#villain politician

[dailyadventureprompts]

Villain: Mavros Arator, Voice of the Ascendant

The demagogues seem everywhere these days, putting their words to the tune of the populace's nebulous worries: this week it's the impiety of the realm's leaders, last week it was the barbarians infringing on the borders, before that it was the decaying morality of the youth. It's the same old song, just with new lyrics to fit with the times. No one's sure just when the crescendo will hit or how, but everyone who's been paying attention know they're going to try to bring the whole house down when it does.

Setup: A charismatic figure has risen to prominence channelling discontent in the wake of an unfavourable war. As a gifted orator and veteran of a conflict remembered for being more "glorious", the words of Mavros Arator carry weight with both the military and common people. He agitates on behalf of those who resent the diplomatic capitulations used to secure peace in a losing war his own rulers started, and argues for a revival of "national spirit" to strengthen the homeland so it does not allow such a disgraceful defeat to happen again.

What separates Mavros from any other blowhard protofascist is the fact that he's looking to summon a demon to purge his homeland of those unsympathetic to his cause. Scoured clean of all those unwilling to fight and die and obey, he and the other true believers will form an unstoppable army that will march out under the banner of conquest to settle at spearpoint every historical grievance in the realm's long history.

It's up to the party to stop this instigator and the hatemob he's made of their neighbours before he enacts his plan and ends up ascending to full dark lord status.

Background: Mavros loved his homeland, as a young man he went to war to defend it, spent decades bleeding for it, and that love endured even after his homeland spat him out with nothing but a soldier's pension and a lifetime of traumas he had no words to explain.

That was the point of course, empires are built on the back of men like Mavros, shaped from their earliest days to believe that their homeland is singularly great and beset by threats on all sides, or that war is the measure by which a son may prove his faith and loyalty rather than an enterprise made to expand the holdings of the powers that be.

The problem for those powers is that Mavros didn't die like he was supposed to, he soldiered on driven by a manic dedication that persisted despite his comrades getting scythed down around him. When he was too old for soldiering he turned to having a family, raising four boys and feeding them one after another into the waiting jaws of his nation.

A man less ardent in his love of home, less firm in his faith might have wavered when they brought the first of his sons' bloody helmets back in lieu of a body. He might have seen how his virtues, his loyalty, had been abused by those above him, made him question the justness of the wars and conquests and pain he had been apart of. instead that loss, made him open to change. Instead Mavros's convictions deepened, and by the time of his third son's death he had become so entrenched in the pit of his beliefs that he had unearthed a new truth: He loved his homeland, it was just being held back by the people who didn't love it enough.

It was deep in that pit where Mavros first heard the whispering of Diridaxx, the fiend known to diabolists as "He who claws from below". In ages past the demon was said to prey upon the weak, wicked, and impious, before clashing with an ancient hero and being struck down with a blow so divinely empowered that it not only buried the fiend deep underground but reduced him to ash along the way, depriving him of the strength required to ever escape. The depths of Mavros's despair and his own desire to see those "less thans" cleared from his home formed a connection between man and demon: first dreams, then visions, then a pact. Influence in exchange for escape, followed by victory in exchange for slaughter. The fact that the hero of the old myth happened to be one of the founders of the realm that handed Mavros's own homeland its recent defeat was just icing on the cake.

Adventure Hooks:

The party is likely to encounter Mavros's influence long before the man himself, as thugs, opportunists, and grifters look to take advantage of the post-war unrest to raise their place in the world and make good on his words. A troop of discontented soldiers may be shaking down travlers on the road as an unofficial "toll" to repay their service , while an enterprising merchant might stoke xenophobia to turn townsfolk against a competitor of forign origin.

It'll take more than speeches and random acts of violence to summon Diridaxx from the pit, it will take sacrifice. (un)Luckily for Mavros, he's been sacrificing all his life, and all that is required is a bit of occult-recontextualization to turn the deaths of his sons into a ritual years in the making. With fiend's magic his follower's resources at his command, it's only a matter of time before he gathers the bones of his three dead sons (and their haplessly dutiful surviving brother,) from their resting place in foreign lands and cremates them, suffusing their pyresmoke with Diridaxx's own noxious essence.

If you want to add another big bad to the mix and given similar themes of would be tyranny and xenophobia, consider checking out my genocidal fallen angel villain: Insiyah who could be very easily be using Mavros as her agent, or working alongside him to bring about his vision.

