Villains: Design the Best Bad Guys in 5e Dungeons & Dragons - Web DM

[@WebDM]

Thanks for watching! Want more Web DM in your life? Check out our weekly podcast here: patreon.com/webdm our Twitch channel here: twitch.tv/webdm and our BRAND NEW KZbin CHANNEL, WEB DM PLAYS, here: bit.ly/2HFh2kO

[@brandonlangfeldt9809]

Web DM you should make a vid on this channel talking about the new channel bc I didn't know about it until I read your comment just now

[@P1K3LS]

I love the thumbnails on the new channel's videos with how both of you are back to back

[@aarondavis7391]

Some great advice on running villains in your campaign!

[@EVER_PRINCE]

As a DM who was running a Campaign, while my players were fighting a band of Orcs, I wrote the Orcs as deserters who were being taken advantaged of by a band of Hobgoblins and after abandoning them saw fit to try and make their own village, only to be attacked by a young dragon. Finally, defeated, broken and disheartened by all they’ve been through, they’re only goal is to survive, let alone thrive. This has lead to them becoming desperate and raiding nearby villages.

[@harker-san6903]

Hey, Web DM is it possible to get that Brutal AF art?

[@GaryFromLiberty]

"sometimes it's fun to kick in the door..." *doorbell rings*

[@euansmith3699]

I kept checking my front door until I sussed where the sound was coming from. :O

[@TheQuyman]

FBI OPEN UP

[@abouttime837]

that intro was amazing I’m tearing up

[@jgr7487]

that Lawful Evil villain who promises the Party since Lv.0 that (s)he'll do anything & everything in their power to protect the Party's loved ones... then you discover that the people the Adventurers cared for the most are so well kept that most of them joined the BigBad

[@DerailedTrainofThought]

JG R one I did was have an NPC in the first town pin the murder on someone else. The players followed his advice blindly and killed an innocent man and became best friends with the villain

[@williethenerfherder2193]

You mean Letho from the witcher series.

[@thestatusjoe9949]

I love how this channel manages to balance entertainment and education. You guys include great advice which has helped me come up with many campaign ideas, all the while using humor to keep the audience engaged. Great show

[@CardinalSpirit]

My favourite villain and main antagonist that I've had in my campaign was an extremely gifted and ambitious mage that was part of a guild of unsavory magic users called the Mages of the Far Shore. He started up low in the guild's ranking and at around the same level of power as the party but due to his immense talent he grew at a noticeably faster rate than the party and his malice as well as overall arrogance was made quickly apparent. He was an ever present factor in the world and came up against the party quite a few times as they progressed until eventually by the time they reached epic levels he had become the Grandmaster of the guild via subterfuge, overwhelming power and voracious determination, essentially granting him an army of the most skilled and morally questionable mages in the world. It was a blast to roleplay him as he grew more powerful and arrogant (especially when the party would outdo or outsmart him, which he never took well) and the party was always in a sort of race to grow and stay one step ahead of his raw natural ability to become more skilled and powerful at an alarming rate.

[@tawumpas]

3 years old, but good stuff

[@andresarbelaez6318]

That has to be my favorite intro so far xD you guys are my favorite dnd youtubers lol love the work

[@nathanlaverack6146]

In my campaign, I have 2 groups and they are each other's villains

[@WebDM]

Nice!!

[@brunorosadasilva2139]

Same with me, my player's are the ones who proposed that and now we jump from one type of adventure to another. It's very fun.

[@TheSubscriberWithNothing]

Always wanted to try that.

[@nathanlaverack6146]

Thesubscriber Withnothingtodo I've only started it a few months ago, so it's still developing, but it looks promising

[@TheSubscriberWithNothing]

nathan laverack I'm guessing it would be alot of planning on your part?

