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RPG Glory Stories - Villains We Love To Hate
4 Plays15 minutes ago
Every great RPG campaign has a villain the players never forget. In this RPG Glory Stories episode, Daryl, Nick, and Robert share stories about the masterminds, monsters, rivals, and Big Bads they loved to hate. Tune in for memorable villains, epic showdowns, and the lessons that made these antagonists unforgettable.
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Transcript
Introduction to How We Roll Gaming
00:00:02
Speaker
with the coachman D20 Radio. at Your game is rolled.
00:00:17
Speaker
How will We Roll Gaming is dedicated to spreading enjoyment of great role-playing games. We hope to bring you insights into games you may not have played, tips to be a better game master and player, and share us stories of momentous events at our tables.
00:00:29
Speaker
Every game is a new story to
Meet the Hosts of How We Roll Gaming
00:00:31
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tell. I'm Daryl. I'm Nick. And here's Robert. And this is How We Roll.
Personal Updates and New RPG Arrivals
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome back to the How We Roll Gaming Podcast, everybody. It's good to be back. Good to be here as well. Nick, Robert, how have you two fine gentlemen been doing?
00:00:58
Speaker
Well, I personally been doing very well. I was about to say, that good, huh? We were both being polite for each other. But I'll break the tie off.
00:01:09
Speaker
But I've been doing good at work. Yes, I've been doing good at work.
Excitement for Invincible RPG and Kickstarter Perks
00:01:14
Speaker
I'm in my new position, fully off phones. And I just love it because I can work and time just flies because I don't have to look at a clock every single time something comes in because nothing comes in. And it's beautiful. And then finally, sometime last week,
00:01:31
Speaker
I finally got my book. Night City. Yes, the Night City supplement for Cyberpunk Red. ordered this back in June, and it finally came in the middle of July, is normal.
00:01:46
Speaker
I got it two weeks before you. and let's just say a certain delivery service that ends with an X needs to really update their notification system.
00:01:58
Speaker
speaking Speaking of speaking of ah new arrivals in terms of the RPG space. Nick, you and I both got the same thing today. is that what you were going to talk about? It's from it's from our... from our please Please sponsor us. Please sponsor us. Please sponsor us. Our friends at Free League.
00:02:20
Speaker
Yes. We'll get them one day. Nick. Nick. You and I both, dear listeners and on YouTube viewers, we received the
00:02:38
Speaker
Invincible RPG from the Kickstarter that ended back in December. And i I didn't participate in it, but there was a special at the like tail end of of it that I got.
00:02:55
Speaker
Ah, Late late Backers. to a late backer and even that late backer delivered at the same time as you did because I know that you were an early backer.
00:03:09
Speaker
Yep. I, I backed on day one. So one of the things that I like about Free League's Kickstarters is that if you back within the first 24 hours, they usually send an art print from the art book for the associated project that you're backing.
00:03:30
Speaker
But for Invincible, they didn't just do a print. They reprinted number one of the comic with an RPG specific cover with the characters playing the invincible RPG.
00:03:47
Speaker
And theyre like I just love it. And again, really, please sponsor us. We will do an episode when we talk about the freely invincible RPG. Yeah.
00:04:02
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Yep, and I'm sure it goes without saying that for the YouTube version of the show, we've been having fun playing Mutants and Masterminds with our friend Dante running it.
00:04:15
Speaker
Which is a superhero... it says it's it's ah It's a superhero RPG. And a long running one as well. Yep. yep I am dying to ah get the Marvel Multiverse RPG on the table for
Anticipation for Marvel Multiverse RPG
00:04:32
Speaker
us. But before we do do that, we do like superheroes and and stuff like that.
00:04:39
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Before we do that, our our friend Brev from the Movie Defenders podcast, when I was talking to him at my birthday dinner last month, he was mentioning that... oh happy birthday. In case they didn't know that. In case the viewers... it It's been a month. it's Yeah, really. Yeah.
00:04:57
Speaker
So, um but he and one of his sons are learning the Marvel Multiverse RPG. And ah I've told him that we we want to play. We would love for them to run it for us. And Brev said, let's do it.
00:05:19
Speaker
So. Oh, Daryl used to play Miles
Adapting Comic Book Plots into RPGs
00:05:22
Speaker
Morales. Yeah. Yes, my absolute favorite character. Can I can i kill him? can i Can I do like I did back in college when I converted Crisis on Infinite Earths to ah to an adventure for the DC Heroes RPG? And that this was just you know an excuse, an exercise in overkill.
00:05:47
Speaker
because we were already on a merged Marvel DC and our own characters earth. And so they went to Marvel earth and the anti-matter demons, the shadow demons from crisis killed Wolverine over and over and over again.
00:06:08
Speaker
That's normal. So, can I kill Miles? that's That's the average
Exploring Superhero RPGs in Future Episodes
00:06:15
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of Wolverine plot. That's a Tuesday for Wolverine.
00:06:19
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You can kill his father.
00:06:23
Speaker
Well, in Crisis on Infinite and Earths, yes, you could, because time and and parallel dimension shenanigans were happening. Yeah, variants. You can. You can indeed. So, but yeah, so.
00:06:37
Speaker
But fourthly yeah you chose not you unfortunately, Daryl, you cannot kill Brian Michael Bendis. Yeah. I mean, you can, but I don't think that's legal.
00:06:50
Speaker
No, it's not legal. I just, I have yeah zero use for any of his characters.
Plans for Upcoming RPG Sessions
00:06:57
Speaker
So. But I have been, especially since we started Mutants and Masterminds, I've been wanting to play more in the superhero RPG sandbox. So maybe we should do an episode on superhero RPGs later on. later on i think I think that'd be a good idea. we would just need to get, i at least we need to get a few more under my belt.
00:07:21
Speaker
Bring on Dante, and especially us playing, because I will be I'm going to be speed running to get us to do these plays because we have the starter set for invincible here. So yeah, at least we get that on the belt.
00:07:37
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Yes, we both have the starter.
00:07:42
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So, yeah, every I'm looking forward to playing it. I want to play Marvel Multiverse. I can't just so that we have a basis of comparison. I can probably even throw together a one shot of the old DC Heroes system for our group. Or at least put it in the playlist. We could watch ah what' ah the some really cool players play.
00:08:11
Speaker
What, are you talking about the the Sam Witwer, Freddie Prinze Jr. thing that only the first episode is on YouTube? Unless they've added more in the years since.
00:08:26
Speaker
But, yeah, I mean, or the old DC Heroes, or I have the quick start for the upcoming Justice League Unlimited RPG.
Promotions and Cross-Podcast Collaborations
00:08:37
Speaker
oh Oh, that sounds cool. Yeah, I mean, i want to play it. I got an update today from GameFound that they said that they are almost going live with the crowdfunding for it.
00:08:53
Speaker
I think we should probably ah get into what we're talking about. But i think we have something else. Before we get into what we're talking about, we have some some housekeeping business to take care of.
00:09:05
Speaker
Indeed. so So are you looking for a fantasy actual play with unforgettable characters and a world unlike any other?
00:09:16
Speaker
Check out Eberron Renewed, part of the D20 Radio Network. Set in the iconic Everon campaign setting, so blends high adventure, pulp action, political intrigue, and character-driven storytelling in an immersive experience that's perfect for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
00:09:39
Speaker
Yes, whether you love epic roleplaying, rich worldbuilding, or simply want another outstanding actual play to add to your playlist, Eberron Renew delivers. Find Eberron Renewed wherever you get your podcasts and start your adventure in Eberron today.