Also consider checking out my writeup on how d&d tends to mishandle matters of morality in it's game, and the simplistic way it views evil. Writing that inspired me to write a villain who was a very human sort of evil who utilized magic, rather than the all too common magical evil around which most campaigns are based.

Art 1

Art 2

[sunderwight]

It's actually kind of hilarious to contemplate the prospect that the genre shift in SV means that Luo Binghe's harem go the queer route as well and start largely pairing off into lesbian ships with one another.

Mostly because of the sheer scale of Bingge's harem, and the fact that a lot of it was comprised of the members of politically influential families.

Can you imagine the freak-outs that various lords and kings are probably having over the fact that their daughters keep eloping with one another? The practical ones are probably going to be like, well, a political alliance is an alliance, welcome to the family Random Demon Princess! But a lot of them are probably going to be pissed that their bloodline's liable to die out, and that the perfectly suitable match (read: asshole cannon fodder Bingge did away with in PIDW) they arranged for their daughter got interrupted by some lady cultivator kidnapping her from her wedding instead. Imagining several prominent nobles in various realms furrowing their brows together and just being like, is it something in the water? Did some plant do this? Is it like it a cultural ripple effect, the Demon King is gay so now all the youngsters are too?

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Gaslighter? I hardly know her!

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[bixels]

Cozy Glow is such an interesting litmus test for die-hard bronies. I was checking r/mlp to prep a post and there’s a discussion post about how she deserved what she got and. How do I tell bronies that children should not be tried as adults. How do I tell bronies that psychopaths and sociopaths deserve human rights and treatment and support. How do I tell bronies that cruel and unusual punishments are bad. How do I tell bronies that the death penalty is wrong. How do I tell bronies that a ruling body should not have absolute say over putting someone to death, least of all a 6-year-old child.

These are all my recent google searches.

[devotedlittlefreak]

One thing that particularly annoys me about the Kai Winn hate is how it strips her of her actual power.

I've seen so much people comparing her to their catechism teacher or another uber-catholic conservative woman of their life, and... she's the most powerful Bajoran in the show! She's the Kai, at some point she seems like the de-facto head of diplomacy, and for a moment she is even the head of state! She has 2 Coup attempts on her record!

Even before she's elected, she's a proper dangerous reactionary, with a political doctrine and an important base of followers. Along with Dukat and Weyoun, she is THE political character of the show. And she's so grey! So real!

I don't want to compare her to one of today's fascist either, but I feel she's kinda similar to De Gaulle ? (One of the leader of the French resistance and post WW2 political leader, and then president.)

Someone with an authoritarian doctrine who became a face of liberty and resistance (more or less peacefully). A radically Conservative politician who rose to prominence because of governmental instability, and strangely became a voice of moderation and stability. Someone "respectable".

Definitely an opportunist but also they haven clear limits. Her line is "No Cardassia, no Federation", but it really is No Cardassia first. Unlike Jaro.

Some info about De Gaulle to make my points : During the Algerian war of independence, the putschists of Alger wanted him to take power in a new military government. He declined their offer but immediately was named 1st minister by the president. And then... he instored a new Constitution tailored to his view of France. Does anyone see where I'm going with the comparison?

Back to Adami. They toned it down a lot after her first appearance, but she has this criminal side that's proper to fascists. I'm pretty fascinated by Bareil's view of her. She tried to have him killed, and then blackmailed him, and he's like "Maybe it's the will of the Prophets. She will need our help."

When it's Dukat, it's all "he's so charismatic and complicated tho", but the best Kai Winn get is "Louise Fletcher makes me hate her so bad!" Honestly, I think she is more complicated and interesting and grey than he is

The fandom rarely undermine his power. Same for the other villains who are actually "evil" : Lady Founder, who is too frightening to undermine, Intendant Kira and Emperor Gieorgou (probably because of the Camp factor), and the Borg Queen.

And I don't think Winn is evil. She's a realistic authoritarian/reactionary. In the end, I think she does care about the Bajoran people. But she thinks she knows best, she think they need a strong hand and she's the best qualified

[mammalsofaction]

The fact that the Doof had been paired and proved most compatible with Perry, canonically and repeatedly proclaimed to be one of OWCA's best agents in the field, is curious to me.

Some fics have a throwaway line or two talking referring to his compatibility with other agents. I think, also, about the canonical fact that he remains as third most dangerous evil scientist in OWCA's ledger.

