D&D – Page 2 – Gamer Peak

Coco – Greatest Disney BBEG?

In order to figure out which Big Bad is the best for any Roleplaying Game, we must hold them all to the same standard. Otherwise, this very serious discussion lacks credibility.

Having said this, certain villains would be poor for the average fantasy adventure, but excellent for very specific game types or storylines.

The villain of Coco (spoilers incoming) would be a pitiful BBEG in a regular hack and slash. With a game more centred around roleplay, or a game where everyone is a travelling bard, this dastardly individual has some merit.

Lady Tremaine – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Not every Disney movie has a Big Bad Evil Guy. I recently skipped Bolt (unless you count the pretend villain… or the lawyer) and I went right past Cars (that one car is a bit mean?). Of the movies that do have villains, not all of them are going to make good inspiration for the Big Bad in your Table Top RPG.

Lady Tremaine is not going to win this imagined contest. She might win last place though. She’s not taking on any adventurers with any amount of success. Even in a game where you play the talking mice…

Mor’du– Greatest Disney BBEG?

“Rocks fall, everybody dies” is a common trope in table top games, which the Games Master can use to express joking (or in some cases, very serious) disdain or disapproval of their player’s behaviour. When the game has gone off the rails, the party is threatened with death by sudden squishing.

[Spoilers] In Brave, however, ‘rock fall, villain dies’ is more apt.

In most TTRPGs, ending a story arc with a boss that’s just a big bear might not result in the most thrilling conclusion. But Mor’du is a very big bear. A big, scary, rage-filled, super strong bear. So there’s something we can work with.

The Horned King – Greatest Disney BBEG?

I’m one of those people who is very fond of Black Cauldron. Where most people find it too dark for Disney, to bleak and weird, I was very much on board.

Re-watching Black Cauldron for this blogpost, I found that I enjoyed the movie just as much as when I was young, but my thoughts on the main villain were altered greatly. I’d remember him as this all powerful tyrant that would be in contention for the topic TTRPG Disney villain, but he’s a little… wimpier than I remember.

That might not necessarily be a bad thing for your campaign though.

Dungeon23 – Weeks 22 & 23

For the first time, I started to feel time being pinched to the point where a daily doodle and description had to be put aside. It’s exam season, and I have signed myself to a shedload of marking. Whilst this will prove rewarding in the long term, the next few weeks will be a grind.

Nevertheless, I stole back a couple of hours today and caught up with where I should be. The pause helped in a way, I was able to give this layer a bit more thought. I knew what I wanted to do, but I was concerned about making it too similar. I think I’ve cracked it now.

Festivals & Fisticuffs

The adventure is over. The dragon is defeated. The dungeon is delved. All the storylines are satisfying concluded. The character growth has… grown as much as it needs to.

But then what? Are the players ready to truly finish? Or do they want more? Has the DM got another villain or tougher adventure ready in the wings? If either is true, do the heroes not catch a break before chaos rains anew?

What happens between the epic adventures? I have an answer to that. If you’re one of the first few people reading this post, you can scoop the answer up for free:

Dungeon23 – Week 21

There’s a lot of people in my megadungeon. They’ve all been different varieties of weird and dangerous, but they’ve all been something to be negotiated with. In future layers, as we delve deeper, the situation is going to get weirder and the NPCs are going to get less rational.

This layer is the tipping point. The self-righteous Ultores will assume new arrivals to be guilty of something. Anything. They’ll be desperate to get hold of the party and put them on “trial”. Go along with the charade, and the adventurers can get away without incident. It is ten times more likely that they will come to blows with the arrogant, incontestable Ultores.

Dungeon23 – Week 20

20 weeks! The time is flowing by, and somehow I’m keeping up with the Dungeon23 expectation. Some rooms are drawn very late in the evening, but so far I’ve managed to keep up the momentum.

This layer continues to be a develop into a work space for an international counter-terrorism group. This week we’re building the crucial living and workspaces for the ‘Magnus Ultores’, many of which are still around with nothing better to do than give the adventurers a hard time.

Dungeon23 – Week 19

Sometimes it is okay for a room to be empty. I keep having to remind myself of this fact. In any good dungeon crawl, an empty room is highly likely. That empty space might add some flavour to the complex, offer a safe space or contain a hidden treasure… but it really doesn’t need to. In any structure, there’s a room that doesn’t get used that often.

When I first started on the MegaDungeon, I was fully aware that on busy days I could simply write “empty room” and move on. I’ve been finding this hard to do, however. I feel a compulsion to include at least something in every space.

This week’s rooms (and this layer) are significantly less populated than those previously mentioned. There’s still a little something in every space, but in this case the lack of presence here tells a grim story.

Big Hero 6 – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Another Disney movie with a mystery villain. If you’ve seen Big Hero 6, you know who we’re talking about and we can discuss their potential as your Table Top Games big baddy. If you’re not up to speed, go give this cracking movie a watch and come back to us.