Arm Villains

[Lizzie]

For me, I'd rather not see "villains" at all but instead, antagonists. A villain, to me, is a cartoon construct. Not believable at all, and I try to avoid dealing with those when I come across them in the game.

An antagonist though - Hasan is a good example of that. So was Quick. Compare to LoTR Gollum/Smeagle. Smeagle wasn't a villain. He was an antagonist with a tragic story that led to his place in the world. A good antagonist will have *something* about him/her that makes you wish you could like them. Or feel sorry for them even while chasing after them in the desert. Or being chased and hunted down by them. Maybe you think - why is he so horrible - he's SO charismatic and clever if he wasn't so corrupt I'd totally hit it. Or maybe someone who is SOOOO corrupt, that they corrupt your PC instead and create a sense of self-loathing in your character. THAT - to me - is a good antagonist.

[AdamBlue]

I once had a brave, noble Recruit in the Arm who had a superior that commit a crime against a noble and fled.
My character initially thought, 'this is an Arm matter, we'll keep it in the arm and solve it.'
He was then offered FIFTY LARGE by a certain wink wink nudge nudge nobleman to have him return to the city and killed.
In a split second he went from honest and true man to absolute savage, so he did this.
He had fled all the way to Luirs, and therefore was out of his jurisdiction, so he had to bring the man to him.
So he took this superior's girlfriend, and convinced her that if she worked with him, she'd suffer no consequences.
Subsequently, he began waying this superior, and telling him that the nobleman was holding his girlfriend hostage. That he needed to come turn himself in to Allanak.
Meanwhile, we organized a group with the nobleman to strike this man down. I did it under the guise that I was reasonably dealing with a traitor.
The plan couldn't have gone better.
The girlfriend came with us, held 'firmly' by one of the nobleman's goons.
They were allowed to speak briefly.
Then, of his own volition, he threw himself into the spike pit at Allanak's gates at the promise of his beloved's safety.
I had killed a man without swinging a single strike by using sheer manipulation and cohersion, and won myself 50 large.
This character later went on to become a champion of the arena, a corporal in the Arm, and absolute madman until he was killed by a combo of firepools and angry mobs about five years later.
Being a 'villain' is a spur of the moment thing, sometimes. He went on to be a relatively plotless person, but that amount of money makes a good man weak. Enough to spend the rest of his life living relatively easily, especially when he gives the Templar a cut of it but claim he lost some of their cut 'foolishly' putting some into the bank and spreading the wealth among his clanmates to make it look like his reward was far less, while keeping a massive stash in multiple locations so that he would never, ever be for want again.

Remember that good people can do bad things, and bad people can do good things.

[Inks]

I often play antagonists, but they are many times heroes of their own story, or just doing what they must, even if this puts them into conflict with other groups.

I don't think I have ever seen a villain, per se.

Simply make a pc with personality, hopes, and dreams. Then play that role as best you can.

[Fredd]

Most of the Villains I have played, were heroes to whatever faction they were in. It was everyone else that thought they were a villain.