How do I make a Bard the BBEG while making him a threatening encounter?

The bard is a competent politician that gives fiery and inspiring speeches, whipping people into an absolute frenzy, he/she has taken advantage of a war or famine or plague to scrape together a weakened nation and bring it back to power in their iron grasp. They come up with some plausible and compelling reasons to attack their neighbors and begin to expand both their territory and ideology.

he seduces the party
no saves

Music that charms monsters is an obvious choice. He could have an army of rats and other vermin that follow his every command.

Flute, violin or guitar that when played summons a bunch of shadow creatures that move and attack in time with the music.

A haunting melody that floats on the wind and can ensorcelle entire cities.

A song that if heard gets stuck in your head and slowly drives you insane, and the only cure is another song which only the bard knows.

Make something about the sounds he produces bypass earplugs and the like. Like, it vibrates the spirit or some shit.

Brown note.

You fight to the beat, or you die.

I actually ran a fight like this in the JoJo game I'm running, where the villain had the power to impose a beat on combat. Players had to do actions that could be split into three beats of action, or their attacks would do less damage the farther off it was. He also switched off a waltz beat once he started getting really hurt, instead going to 4/4 time.
Also lots of dance fighting.

going out of left field, try Pontypool's option. A viral language. Everyone's afraid to communicate because a bard has cursed the local dialect. Anyone who speaks his language comes under his sway

snake oil salesman an masse with a cult devoted to him.

That's awesome.

GWAR

badoop doop di da boop dop, babe

Stealing this

Supposing you're talking about a 3.x bard, i'd say you have to use a powerful magic item user, who makes use of quicken spell on his own magic to provide himself with some good escape routes, or simply ways to get out of the party's fire. Make his offensive power come from something he holds or wields or controls, that regularly has the power to inflict high damage on the party. making him a duelist is another way to make him slightly more threatening during the fight, provided he can use masterfully the terrain to his own benefit.

If you are talking about the 5E bard, you have enough spellcasting power in your hands to use the 'music of creation' schtick and make him all-powerful. Make him discover the true name of magic like the BBEG of Eragon, or compose the perfect symphony to lull death to sleep and make undead hordes, or simply learn power words from the greatest spellbooks of old times.

Controlling vast numbers of creatures is a good, if a bit overplayed, option.

>BBEG

Yuck.

I was thinking that they players would be following him through a series of crypts and tombs, trying to stop in in his search for "the song of eternity". I haven't decided what it will do yet, I just like the idea of a bard villain aesthetically.

He's married to a demon queen.

Why do you fags get triggered by an acronym, if i had said villain or antagonist you wouldn't have cared, even though they have the same meaning in the context of role-playing games. Kys

Its some retarded meme, probably started by some 14 year old with an ancestral redwood up his ass and then repeated ad infinitum by trolls looking to get some easy (You)s and rise outta people.

Short answer: Groupies.
A good Bard is never alone. They've got public opinion on their side. The Bard has stronger, more passionate admirers than any politician. The Bard also is ludicrously well informed: bardic knowledge and all that, gained from their many loyal followers. The Bard knows all about the party. The Bard knows of their shenanigans and capabilities, and the bard has prepared accordingly. Expect The Bard to have allies who are also decently leveled PC classes as companions.

WTF are you four so salty about?

It's just that people have been complaining about "Big Bad Evil Guy" for years. The early complaints seemed to be mostly about the concept itself, with many people disagreeing that a plot needed a character as a central antagonist.

Now, it seems that some of the complaints are about the language. "Big Bad Evil Guy" was coined to sound corny, and is more of an in-joke than a designation like "Central Antagonist." It's also grown to be somewhat vague, with some people using it as the central antagonist, others using it as the final antagonist, and still others using it as simply any antagonist, which can get confusing when trying to communicate about one of these specific ideas.

As far as the shitstorm, I think that comes in part because it takes very little effort to say "BBEG sounds dumb", which is enough to trigger some people who use that phrase. These people then go to say things like "you need to respect this acronym, it's Veeky Forums's acronym, every true fa/tg/uy uses BBEG exclusively," and that gets even people who had no real interest in the matter upset, because it starts to sound like there's people who are actually actively trying to push BBEG.

BBEG is a meme, and like most memes it doesn't have much of a shelf life. The old joke has faded, and now it seems like people are just finding it weird for people to be so fervent in holding onto it.

The Music Meister

BBEG is a meme? I thought it was a concise acronym. Also, Veeky Forums's been kinda trigger happy since ponies happened, which I guess is just two kinds of autisim rubbing against each other. Anyway, BBEG takes me four buttons to type, "antagonist" takes six more than that.
I find the necessity of differentiation between central, final, and simple antagonism to be moot. If your objective is antagonism from a narrative perspective, then there should be a focus on the methods of antagonism over the literary function.

>Implying it isn't samefagging.
>Implying it isn't the samefag who makse every ugh post trying to force a meme.

