He [Moriarty] sits immobile, like a spider within the centre of its net, however that net has a thousand radiations, and he is aware of nicely each quiver of every of them. He does little himself. He solely plans. – Arthur Conan Doyle
The Prison Mastermind​
The prison mastermind is a typical trope for fiction, the nice Evil within the background of some tales. In fantasy campaigns, there’s typically a “grasp prison” as a spotlight opponent for an adventuring group. I may have known as this piece “Sauron” (Lord of the Rings) or “Shaitan” (Wheel of Time) each nice Evil beings within the background of a sequence of tales. However Moriarty is way much less charged with omnipotence than the opposite two. Lengthy-time readers know I get bored with world-ending threats in video games. That is extra in regards to the “grasp prison” as a spotlight opponent for an adventuring group, extra prison than godlike menace to the world.
Meet Moriarty​
Professor James Moriarty was Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis by means of many adventures. The creator tried to kill off Holmes and Moriarty greater than as soon as, however followers at all times demanded their return. The entire latest Sherlock Holmes TV and movies carry Moriarty in eventually (as soon as as a feminine). Even Netflix’s Enola Holmes (“Sherlock’s youthful sister”) consists of Moriarty within the second film.
However his brokers are quite a few and splendidly organised. Is there against the law to be accomplished, a paper to be abstracted, we are going to say, a home to be rifled, a person to be eliminated – the phrase is handed to the Professor, the matter is organised and carried out. The agent could also be caught. In that case cash is discovered for his bail or his defence. However the central energy which makes use of the agent is rarely caught – by no means a lot as suspected. (Conan Doyle)
The grasp prison is normally handled as so good that he/she will be able to do nearly something.
“When you’ve gotten one of many first brains of Europe up in opposition to you, and all of the powers of darkness at his again, there are infinite prospects.” (Conan Doyle)
Behind the Scenes​
Alternatively, we see in Butcher’s Dresden Information that the highest boss could take actions that assist Our Heroes, although that isn’t the villain’s intent. Admittedly, Dresden’s Chicago nemesis is rather more current than Moriarty or Sauron. James Bond’s Blofeld (head of Spectre) is typically behind the scenes, typically up entrance. (The up-front villain suits motion pictures higher than the villain controlling the whole lot from the background.)
A unique model of enemy is the recurring villain who takes half within the motion, however who manages to get away repeatedly – for those who ever handle to get near them in any respect. Khan (Star Trek) could match into this class, although he appears to have a private antipathy to Our Heroes as nicely. Gamers come to hate this sort of villain and anticipate the time when the villain will get “what they deserve.”
Then there’s the villain who’s a minion of the chief dangerous man, however is highly effective in his/her personal proper, who could come to the fore if the minion conceives a private hatred for one of many good guys. It’s now not “simply enterprise,” it’s private. As in Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher motion pictures. (Sauron, within the First Age, was a minion of Morgoth however with out a lot of the non-public hatred.)
Fantasy tropes assist prison masterminds. The villain-as-spider with a hand in the whole lot will profit from some spells and magic objects, particularly crystal balls or different long-distance seeing. Lengthy-distance communication will present extra prospects than obtainable in Moriarty’s Victorian Period. Thoughts-controlling spells, even one as gentle as a allure, are nice for recruiting unwitting minions. And so forth. Disguise spells and doppelganger powers assist the sinister sneaks of the world, as nicely.
Mastermind Traits​
There are a number of parts that elevate a villain from mere foe and a group of stats to a mastermind.
- Familiarity: from a former colleague or relative of a personality, to the faceless and hardly identified mastermind.
- Attain/Scope: Inside a precinct or small settlement to a whole nation or continent
- Energy Stage: A couple of minions to whole armies, a number of hedge wizards to mighty magicians
- Goal: Private energy in a metropolis all the best way to overcome the world (continent, area).
- Private hatred: of Our Heroes (or certainly one of them), right down to the dangerous man who has no private information of, or curiosity in, the great guys.
When you play this proper, a recurring villain is somebody the participant characters know of however don’t typically meet; and once they do, the showdown is epic.
Too Many Cooks​
There are a number of methods to make use of masterminds, and there’s typically a “Sorting Algorithm of Evil” by which every decrease boss reveals that there’s somebody in flip extra highly effective behind them. This can be a widespread trope in tv sequence by which every season ends with a brand new villain, culminating within the prison mastermind when the finale ends (assuming it doesn’t get cancelled earlier than then).
That stated, utilizing a number of masterminds doubtlessly reduces the affect of every villain on the sport. However you may actually have a number of sorts of villains concerned; for instance the chief villain after which a subordinate who conceives private hatred for Our Heroes.
I confess that after I create adventures, I believe much more about attention-grabbing conditions than particular person villains. Maybe it’s as a result of I believe by way of a struggle between good and evil. However even Lord of the Rings had a number of “mid-tier” dangerous guys (e.g., the balrog, Saruman) earlier than the heroes confronted down Sauron himself, and even then they did so not directly.
Your Flip: When you use prison masterminds in your marketing campaign, how far-reaching are their plans?