[@caman225]

Jim with that HBCB in his mouth was the funniest thing I've seen in a really long time. I'm actually crying. Keep it up! I'm sure the sponsorship is just around the corner with product showcasing like that

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

A villain I once wrote up was a CE Bard. Yep, a Bard. A Changeling Bard, to be precise. At first blush, it appeared as though he was much like Heath Leger's rendition of Joker... completely bug-nuts, and just wants to make the world burn. In reality, his motives were somewhat more complex. He wanted to be known. He wanted a legacy. Backstory of neglect and abuse, yadda yadda, wanting to prove 'them' wrong. You know the drill. So he didn't just try to kill the party, he wanted to screw around with them. He used illusion spells to completely mess with the party. One of his preferred tricks, however, was to hide something like a Symbol of Insanity behind an Illusionary Wall. So if you used True Sight or some other means of seeing through illusions, you were going to get punished by it. Then there was the always-amusing illusionary wall... with a prismatic wall behind it. That gag never got old. But they key is that he would hide among the victims, using his innate shapeshifting ability to pretend he was someone completely different, and would never show his own personal face. He'd find some patsy, play 'power behind the throne', puppetmaster this 'leader' into being big and bad and generally getting himself put on the player's list of Things To Kill. Then he'd observe the party from his position within a cell. So not only was he kept up to date with the party's tactics, but he wasn't actually being attacked, and wasn't perceived as a threat. A couple of times, he even got a few handfuls of copper from the party's Paladin to 'get a new start'. Oh, he's also a glib-tongued bastard, and did things like convince a Church of Pelor that they were trying to summon the Nine Demon Princes to the Prime, which got the church to send hit teams after them, which was... awkward, since the party's paladin followed Pelor. You know... just to mess with the party. Eventually, they figured it out. Finding him, of course, was always a pain, because he always had things like Nondetection and such to prevent Scry n Die tactics. But eventually they found him. And when they finally got him, he broke down laughing. When they were deciding his fate, for they had captured him alive, he interposed "Go ahead. Kill me as much or as cruelly as you like. My job is already done!" Which kind of confused them "Your... job?" they asked. "Yea. You see... you can't have a hero without a villain. No matter how much you'd like, I'm entwined with your story, the greatest heroes tale of our generation, perhaps of all time even! And you'd have never done it without me. I will be just as immortal as your tale is."

[@theredrighthandproductions]

I love it.

[@juliuscaesar5397]

What did the party decide to do?

[@Comicsluvr]

My best 'villain' ever: My own PC in a game. My Cleric discovered a physical piece of an evil demi-god and carried it around with him. It whispered to him, teaching him things and telling him where the rest of his body was. The Cleric would raise as many Zombies (at first, later on Skeletons and greater creatures) as he could at night while on watch alone. He ordered them to go to the ruins of an ancient keep and repair it and await his return. 99% of them were intercepted (even a few villagers can destroy a few Zombies or Skeletons) but a few made it through. Years (in game) later, a local Baron asked us to investigate reports of Undead near the abandoned keep. We went and saw the whole area was well cared-for, the citizens (living and Undead) were peaceful and productive and it wasn't at all what the keep of an evil being would be. We entered the keep and all the residents were bowing to ME.

[@girlbuu9403]

I repurpose old PCs all the time, including for villains. It is handy.

[@Jane_8319]

Girl Buu it’s super handy. I use previous PCs as quest givers, opponents, and other adventures. Just last session one of my players had the joy of fighting off his former Druid who attacked the party after they refused to give up a powerful artifact

[@mikegould6590]

My favorite villains are Hags. They can be anyone...anywhere. They can have access to great spells, appear as "quest giver", "stranded victim", and use minions to appear as the villain. Adding very unique "Hag Vehicles" which can double as their own villainous creatures or pocket dimension dungeons means that the simple Hag becomes so much more. Imagine a player character either calling out the name of a certain Hag, and maybe possesses something that can be used as a magical "calling card"... then on the horizon the player characters spot a dark cloud. As the cloud gets larger and closer they see the cloud is actually moving in an odd way. It's a swarm. An immense swarm...of beetles... And at the center of the swarm is a beetle larger than anything anyone has seen. It's a gargantuan black beetle. The beetle lands, and the swarm creates a fence of buzzing, angry, carnivorous beetles.. and the abdomen of the gargantuan beetle splits open in a mucus filled squelching manner...splitting like the skin of a ripe banana. A ramp of black flesh lowers like a stinking carpet... and out walks Black Alice, the Annis Hag. Sister of the Sorority of Pain. She's accompanied by two undead Ogres who argue over a lower jaw, because between them, there is only one. You called her - because she can do much. She "always has time for needy children."....

