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Ziggurat the Eternal wrote:Think of a godd guy like captain america or batman, and then ask yourself what they would be like if they just cut loose.

twingle93 wrote:So I definitely want the villain of my campaign world to be aberrant evil. He's flamboyant and loves life, but still does commit evil acts such as the occasional major disaster in the interests of creating a more organized empire, i.e the ends justifies the means. He is still egotistical, decadent and power-hungry, but doesn't torture innocent people and believes that taking over the world is the best thing.

Almost all of the other aberrant characters in Palladium games seem to be either grim vigilantes or depressed villains, who if they didn't have an overriding goal, would be planning their own suicides.

So, my question is, how do I portray a non-grim, fun-loving Aberrant villain mastermind, and can examples be provided?

In the alternative, could I have interesting examples of other types of Aberrant characters?

J. Lionheart wrote:The easiest way to think of them would be to remember the majority of the Bond villains of old. The recent ones tend to be otherwise, but the classic old villains who ran the worldwide evil organizations are great examples. They are civil, organized, and not without human emotions. They'll sit down to coffee with one enemy while killing another, and have complex motivations that are far beyond simply being evil, or satisfying a momentary impulse. It takes an abberant villain to really manage and run a long term plan with many parties - Miscreant hasn't the patience, and Diabolic hasn't the care, to pull it off otherwise

J. Lionheart wrote:The easiest way to think of them would be to remember the majority of the Bond villains of old. The recent ones tend to be otherwise, but the classic old villains who ran the worldwide evil organizations are great examples. They are civil, organized, and not without human emotions. They'll sit down to coffee with one enemy while killing another, and have complex motivations that are far beyond simply being evil, or satisfying a momentary impulse. It takes an abberant villain to really manage and run a long term plan with many parties - Miscreant hasn't the patience, and Diabolic hasn't the care, to pull it off otherwise.

macksting wrote:Because he likes torture for torture's sake, we can rule out Niska (Firefly, same setting as Serenity). Sure, he claims to have honor and rules by which he lives and expects everybody else to live, but I suspect those standards are deliberately unattainable. More importantly, torture gets one's hands dirty, usually anathema to the truly Aberrant.

macksting wrote:I would say he's a sociopath who wants to justify himself as aberrant. Imagine, if you will, the miscreant who tries to be good for appearance's sake (as long as anybody's looking), or the diabolic who has a sense of style and pizazz and thus tends toward patterns of behavior resembling yet not actually related to honor. These alignments have wiggle room. I'm inclined to say, while Aberrant may include people who use torture regularly and even with pride, I think it unlikely that it would be used by an Aberrant individual gleefully. That's pain for pain's sake.

twingle93 wrote:Great ideas. Thank you.

Could an aberrant villain have a godhood complex or be delusional or power hungry enough to seek world domination? It seems that such characters get regulated to Miscreant or Diabolic in Palladium (The Usurper, The Creator, Hagan, The Bard).

All Floopers all the time wrote:Watch Inglorious Basterds. The SS Officer in that movie is probably the guy you're thinking of: vicious and self-serving but at the same time honest and charming.

Since he firmly believes he does everything for the best, he’s very hard to turn aside from any course of action. He never makes rash decisions, and can spend days or weeks making up his mind. Nor is he ever distracted from his end goals. He will always have a seemingly sound explanation, reason, excuse or alibi to justify his actions, often citing his own perfection and divinity when the subject of causalities or collateral damage comes up. He sees himself above the laws and comprehension of mere mortals and nothing is too vicious for him once he has convinced himself that a course of action is worth taking, because “the end justifies the means.” When he decides upon a course of action, it will not matter if every living thing in all the world turns against him. It would not matter if his oldest friends turned upon him. He will defy them all and do as he sees fit. This is can often lead him to spend time, resources, and attention to schemes and projects that are doomed to failure, or have long been rendered unimportant. He will work obsessively on it until it does work. He will ignore any threats or advice that suggest a different course of action. If not for his great intelligence, this would leave him inflexible when the situation suddenly changes. He tends to continue with his original plan for better or worse.

He expects this kind of dedication in others and respects devotion and hard work even from whom he opposes, and sees those who shirk from a decided course of action on the grounds of morality to be weak, naive, short-sighted or hypocritical. They will be quickly replaced or/and punished for their inactions, even if those goals go against him.

He must always appear in control, and in situations where is not he is not the forgiving sort. He relentlessly hunts anyone who incurs his extreme displeasure. It is in these cases that he prefers to humiliate, trouble, and torment his enemies rather than killing them outright. Any fool with a weapon can kill or tell a lie to destroy another’s reputation, it takes a sophisticate to break an enemy’s mind and drive them to despair, madness, and perhaps even eventual suicide or submission. He relents only if the enemy submits and accepts miserable, degrading servitude of body and soul.

Those that take objection to his actions had best speak respectfully, use logical arguments and above all be flattering. He will justify most of his positions and eccentricities through his own supposed perfection, and refuses to show any sign that he is less than perfect. Thus, he must honor his word, promises and debts because as a god, he cannot show such mortal failings as lying or treachery, though he can split hairs and twist meanings to find a way around inconvenient promises and he has been known to interpret vows in ways that favor his own desires best. Likewise, he is so confident in this power and means of control that he never has any reason to lie. He also will never stoop to underhanded tactics like backstabbing or poison or taking hostages to get his way; not out of any moral considerations, but rather that it makes him looks desperate and weak to resort to such measures when he has full control over a situation.