00:09:55
Speaker
and you know, this makes two weeks in a row that I have promoted Eberron Renewed. ah Because when when I was on me and Steve Talk RPGs last week, um you know, since the inspiration for the topic that we talked about was...
00:10:14
Speaker
a comment that Keith Baker had made about Eberron. yeah That was the show that we promoted for the network over on me and Steve. And then we promoted our show at the end.
00:10:27
Speaker
Are you trying to tell Nick something that we need to have another session? No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm just noting but that...
00:10:39
Speaker
but But if we could have a sarah have a interview with Keith Baker, yes, yes, yes. i want Oh, please, if we can get Keith Baker. Oh, boy, yes. oh oh that that i mean i mean, i don't have that necessarily that kind of pull, although you we we are talking to a couple of future guests.
00:11:08
Speaker
i'll I'll be sitting down in a couple of weeks across the table to talk to one of them. well Stay tuned. Yeah, we'll leave that in the shadows for now. yeah you got Oh, if I could talk to Keith Baker. up get Get out of there. It's just me. just meet i ah be Nick has gone bye-bye now.
00:11:31
Speaker
Yeah. Nick has gone bye-bye. But do feel free, dear listeners, if you haven't already, also go out and check out this past week's episode of the Me and Steve Talk RPGs podcast, where I continued my duties as an occasional honorary Steve and talked to Steve about about customizing settings that exist already. you Customizing existing settings.
00:12:04
Speaker
You did good work for us honorary Steves. As well as our sister podcast, Castle Nerdy, where we talk about all kinds of different things, including ah recent movie releases.
00:12:18
Speaker
Yes. But I think it's time to get in as we have going to return to some glory
Segment on Memorable RPG Villains
00:12:26
Speaker
stories. Yes. It's been while since we've stepped into it. This is our second No, this is our third. Oh, did I second? Yeah, you missed the second, but that the second was the one where we had ah Betsy, Stephanie, and Brian on. Darn.
00:12:49
Speaker
Well, glad to be back for this one. Welcome back for it. We all love to talk about. Yes. Every great RPG campaign needs a great villain.
00:13:00
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Not just someone for the heroes to fight, but someone who gets under the player's skin, makes every victory feel earned, and leaves everyone talking long after the dice stop rolling.
00:13:15
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Today, we're sharing our RPG glory stories, Villains We Love to Hate. The masterminds, monsters, rivals, and recurring bad guys that made our tables cheer when they finally went down or gasped when they got away.
00:13:32
Speaker
So let's get into it. So i mean we've made some notes about the villains that we want to talk about, but there's no particular order that we need to go in. So who wants to go first?
00:13:46
Speaker
i'll Take it away, Nick. Take it away, Nick. Well, we we know the first villain that Nick loves to hate, and that is Slappy Squirrel. yeah Or is it the unbeatable Squirrel Girl?
00:14:02
Speaker
i you haven't right You haven't run a Marvel game yet, but if it if you don't make her the big bad, ah I will be disappointed.
00:14:13
Speaker
It's coming, Nick. Don't worry. I need to remember to tell Brev that.
00:14:21
Speaker
But I will say your antagonist, the Emperor of Las Vegas in your Walking Dead campaign is an incredible villain.
00:14:40
Speaker
I actually had him down on my list.
00:14:45
Speaker
wasn't going talk about him, but I like him too. I had to bring it up because Even though by technicalities, none of us have faced them in combat, nor have, and very sparingly have been used,
00:15:03
Speaker
the the presence of- He is of omnipresent. Yes. He is basically the the Thanos before Endgame.
00:15:16
Speaker
Yeah, we are, we, and has sown, and even in the few moments where, again, only a few characters have experienced, but we're in the sea, maybe the Watsou scenes, we are terrified, and we feel their power through every session.
00:15:37
Speaker
Yes, my my character Hank, when he was voluntold to go on this mission, just felt like, can y'all leave me alone? please. i just want to live. like Well, no no, we can't leave you alone because you're a PC.
00:15:53
Speaker
I know, but that's what Hank is thinking. He's like, I just came here to live and raise these two children that I now have. And one's going off the deep end. I really need to help her. that the whole The whole experience has been like, you managed create a villain that we have.
00:16:11
Speaker
And again, like they're also a villain that is fundamentally human. in a world of the undead, it's a fundamental human character that, yeah, can be killed.
00:16:29
Speaker
But it's the amount of power presence that makes them into this monolithic that we are i will are interested in And also, I will perhaps have to remind everyone that I am currently...
00:16:44
Speaker
currently five characters characters deep into this campaign no you're not you're three characters deep yeah you can't count the npcs nick you're three uh yeah well i will humbly accept the compliment because my big concern with him has been since he isn't terribly active in things that are going on that he might just seem like, you know, a nondescript big bad that's standing off in the background. So if you are all genuinely feeling his presence, then I can breathe a slight sigh of relief.
00:17:28
Speaker
yeah His presence is everywhere, Daryl. We see his soldiers walking when Nick's character... was in the prison. We saw his presence there.
00:17:40
Speaker
My character doesn't want to step foot out line because he knows if I piss off the Emperor, something bad's going to happen. And even the mob is in this like so quiet war with the Emperor, so he's everywhere.
00:17:53
Speaker
Again, it again it's you could have easily made him into a Negan. And that would have been more like derivative. Or a governor. The derivative, like,
00:18:05
Speaker
bad guy expressing power in in petty, like... In vulgar ways. Now, granted, Negan's awesome in the show. Oh, yeah, did they they work. We're not ranting on you, Negan. Don't worry. but i get i i But it's like they work in this story that we're telling of this campaign.
00:18:28
Speaker
This fits a lot better than than a more averted bad guy, especially when we have like an actual mafioso that fits better to that like vulgar impotence of bad guy.
00:18:43
Speaker
Well, I humbly accept the compliment. Thank you, guys. oh is it say You're welcome. You've earned it. you deserve it. You earned it. it's It is one of... it's like...
00:18:56
Speaker
it trust me like Every single time I've been like, whenever the emperor is brought up, whenever someone is summoned to to his place, it's like, I felt like, oh, this is big. this is Oh, no. It really it has the gravitas that I felt that you wanted it to.
00:19:22
Speaker
Thank you. And I... I was kind of hoping if when he was first overtly introduced, it was even in kind of a it it was a scene that your characters wouldn't have seen. yeah And, you know, it was just, you dusk in Vegas and after losing track of ah some of his scouts in the suburbs. It's kind of like Ozai from the Avatar. we We aren't supposed to see him.
00:20:07
Speaker
Yes, there is a build up to the Emperor. i don't think he's on the same like domineering wave oh yeah personality like Ozai is, but it's still the same. And I actually enjoyed when my character met him with Dante's character, whether you intended it or not, when you talked about how his like living area or kitchen or table, whatever, just had fine fruit, good, good drink, an entire like bore there to eat. It just projected kind of a soft power that,
00:20:41
Speaker
while everyone else is scrounging and trying to still resemble humanity, this guy's like, I am human. I can have this good meal right here. Not worry about anything.
00:20:51
Speaker
that That's also willing to share that as also as a it' a way to project that power. i You can have this only because I allow it.
00:21:04
Speaker
You can have it because I have summoned you here to perform a task for me. Yes. Again, it's and it's it's subtlety, it's strength.
00:21:16
Speaker
It's that type of reciprocal benefit that can make a villain enticing enough to be like, maybe I don't want to beat you fully. And also... When your characters walked into the room... Yeah.
00:21:31
Speaker
Go ahead. Go ahead. But also we've seen the cruelty, the the inhumanity. like It's basically carrot and stick.