[@SchwarzbaerLufti]

i just saw the Intro and had to like already... love you guys

[@drunkenbutterfly21]

I love the story of Shane the Shy a villain who is a malicious coward and just runs away the moment the party arrive at his hideout

[@banditjonesy3509]

This is the best channel on KZbin!!!!

[@fantapop8561]

i think my favourite thing about this channel is how informal and welcoming it feels.

[@glacialrelic7878]

for seven minutes I thought you guys were in the shop after hours or on a day while they were closed until I heard the *ting* and people entering

[@mavenrichards]

7:20 "Kick down the door..." (*ding*)

[@glacialrelic7878]

LOL I didn't catch that timing omfg

[@ebeleingram8048]

I was wondering what that noise was!!!!

[@CatoNovus]

@@ebeleingram8048 That was one of the store's clerks leveling up.

[@kylegaudet3233]

Boys! You're almost at 100k subscribers! Congrats

[@kylegaudet3233]

Boys! You did it!!

[@chrisdavison2622]

171k

[@Kat-qe1vk]

A great way to bring a good villain back I think is the same way player characters are brought back all the time- people who care about them rez them. It adds more depth by showing that there are people who love this villain despite what they've done- either because of the villains character or end goals or both- and will help them even when all seems lost regardless of the personal cost to them or the sins the villain has committed. Again, not so unlike the players themselves. There's no reason villains can't have loved ones too and having at least one of those loved ones being alive and present as opposed to just part of a tragic backstory really adds a lot to the story.

[@alchemicpunk1509]

The most brutally evasive villains have a ring of teleport and a guard that is more of a cupboard made of steel than flesh and blood.

[@quantumperception]

About what you said at the end; growing up in the bible belt, there was only one gaming store, the Game Keep, which thankfully was a only 10-15 min drive away, so my parents would often take me (my mom would reluctantly go, stay with me the whole time, and rush me to purchase something so that we could leave; my dad would let me go in alone, and even stay for a few hours so that I could play at their tables, while he was in the parking lot smoking pot and listening to the radio). Anyway, the owner was always playing PC MMORPGs, and was exactly like you described- like I was inconveniencing him when I tried to buy something. Thankfully, now another gaming shop has opened nearby, and it has a much friendly atmosphere. The Game Cave has just as much merchandise, gaming tables, etc., but the staff is not only happy that you decided to patronize their store, but will also gladly give recommendations based on games you already like, will have conversations about comparing different rules systems, etc. Also, being 33, I no longer live with my parents; the Game Keep is now a 20 minute drive away from where I live, but the Game Cave is only a 7 minute walk. Closer and friendlier; if you live in TN, I highly recommend the Game Cave, and that you avoid the Game Keep. The prices are the same, and I make a point to patronize them; I only buy games from amazon if they are rare and I cannot find them at the Game Cave (Twilight Imperium, Betrayal at House on the Hill when it was out of print, etc.). I agree that it is worth paying a little extra to support local business, especially when the staff is cool. If my only options were the Game Keep or Amazon, however, I would go Amazon every time, because the owner was not friendly at all, and ordering online would be cheaper.

[@TJDieter2191]

WOW! I love this episode. Not just the content that was talked about, but the audio quality seems be increased, and the new background is cool too! I think both Jim and Pruitt sound so much clearer/confident/charismatic!

[@davidhollowelljr949]

Bro the Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit line killed me. You can tell how southern someone is if they catch a good Whataburger shout-out

[@CrimsonKrakhorn48]

Insert monologue about evil plot before killing the pc’s

[@PhillyCheeseGaming]

Wait wait wait You guys are in Austin????!!!

[@WebDM]

Yep!! Not all of us live there anymore, but we always come home to atx to shoot!

