Echoes of Evil [NC]

[Jeramiahh]

“Mistress, mistress...” cried the sniveling little goblin, racing through the corridors of the tomb-turned-lair. “Mistress! The front doors have been breached! Humans are invading!”
Xandria, the drow priestess, looked down upon the creature as it waddled into her throne room, sneering. “You interrupt me for such trivialities, worm?” Her fingers rapped, impatiently, upon the carved, stone throne. “I grow tired of these constant interruptions. Ogres! Find this threat, and crush it! And the goblin, while you're at it!”
“Yes mistress!” the three ogres cried in unison, advancing on the pitiful, whining, little wretch. “No, no, no! Heeeelllp!”
Xandria only cackled, as the goblin was dragged away, brooding on her next plot to conquer the filthy, light-riddled human realm.

I've got an idea for an interesting idea for a game; a turn-based, strategy game, centered around playing as a D&D-style villain. Done in the style of games such as Dungeon Keeper and Evil Genius, or old James Bond villains, the focus of the game would be humorously, over-the-top evil, combined with a bit of friendly 'competition' from player-run heroes sent to defeat the evil villain.

I've been sketching out some ideas, and I have a rough system laid out, though it'll be pretty ad hoc for a lot of it. Essentially, I'm looking for about 1-3 players, preferably people with an open mind, and plenty of system experience; D&D is not required, but familiarity with system games is a must, to control the aspects of the dungeon; it's design, management of the creatures, and the Dungeon Boss, and to control the villains during incursions into the lair, as well as to control the boss during torture/playtime scenes, after a hero has been captured. Naturally, these last will give us the Elliquiy twist we all know and love.

I say I want multiple players, for a number of reasons; to ensure that the game can continue, if one player drops out, to ease any management burdens, and because I see building a complex dungeon as a good team-based project; D&D, after all, is inherently team based. This will be using D&D 3.5 rules, and use of extra books is encouraged, particularly Monster Manuals and the infamous Book of Vile Darkness (although I'd rather steer clear of the more... extreme things, from that book.)

Most actions taken by the player would be in the form of stat-based checks, occasionally, though not always, modified by a skill. For instance, recruiting a creature might require a Charisma, Strength, or Intelligence check, depending on the type of character, and the type of creature. A baseline DC I've been considering would be along the lines of (d20+Character Level+Stat Mod) vs. (15+CR, up to a max of Level-2). This would be, roughly, the DC for most activities; building a trap, raiding nearby regions, or plotting to do something Really Evil. Only expanding the lair wouldn't have rolls required; that simply takes time and effort.

It'd be fairly simple, though that would be part of the charm; raiding gives a chance to bring in loot that either impresses your minions, allowing you to recruit more, or gives them bonuses, or brings in equipment for your character... but it also attracts attention, and makes it more likely heroes will hunt you down. Of course, that may not be a bad thing, if you have a well-built lair...

I'm still hammering out specifics, and have a lot more details than I want to bore you with here, but I'd like to, at the least, give it a try, so drop a line if you're interested, or if you have any questions or comments.

[kongming]

Intriguing. I like this idea, as I loved the Dungeon Keeper games, and I hear a rumour that I'm pretty good at playing the villainous types.

Count me as interested.

[Jefepato]

Who wouldn't want to be a Dungeon Boss?

[Jeramiahh]

Well, I'm glad to see a little interest, at least. I've been debating over what levels would be best to start this; anything from 4-12 could work, though I think 6 or 8 would probably be ideal. Too much higher, and you start having to plan for contingencies like wizards with lots of nasty spells. =P

Thoughts?

[WyzardWhately]

I'm very interested.  Sounds more or less right in my wheelhouse.

[Jefepato]

8-9ish sounds about right if you plan for the main PC villains to be standard races or similar.  (After all, you can't do much with monsters at ECL 8.)

[kongming]

Yeah, probably 8-9ish. That is short of crazyland where things stop making sense and every encounter has to be custom-tailored to what the PCs stats might be, but is still in a nice, high-fantasy stage where "Bored of the Rings" characters wouldn't last ten minutes and you see things that are legitimately awesome.

Now, I must go back to thinking about Dungeon Keeper. Mmm, Dark Mistresses heading to the torture rooms...

[Jeramiahh]

I agree; 8 was where I was thinking. Definitely humanoid villains; makes them more identifiable, and more fun to play as. I'm thinking about allowing most basic humanoid races, with a 1 or 2 LA just being ignored. A drow could be played at max level, without penalty; an illithid, or demon/devil? No.

Any ideas for a villain, so far? Also, ekep in mind, to people not interested in playing the villain, openings will, eventually, be available for expendable heroes.

[Jefepato]

I vaguely thought about an ogre fighter (almost but not quite humanoid); on one hand, that sort of thuggish character might make sense to keep the minions in line, but on the other, a small cadre of master villains would hardly need to make the ogre part of their inner circle.

It's a little late right now; I'll try to get back to you with more sensible concepts.  A marshal might make an interesting dungeon overlord, though...

[Jeramiahh]

Yeah, the problem with an ogre would be the 4RHD on top of 2LA... might be easier to go with, say, a Bugbear or Orc; equally brutal, but tend to be high on the cunning scale, without the nasty RHD.

[kongming]

I'm thinking of playing a Tainted One* Beguiler**, someone who refrains from attacking things herself and instead relies on minions, traps, and twisting the minds of enemies to turn them into short-term expendable allies. Chances are that she delights in sending goblins etc. to their deaths against experienced heroes, or has them patrol areas that are also trapped, just for laughs.

Now I need to see if it was here or the Gaming Den that I made that list of "feats for minions to take".

*Tainted One: at least one FR book as well as Savage Species. It's human with the faintest touch of Yuan-ti. If you forget they have LA +1 I'll forget they have Spell Resistance (aside from the question of power, everyone can likely agree that it's a pain in the arse to remember). They have a poisonous kiss, and can turn into a serpent.

**Beguiler: Player's Handbook II. Mostly uses illusions and enchantments.

[Jefepato]

Depending on what I can weasel out of in terms of LA, I'm sort of considering an orc or hobgoblin or similar brutish humanoid.  I'm thinking I'll play a warblade, the thuggish-looking villain who smacks minions down when they get out of line...and who is far better at organizing them in combat than the poor adventurers expect.

I thought about doing a kobold trapmeister, but that would hardly be much fun once the adventurers were captured.

[Jeramiahh]

The idea was, I hope, to have only one game of this running, with the players democratically controlling the dungeon... mostly because I don't want to do the work to run multiple instances of this (unless it turns out to be insanely easier than I suspect).

[kongming]

Naturally! We can democratically send minions out on their way, discuss where to put traps, and can all control minions when it becomes relevant, complete with stupidity and cowardice where appropriate.

And I know we'll largely be setting that kind of stuff up - that our own stats will only come into play on the occasions that heroes get past the traps and minions, or when we want to tunnel through to a new area or whatever.

[Jeramiahh]

Glad to see at least one person approves. I'm going to open up a discussion thread in NC-E, so those interested in playing can discuss what the villain is.

And your own stats, at least, skills and raw stats, will be vitally important. Actual class and abilities and feats, less so, unless you fight, of course.

https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=22589.0