Villain Influence on Player Actions
00:21:42
Speaker
Though I would argue he's he's been at a distance enough that some of our characters may argue, okay, is that really happening like the Emperor wishes it? Or is he just kind of letting those under him do what they do as long as they are a benefit to him?
00:22:02
Speaker
Yeah, what I was about to say is when your characters walked into that room in the last session, he didn't start twirling a mustache and threatening you to go do this or else.
00:22:18
Speaker
He brought you in. He offered you some of the lavish comforts of the dining table. He complimented you. He had heard of of Hank's cooking.
00:22:33
Speaker
and expressed an interest in tasting it. And, know, he wasn't giving Dante's character compliments in that way be for a couple of reasons. One, they have a history together, but also part of that history is being part of the same military chain of command again and soldier is being Dante's superior even then.
00:23:02
Speaker
yes So he related to him in that way. But he and wasn't being this looming menace. He was well the the ruler of this community.
00:23:17
Speaker
And he was also someone reasonable like, well, these mafia guys are going to the airbase, and I know what is there, but I'm not going to tell you, but if they get it, it's going to be bad, so we need to stop them.
00:23:31
Speaker
Or this home that I have built to help people in Vegas may not be here anymore. it's ah It's a multifaceted character that feels like, yeah, we've built up that they are the villain of the arc, but you can see how people can be drawn into them the seduction these sort of like are that bad there are worse individuals since since we're talking about this campaign one of ah another one on my list um from the gm perspective is i like the way that elijah flores has developed
00:24:13
Speaker
He's gone from being one of the survivor NPCs from the random selection in the core rulebook ye to being someone that, with all of your help as players, has gotten fleshed out, and he started out being a slightly antagonistic NPC who was part of the party being more of an overt villain.
00:24:42
Speaker
Again, I don't want to more. I like how naturally they're becoming their own character. And I'll just say, he was fleshed out by our fellow GM, Nick, here, who has proudly played him a few times for Daryl.
00:25:01
Speaker
Well, and part of part of what helped me as the GM flesh him out is... Because I saw what you were doing... yeah Well, what I was going to say is part of what has helped me flesh him out from the GM side is, as I've mentioned a few times on the show, and as both of you know, whenever possible, i and I'm working with a character, be it an NPC or a PC that I'm playing,
00:25:31
Speaker
I like to cast someone as that character. Yes. And it helps me get kind of a feel for how they speak and all of that. Particularly, I don't just say, oh I want actor X, but I think of actor X in a certain role.
00:25:50
Speaker
But you like and you do try a lot, especially when we were at our most recent Game Renation Con, we... we casted our characters but we wouldn't like you aren't those actors you're playing those characters but it's right felt that they would like i mean at even one person's like did you just make x character from 9-1-1 yes yes we did yeah because we had that same reaction as we were making the character yep it's the same person
00:26:24
Speaker
But as we were looking at these NPCs, and you know he he's written as being a politician and all of this. And I was looking at his qualities and his stats, and I was like, oh, Jimmy Smith's in the West Wing when he when he played Matt Santos in the last couple of seasons of the West Wing.
00:26:48
Speaker
Okay, yeah. And... yeah And I picked up on that, and I... Again, like when I lapsed in characters, I sort of played into that. But he's Matt Santos from the West Wing if Matt Santos was an opportunistic, becoming more corrupt politician.
00:27:15
Speaker
Yes, and I myself... Santos was a good guy. I myself am interested to see how Elijah... develops now that he's lost his trusted guard dog, Amber King, because she is now gone. So he does not have that same physical power that he used to.
00:27:35
Speaker
But he still has a whole lot of like, again, like I'll be glad to come back and, and reprise that role. it But I still have to, I'm still waiting. I'm going to be playing bit parts until season two.
00:27:49
Speaker
And the next session should be the season finale. Or at least part one of a two-part season finale, depending on how things go during the session. Knowing us, I think you might become a two-parter.
00:28:03
Speaker
that That is entirely possible. Or it could be like a... It's going to be interesting. I'm very excited. Yes, but we've talked about kind of high-level big villains.
00:28:18
Speaker
I'm going to bring it down of a favorite villain that I created and that my players really loved, who was basically a henchman.
Creating and Developing NPCs in RPGs
00:28:27
Speaker
And that was my NPC, Warden Karnor, from my very first campaign I did, star Wars Ashes of an Empire. What, did we play Star Wars? Oh, we play Star Wars.
00:28:42
Speaker
and we I mean, it's not like you have something hanging behind you, Daryl. Oh. and I don't know what you're talking about. I guess. Star Wars doesn't use a d twenty
00:28:56
Speaker
Well, the Watsi did. But anyway. But yes, Warden. On the side. the side behind you. Yeah. Warden Carner wasn't some big strategic villain or a like a governor or ma for a Dark Lord.
00:29:11
Speaker
He was just a racist, imperial dick who ran a prison ship because he couldn't hack it in the actual Imperial Navy.
00:29:24
Speaker
But he was a dick. He was racist. He was antagonistic. He'd fight. He'd try to hurt people. But he did it in that over-the-top villain manner, like you sometimes see in Star Wars, that you just love the guy. You love to hate the guy.
00:29:41
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah. if the again like a lot of people are like, oh we want a nuanced villain. There's a place for just like, no. There's a place for like, he's the bad guy. He is the worst guy.
00:29:56
Speaker
Yes. And I'm actually glad because when basically that the prologue was that they were on a prison ship going to a planet and then the prison ship crashed on the planet. i I was there.
00:30:09
Speaker
Yes. But the next session, as they're kind of like collecting themselves, getting out of the debris, i actually left it to chance. I was like, OK, did Karnor survive? And I like literally flipped a coin in my head. And I was like, OK, he survives. And that was one of the best decisions I made because I brought him back. Daryl, Daryl, Robert flipped a coin. yeah What? How how unique.
00:30:38
Speaker
That happens about as infrequently as we play Star Wars. Yeah, totally infrequent. But he came back. like Let me let me say let me check ah check a randomized table.
00:30:51
Speaker
Don't tempt me. You know we're playing Fallout tomorrow. But yes, he came back. he was at He was at the governor's mansion. They fought him there.
00:31:02
Speaker
He got so angry that he literally took like a stationary turret ripped the gun off and started using that as a weapon. Oh, geez.
00:31:14
Speaker
And then in the fight, he finally left because I was like, I don't want to kill him here. So I had him leave. And then I told my players, guys, he was at one hit point. And they're like, oh, oh you you had to hit him on that. Oh,
00:31:31
Speaker
And it was true. And then he came back in gas refinery where the PCs were infiltrating. He captured one and actually drugged him with the gas to make him start seeing things because he just wanted him to suffer until finally they're taking down a communications relay and Warden Karnor has one dark trooper but Karnor is just working at the control's basically making the dark trooper harder to fight. Like he gashed the room. He sent in repair droids. He put a shield over the thing until the droid died until he basically became that final, like, oh, you killed the big threat. Well, I'm still going to try and shoot you. And it's like they one-shotted him with a really good hit.
00:32:20
Speaker
And sadly, he died. and I knew it was a good villain when my character said, wait, he's dead? ah I didn't want... i Are you sure he's dead?
00:32:34
Speaker
he can't come back? I'm like, you cut off his head. Sometimes it's one of that facts. is like It's like, no, I ain't done with him.
00:32:46
Speaker
And even now when I talk about it, I know I made it good or he was memorable when some of my players say, yeah, I miss him. I miss Warden Karnor. was Yeah.
00:32:59
Speaker
again the did that Again, like, out of the context of this, is like just the nature of villains is, like, they are a driving force of storytelling.