[@zachariaravenheart]

Welcome to Texas then! I am in Lewisville Texas :D I wish I had the time to go down to Austin now. Oh well XD

[@skynight113]

Web DM oh a few of players live there. Some are looking for a live game too.

[@yurihageshi8008]

skynight113 thats always a challenge

[@EslocoSoldado]

Please go to Outlaw Moon Gaming they run an amazing D&D campaign called "The Heroes of Awesome" it would be so awesome to see you meet or even collaborate with their group.

[@jameskbarron]

Zuko is my favorite villain - always relatable, driven by the desire for love and approval, with understandable biases.

[@natedubman]

You guys are great. Always entertaining. Thanks for the videos!

[@jordanmills5473]

The audio quality is great for this episode. Keep up the good work!

[@singlegameing]

I've recently started DM'ing for the first time (!!!) and your videos really help me! keep up the great work guys!

[@paulcoy9060]

From being a player, or just starting the whole D&D experience ?

[@adamp3223]

As it says in the Good Book of Jim Davis: "The wicked flee where none pursueth."

[@Arkanoid1212]

Involve local stores, do podcasts, do streaming. I like evolution. Keep it up.

[@jacobbeaudoin5486]

Love this villain stuff you guys put out, I really want to run a noble whose only power is money, but through it he annoys the players, or a wizard who has an illusion follow and help/hinder the party at his whim until they fight. Side note, if you guys ever released any of the custom stuff from campaigns you've run on patreon I would become a patron really quick, it's amazing to hear you talk about it and I would love to run them.

[@DMGamer_PC]

I don't know of any other channel that has intros as good as WebDM's.

[@ronin7507]

Just rewatched the Hags episode and I realized that the HBCB idea for this intro goes all the way back to the outro from the Hag episode. Also, happy 100k fellas!

[@RedGalaxy00]

40 minutes of WebDM? and it's not a Podcast? I'll take it! Makes my wednesday all the better.

[@jimmyhill5079]

Props to Jim and Pruitt for being able to focus with all those doorbells ringing.

[@JPruinc]

Jimmy Hill there will be outtakes. I broke concentration a couple of times.

[@jameshudler3658]

I knew you guys had to be out of Austin! Awesome. I've been playing for 19 years, and I still keep coming back to these videos. I love the content and I love the seasoned perspective on DM'ing. Thanks for doing what you do, fellas.

[@efraim3364]

the best villains are heroes in their own narrative, unless its the Joker

[@aweinspiringname]

Truly, the vibe and content on your channel is so much better that 99℅ of other dnd stuff. I hope y'all keep doing the thing.

[@MemeGremlin]

Probably the best Villain I made was Ixideon, the Laser Mage. The game opened with him having a job fair, looking for henchmen and all the players were turned down. The player that was running a barbarian charged him and Ixideon locked him down with some magical chains. He then taunted him and ripped out the Barbarian's left eye. Tossed it on the ground and crushed it. The mage conjured an eye with a red iris and shoved it into the Barbarian's skull. "Now keep an eye out for me." He watched them through that eye for most of the game and when the barbarian tried to cover it with patches, PEW laser beam shot out, burning the patch away. His big draw was trying to get enough people to build a sky ship so he could bomb another country, which happened to be where 3/4ths of the party was from.

[@TheLeadSuit]

I get so pumped when I see webdm post on Wednesday and a fat 40 minute episode no less. Jim and Pruitt are awesome (and Trav is decent I guess haha) Cheers fellas

[@thegustbag]

Okay, the intro got me. For a number of reasons. Good job, guys!

[@Mikaeus_Un_Hallowed]

U guys are my muse. Love y’all, I know the channel isn’t like it was but I still appreciate your hard work dude

[@craigbainton4173]

Big boss fight coming up guys, thanks for the tips

[@leonflanagan4050]

Who's the big bad?

