1
Villain Archetypes – Which ones apply to Dark Knight and Batman 1989 Elder Being A survivor of an ancient race and now wants to ruin the hero’s world. This type of villain is often imprisoned, and uses the PCs to escape. Snubbed Sibling Villain is the brother or sister of the hero. Their evil actions come from feelings of inadequacy, entitlement, or envy of the hero. Evil Clown Comedic, caustic, killer. Don’t let the makeup smile fool you, this villain plays for keeps and his main goal is to inspire fear. Femme Fatale Uses sexuality and seduction to get her way. Her motives come from abuse, hunger for power, or revenge against a hero. Mad Scientist Tapping into our societal abhorrence at playing god, this super-smart villain has dire technology the hero must counter. Typical stances include insane, eccentric, and bumbling genius turned evil or tricked into doing evil things. Psychotic The villain has two minds. The first lets him brilliantly plan and plot against the world with a good chance his clever plans will succeed. The second is tainted by madness and broken with reality, meaning motives and behaviours are unpredictable and irrational. Dark God An evil or underworld deity with nefarious plans. Sometimes a demon or fallen god looking for retribution or return to glory. A great villain to spawn cults or evil empires. Evil Empire The society itself is the villain as the hero try to survive or defend others against prejudice, oppression, and disregard for life. People are just property for the system to chew up. Give the empire a “face” via oppressive dictator, debased nobility, or gluttonous merchant class. Killer Frenemy The bad guy is an ally who secretly plots against a

Villain Archetypes

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Villain Archetypes

Villain Archetypes – Which ones apply to Dark Knight and Batman 1989

Elder Being A survivor of an ancient race and now wants to ruin the hero’s world. This type of villain is often imprisoned, and uses the PCs to escape.

Snubbed Sibling Villain is the brother or sister of the hero. Their evil actions come from feelings of inadequacy, entitlement, or envy of the hero.

Evil Clown Comedic, caustic, killer. Don’t let the makeup smile fool you, this villain plays for keeps and his main goal is to inspire fear.

Femme Fatale Uses sexuality and seduction to get her way. Her motives come from abuse, hunger for power, or revenge against a hero.

Mad Scientist Tapping into our societal abhorrence at playing god, this super-smart villain has dire technology the hero must counter. Typical stances include insane, eccentric, and bumbling genius turned evil or tricked into doing evil things.

Power Mad They want more power for its own sake, because of low self-esteem, or to prove something to a hero.

Vengeful One Spurned or betrayed, the villain now seeks revenge against a person or group formerly close to them.

Psychotic The villain has two minds. The first lets him brilliantly plan and plot against the world with a good chance his clever plans will succeed. The second is tainted by madness and broken with reality, meaning motives and behaviours are unpredictable and irrational.

Dark God An evil or underworld deity with nefarious plans. Sometimes a demon or fallen god looking for retribution or return to glory. A great villain to spawn cults or evil empires.

Evil Empire The society itself is the villain as the hero try to survive or defend others against prejudice, oppression, and disregard for life. People are just property for the system to chew up. Give the empire a “face” via oppressive dictator, debased nobility, or gluttonous merchant class.

Killer Frenemy The bad guy is an ally who secretly plots against a hero.

Nemesis The villain cannot be overcome through direct means. He’s too powerful, smart, or resourceful. Instead, defeat must come through a secret weakness, such as taking advantage of the villain’s ego or susceptibility to elven metal.