Saturday, August 1, 2015

A BEVY OF BAD GUYS

When I run Wandering Heroes of Ogre Gate I usually layer my threats a bit. Things may start out with a single, boastful bully who harasses the party or threatens local villagers, and dealing with him may be a simple matter of confronting him and his band of thugs. But it can make the interaction more complex if he is affiliated with other bad guys. He may be the nephew of a powerful sect leader or the lover of an official's wife. The complexity can arise before the confrontation (how do we deal with him without attracting the wrath of his uncle) or after (now that we've killed him, his uncle's men are hounding us). 

This is a simple random method I've been messing with to determine what connections the initial threat may have. You roll on the First Evil table for the initial threat, then roll on the Second Evil table if he is affiliated with another NPC, then on the Third if applicable. These tables leave the Kung Fu abilities and Qi ranks open for the GM to determine. 

FIRST EVIL
Roll 1d10
1-3: Unaffiliated with anyone
4: Sworn Brother of a Second Evil 
3: Lover or spouse of a Second Evil
4: Nephew or Niece of a Second Evil
5: Child of a second evil
6: Uncle or Aunt of a Second Evil
7: Father or Mother of a Second Evil
8: Sibling of a Second Evil
9: Servant of a Second Evil
10: Enemy of a Second Evil

SECOND EVIL
Roll 1d10
1: An important member of a sect
2: A local magnate
3: A low ranking government official
4: A leader of local bandits
5: Father or Mother of a Third Evil 
6: Lover or Spouse of a third Evil
7: Nephew or niece of a Third Evil
8: Son or Daughter of a Third Evil
9: Servants of a Third Evil
10: A wandering martial expert in service to a Third Evil

THIRD EVIL
Roll 1d10
1: An important sect leader
2: A local magnate with great wealth
3: An important government official
4: A great chieftain
5: A great general
6: A legendary hero or martial expert
7: A powerful Demon Master
8: A powerful monster
9: An important ruler
10: An immortal or deity


3 comments:

  1. I liked this idea and thought it could be useful for my Honor+Intrigue campaign which is set in 17th century France. This post which publishes early on August 13, has my adaptation of your tables to that setting.

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  2. Oops. I suppose a link might help.
    http://honorandintrigue.blogspot.com/2015/08/layering-your-villains.html

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  3. Glad you liked it. Hope that works well in your campaign. The link you posted isn't working for me for some reason.

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