00:33:12
Speaker
They can be an entire engine of storytelling on themselves. It's like, even if it isn't personal, if it's just that, like, I think you have have one wri ready, because from a
00:33:30
Speaker
I was going to propose this, but you you have that in your notes. Black hole. Yes. um You ended this campaign, but this was our our our special misses campaign of Star Wars.
00:33:47
Speaker
Spoilers. What? Another Star Wars? And Nick took the character of Black Hole from Legends. and One of my favorites.
00:34:01
Speaker
Oh, he's he's got a great visual. I love the visual. And he's basically the Empire's spymaster. Yeah. And Nick made him the big bad of the of the last act of that campaign.
00:34:17
Speaker
And one of the things that I liked about him... ye Go ahead. I made him into, like... Oh, you thought this was a plot?
00:34:28
Speaker
Guess what? It was a plot. But you didn't expect the plot. Because it's Black Hole's plan. He's thought five steps ahead of you. Every time.
00:34:39
Speaker
But what I liked about him is even though our characters, by their nature, talked smack to him every time he would communicate with us.
00:34:51
Speaker
Just by their nature, they did that. ah But I liked that, and this is me being slightly selfish, since I was playing the spy, he gave my character a good foil to go up against.
00:35:09
Speaker
That was the
Rivalries and Dynamics in RPG Campaigns
00:35:10
Speaker
most fun. like the Basically, after every quote-unquote following his plan, he would show up to say, like, ha-ha, you followed my plan.
00:35:23
Speaker
But then we'd have the sparring match between you and me. And it also let me make, by virtue of him being the Empire's spymaster,
00:35:35
Speaker
it allowed me to make frequent use of the signature ability counterintelligence. Which is slightly broken. Just slightly.
00:35:46
Speaker
you i i was I accepted the brokenness, but also didn't use it against. he's like Misdirect. Different ideas. like you so You broke one scheme, did another scheme.
00:36:00
Speaker
And then I broke that one. You foiled my plan, but that was part of my plan. And then ultimately though... It became fun spymaster.
00:36:11
Speaker
It was. It made it against especially your... And on on top of that, ah a player of ours who's infrequent, but by the name of Xander, was also there that was more genuine being like, also being like the pseudo-nemesis.
00:36:30
Speaker
And everything was like, yeah, we were creating like a a narrative of like trying to beat a spice master.
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's almost one of those duo rivalry fights that they both just feel like, well, I want to beat you, but I don't want to kill you, because then what would I have left?
00:36:54
Speaker
you So it's a whole Joker thing. It was kind a Joker thing.
00:37:01
Speaker
it was kind of a joker thing like that Again, in alternate continuity, again, this is also the same, going back to a previous, is ah Glory Stories.
00:37:16
Speaker
This is the same campaign where I foiled myself by creating a set piece. By just giving us a cool set piece. Yeah, I was going to say, ultimately, he was foiled by us doing math.
00:37:30
Speaker
which is Nick, is that really the start of your true hatred of math? No, it's just it's just ah it's it's just the inevitable. that Eventually I will be destroyed by math in real life.
00:37:43
Speaker
Well, instead, Black Hole and all of his schemes were destroyed by math. Yes. and Because we did the math and calculated correctly that that big giant ice sheet set piece was too large to burn up on entry into the atmosphere.
00:38:03
Speaker
Arguably, it's also that in character for Black Hole, he is nothing but but a cool... If you haven't looked up Black Hole as a character in Star Wars Legends, he is just... and He's aura farming. it's like So he aura farmed too close to the sun, and then they use math to use the aura farming to destroy him.
00:38:28
Speaker
Serious question. Who, in your opinion, Nick, who aura farmed more? Black Hole or Vader? Do I need to put Jeopardy music in in post?
00:38:39
Speaker
No, it's... It's Black Hole. Wow, that's saying something. Because Vader can back it up. True. Very true.
00:38:51
Speaker
it is it like Black Hole is literally just a guy inside either a Bacta tube or like different types of cybernetics and hiding behind like the coolest... The coolest holographic disguise ever.
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. The coolest holographic avatar ever. Like, that guy is like, yeah, that's cool as heck. So, you know, Nick, I think one of the Star Wars Legion mini Patreons that I support quite a while ago did a black hole mini, and I haven't printed it out because I don't think a paint job can do that hologram justice. It really can't. It really can't.
00:39:41
Speaker
It has to be like like a transparent... like Even this... Well, yeah, and I mean, there there is transparent... Yeah. that ah There is transparent resin.
00:39:54
Speaker
I print all of my Jedi characters, Jedi and Sith characters, out of transparent resin so that the transparent resin is their lightsaber blades. But he is... Put up a...
00:40:10
Speaker
put somewhere in here like what Black Hole looks like and you'll understand why it's like he is iconic looking. I was about to describe him for the audio only version of it in that he looks like a cloaked and helmeted figure made entirely out of a starfield.
00:40:30
Speaker
yeah A flowing starfield. yeah It is like... So... As the idea of the Imperial Spymaster, that is the coolest way to... to That he... yeah so Even the fact that it is just a projection, it's like, oh no, the Imperial Spymaster is literally a void in space.
00:40:53
Speaker
So if I... If space the color of space were reversed and it was white with black stars, I have clear, transparent, colorless resin. I could print it out of that and just put you know the star points on in black.
00:41:17
Speaker
ah That could be cool, yeah. But I can't do that. oh Because it would need to be black With white points.
00:41:28
Speaker
Yeah.
00:41:31
Speaker
So. like i did I did enjoy. like Even though. That campaign didn't end. How I wanted it to. The fact that you guys were so willing. to like The minute you saw the opportunity. To destroy him. Well yes.
00:41:48
Speaker
Because as i we're we're not going it we're not going through all the BS that he has waiting for us, inevitably. I had antagonized them for, like, it was easily at least 10 seconds.
00:42:06
Speaker
I'm going to go around it, not through it. that right That's right. We're just going to smash it. ah yeah like i don't blame you guys for doing it, but like, i because I had put you guys from the for the ringer, and he's always been like the smug, like, ha ha ha ha, you fell for my plan.
00:42:30
Speaker
You activated my stack card. Yeah, we're we're we're through with you. Well, speaking of kind of your spy and Black Hole being four,
00:42:44
Speaker
being rivals or enemies. In Nyx Eberron campaign, my character Gundar is very closely whi enough with a villain there as well called Rarsak, who is a black dragon in the region of Khabara, ancient black dragon, who also has a demon's heart where his heart would be.
00:43:11
Speaker
And because Gundar touched some golden eye thing, which was in a, yeah from a corpse, which was in a coffin that got surfaced on an island by pirates.
00:43:25
Speaker
And now he has my eye for some reason, because I touched the thing. And now that golden eyes where Gundar's right. I should be, he has now a psychic link to that dragon and neither of them like each other very much.
00:43:43
Speaker
they get They do not. They do not. They are not friends. They have made no's. that They would rather this is situation should not happen. and and This is entirely... will say this. like I did not expect that to happen.
00:44:02
Speaker
Love it. They just snark and insult each other. the number of times each them have called each other bitch has just been numerous. Yet Gundar wants to keep the connection for one thing, is that Rarsak can actually make him feel something. Because my character Gundar,
00:44:24
Speaker
yeah because of past things he did in... For my character Gundar, how worked is he actually grew up in a cult. So he kind of got brainwashed and did some things he's not happy about.
00:44:40
Speaker
But he actually had a friend who was In the Ebron setting, they're basically species that have like these dream spirits attached to them. And he was very close friends with one, but through brainwashing and peer pressure, he actually killed his best friend and then immediately regretted it afterwards.
00:45:03
Speaker
And because of that, he helped both expose the cult to the authorities and left to kind of journey to be a better person. Someone that his friend could actually be proud of or just be better than he was.
