The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 9 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 9
By Corvax 13Part 9.
The Mad Emperor
As the Dictator’s (or succession of Dictators) reign grinds on, he’ll squeeze the world with an ever-tighter grip, desperately trying to keep his ever-widening hold on the world, frantically trying to keep the Chaos at bay. At the very end, almost nothing of the noble champion will be left. His veneer will have worn away, and the whole world will see his naked evil. And, as he rattles out his last breath, the world will take note, but not mourn one who was once its greatest hero. The Empire will look to his Heir- the heir who has also been chosen and groomed, but not by Heaven, but rather by th
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 8 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 8
By Corvax 13
Part 8.
Secret Tunnels and hidden complexes: The Dictator is just as paranoid as the Dark Lord, and for just as good reasons. And his need for control will lead to twin, linked, and on the surface paradoxical passions for secrecy and the appearance of forthright openness. If you’re the only one who knows something important, then you control that situation; if everyone thinks that you have no secrets, then you really control the situation. So the Dictator- or a select handful of loyal operatives- will contrive an array of nasty tricks that would fit right into a 1960s TV Spy show. Leading the list of those nasty tricks ar
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 7 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 7
By Corvax 13
Part 7.
Guilds of Evil Wizards: The Dictator would never specifically found a guild for evil wizards. But It would violate everything that the Dictator believes in (and really believes in, not just tells himself that he believes) to leave a focus of incredible magical power like a Wizard’s College or Guild unsupervised. Indeed, he’ll found a special college for wizards and sorcerers in his capitol, equipped with the best tools, materials and texts, just so that he set the terms for attending. Any prospective wizard who’d just sign a contract that they haven’t read, or swear an oath that they haven’t
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 6 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 6
By Corvax 13Part 6.
The Dictator
Eventually, the Dark Lord will meet his end; even HE can’t out-weasel his karma forever. Exactly how he gets stuffed into that special crypt is up to the GM. The point is that when the Dark Lord exits the stage, he’s replaced by the Dictator. The Dictator is not just Dark Lord 2.0. No, he is a very different kettle of poison fish, with a venom all his own.
The first and foremost difference is while the Dark Lord is almost the personification of Chaotic Evil (as the D&D scheme goes), the Dictator is Lawful Evil, with the emphasis on the Lawful. The Dark Lord was essentially a criminal leading
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 5 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 5
By Corvax 13
Part 5.
The Meme of the Dark Lord
If the Dark Lord is a part of your world, you’ve got to decide exactly HOW the Dark Lord fits into that setting. After all, Evil has standards. If there aren’t certain criteria for being a Dark Lord set, well, any silly piggy who finds a magic amulet and black cloak can call himself a Dark Lord. And that’s just lame.
The First Dark Lord will be breaking whole new ground. That has both its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, the First Dark Lord won’t have entire tribes of evil demi-humans banging on his door looking to join up, or talented evil henchmen signing up
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 4 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 4
By Corvax 13Part 4.
Twisted Lieutenants: Of course, as everyone who’s watched The Masters of the Universe (or any other ‘toy franchise’ cartoon show) knows, the Dark Lord can’t enslave the world all by himself (no matter what he says). No, he needs a cadre of complete and utter blaggards who are champing at the bit to conquer the world, or at least cut off a slice for themselves while the Dark Lord is taking the lion’s share. Each of these lieutenants is a credible villain and threat unto themselves, and truly worthy of their own Action Figure (or two! Maybe even with a kung-fu grip!) In many ways, it’s no
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires Pt. 3 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires Pt. 3
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires
By Corvax 13
Part 3.
Secret Societies: While Dark Lords definitely prefer overwhelming force and intimidation, it’s a poor Master of Evil who doesn’t know that guile, persuasion and temptation are effective tools. And every general knows that 10 men operating inside an enemy city’s walls are worth 1000 outside it. And the use of covert operations and terror within a target population are a good way to keep up the ass-clench factor for the Dark Lord’s enemies, as his Vile Majesty builds up (or replenishes) his conventional forces. Secret Societies of varying stripes can provide the
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires pt. 2 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires pt. 2
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires
By Corvax 13
Part 2.
Lazarus Pits: Dark Lords are allergic to dying. Ironic, considering how much time and effort they devote to making people want to kill them. And, let’s face it: whether it’s a battle royal on the battlefield, or an assassin’s blade or an exploding Fiendish Device, or even simple Old Age, there are LOTS of ways for a Dark Lord to be killed, maimed or incapacitated.
Which sucks.
To get around this, the Dark Lord has a Lazarus Pit, which keeps him coming back time and again, well after anyone else would have said, ‘screw this, I’m going to study the violin
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires
By Corvax 13
Part 1.
One of the major problems of Fantasy Role-Playing Games is that many of the classic tropes that we associate with FRPG (dungeons, roaming bands of demi-human bandits, bizarre monsters, magic weapons lying around in troves, books of fiendish lore, etc. et al) simply don’t make that much sense. Still, they’re fun, and many a world-smith has made a botch of things, trying to shoehorn them in where they simply don’t fit.