[@craigbainton4173]

Leon Flanagan. Dwarf monk, he’s the leader of a big assassins guild that’s been hounding the players for the last ten or so sessions

[@rtdrtd123321]

Same here. I gotta make this cult leader interesting and this video was pretty helpful

[@arturosanabria5772]

The villain hanging out with the party reminds me a whole lot of Handsome Jack, making friendly calls to the party just talking bout stuff

[@theskurj6288]

Not sure if it was related to my comment a few days ago, but thank you for including some info about Strahd and running him as a villain. You guys are awesome, keep it up!

[@brotheralec8998]

You guys should do a semi-detailed series on multiclassing...Start with fighter and go down through the list...Fighter/rogue, Fighter/wizard (spellsword)...maybe use some UA to really mix it up...Xanathar's as well...just a suggestion...

[@MitchieDBBC]

Two years old and I find this video so informative. I consume so much media that it fuels my ideas, but this gave me even more ideas to work with

[@nathanmetzler3266]

I don't like video's often... but this video gets one for that awesome intro!

[@onewordandtherearenospaces3951]

If you had a villain that used programmed illusions and magic mouth to lead the players on a wild goose chase just to find out that the villain has been dead for years I think that could be hilarious especially if when you find the villain you see his last illusion of him laughing so much that it killed him he died of laughter what a Character

[@theshadow5251]

Y'all should do a more in depth look into dragons. I remember loving "A Practical Guide to Dragons" in elementary before I even knew what D&D was lol

[@2000TalesRolePlaying]

Man I miss Tribe. Used to be my go to place for minis before I moved out of TX

[@Arcae95]

Great comic shop! It's so cool to see you guys there I used to live right next to it in those apartments!

[@DotRD12]

New glasses, lord Pruitt?

[@evanfelch7689]

Why does all my favorite content come from Austin. There is RoosterTeeth, Team4Star, WebDM and more.

[@praisekek181]

It is basicly the better L.A. of the south without all the dirty money involved, it truly could become its own country if it wanted too, there is also a very diverse culture there of nationalities and even geeks jocks

[@JPruinc]

Tacos. It’s the tacos.

[@JohnZ117]

JPruInc It's *always* going to be the tacos.

[@eliasgarza013]

JPruInc hot take from an Austinite here. San Antonio has better tacos.

[@Draeckon]

This is a really great video, as always! I would also recommend watching Matt Colville's videos on villains (#15 and #15), and I think they get a mention in his NPC videos as well. Always good to get multiple perspectives on these things.

[@Philisophicles]

I LOVE it when they get creative with the intro. Keep it up, guys!

[@tylerhughes9155]

Jim totally loved that biscuit....

[@Andrewc87563]

The window behind Pruitt is messing with the lighting, and Jim's peeking at whose at the door, and the dudes ringing the doorbell I still miss the dome set. But thank you to the store for hosting Best villian is a Rakshasa.

[@MrAhriman42]

I understand WHY killmonger was the way he was, but he's not "the real hero." More of a monster created by the system.

[@ghaulirontusk5800]

More of a monster that favors genocide lol thanos would be proud

[@brettcardon4552]

This ^

[@przemysawsocha2133]

Thanks guys, as always well spend time with you guys. I'm now preparing next stage of campain and create a villan for my 10 lvl party so ty for inspirations. I can't wait to see more role playing classes videos. Regards from Poland.

[@MaidenTX]

You guys are awesome, everytime i listen to yall i come up with a lot more ideas to write

[@lordvalinar774]

My best villain I've ever created ... ah man I love all of them ... I would say is "The Dark Host". His true name long forgotten, a vestige of his former glory and power, his essence lives on within his 5 legendary artifacts(armor, amulet, mask, ring, and sword) - the mask in particular can possess the wearer and take on some of his aspects and powers. My current module I'm writing is based on an adventuring party that found the hidden vault of the villain in that campaign, and the sorceress put on the mask... So she ended up possessed, and with the Dark Host's powers, a ritual sacrifice (of her friends) turned her into a powerful Demon Lord which began an invasion on the world. So all the while she is seen as the main villain - no control over her body and yet she has witnessed all of these horrors throughout the time she's been possessed. I look forward to seeing if the players will discover this and "Free" her.... or kill her, only to have the Dark Host slip away and find a new pawn.