00:45:17
Speaker
But through that, he lost all physical feeling somehow. He doesn't know why. he can't He can't feel anything physically. like He can't feel pain, cold, heat, even though the body would, of course, still be susceptible to that.
00:45:33
Speaker
He can't taste anything. can still but it's like he'll be like, oh, if I You got a grievous rule. It's like, oh. Yeah. Yeah. Basically, how I portrayed his ah curse is that if you've ever played God of War, he's yeah he's balder.
00:45:54
Speaker
Only without the and the insaneness. He can't feel anything, both good where he can't feel pain so he keep fighting, but he also can't feel anything that gives life joy.
00:46:07
Speaker
Any other character would make sense to be like Baldur from when God of War is like the lack of pain would drive you insane. but like You're like, I deserve pain, but I can't. or Though while Baldur fell into crazy depression, Gundar fell into more somewhat a little bit between penitence, like this is what I deserve.
00:46:32
Speaker
Because I'm a bad person, but also like, i even though this is happening, I want to find a cure for it, but I'm still going to try to be a better person. but now But now, because it was like Rarsak, can actually make Gundar feel pain, like burning pain. Because is an ancient dragon connected to demonic power. It is able to curse you with pain.
00:47:04
Speaker
And you are like, yes. I reacted like Balder did when he got the mistletoe stabbed into him. That euphoric, I can finally feel something even though it's bad, even though it's pain.
00:47:18
Speaker
This is the first thing I felt in decades. And I'm just like, yes! Yes! It's like, no! give Give me the golden eye!
00:47:31
Speaker
It's like, no, come Like when he left the first time after doing that, my character literally fell to his knees and said, come back, bitch. Yeah, i like you ah didn come to me. bring Bring me the goddamn line. That's what I want. And now they basically just roast each other.
00:47:53
Speaker
And then there was a point where Gundar said, I'm going to look you dead in your eyes as I feed you your own heart.
00:48:03
Speaker
But yeah, he's awesome. And even Rarsock has started getting in on the rest of the players to where, yeah, he's setting up to be a very strong enemy that we'll face later on because of his power, but because he's a dragon with a demon heart.
00:48:24
Speaker
He's an ancient dragon. Yep. Like... And they... they They've encountered dragons of various types. Mostly really good ones. i they But again, like, everyone is a setting where it's like, yeah, there's a lot of like, differentff the alignments are flipped.
00:48:47
Speaker
This is a bad dragon. Which ironically matches d and d black dragons because they're both evil and they're the dragons most people know that are just Plain jerks. And this one also has literally the heart of a demon because it's stolen and is now like... And they're going to go... Because they have to go there to meet with them. Mm-hmm.
00:49:16
Speaker
In what has been described as basically their demonic swamp town. Yeah, it's basically like if we were going to an ancient Aztec temple in the swamps.
00:49:29
Speaker
Yeah. But basically, it's here. It's here. And on the continent, we're like over here. So until we get there, my character has plenty of time to keep interacting with Rorschach through the bond. Yeah, there's going to be an exhaust right now.
00:49:47
Speaker
is It's almost ironic. like There is a kind of just a companion, temporary companion right there as well. and Sometimes he'll just react with Gundar to be like, oh, that's, oh, yeah, that is pretty weird.
00:50:01
Speaker
That's pretty fucked up. They can have that cord you're like, oh, yeah, yeah you know, yeah. And they're like, wait a minute, I don't like you. It's like, bring me the goddamn eye!
00:50:14
Speaker
I'm trying! You're dealing with a necromancer! He's important. ah yeah like yeah it It makes for a great fun and for a great dynamic.
00:50:28
Speaker
It is made for a fun... fun campaign, but like, yeah, I am, I am working at that whole encounter.
00:50:40
Speaker
When this encounter happens, I am going to make it as interesting as possible, both character wise. un ready wait Wait a second, Nick. Time out.
00:50:51
Speaker
So you're saying that you're working on that encounter to make it as, as fun and interesting as possible. So are you saying that every other encounter that you work on, you don't try to make it fun?
00:51:05
Speaker
Don't put that on me. I don't know. He did have that bug encounter once. the
00:51:18
Speaker
Yeah, and yeah I mean, it's not it's not quite the end of the show yet. We're not really bullying you. Oh no, we got plenty more stories. Yeah. Yeah, we've got plenty more stories. But, you know, i i did want to point that out, Nick. You just said that that's the kid the encounter that you're working on making fun and entertaining. Everything else you're just phoning in. From a certain point of view.
00:51:47
Speaker
Well, if we want fun encounters, and you two are here for that. Mm-hmm. Do you two remember from a certain Dark Nights campaign someone called the Condiment King?
00:52:01
Speaker
no Unfortunately. Yes. We were there. For those who don't know, my Dark Nights campaign was basically what if Batman and Star Wars?
00:52:14
Speaker
So we were just like... We thought we to have some fun We thought we were going to have some fun. i was going to have the best boy, Nightwing.
00:52:26
Speaker
i was i was i was better boy, Jason Todd. No, I was the best boy, Nightwing. Yeah, so I had to adapt Batman villains into Star Wars.
00:52:40
Speaker
And i I did the normal ones. i made Basically, I made Penguin a hut. I made Scarecrow, basically. a guy who found one of the Dreadmaster's masks and became obsessed with fear. Calvin Grundy was a Gendai. had a few others planned out.
00:52:58
Speaker
But then I was like, you know, Batman had some of those like one-off joke characters. Yeah. Why don't I just use one of those? andm like There was a guy called the Condiment Man in Batman. Condiment King. Condiment King. Yeah, Condiment King, who was basically just a guy brainwashed by the Joker to be a gag villain. It's like, what if I just made yeah You know, i if I had thought that we were going to talk about him, i would have pulled that clip from the Lego Batman movie where joke where Joker lists out all of the villains that he recruited there in the beginning and like the eraser and condiment King and and Kite Man were in there. And like, those are all real. Look them up.
00:53:47
Speaker
they were you know i'll be I'll be silent. I'll give you the chance. It's okay. and that The end result was like, he's like, those aren't real. I was like, yeah, they are. They're worth it. They were real.
00:53:58
Speaker
But yes. We're at Google. So i was like, so I made him. And basically in Star Wars, there's the restaurant that these two have been accessed about called the Biscuit Baron.
00:54:10
Speaker
i mean, it's, it's, it's, it's it's canon. and Yes. So I said, okay. Legends. Lessons canon. They haven't... have it they have it They haven't... They have not... Honestly, that's surprising. They have not removed it from... That sounds like something that Cabin Scott would bring back in in a heartbeat.
00:54:30
Speaker
Yeah. But yes, Condiment King, I basically turned him into Biscuit Baron employee who for some reason got obsessed with sauces and started making his own Biscuit Baron sauce.
00:54:43
Speaker
Only this sauce... was very acidic and it started, you know, burning, melting people's faces. So he got fired and went on bender and became the condiment king going around destroying biscuit barons and stealing all their sauces.
00:55:03
Speaker
And so that led our intrepid characters to face him in a defunct like alcohol warehouse that he had repossessed. and into his own like little sauce-making factory.
00:55:16
Speaker
And they fought him and his animatronic Biscayne Baron mascots. again
00:55:24
Speaker
It is absurd, but it both fits the narrative and it was super fun. We were all in. It was a lot of fun.
00:55:36
Speaker
Yes, and then, yeah, the fight was fun too, but Sometimes it's is fun to play that guy that you're not supposed to take seriously. Oh my god! feel like sometimes a villain is meant to be fun.