I also like thinking about the fact that we have been proven, multiple times, in VARIOUS dimensions and fluctuations to the time space continuem, that were he not continuously thwarted throughout his career, he would not only have achieved tyrannical rule, he would have EXCELLED in it, and perfectly undefeated, EVEN BY HIS EVIL PEERS that people loved to pretend were always more competent than him.

Like. I think about that. Why? What makes Heinz so dangerous? What made everyone else incompatible to a point OWCA realized they needed to send their best, and he needed to be on call ALL THE TIME?

Curious

[youcalledsworld]

Ghost King vs Gotham

King Phantom knew he needed to step in and deal with Gotham. The wanton murder in that city meant that souls kept entering the Infinite Realms. Lack of space for those souls was not the issue. It was the pleas and cries from those souls that was the issue. Many of them wanted their killers dead or many of the villains in that city dead so their family members were safe. And even Walker demanded to condemn the crooked cops.

It was all a major headache and the biggest headache of all was Lady Gotham herself. She was stubborn and believed her Knights were doing what was best for the city. All despite the protest from the souls that came from the city.

Some even demanded that her Knights be condemned. Mainly Batman because he allowed those lunatics to run around killing them. Nightwing because children tried emulating him when they saw a kid their age fighting crime ( the lucky ones were killed straight away). Red Hood for selling drugs, not killing the major villains and getting innocent bystanders killed in his war against crime. Even the little Robin head was wanted because of his past.

Danny didn't want to step in to deal with matter but he knew he had to. So Danny had Lady Gotham step down as the city spirit and had his spies locate every crooked cop, politicians, heroes and villains. Once everyone was accounted for, he had them all captured and teleported to his courtroom to be judged.

[asocial-skye]

This is probably elaborated on a lot more in detailed meta, but for all of the shit that Lucas has pulled and all of his questionable decisions, Palpatine is probably his greatest triumph as a villain within narrative. Yes, he is absolutely a cartoon with no redeeming qualities, and Anakin definitely has a more dynamic character arc, but it's still incredible.

Star Wars as a franchise is associated with war and wartime: laser sword battles, epic forbidden romance, last stand trench runs against powerful enemies. It's all action, stylized violence and "rule of cool." There is good character writing and plot of course, but the public perception of Star Wars as a whole is about the cool space wizards and laser guns.

So it's absolutely curious that Lucas, in a trilogy that he said was geared towards children, had his villain do none of the things that made Star Wars so famous. Palpatine never fought ever. Except in Revenge of the Sith, Palpatine's horrible crimes all stemmed from his politics, and his cunning. Part of the Jedi's blindness to Sidious was that he was playing them on a field that they didn't expect: politics.

The Jedi are not politicians, nor have any interest in politics; the movies make this painfully clear. (The fact that the Council just goes and attempts to execute Palpatine, a popular leader who was "democratically" elected-I will give the Jedi credit; Palpatine is a monster, and killing him then and there was probably necessary- shows that there aren't the most politically minded) Palpatine literally does more damage to the entire galaxy that has repercussions for a generation- seriously, people like Biggs probably lived and died within the Empire- than Anakin could ever do during Operation: Knightfall or even as his tenure as Vader. And the Jedi can't do anything to stop it because they refused to play the game. In fact, one could make the argument that refusing to play only meant that Palpatine could carry out his agenda even faster.

It's almost like the bad guy won because any damage wreaked by an army of space wizards can be done a thousandfold by one politician. And it's like the lesson is that if you turn a blind eye to the injustices in your government, the corruption festers until it turns into something unspeakably horrid, and by then it'll be too late.

That's something to think about.

[izunias-meme-hole]

Enver Gortash Appreciation Post

[miodiodavinci]

(single loud AA) (the forest goes silent immediately after) (birdsong returns moments later)

[thekingofwinterblog]

You know something I find hilarious?

One of the main motivation of MHA's villains is that they hate the status quo and want to change it by any means necessary, ripping down the world because it has flaws, and throwing it's virtues(stability, peace, economic prosperity, etc) out with all the rest.

Mass destruction, hundreds of thousands dead, the social cause of Quirk users with non human features set back decades, the a bit under 17 000 revolutionaries(not counting the ones shigaraki killed to take control over the group) effectively ruined their lives, and to add insult to injury, judging by what we see in the final span of chapters, the Hero system will emerge from the conflict better and stronger than ever, not only meaning it was all for nothing, but in fact from the villains perspective, worse than nothing.

Except for one, single point.