>Anyway, BBEG takes me four buttons to type, "antagonist" takes six more than that
Are you phoneposting or something? If you can post something as comparatively well-thought out as what you just said, you can spare a few characters to not sound like a fucking troper.

Or, you know, you could stop being an autistic spazz getting worked up over a non-issue on a Indonesian shit drawing rock.

>You can spare a few characters to avoid triggering Veeky Forums's autism.

What went wrong in your life for you to care about something so insignificant?

Noise Marines

Imagine Dalí, who pacted himself with some eldritch power and now can portray his visions not just through canvas, but through warping the very reality. Bonus points - he's not even Evil in the D&D alignment sense. He's just the worst kind of Chaotic Neutral.

This, honestly. The greatest power of a bard is to rally others. You can justify any number of minions of any type on hand

Also players love squaring off against other adventurers, even if their characters don't. It's a chance to use their abilities back at them and see who does it better.

I get that the
>BBEG
>Ugh.
joke is stale, but there's not much point in using a fanspeak acronym that nobody outside TvTropes uses as opposed to an actual word. It isn't just Veeky Forums autism either; if you were to go to a creative writing workshop and say "Why not just call the central antagonist a BBEG/Big Bad Evil Guy because it's shorter and easier?" nobody would take you seriously. Making yourself look like a fool for the sake of saving a few keystrokes isn't worth it.

At the moment, yes, I am. It's comfy in bed this morning. I'll post from my PC when, or if, I get around to it. But my pass is recognized on my phone, so there's no rush. Also try using "all the tropes" instead of tv tropes. All the tropes is basically TV tropes before it got co-opted. I legitimately don't know what the difference is / was, but it seems like you need a safe space out there.

You want to know where the term BBEG started, user?

Would you?

IN THOSE CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOPS WHERE YOU SAID THEY WOULD DERIDE YOU FOR USING THE VERY ACRONYM THEY FUCKING CREATED, DIPSHIT.

So, shut up about shit you actually have no clue about.

I recently saw a documentary about Dalì. The guy wasn't nuts, he was simply a narcissist and an attention whore. He just didn't care about how he was considered, as long as he was noticed.
If you want to go full eldritch, go with Zdzislaw Beksinski.

Basically the mousecatcher of Hamelen, except evil and with humans. A traveling CE douchebag musician whose demonic music riles people up into a frenzy and transforms them into the undead/demons/something else undesirable because fuck you.

In all honestly though, wouldn't Dali be better as a villain? A bard so determined to be noticed by the world that he would do anything, destroy anything to keep himself in the spotlight. He'd be a constant force of escalation for the players as well, as he pushes himself further and further into his perceived notoriety.

Funny, considering TvTropes itself and Wikipedia say it came from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At this point we're arguing in circles, so I'll cut it off here.

>Worrying about appearing foolish
>On Veeky Forums
I sure hope you guys don't do this

>The guy wasn't nuts, he was simply a narcissist and an attention whore. He just didn't care about how he was considered, as long as he was noticed.
Are you saying he was pre-internet shitposter?

Piper of Hamelin was evil and with humans. As you might recall he lures all the children out of the town at the end of the fable, never to be seen again.

Good place to stop, all things considered. So how do we make a bard as an antagonist of varying degrees?

I have a bard big bad, in a campaign. Not exactly the class, given I'm not running D&D, but the archetype is there.

She's starting alone, essentially amassing a party to accomplish a quest that will doom half of the world for its own good. So she uses devious methods like music-based mind control to recruit some key allies, ideally the PCs got endeared to beforehand. But other than when it's useful, she's acting openly friendly, and traveling in the same caravan as the PCs, who can't openly point out at what she did wrong due to the power of friendship. Basically, the threat of the character in herself is pretty low, but powerful allies allow for a constant stream of taunting that should foster a very personal sort of hatred during the final confrontation, most likely in an opera house with the full group of PC going against some sort of fantasy band..

If you think Veeky Forums is at all analogous to a creative writing workshop, I think suicide is the only answer.

Literally called my main antagonist a "BBEG" for years.

It doesn't matter if it is a good aligned paladin with a heart of gold, or a psychopatic lunatic who wants to see the world burn.

It is just the designated "opposition" to the party.

This. BBEG could control a town of people, or maybe animals (a la the pied piper). Could have an army of dancing blades, effectively bringing all inanimate objects around him to life.

Cult of Personality.

Literally.

>concise

I don't think you know what that means.

Pathfinder actually did that.
There was that one adventure revolving around the rise to power of the evil redhead queen and she was largely a Bard.

Something like this. Actually, exactly like this.

Then they're not a BBEG. They're not bad nor evil.

>Dissidia
Ugh

And Kefka was a shit talking magician with no social skills that everyone hated. Even his own troops. ESPECIALLY his own troops. But they were rightly afraid of him.

Make him a juggler who uses magical balls that he hurls at people's faces.

It'll trigger the shit out of your basement weirdo players.