00:55:52
Speaker
a bad guy. It's like a cartoonist bad guy. Like I'm playing the necromancer in our Everon campaign that you guys are going to fight. He's just he is a funny guy.
00:56:07
Speaker
bad. Yes. yes
00:56:11
Speaker
like He was literally having like dinner guests when we came in. With a bunch of little hands with like little little like bow ties on them. it's like It was really fun. It's also funny because that's when Dante re revealed real that his character is kind of necrophobic.
00:56:30
Speaker
yeah like You can make iconic villains which and make them kind of silly. Sometimes... sometimes i think classic villains like ah like Dr. Doofensmirtz and stuff like that or Mr. Burns are funny guys, but they're also like, they're the bad guys.
00:56:53
Speaker
They're all put in the Doofensmirtz Evil Incorporated. I don't know what that is. oh it It's the small jingle that always played when Doofensmirtz came on.
00:57:08
Speaker
I don't know who that is. Phineas from a It's cartoon called Phineas and Ferb. Doofren Smertz is an evil scientist who wants to take over the entire tri-state area and fights a platypus.
00:57:22
Speaker
Gotcha. Daryl, if you don't know... Nick was after my time. and he's a better father than anyone you can think of.
00:57:35
Speaker
Yes, Daryl. I forgot that your time was after the dinosaurs. That is correct, sir. I was very sad when the dinosaur that I rode to school every day was killed by the Ice Age.
00:57:53
Speaker
It was a very heartbreaking time. Thank you for dredging up such a painful memory for me. They died at the guided the asteroid. the The Ice Age is still going on, Daryl.
00:58:07
Speaker
Well, before... Nick, I will not hear have you belittling my dinosaur friend's death. Okay, before His name was Snookums.
00:58:21
Speaker
I will have you know. Well, before Daryl goes into his villain arc, I've kind of rambled on. how about How about we go back to you, Nick? Got another villain for us?
00:58:35
Speaker
I do.
The King in Yellow's Influence in Delta Green
00:58:37
Speaker
And it's a much more recent see one, but it's a bit more ah esoteric.
00:58:47
Speaker
Yes. To our previous discussion, The King in Yellow. Ah. wow The true, like, just over here villain.
00:59:01
Speaker
Never even met the thing. Yeah. ah yeah like It is a villain that is very unique. in that yeah I can't go into a whole lot of details, but I do feel that honestly it's more like how do you feel that the King Yellow has impacted your characters in the campaign and our Delta Green campaign is a much more better way of explaining it.
00:59:29
Speaker
Well, for starters, he's branded me. And me. And you know he has he has almost certainly indirectly ah introduced the single most vile entity that my character has ever encountered. Someone who staples price tags to the covers of books. That is unforgivable. That is true.
00:59:59
Speaker
Just incomprehensible evil. Such a shame. it is such's a shame That is close to the incomprehensible Eldritch's horror that is beyond comprehension.
01:00:14
Speaker
but go like I'll say from my perspective as Daryl's playing an author, I'm playing but a Catholic Vatican priest is that my character sees everything in the realm of God and religion all that.
01:00:34
Speaker
He believes the unnatural is real. He views it under a lens of basically demons and devils. So there's King in Yellow. And even we've also been in his like night rooms, upper management stuff. We've seen, this character has seen the realms he's created, the things it can do, at least in that small setting and the people that have been affected by it. And they have even attacked you where you were. They even said, like,
01:01:02
Speaker
It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Yes. Which is an actual biblical verse, and they have made it very clear that the king and the king seriously as Jew. Yes, which my priest has not appreciated, much like I in real life wouldn't appreciate that, because I am a Christian. I believe in that.
01:01:24
Speaker
Oh, yeah. but it is it But it's just like, how dare you try to appropriate that? But of appears that it is ba this being, this thing is like that is manipulating and creating things and even reaching out throughout reality and space and time.
01:01:46
Speaker
Yes, but even now my character still sees him as just a powerful demon or a powerful devil who he will fight through faith to the best of his ability.
01:01:59
Speaker
If he falls, so be it. Again, this is without revealing anything more, but it is definitely like as playing as the GM as the entity of this, it is going to be interesting to see how you view this enemy, because it is an enemy when we get to it. Especially since we're not even a third of the way into the narrative.
01:02:30
Speaker
We're not even an 8. Right. But I am... Trust me, I feel that we... same If we ever revisit this concept, I would love to hear your opinions on like what my portrayal. again like Also, the nature of the King of Yellow is very unique. It's actually gained a lot of... A lot of like unique individuals have been creating their own narratives on it recently in in the in the sort of like cosmic horror space, especially on like YouTube and so on.
01:03:12
Speaker
but it's like Oh yeah, Impossible Landcapes is very popular that right now. and And just the King in Yellow in general. like yeah It is becoming... I would love to see you how how I've written it. I am.
01:03:30
Speaker
I'm deliberately not paying attention to any new stuff, but from new interpretations, because I wanted my perspective to be what I wrote it for. it Yes, but I was like, definitely be glad to see that if we revisit this, how you feel like the Keegan yellow as an antagonist.
01:03:54
Speaker
Once we finish, uh, finish this campaign. ah i will say the the last thing that makes it a good villain is I can feel like since it's spanning over like a 20 year period and we're getting sucked into other like one shot monster of the week along the way is that the king in yellow can do that thing that can make a villain horrifying.
01:04:22
Speaker
You can forget about him in the money and the mundanity and chaos of other life That when he finally comes back, it's almost like, how could i forget you or let you leave my mind That's what I've been trying. knows what I've been allowing you to do by not remembering.
01:04:41
Speaker
That's sort of what I've been trying to do, is like introduce elements and be like, is one element. It came back. You know, now that I think of it, that element, that this isn't an RPG villain, but it's a villain that would be right at home in an RPG that has that same kind of effect, Robert. is i I know that you you are not a viewer of Doctor Who, are you?
01:05:07
Speaker
So there is an i am yeah there's an alien species on Doctor Who called the Silence. Yes. And the silence and the the silence appear as kind of their their faces are kind of like a a cross between your your stereotypical gray alien and the painting The Scream. Okay.
01:05:38
Speaker
And but then they wear just like black like men in black suits. But their thing is um just say they are trying they're trying to take over the world. you know That's their goal, to take over the world. Their hook is once you aren't looking at them, you forget they exist.
01:06:06
Speaker
Yep, and that's dangerous. You can be in a confrontation with a room full of silence and you're right there. You're in the fight.
01:06:17
Speaker
As soon as you don't see them anymore, you don't even remember that fight. And they got a lot of horror out of them in that the doctor and his companions were like, okay, they started carrying like markers on them and like, okay, when you see them make hash marks for however many are there.
01:06:43
Speaker
And so that there would be times that, you know, they'd be talking to one another and then, you know like Amy would be talking to the doctor and then the doctor would say, Amy, wait.
01:06:57
Speaker
And she's like, what? And he would grab her wrist and look at her arm And there's like 10 hash marks on her arm. It inspired like several like SCPs.
01:07:10
Speaker
i And that that is definitely a big thing in horrors. Sometimes the horror is you forget it's there in the first place. That's why we had a whole discussion about impossible landscapes and decaying in yellow.
01:07:28
Speaker
Honestly, I could go on for for hours on it. it's like The fact that it's a ah villain that I am introducing to you guys and it's... I am... The fact that you don't even grasp the whole ability yet, I am so excited.
01:07:48
Speaker
Even if it takes probably until until until we're in our 90s to playing this goddamn campaign. Yeah. Cue the Deadpool and Wolverine clip till you're 90. But it'll be worth it. It'll be freaking worth it. I'm willing for the slow. I am all for the slow burn. Yes, wheeling back to you, Daryl. You got another one for us?
01:08:17
Speaker
I do. And I know it's on your list, but I'm going to swipe it. By all means. The two of you were the GM for this character, co-GMs for this character. But I was the player. And we we all loved Allegria in your...
Character Contrasts and Epic Battles
01:08:37
Speaker
Legacy of the Force.
01:08:39
Speaker
Legacy of the Force. Thank you. We have so many campaigns that sometimes I forget the titles. I feel you there. Robert, ah air high fives.
01:08:51
Speaker
But we loved it. We did it but The first session, i think every single one of us completely bought into her just being a fun NPC.
01:09:02
Speaker
And we wanted her to stay around. And the second, I don't know about anybody else, but the second time she showed up, i was like, wait a second, that was pretty damn convenient.
01:09:17
Speaker
There's going to be another shoe dropping here somewhere, isn't it? But you know what? I don't care. i love her. Robert, I think you should start because you were the... I'll give you like the they credit for like the the characterization. it That was great.
01:09:38
Speaker
Thank you. I tried. I basically gave her the personality of A child exploring the world mixed in with Harley Quinn, mixed in with like Darian Kalos from Ruby. That's basically what ah my headcanon was for her.
01:09:55
Speaker
Yeah, we just we we loved interacting with her. She was fun. And you then once you finally gave us the heel turn was like I saw this coming and it still kills me because I love her.
01:10:13
Speaker
Yes, and I also liked her because she introduced some things that's going explained more about our campaign in the future because she had some abilities you didn't you've never seen before.
01:10:27
Speaker
and someone's lightsaber didn't exactly work as expected against her. Right.
01:10:35
Speaker
But she she was just fun. She was bouncy. She was bubbly. there was absolutely nothing to not love about her except that she was, you know, psychotic and evil.
01:10:49
Speaker
But yeah, I mean, she was fun. She was happy. She blew up a planet. she
01:10:58
Speaker
Ah, details. And I also think what made it better is like what Nick did with her, like kind of double. Cause we also used a night of Ren called Tulacan.
01:11:11
Speaker
and the And the dichotomy was she was the bubbly talkative one, and Dulacon was completely taciturn. He did not speak. Yes.
01:11:21
Speaker
And yet she was like, come on, buddy, let's go. And honestly, that again, we we spent a long time on that. like And I felt like when you were like, oh, we need to create like the dichotomy.
01:11:38
Speaker
Light, dark. Yeah. it's something that we create like bubbly, super fun girly pop. It's like, no. Well, it was, say you spent a lot of time on her. It was time well spent.
01:11:54
Speaker
Thank you. And we're, and we're trying to do that with the other people you're encountering as we go forward. Yeah. The main factor was like, we, we did want to create like, we did.
01:12:08
Speaker
And I think like, And this isn't a... We said this more than we said. like We didn't want to make... like We didn't want to make... Make discount Knights of Ren.
01:12:20
Speaker
Exactly. Even though they are... The Knights of Ren are different. They are. The Knights of Ren are cool, but... They don't have anything and didn't do anything. We want to be like... They're cool, but they're not four-topped collars cool.
01:12:36
Speaker
Yeah, here here's some characters. Someone made characters. They didn't make characters. We're making characters. Yeah. to to To say something that Nick has always said about Star Wars, we've we've turned the Knights of Ren and actually made them do something and actually show some imposingness, unlike the Emperor's Guard. Yeah. Right.
01:13:04
Speaker
Right. Right. yeah like Honestly, that's that's been my biggest... The biggest like flaw of all Star Wars, like the Emperor's Garth.
01:13:19
Speaker
So they're cool. And they don't do anything. It's like, do something. ah yeah like We're making villains that are... are Yeah, they're the mini-bosses.
01:13:33
Speaker
You guys gotta beat them. But they have to be... like But they're also challenging what you assume. And they have to be unique. They have to fight. And that makes when you get to the actual villain, the the big bad, it's worth something. Yeah, it all comes full circle.
01:13:54
Speaker
you Every fight is is a challenge. Every battle is like, yeah. Or sometimes the real battle is not facing it.
01:14:06
Speaker
but getting away from it. Yeah. as my last villain did Nick's Whisperbase campaign. Mm-hmm. An entity we just called the armor because it was basically ancient Sith armor with some type of spirit housed in it that was basically did things canon that Legends Darth Vader would do.
01:14:33
Speaker
It would walk. it would tank It would tank rocket blast. ah It pulled frigates out of the sky. it's It's what Legend Star Vader and Legend Star Killer had a baby could do.
01:14:50
Speaker
e Yes. And it was imposing. Walking monstrosity. Yes. it was It was not a villain more than it was a force.
01:15:03
Speaker
of nature just coming to try and kill us. My character, I think shot at three times point blank with a rocket launcher and the thing kept coming.
01:15:16
Speaker
Good grief. Yes. And then later that same armor picked up my character and I think pile drive him into the ground.
01:15:31
Speaker
to where I think I actually went unconscious. You were unconscious. My character was the tank. And you went like literally down two levels of a building.
01:15:47
Speaker
Yes. And a pile-drived you into unconsciousness. And the only reason it didn't kill you was because you were unconscious.
01:15:59
Speaker
Nothing's not worth its attention. And also, I was the tank, so I was able to take the damage without immediately dying.
01:16:11
Speaker
It literally was built as the final boss, but it was also worth it because it was meant to fight against the Jedi character.
01:16:23
Speaker
Yes, and it did. And one of the best final boss fights... I've ever watched play out so far. Nick basically turned it into a Star Wars Episode 3 video game duel. like They would change scenery. They would have their... If this was a video game, there'd be scene changes with them speaking to each other, and now they're on a new battlefield fighting each other. It was awesome. They threw pieces of scenery at each other. They changed the scenery. they They were on top of like beams that they
01:16:58
Speaker
they They moved into place. Yeah, it went from like the palace to the garden of the palace, all the way to the walls of Isis on Onderon.
01:17:10
Speaker
And, again, it all has to go to our main man. yeah We have to give it to to the to the to the man they they that did it.
01:17:22
Speaker
Because he decided, like, I'm going to be take up one of my lightsabers and just like, I'm going to act out this whole thing. And roll at the same time.
01:17:36
Speaker
Which do was insane. And for those of you listening, that is not hyperbole. Nick has a lightsaber in his room where we play, and that player picked up the lightsaber and said, OK, what I'm going to do is I'm going to like swing from my head to his waist and when actually mimic the movement.
01:17:55
Speaker
While also grabbing a handful of dice, I was like, I gotta roll that. Yes. um And then, it was like, all right, we're in this. I was like, oh, oh, this is Yeah.
01:18:13
Speaker
And all our other characters are just doing other stuff in the background. i was like, hmm, I wonder are how that fight's going. Knocked across an entire block. ah It was very much the entire, like,
01:18:25
Speaker
Like a classic Star Wars movie. like People like doing the the like they like laser fights or doing whatever they're doing. It's like, what's going on with them? It's like... but da but yeah that
01:18:41
Speaker
Yeah, basically, episode one, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan versus Darth Maul. Then it's like, I wonder what those people in the palace are doing. Now let's get back to what you're really here for. Yeah.
01:18:54
Speaker
and That's awesome. it It was... ah again with no With no prompting, they did that on their own. like I mean, yeah, that this is the big this is the big finale. it's like i like And they even like when they were like, alright, I'm being a little bit overdrawn. was like well, you gotta get a setback. But I gotta fight back. Get yeah gotta get a boost!
01:19:25
Speaker
and We were like, let's get the music. We need the music. it was so did did Did you say you Jarvis dropped my needle? I know that's the wrong franchise. No, no, no.
