Venerable Villains is a series of posts that delve into different aspects of playing a bad guy in roleplay. Villains and bad guys come in a vast range of shapes and formats, but they are rather rare, and to find them done well is even rarer still. They are also essential to any good story-line or plot for breeding conflicts and tensions. Within World of Warcraft, you can happily and easily content yourself with Blizzard’s pre-made Bad Guys. They have plenty to choose from in the game world; the Legion, the Scourge, the various cults, and so on. But some folk look for and desire something on a more close and personal basis. Something that can develop and grow, change and adapt to suit their story and within their time frame.

This leaves a desire and/or a need for player-character (PC) villains for that personalized touch and the ability to adapt with a story-line. So occasionally people will create a character to stand in as a villain for plots and stories for themselves, their friends or their guilds. Some people will just be drawn by the idea of playing a bad guy even if they don’t have a need for the character. We are going to talk about all kinds of villains and how to make them work. So buckle up and stay tuned.