Evil Overloard
The archetypal Fantasy villain.
Usually lurks in an intimidating fortress in a near-uninhabitable landscape, plotting to Take Over the World (assuming if he doesn't already rule it), with hordes of Faceless Goons and a fearful sinister second-in-command at his beck and call. Additional options include a Quirky Miniboss Squad, a black wardrobe with lots of leather, and command over dark magic or some powerful but vulnerable device. He probably has a 0% Approval Rating. Will be a dangerous opponent, even in a straight fight, since he pretty strong.
Prone to black, and generally male: hence, Dark Lord. Even more prone to being symbolically associated with death, cold, destruction, pain, and other bad things. For example C. S. Lewis' White Witch was associated with white, symbolic of snow, cold, ice, and endless winter, and his Lady of the Green Kirtle with green, symbolic of snakes and poison. He is bound to live in a firery world And it usually is, because the Evil Overlord is often not even human, or no longer human, but a force of evil.
Seldom enjoys royal blood, just to make taking him down proper. Nebulous lords of evil tend to work best as a Wizard which often makes a righteous physical butt kicking all the more satisfying. May have offspring.
Often wears plate armor or an Ominous cape like the one in an opera.
Diabolical Mastermind
The criminal version of the Evil Overlord. Standing out from the smugglers, gangsters, evil dictators and other petty criminals is the diabolical mastermind. Generally found sitting in an expensive leather chair with one hand idly tapping a trap door switch and the other stroking his pet cat, the diabolical mastermind is always at the top of whatever criminal food chain the hero — usually a spy — ends up climbing. He differs from the Evil Overlord in that he (usually) has no territory or political power of his own, although his criminal resources sometimes rival those of a developed nation.
Because of this, he is generally protected by dozens of Goons and sometimes The Commander. As such, he is very rarely made to pay for his crimes.
The diabolical mastermind's motto is that you have to spend money to make money. As such, he may spend countless millions — or billions — of dollars building a super orbital Death Ray operated from a secret volcano base, only to then hold the world's Governments to ransom for... er... millions — or billions — of dollars. Since money is no object, the best way to ask the world for this ransom is to take over every TV channel or network in the world........Weird
Not that the diabolical mastermind is not always motivated by money. He may lust for power, land, priceless art or something else could be anything reallt. But his tactics are invariably complicated and technologically impressive.
Typically, the diabolical mastermind holds no political affiliation, nor does he follow anyone else's orders. As far as he is concerned, his is the only opinion that matters and everyone else will follow his lead. He fights for no cause except his own. Any affiliations with political parties or rebel fighters are purely for the purposes of hiding his connections with crimes or having others do his dirty work. This is not to say he has no political views or agenda, just that they are either kept seperate from- or are one in the same as- his own personal ambitions.
Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:48 am