Re-Destro killing off a bunch of unnamed, unelected, shady government officials from the Hero Public Safety Commission, that has a massive impact in how society is run despite having no oversight by any outside body, is the only thing the league ever did that seems like it's going to lead to lasting, positive change in the direction they wanted it, as Hawks takes the reins of power to reform it.

I just find that absolutely hilarious.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Adventure: The Siege of Frostmanse

A hero takes up arms against a powerful frost giant mage, threatening to destabilize the realm and forcing the party, their allies, and the powers that be to start choosing sides.

For generations Ylnriig the Argent has provided council and arcane insight to kings, jarls, and champions alike, seeking to maintain some measure of calm across the rugged land and icy seas that neighbour her home. Songs are sung about the great wonders she has performed, but also the great prices she has exacted in the name of keeping the peace: Plagues halted by burying villages in ice, destined dooms averted by the noble sacrifice of innocents.

Songs are also sung about Rothger Redsail, and his Redsail raiders. Brave beyond recounting, this living legend and his viking crew are said to have toppled foreign thrones, drunk mead with stormgods, and even sailed over the edge of the world. Now Rothger is back in his homeland and he has no qualms about what his next voyage is to be: He aims to sail against the giant and topple Ylnriig's head from her shoulders, so that the people might never pay her terrible price ever again.

Setup: This scenario works best if the party has a good impression of both Ylnriig and Rothger early on. Trophies from the Redsail's travels hanging in the tavern, local monuments to where Ylnriig averted some disaster through magical might or cleverness. Have the markets flooded with wonders offloaded from Rothger's latest viking expedition, while the town fountain runs with healing waters after being blessed by the giant's own hand. Neither side of this conflict is strictly in the wrong, and both give much to the world simply by their existence.

Everything changes when Rothger sails back into harbour and starts laying the groundwork for his attack on Ylnriig's home, securing supplies and new recruits for the Redsail Raiders, hobnobbing with the local power players to ensure they support his actions. Initially he'll keep the goal of his next expedition secret, boasting to the masses only that his next mission will deliver them into a time of prosperity and opportunity that neither they or their direct forebears could imagine.

Adventure Hooks

Facing some great challenge, the party might be sent to petition Ylnriig for aid, being forced to make the trip to Frostmanse, her isolated sanctum nestled among the far fjords. The ice giant may seem to give them the cold shoulder, sending them off on some wizardly errand as payment for her involvement, but after some time enjoying her hospitality the party may come to know Ylnriig as the deeply caring scholar that hides beneath her shrewd and utilitarian exterior.

Early on, the party might be tempted to join the Redsail Raiders. Doing so would greatly boost their credibility, and give them backing and direction that they'd normally miss out on as independent sellswords. Doing so will likely require that they prove themselves to the hardened sailors of Rothger's warband , but that's what apprentice level adventurers do isn't it?

Eventually a secret long buried will come to light: More than a score of years ago Rothger and Ylnriig used to be lovers, their relationship as passionate and tempestuous as where volcanic flow meets glacial ice. Rothger was off on one of his grand adventures when plague broke out in his home village, a plague that could only be staunched through drastic magical intervention. Ylnriig ran the numbers, and make an awful but nessisary choice that saved tens of thousands while dooming Rothger's family and clan to a cold and awful death.

Though Rothger's animosity towards Ylnriig is genuine, his actions are being backed by a coalition of powerplayers throughout the region who consider the Wizard's continued meddling an impediment to their ambitions. If he succeeds, they'll be able to enact schemes and settle scores that've stayed idle for generations. If he fails, they'll have a martyr to rally support around, as they make a second attempt to oust the giant.

Artsouce

[idk-bruh-20]

If Tony Stark was real in our reality

all the villains he " "created" " would be, like:

- oil tycoon pissed that Stark has made renewable energy free for the whole state of NY and has plans to expand the tech to other states, countries, the world

- CEO of a predatory student loan company enraged by Stark making college widely affordable through an endless supply of scholarships

- corrupt politician whose career is over after his dirty laundry gets aired - in a leak that can't be traced to Stark Industries.. but also can't not be traced to it

------

Tony: attempts to make the world a better place with the power he has

Literally all the people who benefit from the world being a bad place:  time to break out the tights and commit crimes???

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

We could have had it all...

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[nando161mando]

The most villainous place in the galaxy

[scumbag-the-hedgehog]

It's so funny that you set him off in the slightest and all of a sudden it's obvious that he's Scourge's dad.