guys require some sort of leadership and oversight to keep them on task, and you can actually specialize your rank and file with a little bit of work. Goblins by themselves aren’t especially dangerous, but if you strap one to the back of a Warg and give him the training to work with it, that goblin just got a lot more dangerous. Let’s take a look at some specialists and the role they play for your antagonists.
Enablers
These specialists are essential for the bigger antagonists to accomplish some specific task. These are usually things that allow them to deploy their minions in large numbers, and eventually turn a small trickle of bad things into a raging torrent of ugly death. It could be something like the aforementioned Necromancers animating armies of the dead, or the Summoners serving as conduits to let extra planar creatures into the world. However, it could just as easily be nature oriented magic wielders animating the forests and awakening the animals to war. These forces are typically held together by the magical powers of the Enabling units, and taking them out becomes a viable strategy to overcome the odds.
Example 1: The Ashen Rune
The Forest of Gahtradt lies in waste and ruin. The neighboring kingdoms of Kellebore and Cyrgoria have fought countless wars over the precious resources found in the Forest and the last war was disastrous, with both forces eventually setting the woods ablaze to keep their enemy from getting them. Thousands of trees were destroyed in the fire, and thousands more damaged. The otherwise isolationist druids and fair folk who’d made the forest their home have gone mad with the collective sorrow and rage of the forest. Now they are bringing the injured trees to health, and turning them loose on their neighbors. The Forest is walking under their guidance, and the lands of men will suffer for their crimes...
Example 2: Fervor
The Cult of the Unforgiving Sun is rapidly indoctrinating followers and swelling its ranks. Through the power of their faith, the priests and other members of the clergy can take control of the minds of their followers. These Unforgiven Pilgrims are steeled by the faith of their fellow pilgrims and form the backbone of the Cult’s army. Under the direction of a priest, they will take suicidal risks, fight beyond their normal capabilities, and in some cases, refuse to die on the battlefield.
Note:
In most cases, these specialists enable their minion pools to be functional (animating them with bizarre magic, etc), and also serve as the commander for minion groups. That’s not necessarily true, and in some cases, the Enabler is also keeping the minions in check, and focused on their task at hand. When that control element is removed, it’s possible that the minions power down, but it’s equally possible that they go out of control and began to rampage across the battlefield.
Skillful Assets
Another key type of specialist are the skilled assets that can perform other tasks that are essential for keeping the rest of the Antagonist’s organization functional. These include but are not limited to: Spies, Assassins, Couriers, Tradesmen, Ship Captains, Trainers, and other people who practice a specific trade that makes other elements of the Antagonist’s organization work. These characters perform specialized tasks that empower the rest of the minions to make them much more capable and challenging.
Example #3: The Tradesmen
In this instance, i’m looking at two specific groups, miners and smiths. If you thought a patrol of Orcs or Humans was annoying, imagine how much worse they are going to be when they’re actually outfitted with adamantine armor and master forged blades. Gone are the days of poorly fitting chain mail and sticks. With the right resource base, Tradesmen can do an awful lot of damage without even setting their feet on the battlefield. These are also the folks who typically prepare large scale alchemical supplies, build the ships that the minions move from place to place on, and in rare occasions, build airships to ruin the fun for everybody.
Example #4: The Infiltrators
Getting information about what the enemy is up to is always a tricky thing, and most Antagonist’s can gain access to some sort of group or select individuals who specialize in infiltrating locations and acting from there. Spies, Thieves, Assassins, and a host of other roles fall under this category, but they have roughly the same skill set. They are capable of entering enemy territory, completing a specified task, and getting back out without being noticed.
Force Multipliers
These specialists are geared towards improving groups of minions at their disposal. They are often leaders or commanders of smaller units, but they can scale up. The primary difference in this instance between a sergeant and a captain are the number of units at their command, and often their training and equipment. Their intended role is the same, to provide order, discipline, and resolve to the minions under their command. The other type of Force Multipliers are specialized troops (often under the command of a specialist leader type). These use either special equipment, special tactics, or a combination of both to improve their own abilities.
Example #5: The Officers
These are your typical Force Multipliers. With a little bit more training and some better gear than the minions, these characters offer morale boosts and something more important to a group of minions, a voice of authority. A small group of orcs or goblins on their own might eventually come up with a response to a party of player characters, but an officer should have an immediate response that prompts swift action from the minions under his or her command. The real advantage that this gives the minions is a decisive voice to direct operations. That can be the difference between a squad or larger group of minions being destroyed by a party of player characters or a pc defeat.
Example #6: The SWAT Team
Specialized equipment and tactics can turn the tide of a conflict. Some Antagonists will group the minions trained in these specializations into formations of their own. Warg Riders, Artillery operators, and Archers all require a degree of specialized training and/or equipment to put into the field. One Archer may not make the difference, but a squad of ten of them backing up a unit of other minions can be a serious factor in the success or failure of the battle.
How to work through this Plot Trap?
This is a Plot Trap that’s fairly easy to handle. When you sit down to build your encounter/adventure/campaign, you need to decide who your primary antagonist is and what minions they are likely to use. This is an area of design where i am inclined to say embrace the Cliche. An Orc Warlord likely has Orc minions, just as Lich likely has skeletons by the hundreds. Don’t worry about the cliche, it’s actually fun one.
Specialists can do a lot of things, and can actually have entire encounters/adventures built around them. You know that there is a spy operating in the royal court and need to flush them out? Rumors have revealed the location of the forge complex that’s arming and equipping the heavy infantry that are smashing through the lines at every turn. Countering the effects of specialists is an ideal opportunity to create an adventure that may require the characters to work outside their comfort zones.
Too many specialists can be a problem. If you’re building an encounter that features more than two of these, you might want to think about changing the encounter. If your players have to deal with multiple specialized threats at the same time, it can create a very busy combat encounter that they aren’t going to handle very well. There are a couple of situations where that isn’t the case, but in general, too many specialists is a problem to keep track of.
Variations
There are a couple of variations on this theme that all work roughly the same way. Let’s take a closer look.
Knowledge Sources
These are technically a subcategory of Skillful Assets, but they are unique enough to have an entry. These are Specialists who are kept around because they have stores of information that are necessary for the Antagonist’s plans. While generally not combat capable on their own, their importance typically means they have bodyguards, and for very important ones, entire encounter zones built around them. Extracting one of these VIPs can be an extremely dangerous adventure for the PCs.
Questionable Loyalty
Some Specialists aren’t wed to the political ideology or master plan of the Antagonist they are working for. They are mercenaries, or in rare circumstances, they are being coerced into performing their specialized task by the big boss. These questions of loyalty can lead to some interesting situations for storytelling.
Conclusions
Antagonists are an important part of any RPG or Fantasy experience and they deserve a lot of thought and planning to implement. There are a lot of ways of looking at how to build your antagonist elements, but i typically go with a pyramid structure. The Specialists sit just above the minions and enable the higher tiers of the pyramid to use the minions to project force more precisely than otherwise possible. They also open up specific ways to empower and multiple the force of minions.
I hope this gives all of you some insights and ideas on incorporating this style of a Plot Element into your game without it becoming a burden to your fun. If you’d like to see more of these, or have a question about a specific plot element that you’d like to know more about, drop me a line on twitter, which you should be able to see over there on the right side of the screen. Game On,
Game Fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment