[UA] The Villain Archetype (was: various topics)

[Gregory Paul Stolze]

At 04:51 PM 12/10/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Gregory Paul Stolze" <holycrow at mindspring.com>
>
>> Very few people get up and say "Hey, I'm a BAD GUY.  I'm a villain.  I'm
>> working for the downfall of everyone!"
>
>    I've been thinking about this--nobody really thinks that they're the bad
>guy.  However, a lot of people, when faced with a person counter to their
>own beliefs (or in possession of genuinely abhorrent beliefs from most sane
>perspectives) believe that the "bad" person has actually "chosen" to be a
>bad guy--put conscious effort into being a villain.
>    Wouldn't that set of beliefs--that the opposition is a bad guy--create
>an Avatar?  The Avatar of the Villain, or the Bad Man (too bad that moniker
>is already in use, I suppose.)  You can see the villain tap into it during
>"Unbreakable."  Could there be a high level "Villain" out there, setting out
>to do the wrong thing because he's on the road to power, the left hand road?
>    I mean, there's got to be enough belief in the villain to create an
>Avatar for it.

Ehhh... I really shy away from all good or all bad archetypes.  (The Dark
Stalker kind of snuck in under the radar in the early days.  Tricky
bastard.  Maybe if we ever do 2ed I'll write up the GOOD side of the Dark
Stalker...)  

The other problem is that the villain you describe is what other people
see.  It's a projection.  With enough demonizing, you could FORCE someone
into the mold, and I tend to shy away from that on a couple levels.  On the
setting level, it's bad because it drifts away from the UA responsibility
vibe.  On the rules level, it's bad because people hate shit that takes
away their control of their character.  As a GM, I'll do a lot of dirty
stuff, but I hesitate to say "No, your character does/is this."  (I put a
lot of thought into the madness system for that very reason: No more "You
rolled 88!  You've got... scatophilia!"  Also, you get to choose between
freeze, flight and fight.)  

I'd use the bad side of the Outsider or Rebel for a villain.  They can
cover an awful lot.

-G.
Critics are like medical students: they always think a writer is suffering
from the very disease they happen to be studying at the time.
		-Milorad Pavic

http://www.waylay.com
http://www.thehungersite.com/index.html


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