Villain Motivations

[Shoe2]

I have been trying to brainstorm Villanous motivations lately, to try and get away from the "I WANT MONEY!" and "CONQUOR THE WORLD" tropes a bit lately. I dont actually have any kind of regular gaming goin on at the moment so right now I am trying to improve the level of game that I will eventually run in the future with theory and Concept research. What motivations can the BBEG of campaigns have besides the following:


- To be King, Ruler or Master of those Like or Unlike them.
- Own Land, Have dominion over an area
- Have others serve them and do things they don't want to do. (in the form of Minions or Slaves)
- Money, or other material goods that can gain them things instead of hard work
- Food/Fuel
- Shelter/Protection from the unknown of nature
- Love (albeit hollow, sexual or "true Love")
- Power within them over that of the standard for their species (Magical, Physical, Political, Mental)
- Superior Intellect/Knowledge
- A specific Item that is exceptional.
- Discovery (of realms uncharted or of a specific legendary place)
- Change Fate (this includes Resurrection of dead loved ones, un-destroying precious items or undoing any other past action)
- Eternal Life (No being wants to cease existing)
- Godhood
- Other Resources that are deemed valuable (Slaves, monopolies or largest shares of rare resources)
- Freedom (if trapped/enslaved)
- Drugs/ to get high (there are some who desire a fix more than anything else)
- Respect/Worship (Often, some characters who do not desire to rule still desire respect from those who used to mock them)
- Transformation (the individual is unhappy with the current form in which he resides and wishes to change it)
- Immunity to Harm (No one wants to feel pain, or be damaged in any way. This differs from Eternal Life, insofar as the person can still die, but feels no harm in the process. These two are often both desired simultaneously)

This was brainstormed with both the superhero and fantasy genres in mind, so any other motivations of any genre would be useful.

[gerbilattack]

A few more:

Insanity: I will destroy the government so their chipmunk spies will leave me alone!

Hatred: I will kill the batman! He makes us all bats! (Joker for the second one)

Mandated/By Nature: I am sorry, but i must burn three orphanages by the command of my dark masters, nothing personal/ I eat people. That is what i do.

By Reputation: (see tvtropes slave to reputation) You can mind control people and your only other superpower is to cause someone to melt into a screaming pile of goo~! You expect us to let you menace us?

Revenge: Due to being betrayed by (good group) [person] wants revenge! Also all the insults. That too.

Opportunism: I am sorry man but i am moving up in this company, so i mind controlled you to go hit on and stalk Cindy, the cops will pick you up soon, and no one will believe the story that i have "magic powers" (with finger quotes)

Oppression: You always have beaten and abused [me, my people, us], well no more! I now have the power, not you and i will [make you pay (revenge), be free (change fate), make you leave us alone (Rejection)].

Hope that helps!

[imfarias]

-To make the world a better place!... by destroying those that make it worse; you know, like banks and corporations and politicians and automobile plants (cars produce toxic emissions, so stop them from making more). The workers inside the banks, corporate buildings, city hall and plants are obviously minions of these evils and deserve what they get.

[gerbilattack]

For the reverse of my previous opression in two ways.

Incompetence: The president has declared war on Belgium as he just got food poisoning form an old "Belgium Waffle" (can he do that? no, but Belgium doesn't know that.{in this case at least})

Authority =\= Effectiveness: The Emperor may rule "Cephelagia*" But he does not know much about being emperor, his policies can be erratic and harsh causing much suffering, and spotty enforcement. Last week he passed a law that anyone who steals will have both hands cut off (instead of one) as the previous measure was insufficient to stop repeated thefts.

[gerbilattack]

Four more that may be useful
for more 'temp' or 'gray' villains

Injury: The character has been injured and is trying to defend himself, or has his ability to control or direct his powers impaired. This Injury could be emotional or physical: if in the past this is instead Revenge! It could be due to what was injured (he is pissed and so is less cautious with his powers), he has been blinded (semi-permanently) and the villain may well have left the scene but still thinks he is fighting. Defensive powers (like a destructive aura) may be locked on and he could be critically injured. Also Killbots.

Side Effect: His powers have a dark side-effect, Perhaps he blasts beams oh hellfire, but every time he destroys something with them he gets a rush of euphoria, which can be addictive: perhaps this luck controller must offload his bad luck on to someone else; Perhaps his powers force him to mentally like with the dark powers beyond the stars, and this slowly drives him to madness. Perhaps he made a deal with the devil, and the favor was called in. In this case the power has an effect which all but mandates villainy, without use of the power being villainy by default (see mandated).

