The thing about being a good guy is that motivation to be a good guy is easy. Even better being a good guy means that you can keep all the annoying non player characters alive without really crimping on your own character style. Consequently this makes the job of the GM a little easier. Villains however require a bit more thought to GM for.

The problem with villains is that much of the time they might consider an NPC free loot if they aren’t interested in what they have to offer or feel that it’s more profitable to just take their stuff and walk away. This is why an evil flavored game requires more attention and different schools of thought then your typical game. This article is directed to those GM’s who like to run a game with a story or situation in mind to revolve around the characters. This is not for the kind of GM who prefers to have free roaming games where the plot/story is essentially whatever the characters want. As always though I hope everyone gets something useful out of this. So without further ado let’s get to the messy part.

Don’t Bother

Is a plot or story absolutely necessary? It’s a lot of effort to get even good characters to try and deal with the situations and scenarios you put before them without them getting out of line and finding ways to direct their attention back to it. Even if you just readily discard plot after plot to allow them freedom you’ll find yourself doing a lot of work. So, it might be better overall to allow characters to pursue their own motives and goals to create the story for themselves. I know plenty of GM’s and even game designers who subscribe to this method but it comes with its own set of problems.

For one you can’t plan too far ahead or the group will inevitably shatter a lot of work you made typically within the first five seconds of contact with anything resembling a plot. Secondly, it means having to cater to some possibly very different stories all at once. Finally, if you haven’t figured this out by now it means a lot more work and being a master at improve- game mastering. If you don’t mind this then go for it. Sometimes great games come of it.

Evil has a fantastic pension plan

The simplest way I’ve seen someone pull off having something of a plot to their game is to simply have the characters be the minions. While this might chafe some characters sense of ego it does give a ready host of non-player characters and plot points to use. Also, it gives a ready goal to the characters; namely that of supplanting their boss for the top spot.

This method provides a ready source to pass down new objectives for the characters to deal with. Should they decide to cut out and run you can have loads of fun showing them what it’s like to leave behind responsibilities, especially when that responsibility is to men and women with a skewed moral compass and a very sharp knife. In addition it provides bad guys with good friends to get them out of situations. If the characters get jailed, brutally beaten, or otherwise foiled in some plot or another in the service of their organization then they get the benefit of the organizations help. In this way you can keep the characters in line not with ruthless strong arming or obvious railroading but with the knowledge that following the will of their dark lord is simply pragmatic and profitable for the time being.

However, keep in mind that being part of an organization and being protagonists means that sooner or later characters might have a rather strong desire for the top spot. After all what are all these allies, levels, and rewards for if not climbing the ladder of power? So if you do use this method keep this in mind and be ready if and when the characters make their move.

The bag of peasants method.

One way to keep evil characters from ruining a perfectly good evil scenario is to give them plenty of evil things to do. Essentially the more and easier choices they have to do that won’t do anything then advance the plot slightly the more likely they’ll do that. Just keep in mind that the one option that characters always have is to simply walk away. Don’t try to make walking away hard. That tends to stink of railroading and a lot of players will smell it. Instead, make it boring. Make it so there’s almost literally nothing to do other then terrorize local peasants and kill local wildlife. On top of this let news of what they left behind reach their ears. Tell of rich rewards, of friends being killed and enemies rising to power. Tell of entire major events in the world that they could have been a part of but walked away from because they felt it was too difficult. And most nasty of all, make it personal. After all what hit man won’t come screaming vengeance and hellfire back into town when he finds out his mommy is currently a love slave in the local mafia don’s harem?

If they stick with what you’re doing and don’t walk away then it’s important to make your characters feel like they’re actually important. Some players might enjoy being the grunts and no names in a good guy game but villains are defined by their ego and by that margin demand the world stage a bit more. With this in mind it is best if we play to that and allow them to be the big players in the story. After all that’s what a good escapist fantasy is all about. So let your choices not only advance the plot and give them evil deeds to commit but allow each of them to shine off their own dark little spotlight for all to revel in and despair.

Behind every big evil castle is an evil architect.

Another very fun and very easy way to get characters involved in a plot is to give them a vested interest in the areas most likely affected by it. Start them off trying to build a power base. Let it be an underground criminal organization, a secret cult, a dark kingdom, an evil corporation, or whatever fits your campaign. Then put their investment in danger from the forces of nice so you can get the story rolling. In this way even when they do decide to cut and run it will be with the knowledge they’ll be abandoning an investment. This in and of itself can further the story as thoughts of vengeance and bloodshed fill their wicked minds.

I really like this idea as it gives the players the opportunity to be their own dungeon masters and dark overlords. They decide the defenses and hire and train the minions. They terrorize the countryside and extort the populace. The fact that a plot happens to be following the guys sent to deal with the problem that is the characters is really a moot point.

Here is the script. Burn it.

This is an interesting and relatively different method for keeping characters on track. Currently I’m running a game where the players are warriors raised from Valhalla to stop ragnarok. They’ve been given a timeline of major events that will happen if the characters do nothing to stop or change them. Their goal is simple: stop one. With this knowledge in hand the characters aren’t running along the tracks of the railroad. Rather, they’ve been given a car and a highway to drive on and their goal is to stop a fuel truck to get to its destination. They can stop along the way to get cheetos or visit the folks but the truck keeps chugging along despite them. With the urgency of a world moving along without them the characters, and thus the players, feel compelled to take the wheel and run that truck off the road any time they can. Clever players can do some very neat things here and produce a very good game of it.

Doing this for evil characters will take some forethought. In the Viking game it’s obvious that the characters are heroes trying to do a heroic thing. Villains would probably be happy to let Odin get eaten by a big angry wolf and be the ones to stick the knife in Thors back as he walks away victorious from fighting the Midgard serpent. In this case maybe they should instead ensure that the fuel truck does in fact reach the depot. By making sure that the events go as they should they ensure the victory of evil over good and have a great time slaughtering would be conquering heroes.

Mmmmm Forbidden Donut

Sometimes the best way to get the plot moving along is to appeal to the characters sense of purpose and ego. One does this by making the story or plot appeal to the characters personally. This method will probably end up being your main weapon of choice when getting the players to focus on the story. The reason behind this is because evil tends to be synonymous with selfish.

Evil characters are by and large mainly concerned with their own hooks and problems and tend not to care whether or not the status quo is affected so long as it does not disrupt their own plans. Because of this it becomes important to take the characters back story (particular their goals which should be a part of every character back story) and mesh them into the story in some way. By doing this you ensure that the game is closer to the characters and that regardless of how you make the story or scenario the players will feel like the main characters of the show.

The End Draws Nigh

There are plenty of schools of thought on how to keep characters sticking to the basic plot or scenario of the game. What you have to keep in mind that the line between railroading and the illusion of choice is a thin and ever shifting one. Ultimately what you have to learn is how to read your players reactions. If they believe they’re being railroaded then step back a bit, reconsider how you’re doing things and spend a session or two of allowing the characters to roam around freely without any guidance whatsoever. Just remember that evil treads the less beaten paths. So put up road signs.