dungeons & dragons – Gamer Peak

Incredibles – Greatest Disney BBEG?

I hope you’d agree with me that a TTRPG set in the Incredibles would be amazing. Super heroes abound but heavily controlled, scrutinized and often ostracized. Retro-futuristic vibes. Good grounds for a superb adventure.

The villains in Disney I’ve scored so far tend to perform well on Presence (because they are great characters) but fall away on being an actual villain. The bad guy in the first Incredibles movie is a brief part of the story with very little time to brood or boast around the heroes, but his setup is very powerful.

I’m being vague about who the villain is because I don’t like spoilers. The villain of Incredibles is the worst kept secret, but someone is always watching a great movie for the very first time and its a nice twist.

Hades – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Jafar has sat smugly atop the leaderboard for a long time – and for good reason – but I think we finally have a true contender.

It seems so obvious that an actual god would make a good villain for your TTRPG, but most gods would actual be too powerful. Your level 5 fighter isn’t going to stand up to Ares and expect to scuff his armour. What makes Hades compelling though, is that he’s not directly involved in his own scheme. He’s a manipulator, a mastermind, until all the pieces are in place.

And that’s a sign of a good Big Bad Evil Guy.

Professor Ratican – Greatest Disney BBEG?

21 people have played Moriarty on TV. Twenty One. Add up all the movies and stage shows and audio productions and we’re closing in on 100 variations. The Professor’s shown up in at least five different video games too.

It’s not simply because Sherlock Holmes is a compelling character/story. There are many storylines that do not include the Professor. He’s been seen and heard in so many times because he is a great villain. A Big Bag Evil Guy that enjoys begin mean and intelligent and better than everyone else. He is so successful that he will often bully Sherlock out of sheer boredom.

So a Table Top RPG villain based on Moriarty is a good idea. I would argue that, with clear evidence to prove it, that the rat crime lord based on Moriarty is an even better inspiration for your BBEG.

Elsa – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Ah, what could have been. Early on production, Elsa called ‘Greta’ and was a cold-hearted villain. I thoroughly enjoy the more heart-felt, nuanced take we ended up with, but I can’t help wondering what darkness we missed out on.

Elsa is still a villain though. She gets good right at the end, but before that she plunges her kingdom into ice, nearly kills her sister and several NPCs and only gets more and more powerful.

If this was the basis of a Table Top Role Playing Game, what we have hear is an adventure with two very different outcomes. Either the heroes convince Elsa to listen to sis and find her compassion… or they have to kill an ice queen.

Spoilers: And yes, I know who the ‘real’ villain is, we’re going to score them at the same time. He’s not worth a separate score sheet, and Elsa makes a much more fascinating BBEG.

Yzma– Greatest Disney BBEG?

In this highly serious, prestigious and highbrow discussion, it is important maintain a strict standard. There should be no favouritism, no biases or personal prejudices.

The fact that Yzma is a particular favourite of mine should have no bearing of proceedings. We are here to determine her merit as your TTRPGs model for a quality BBEG. Individual preference must be placed to one side in order to maintain the validity of the debate.

As a wise scholar once said: squeak squeak squeakedy squeakley squeaky squeaken.

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…

Hopper – Greatest Disney BBEG?

Not every story makes for a great basis of Role-Playing Game. Some stories are surprisingly good. A Bug’s Life might not have as much combat as your average D&D campaign, but not closer: A plucky hero journeys through unknown lands to gain the aid of a bunch of performers to help save a group of farmers from the Big Bad Evil Guy and his army.

As soon as you imagine the circus troop as a bunch of bards – persuading and performing and sleight-of-handing their way around the villains, it suddenly makes a lot of sense. Hopper, the main villain in question, is superbly suited for the BBEG role.

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.