[@Olorin486]

Hey, I got my copy of Burning Wheel Gold from Tribe. Nifty.

[@IAmTheStig32]

Bottom tier: Villains who are just evil or lust for power. Meh tier: Villains whose motives are a mystery and seem insane at times. Mid tier: Villains who are only obeying their nature or doing what they can to survive. High tier: Villains who are only retaliating against misdeeds done against them, or rebelling against a society they see as unfair. Great tier: Villains who reluctantly do evil things because of the situation they find themselves in. Elder god tier: Villains whose motives are hard to find fault in and are just as sympathetic as the hero's.

[@vadaritis]

Good to know spiderman is an eldergod. Thanks for the tip J. Jonan Jameson, will certainly help me stay sane!

[@jaster705]

14:15 "detect thots" damn that spell would be so handy in real life

[@davidhollowelljr949]

Not without Banish Thots to back it up with

[@jjs7650]

Perfect timing! My group is 3 sessions in, and I’ve just now started to think about creating a major villain. Thanks!

[@CamJacobson]

Really great stuff here. As a new DM these ideas are extremely helpful, thanks!

[@beniplays25]

holy shit ive never though i would steal EVERYTHING from the video

[@williamblack2904]

I love these videos. Their comments remind me of a Enemy we have who is linked to our big magic item and whenever we use it he learns our exact location. So whenever we use it we expect assassins and air elementals to come and try to kill us. And it’s trickery. How to use your best magic when something will kill you for it.

[@andyh2783]

You guys take the cake and I'm not afraid to say Web DM makes my day.

[@Mark-ug7ng]

At 0:30 Pruit's posture matches up exactly with Durnan's on the "Yawning Portal" book cover behind him.

[@Humanitaet]

I really enjoyed the longer video, keep it up pls :)

[@plastickhero]

I did the recursive paradox bit in a Champions game. The heroes were attacked out of the blue by alien mooks appearing from dimensional portals. They go through a portal to the homeworld and fight their way to a galactic despot who has no idea what or where "Earth" is but after the ass-whooping, vows to conquer it, and sends alien mooks through portals to attack the heroes.

[@nuclearchezburgr3857]

I always forget to put a like on your videos even though I love every single one of them But that intro DEFINITELY need one! I love you guys so much! Keep up the amazing work!

[@winster6257]

What about a villain that "level up" with the party; they grow more powerful as the players do. What I think is great about this is that it also creates a foil for the players; as the characters develop mechanically and personally, it can be contrasted with how the villain develops. How do they become different from the players? Or more disturbingly, how do they become more similar.

[@DungeonDad]

A great villain makes for fantastic heroes! Pruitt is my next BBEG

[@sammyevin2534]

I hope that "plural of nemesis" thing was a nod to Mystery Men. If it's not..... I'll just pretend it is anyways :)

[@th3b4rd75]

Watching this at work every time someone walks in on the video I look toward our door

[@joelthune17]

Best intro yet.

[@stavrostheopolis1690]

I love Web DM! Hook this shit to my veins!

[@EslocoSoldado]

Holy hell that story about the wild sorcerer was amazing and inspiring!

[@n7854]

watched one of your unearths arcana video and just introduced a oath of conquest villain and it is great

[@mikeburke5553]

Great video! The doorbell and alarm system is really throwing my dog for a loop though!

[@ValdrianthTTRPG]

Tribe is in my old neighborhood in ATX. Watching you guys made me homesick af.

[@TheIrishman0828]

One of my favorite villains was a Lawful Good man of faith who was essentially tricked into doing what he thought was acts of good to save his people against the evils of his land, when really he was behind blinded by a great evil and tricked into thinking it was his god. So really the party was watching this really nice Dwarf who was really honest and patient...annihilate innocent people believing that he was doing good.

[@Aidan8et]

Ok... That opening was AWESOME!!

[@anonymousangel1064]

As the Default DM of my group, and the group itself having a tendency to stab first, listen to plot later, I appreciate all of this info. Hopefully it will help me make a villain memorable quicker than my party runs him through with a bunch of javelins.