01:19:41
Speaker
We had Robert there. and yeah He had the the ah the Metal Gear yeah Rising. Metal Gear Rising, baby. That was like really brought a fruit.
01:19:55
Speaker
And won he was He won. won. Honestly, it it was a hard fight. It was probably the hardest fight I've ever... Yeah, I think it's the hardest fight you've ever made, Nick. And I loved it.
01:20:11
Speaker
But I was like... Mainly because was so strong, but it went through so many areas. it I think it might have been my best fight.
01:20:26
Speaker
It is. Hands down. I will say that with full confidence. Best fight. That that sounds like... i There were times that I wish that I had joined in on that campaign, but part of why I didn't was since our son was part of that campaign. i was like, i let him have one to himself.
01:20:48
Speaker
And he did. And he did really good. ah yeah like every I think that it was the best... If I had to pick, like, best campaign for most players, that that was the one that that like had the most like epic moments.
01:21:07
Speaker
And that's the kind of thing that you can do when you have a memorable villain. And it's like... we We've been talking about, and we still need to do at some point, our episode on making a memorable villain.
01:21:23
Speaker
But sometimes it's just fun to talk about the awesome films that we encounter. Honestly, there's... Sometimes making a villain is not...
01:21:37
Speaker
yeah
01:21:40
Speaker
There's not an easy, quick sauce to it. It is not, no. There's not, which is why it it there's enough feeling there to make an entire episode out of.
01:21:54
Speaker
What we talked about here, it's like we've talked about like several different really strong feelings, but they're all different. Yeah, we've got the existential, we've got the big bad, we've got the omnipresent, we've just got we've got the lieutenant that just does carries out the orders.
01:22:15
Speaker
We've got the gag villain. We've got the villains that you almost don't want... your your characters don't want to finally defeat because then they're gone forever. Then there's the ones that they're bad, but they're fun.
01:22:29
Speaker
Oh, I have one more final one that is iconic from our classic game. oh Our gag villain. The one that you... from our... from...
01:22:44
Speaker
Group four, as you remember him,
01:22:51
Speaker
Daryl, Copper Wrist. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. i I thought about including him, but since he was one that was in one of the supplements and you pulled in just for a throwaway villain and then we just mocked him so mercilessly you know in character to his character that you kept bringing him back.
01:23:16
Speaker
that you know i didn't I didn't include him just because he was pre-made, but yeah, he was a lot of fun. it it was a it was is from pre-made, from the Force and Destiny... yeah I don't even remember which one he's from.
01:23:42
Speaker
it's from the fourth I just know that he was in in a published FFG book. Oh, from the Force and Destiny the booklet that came with with the GM screen.
01:23:56
Speaker
Gotcha. yeah it He really goes by Iron Arm. u But, Robert, I know that you weren't part of that campaign, so but you know most of the players...
01:24:12
Speaker
limit Let me set of this scenario. he's he's a he's a He's a former Republic officer, lost his arm, and just got a robotic arm, and has a and a cortosis blade, and he hates the Jedi because he lost his arm, but... Daryl.
01:24:34
Speaker
But, you know, he goes by Iron Arm, and it's me, Stephanie... Xander and Xander 2.
01:24:45
Speaker
And ah so ah do do you think that any of those personalities involved would have let him have his his nickname?
01:24:59
Speaker
At best, I could see Xander 2, but the rest of you, no. Oh, no, he was all in. They were all in on it. He was all in on it.
01:25:10
Speaker
We all would call him random metal, random part of the arm. The one that stuck the most was copper wrist.
01:25:25
Speaker
Yep. So, yeah. Even our comeback, he wasn't a big bad, but They had beaten him, but they did have him come back in an adventure of five sessions later, and then they're like, oh, and just dispatch him instantly.
01:25:44
Speaker
He's like, oh, it's you, Titanium Elbow. Yes. Yes. That kind of thing, yes. Literally, that's what they call him. Yeah, that was exactly the kind of thing that we did.
01:25:59
Speaker
Nice. Yep, that was nice. those are fun what they get But again, enemies can be iconic, villainous, rememberable, and can be pathetic but fun.
01:26:18
Speaker
And some of them can store nuts for the winner. Squirrel!
01:26:24
Speaker
Yes. Daryl. Oh. Are they waiting? Or they wait as you forget to close your door while you're seeing us out. Squirrel! thanks I'm sensing a pattern here.
01:26:40
Speaker
It's almost like we are bullying you. finish him! Yes. As the window I left open today will do so wait is this heart Are we going to have, next time we're over at Nick's, are we going to have to sneak into a different room and leave a window open?
01:27:03
Speaker
Squirrel! No, we have to we have to open his balcony door in his bedroom. Yes. There are multiple all keys that involved in that.
01:27:18
Speaker
I have a rock. it heat You know, um we It's called badmism. Not if I'm inside.
01:27:31
Speaker
that would do right so I could have sworn, Robert, that someone yelled fire, so you were just trying to make a quick exit. Totally. Very much so. Grr.
01:27:43
Speaker
Grr. Arg. Curses. Squirrel.
01:27:50
Speaker
ah girls do You pardy the platipus you won't get that, Daryl. Nope, I don't get that. Goof and schmarts.
01:28:02
Speaker
Evil incorporated. Yeah, we were we were we were horrible parents. yeah we We didn't let him watch Spongebob. We got to the point where we stopped letting him watch Max and Ruby because they were just horrible. Yeah.
01:28:20
Speaker
I mean, it's perfectly fine, but like Phineas and Ferb, that's classic. but Did you let him watch Jimmy Neutron? Neither Phineas and Ferb nor Jimmy Neutron were a, you may not watch this, they're just not shows that he ever watched.
01:28:36
Speaker
Brain blast! To the best of my knowledge. Pain, suffering. Suffering and pain. So...
01:28:48
Speaker
SpongeBob was forbidden and Max and Ruby was forbidden after a while. out I'm telling you, have so much pain, my children. Okay, now Daryl's just hurting all of us, so we need to end this.
01:29:09
Speaker
We need to end this, so I'll just say head over to HowWeRollGaming.com, your central hub for everything How We Roll Gaming. You'll find details on our current campaigns, our full podcast archive, plus quick links to our merch store and all our social channels. So you can stay connected wherever you hang out online. And speaking of that merch store, we still have our newest shirt. The one inspired by my favorite clip that we play. They shenaned once, they'll shenan again. and now is and if you're looking
01:29:45
Speaker
Yes. And if you're looking to support the show directly, the best way is through Patreon at patreon.com slash how we roll gaming. We've got membership tiers starting at just $2 a month. with perks ranging from special recognition in our Discord community to on-air credits and exclusive discounts in the merch store, so you can get said shirt. And while you're supporting us, you can also help the show at no extra cost by using our DriveThru RPG affiliate link when picking up your next tabletop goodies.
01:30:14
Speaker
And finally, we want to hear from you. Got questions you want us to tackle? Topics you want us to see on the show? Or a legendary RPG glory show?
01:30:27
Speaker
Glory of all this year? Drop us a lot line at podcast at howoverworldgaming.com We read everything and your message might end up on the show.
01:30:44
Speaker
Now go forth and create villains so unforgettable your players will be complaining about them years later. Until next time, I'm Daryl.
01:30:56
Speaker
I'm Nick. And I'm Robert. And this is how we roll.
01:31:03
Speaker
This episode of the How We Roll Gaming podcast is copyright 2026, How We Roll Gaming, LLC. All games and associated intellectual properties are copyrighted their respective owners, and How We Roll Gaming makes no claim of ownership by discussing them here.