Fallout: In this case the character may not know/believe/care that his or her presence or powers tend to have... fallout: this fallout ranges to radioactive fallout, to diving people insane, to overly large amounts of collateral damage. In this case the effect is not part of using the power per say, but a result of using it. In addition Fallout does not necessarily always occur, and always targets someone else.

Mentally Impaired: This is both similar and dissimilar to insanity: compare. This is there for those with 'rage powers,' for the "autistic" (note not all kids who are autistic are stupid, but more accurate terms are considered impolite) guy with lazer eyes, and for the mind controlled or delusional 'hero'. In this case due to decreased mental faculties this character has become dangerous and so a villain. This is also meant to be the category for things like giant animals (or monsters) who do not feast primarily on people (and so Mandated).

Servitude: In this case, it is similar to Mandated however, it is not because the character was created that way (or created in service to evil), but because he or she voluntarily (or with some limited volition in excess of Mandated and Mentally Impaired) chose to serve someone and that person is against you. Examples include but are not limited to: Government Spec-Ops (If they are sent to take you down, that is what they have to do, whether for more benign reasons, or less it is the same.), Honor Before Reason 'knights' who have sworn service to the villain (before he was a villain), The police (in many cases), 'Shadow-knights' (serving an evil being entirely voluntarily), and anyone else who is a villain because it is his or her job or duty.
Edit: incorrect number

[poodle]

trying to do good but for all the wrong reasons... I will keep my children safe so I will find every single potential paedophile and torture them to death. (I am not sure I disapprove).

Ignorance- what do you mean I can't do this to them?

cowardice- I will make sure no-one ever hurts me or my loved ones again by controlling the world.

Religion-

Future knowledge- If I don't kill you and your entire bloodline then everybody in the world will die 400 years from now, including my wife.

Just for kicks.

[Saltcrow]

Cultural difference: whether it be an extraterrestial or the remnants of Atlantis or any sort of hidden society might have a very different values, attitudes and beliefs with what the people of the Earth consider to be the norm. Now, when the said nation/planet has a valuable resource of trade and as such its champions and representatives are given diplomatic immunity, how can the heroes deal with such problem?

I have deliberate chose not to put a religion as an example because of the diplomatic immunity twist, which is a lot easier to explain and takes a lot less "shadow cabal that has been secretly controlling the world" cliche.

Patriotism: much like how Great Ten acts in DC Comics; their primary interest is to act in defence of their home country. Superheroes flying into their airspace in search of a wanted criminal is like sending an army across the border and an act of war. Can be used for a very delicate political twist and lobbying; a good chance for somebody to use their Connected advantage.

Miscommunication: simply put, this villain has no means of communicating its intentions. It gets very problematic if the given villain is a gigantic monster with highly sophisticated means of communications that normal human senses cannot perceive. It just wants the pains to stop and find its way back home! Nice plot to have a scientist/telepath to shine by developing a translation device or simply establishing a successful mental communication (+ comprehend). Of course, finding the means and resources might take a side adventure all by itself!

[poodle]

by right- I'm sorry but we were here first. Your species are the invaders and you are subject to our rules, not vice versa.

Colonization-You did it to the aboriginies and the first nations. You can't complain when we do it to you.

To save you from yourselves-e.g. the authority, kingdom come, the watchmen.

Enforced evolution- e.g. Babylon 5, the third reich, what doesn't kill you etc... We want to make the human race stronger through adversity, get rid of the dross and the failures.

[prufock]

Bigotry: The villain has been brought up in a home environment that instilled hatred of a particular group of people, or groups of people.

Doing the Right Thing: This villain is trying to help, but has extreme methods. For instance, maybe all those mutants/metas/superheroes actually ARE dangerous and causing more damage than they stop. Eliminating or imprisoning them is the only way to protect mankind!

[badpenny]

No matter the motivation, IMO, the best villains are the ones who don't think they are villains. Internal rationalization is key.

I feel that if you listen to what real-world criminals say in justification and just heighten it to comic-book proportions, you're on the right track.

People will do things without compunction if they think they're in the right. And what defines "right" is entirely subjective.