When you’re starting a new campaign, do you start with the villain (BBEG)? Does it have to be one person? Could it be a place, or a set of circumstances?

Do your heroes/players struggle against oppression, a faceless bureaucracy, a hostile environment, or the mindless hordes of the apocalypse?

Does the length of the campaign determine the villain?

A short campaign might work better with mindless hordes or a struggle against the environment.

How do you make the villain survive? You can’t defeat the hostile environment and faceless bureaucracy, but you can escape it. Villains like that don’t go away. But a local crime boss, the head of the local militia, or the sly voice behind the throne, they can be defeated.

Do you show them upfront to let the players know what they’re dealing with and then hide them away until the final “big battle”?

Personally, I’ve had good success with showing them up front and then bringing them back later. It is tricky. If the players are able to get rid of/kill them you have to let them (OK, it’s your table – do what you want, but I recommend letting them – they love it). Of course now this means you need a bigger villain. And really, how much fun is that.

Can you combine the villains? Start with the environment (sandstorm, ice, creatures under the ice, toxic atmosphere) and then transition to the local crime boss. After that, move up to the planets corrupt governor, and then to a system wide cartel. My favorite, bring them back to an earlier NPC. That local crime boss moved up to the big time, along with the PCs.

What if you have two villains and the PCs need to pick one or the other to survive? Are the PCs automatically villains then? Probably not to everyone – but likely to some. This one requires more thought, never try and guess which side the PCs will take (that way lies madness). I’ve found it better for each set of villains to have their own agenda so no matter what direction the PCs take, the world moves on and hopefully the PCs only find out until it’s almost too late.

The villain is one of the main elements that you control as the GM. Depending on your players and their goals, it is your influence on the story. Have fun running them, remember to let them grow and change depending on their own goals and based on actions from the PCs.

–This post was inspired by the RPG Writers Workshop–