What makes a good campaign villain?

What makes a good campaign villain?

being right

being almost right

being right in a sorta morally ambiguous way

Having a motivation that makes sense for him and his, and not just "I WILL SUMMON THE BLACK STAR TO THIS WORLD AND RENDER EVERYTHING TO NOTHINGNESS!!!!"

You posted it OP

Depends on campaign, setting and the players. Over the top Saturday morning cartoon level villain works in light-hearted superhero campaign, not so much in gritty dark fantasy one for example.

Honestly, they just need a motivation other than being EVIL, and they need to have enough interaction with the players (either directly or indirectly) to give a face to their struggles

This, his motives are logical and even follow ethical imperatives but are cold.

Killing a civilization to save a species, destroying a race to save a world, Killing systems to preserve the galaxy.

They should be realists to the PC optimist. Expecting everyone to change or become self-aware is wholly irrational and those in power who understand quickly lose it because people don't like change. They will not accept realities that result from their actions and instead willingly walk to their doom because addressing the problems causes them anxiety or guilt.

See: Anyone who has children without the means to support a family

Needs a motivation, a tragic element.

When a man discovers that that which he most desires but could never have, now lies within reach beyond the unforgivable, that is when he abandons his humanity.

When an idealistic young rebel fights against a corrupt establishment and overthrows them, only to become the corrupt establishment.

When a hero fights against monsters but can't see the monster he's become.

When a good man is brought to a situation where victory and righteousness are mutually exclusive.

Etc.

The best villains are a dark mirror of the heroes, and their struggles reflect the hero's struggles, except that they failed (morally) where the hero succeeds.... or alternatively, the fallen hero defeats them and becomes them.

was he right?

Not being set up intentionally as a main villain. The enemies the players make on their own will always be better than what you shoehorn in.

You'll know you've got it right when the PCs are mad at you because they can't side with him.

Can confirm.

One of the most despised "villains" I ever ran was the PCs' commanding officer who kept screwing them over because it was the best way to have the rest of the regiment they were in survive/win.

>When a hero fights against monsters but can't see the monster he's become.

Beasts all over the shop...

You'll be one of them... Sooner or later...

I hate this fucking meme. Yes, arguably good villains are very good. But that doesn't mean a mobster can't be better. Evil people exist. Deal with it.

someone the players just want to see dead. They're gonna get murdered eventually, might as well make it cathartic.

What does Veeky Forums think of this villain? Thinking of running a Magic campaign.

Villain grew up under the care of a once-oldwalker, now dead.
Oldwalker used a planar portal to bring foreign life to this plane, saving it from the harsh life of their own home but keeping the portal open just enough that they'd receive the native (red) mana they need to life.
Mending happens, portal closes, oldwalker dies, refugees start to die out because the plane they're in isn't red or vibrant enough.
Villain can't start the portal, or planeswalk to find a solution.
Villain (powerful red mage) decides to terraform the plane, having been trained by an oldwalker and using magic tools left behind.
Mountains erupt from outwards across the plane, sometimes spewing lava and ash, leading goblins to once protected peoples.

Hunters are killers!

NOTHING LESS!

A really big penis.

And if that doesn't work, some trait, quirk and/or action that leaves a lasting impression on the players.

Even "evil" people are either psychotic or have come to some kind of logical reasoning to be evil, and I think most people settle for the latter because it's hard for psychotic people to come to any sort of real power.

Take a look at A Journal of Murder, the autobiography of Carl Panzram. If you were to put him into some villainous role, he wouldn't be a mirror to the hero. He's a young man who got fucked up (beaten as a young teen, allegedly raped several times throughout his life if his journal is to be believed) and came to some conclusion that life is suffering, people are horrible, and that he should try as hard as he can to show people that/break down society. So he was plenty evil, but there was still a logical reason for him to get to that point, he wasn't just pure evil for the sake of being evil.

I think people mistake good villainous reasons for being a good villain. If your enemy is any of these three:
Then you have some, but not all of a villain. The main benefit of having a villain with some tragic take on the human condition like is that they are relateable, inspiring sympathy.

Said partially, is right in that they must have INTERACTION WITH THE PLAYERS.

Sympathetic motivations, interaction where it't not just "I see the villain, I attack", these are ways to get the players INVESTED in the villain. They need to want to stop him. You must invest players in the villain by whatever means, be it sympathy via some motivational facet or interaction enough to show that they are people too, not just a statblock.

One of the classic pitfalls of DMing is killing the characters family to make them want to fight the villain, but this is a cliche at this point for the most part. Creating villains who are fun to fight, are challenging without being godlike, are realistic enough to relate to, or sympathetic are all things that a good villain has to ENGAGE the players. This is what will make or break the coolness of a villain in your campaign.

Pic related for a good villain made so by challenge and interaction alone, without a sympathetic backstory or ethical right.

Millions to save billions, etc. A good villain must act as the foil to the given zeitgeist of what the established "good" characters believe. That's if you want an intellectual villain. If you want an exciting villain, that's up to you and the parameters of your campaign.

>Millions to save billions, etc

The guy in OP's pic genocided the human population of Mars as part of a bid to gain political power over the rest of his people

Does that count?

Being wrong but understandable.