[@eltrox1]

37:00 Sounds Like Overlords castle The concept of a world like overlord would be pretty interesting too

[@ChristnThms]

A "good" bad guy is possibly even more important than a good guy. They essentially lay the foundation for anything worth happening.

[@ericgrajeda9916]

Christian Swensen why batman is such a boss he's not out their fighting robots or aliens but really fucked up people.

[@ChristnThms]

Batman doesn't even exist without the villains. His genesis was from organized crime. His training was from League of Shadows. His various story arcs over the years have to do with who he opposes, not personal growth. He's actually a perfect example of the fact that good villains are more important than the hero. Without the villains, he wouldn't exist. But without him, the vacuum could very well have created another hero in his place.

[@galvaton10000]

Lol there's a Comic book/Game store near where I live called "Dragons Lair" it's awesome and I love it

[@goofball3158]

I love the idea of the party re-awakening a phylactery when they think they’re on a normal dungeon run, causing a litch to come back to life. This way the low level party meets the villain, and the villain will be building their forces while the party is leveling up

[@TehJuiceBoks]

Yes finally! I am excited for this topic. The surroundings may change but not the table.

[@Bluecho4]

One idea I have for a villain is a creature that is sort of an inert brain, that has no self-mobility (its limbs, if any, are vestigial). But it can project a magical/psionic construct that can look like anything it wants, and that can affect the environment like a creature would. It is of a race of beings that primarily use this as their method of survival, since their projection can defend it, hunt or gather food, pick up their body and move it around, and even use fighting styles and/or magic (if it knows it). So you'd have the party encounter this villain, who is trying to use underhanded means to amass temporal power. He leads bands of minions, and generally makes a nuisance of himself. Maybe at fourth level or so, they finally catch up to him and kill him. Only to have his body just dissolve and fade away, as if it were never there. No explanation is given, so the party moves on...until the villain shows up again. No matter how many times they kill this guy, his body disappears and shows up again later. What they don't know at first - what they'll have to discover over time - is that the villain isn't human, but this stationary mass of flesh, like an unusual brain in a jar. He's nearby when they fight him, but is ready to have himself moved at the first sign of trouble. It may take them forever to corner, and every time they fight, he's learned a bit more about their capabilities. We could take this even further. Maybe the Big Bad is a particularly old and powerful one of these guys, who in turn commands an entire brood of his spawn, who are the lieutenants in his organization. The more powerful one of these gets, the stronger a projection they can create and the farther away they can act. So the boss might be somewhere miles away, exerting influence in a surrounding countryside, and sending his children out when he needs to act outside his control. So the party might corner one of the antagonists they'd been fighting for a few levels, only to have the projection of "Daddy" arrive. The weaker one says, "Father! Help me! They're going to kill me!" And the older one says, "Ugh, you useless child. Pick yourself up and return home." Then he steps forward towards the party and cracks his knuckles. "I'll clean up your mess." Entire second fight with an even stronger opponent (with enough CR to challenge them alone), possibly after the party just got done fighting the younger brain's minions. To add another layer of complexity, maybe the Big Bad they'd been fighting is the odd ball of his species. Other brains don't create humanoid projections. The create very alien forms, with big heads that float around and throw energy balls. And they find this Big Bad to be foolish in his obsession with humans and temporal power. These guys aren't any less bad - indeed, they are malevolent in an inhuman way, and have stranger goals. It may come to pass that the party is stuck between two warring factions of this species.

[@NecroticRampage]

Great episode as always guys. I enjoyed the new setting but the dinging door was a bit distracting. Lol

[@JPruinc]

Jaxstrix yes it was.

[@hodgepodgesyntaxia2112]

You two made my day in the first 10 seconds.

[@Tigerheart01]

OMG, such a great opening by both of you! Loved it.

[@Kerldogg13]

Another fantastic video and Mouse Guard RPG front and center

[@M3rover]

Very valuable discussion. Thank you very much for all you guys do!

[@captainpeaches3063]

"Of course the wizard dropped like a bitch" LMAO