(Alternatively, Kefka.)

But people know what you're meaning when you say that so who gives an actual fuck

Pic related

Solid advice. Fuck making him a bard, just do whatever and try your best to be annoying and insulting to your own group.

>hate the mutant

...

>not wanting your group to hate your BBEG
>2017
hue

You're all failures, you know that, right? How am I the first person to hear "bard" and "bbeg" and think of this?

youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Followers. Have him basically hang in the back with some type of protection from ranged attacks (say, a barrier that blocks arrows and magic which is held by two spires the PCs will have to destroy to get at him, while his minions fight them in the meantime), and just let him buff the minions. Add a template like lich or half-fiend so he can present a fair challenge even when he's forced to fight directly, or else make him into an existing creature with some levels in bars.

>quicken spell
>spontaneous caster

Ready to bend over and fork those feats?

>pass users defend BBEG

As if you needed more proof that it sucks.

Pied Piper-esque Bard who controls townsfolk with his melodies.

play 40k

THE MUSIC MEISTTEERRRR

youtube.com/watch?v=V_q1SdaWLlw

I AM COMPLETE!
youtube.com/watch?v=IHzLzhcvMxA

>the bard is a mad composer working on a mind controlling symphony that can compel an entire city commit mass suicide when they hear it
>can cause genocide just by floating in an airship above a population center and broadcasting his masterpiece

>BBEG
yeah, cause buffy totally isn't Veeky Forums related
>The whole post
Asking for ideas for an encounter I'll take that any day over the 20 constant generals.
>The Image
I agree with you, anime picture on the anime message board, what gall op has.

...

He plays heavy war drums.

THIS ONE TIME ON G I JOE ZARTAN MADE A ROCK BAND THAT HYPMOTYZED PEEPLE
AND THE JOES HAD TO PLAY MUSIC TO COUNTER IT
NOT AS GOOD AS THE EPISODE WHERE LADY JAY GAVE IT UP FOR SNAKE EYES

It's the sort of comprehension decreasing jargon that TV Tropes is a fan of.

Bard became a god. His fan-followers are powering him up. Instantly resurrects due to blood magic that also sends followers to his heaven. Said followers still contribute to his power. Had new legendary instruments made each better than the last; it's a pain to wait for a replacement when you break you last one on stage. Everything they wear should be enchanted; vanity and the fear of screwing up in front of his fans demand ludicrously stacked skill bonuses, even in the buff. Magic tattoos, magic piercings, magic rings and other accessories that can be worn to bed.

...

(You)

>BBEG is a meme?
Nah, but posting "Ugh." and the "People have been complaining about BBEG for years" pasta every time that the acronym is used are the spicy new Veeky Forums maymays.

Scatbot best bot.

Because REEEEEEEEing purely for the sake of REEEEEEEEEing.

Have him heard but not seen.

We went over that once a while back.
suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15323216/

1) Bards make great cult leaders, circus ringmasters, and infiltrators of communities and societies. He will no doubt have many lackeys working with him that will fight the party. He will probably be able to have them framed, spread songs about their cowardice or ill deeds, or otherwise ruin their good names. He will be able to indirectly screw with the party a great deal.

2) Most Big Bads only meet the party once, because any confrontation will lead to a battle wherein the PCs will either kill him, be wiped out, or the Big Bad will escape via ass-pull. A Bard, however, can probably escape ONCE in an 'honest' fashion due to invisibility, short range teleportation, and/or interference from crowds of hypnotized civilians. The second time the party meets him they'll be prepared though, and his ass is going down.

3) Bards tend to be really convincing. Don't make the final battle a threat due to his stats. Make it a threat because his motives and objective seem incredibly benign and justified. See if you can get some of the party members to defect to his side. If you have to, have the Big Bad promise them whatever their personal goals are - he's clearly done some homework on them after their first encounter.

4) If none of that works, have the final battle take place somewhere the Bard has trapped to hell and back. The traps won't activate when you enter but they'll brutally screw anyone who tries to leave. Unless he's alive and personally disables them, the party is in for a tedious and possibly lethal exit. Ask them if his death is worth all of them dying there with him.

Foundation?

underrated post

Opened the thread just to see these.

Like this.

creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/The_Song_and_Dance_Man

Sorry for the shitty /x/ tier link, it's the best I could find. It was originally in a Ichor Falls.

He has a golden toungue.
With a simple command he can convince just about anyone to do anything.
Use them to make the PCs fight each other.

>the anime message board

Fuck off, grandpa. This board isn't anime.

Skull Face get out

The Pied Piper of humans.

Anyone else feel uneasy, that some day this copypasta will be so old that the "people have been complaining for years" part will actually be true?

This, Kefka looked like a bard, but had none of the other qualities.

>[Commie]
>VLC

>Players had to do actions that could be split into three beats of action
Can you give an example? I don't get it.

Bonus points if the bard is a steampunk Beethoven clone and the symphony is the improved Ode To Joy?