And yet, there’s another trope that is largely ignored, which can serve as a perfect explanation for most of the rest of them: the Evil Empire. Evil Empires are what happens when R
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 9 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 9
By Corvax 13Part 9.
The Mad Emperor
As the Dictator’s (or succession of Dictators) reign grinds on, he’ll squeeze the world with an ever-tighter grip, desperately trying to keep his ever-widening hold on the world, frantically trying to keep the Chaos at bay. At the very end, almost nothing of the noble champion will be left. His veneer will have worn away, and the whole world will see his naked evil. And, as he rattles out his last breath, the world will take note, but not mourn one who was once its greatest hero. The Empire will look to his Heir- the heir who has also been chosen and groomed, but not by Heaven, but rather by th
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 8 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 8
By Corvax 13
Part 8.
Secret Tunnels and hidden complexes: The Dictator is just as paranoid as the Dark Lord, and for just as good reasons. And his need for control will lead to twin, linked, and on the surface paradoxical passions for secrecy and the appearance of forthright openness. If you’re the only one who knows something important, then you control that situation; if everyone thinks that you have no secrets, then you really control the situation. So the Dictator- or a select handful of loyal operatives- will contrive an array of nasty tricks that would fit right into a 1960s TV Spy show. Leading the list of those nasty tricks ar
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 7 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 7
By Corvax 13
Part 7.
Guilds of Evil Wizards: The Dictator would never specifically found a guild for evil wizards. But It would violate everything that the Dictator believes in (and really believes in, not just tells himself that he believes) to leave a focus of incredible magical power like a Wizard’s College or Guild unsupervised. Indeed, he’ll found a special college for wizards and sorcerers in his capitol, equipped with the best tools, materials and texts, just so that he set the terms for attending. Any prospective wizard who’d just sign a contract that they haven’t read, or swear an oath that they haven’t
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 6 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 6
By Corvax 13Part 6.
The Dictator
Eventually, the Dark Lord will meet his end; even HE can’t out-weasel his karma forever. Exactly how he gets stuffed into that special crypt is up to the GM. The point is that when the Dark Lord exits the stage, he’s replaced by the Dictator. The Dictator is not just Dark Lord 2.0. No, he is a very different kettle of poison fish, with a venom all his own.
The first and foremost difference is while the Dark Lord is almost the personification of Chaotic Evil (as the D&D scheme goes), the Dictator is Lawful Evil, with the emphasis on the Lawful. The Dark Lord was essentially a criminal leading
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 5 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 5
By Corvax 13
Part 5.
The Meme of the Dark Lord
If the Dark Lord is a part of your world, you’ve got to decide exactly HOW the Dark Lord fits into that setting. After all, Evil has standards. If there aren’t certain criteria for being a Dark Lord set, well, any silly piggy who finds a magic amulet and black cloak can call himself a Dark Lord. And that’s just lame.
The First Dark Lord will be breaking whole new ground. That has both its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, the First Dark Lord won’t have entire tribes of evil demi-humans banging on his door looking to join up, or talented evil henchmen signing up
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 4 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires part 4
By Corvax 13Part 4.
Twisted Lieutenants: Of course, as everyone who’s watched The Masters of the Universe (or any other ‘toy franchise’ cartoon show) knows, the Dark Lord can’t enslave the world all by himself (no matter what he says). No, he needs a cadre of complete and utter blaggards who are champing at the bit to conquer the world, or at least cut off a slice for themselves while the Dark Lord is taking the lion’s share. Each of these lieutenants is a credible villain and threat unto themselves, and truly worthy of their own Action Figure (or two! Maybe even with a kung-fu grip!) In many ways, it’s no
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires Pt. 3 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires Pt. 3
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires
By Corvax 13
Part 3.
Secret Societies: While Dark Lords definitely prefer overwhelming force and intimidation, it’s a poor Master of Evil who doesn’t know that guile, persuasion and temptation are effective tools. And every general knows that 10 men operating inside an enemy city’s walls are worth 1000 outside it. And the use of covert operations and terror within a target population are a good way to keep up the ass-clench factor for the Dark Lord’s enemies, as his Vile Majesty builds up (or replenishes) his conventional forces. Secret Societies of varying stripes can provide the
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires pt. 2 by Corvax13, literature
Literature
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires pt. 2
The Care and Feeding of Evil Empires
By Corvax 13
Part 2.
Lazarus Pits: Dark Lords are allergic to dying. Ironic, considering how much time and effort they devote to making people want to kill them. And, let’s face it: whether it’s a battle royal on the battlefield, or an assassin’s blade or an exploding Fiendish Device, or even simple Old Age, there are LOTS of ways for a Dark Lord to be killed, maimed or incapacitated.
Which sucks.
To get around this, the Dark Lord has a Lazarus Pit, which keeps him coming back time and again, well after anyone else would have said, ‘screw this, I’m going to study the violin
The statement that really caught my eye was: "While each Dark Lord is an individual, one thing is consistent: they’re all gamblers." Interesting hypothesis there!