The proper response to his presence in their lives should be one of terror, awe, and obedience, or at least respect. Those who do not respond in this way are amusing abnormalities that are rich fodder for his games and may be destroyed if they are foolish enough to attack him or insult him to his face. Ultimately, a strong-willed person who doesn’t fall prey to fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, or hatred, but acts in a courteous and respectful manner towards him will be left alone; especially if they are honest and have nothing to hide.

While nothing in the universe can force him into an agreement, should he give his word of honor, he will follow it through to the letter. This can be a bad thing in most cases, as any punishment or veiled threats of unspeakable punishment he promises will come to pass. He will however, cloud the truth, hide information, use disguises or illusions and give false impressions about himself, his actions, and his motives almost without thinking. He may chose to omit certain details, allowing others to make their own minds, but he will never outright lie. He himself claims to utterly despise liars, those that irresponsible, and those that go back on an formal agreement or deal (regardless of how heinous the terms were when the person agreed to it). It’s far more enjoyable if people deceive themselves when they jump to the first conclusion they come to when circumstances occur rather than lie to them. He always tells what is true...from a certain point of view; if he says “I only want what is best for you” could mean an eternity as his empowered servant. Those who attempt to cheat, trick or renege on a deal with him will pay. And the price will be a horrible one. The wise will stay out of his affairs, give him his due, and refuse his help...politely. To ask something from him is an invitation to become a pawn in his schemes. Still those who know about his honesty can work to get the truth out of him if they phrase their questions carefully.

While he is not obsessively greedy or excessively covetous (not as much as he could be; considering what his power could allow him to be), he will have what it is his and never, ever forgets a debt. If he can’t have something that he wants he will wait patiently for it to become his. He won’t take it outright, nor steal it by force (unless it is in response to an act of aggression or during a time of war), he prefers to deal for it. Often, when dealing with others over something that he wants, he will dictate fair terms, claiming a relatively modest part of the pie or drawing a line in the sand; no more but no less, and dares others to dispute him, either through combat, negotiation or by offering him something better in return. He will then leave the other alone to enjoy the game of wit and nerve to follow. He loves to see overconfident fools think that they can outsmart, outmaneuver, defeat or deceive him, only to find themselves outsmarted, defeated, outmaneuvered and deceived in the end. To see others defy or attempt to deceive or defeat him and then slowly come to align with his will or fall into despair is a truly rare opportunity and one that he savors above all others. Sometimes he tempts those into the ends that destroy them or he manipulates others into attacking him by appearing menacing or by aggravating others with his calm, steely demeanor so that he might be justified in defending himself. In fact, this is his favorite method of attack, not lying, not blackmailing, not killing, but rather simply letting another fail through their own efforts, or through a very small attack at their weakest point. Instead of simply killing an enemy, he may cause them to despair enough to kill themselves. Instead of discrediting another by planting evidence, he will simply reveal to others what the character was trying to hide. Instead of attacking others, he lets his enemies make the move and he “defends” himself. Afterwards he can rightfully claim their possessions as he sees fit, rather than steal them outright. A plan where he doesn’t have to commit an act of evil is his favorite type as it leaves his reputation and hands clean.

He deals ruthlessly with those who oppose him when he must, but finds the intellectual stimulation he gains from matching wits against opponents of the proper caliber to be so satisfying that he purposefully avoids simply murdering them in their homes or executing them when they fall into his hands. Instead he may devise fiendish traps and impossible situations, then places or lures his opponents into them to see if they’re worthy of further attention. Even his general plans are designed to allow adversaries the chance to halt them if they’re clever enough, although having done so, they may sometimes find they wish they had not. No matter how hopeless a situation he engineers might appear to be, there’s always at least one way out of it if the victims are clever (or lucky) enough to find it. An inescapable trap is, after all, no true test of an opponent, and He enjoys the game of pitting his cleverness against his enemies too much to cheat himself of a victory that way. He may allow them to live if they did something that stopped his insidious plot in a deft and/or impressive way so he allows them to win this fight as a (in his mind) reward, but they escape to fight another day.

Of course, just because he is looking forward to a re-match doesn’t mean that he wants to fight them all over again. Heroes that assume that He is going to spare them a second time if they lose will in for a surprise; they will be simply killed for wasting his time. It is not his job to indulge foolish heroes who dive blindly into his affairs. He is a believer in the escalation of conflict, and unless the heroes keep amusing him by raising the stakes, changing tactics, and presenting him with a different face each time they fight, the heroes are no longer considered amusing pests but serious annoyances who didn’t learn from their last encounter, and they are usually slain without mercy. Wise characters should count their blessings after the first encounter and leave his affairs entirely.

Against nations and worlds, he may declare war or engage in experimentation to ‘test’ their defenses; all of which he doesn’t consider to be mass-murder but rather a necessary duty for the “protection and common of the realm”. His creativity is best expressed in imaginative forms of destruction and going to war means that he is free from the restraints that bind him: rape, torture, mass killings—all are permissible in a war against his enemies. He will also allow his minions free reign as well, giving them license to engage in acts that even he wouldn’t do.

If an entire population of humans must die to achieve his ends, he will sacrifice them without shirking, but doing so is usually considered a waste of time and energy and hurt his benevolent reputation, and as such is only committed to some serve greater purpose, such as reminding his subjects of his true power. Still, the rare opportunities for revenge, excess and debauchery and gratuitous displays of powers are treated almost as holidays, and are something that He relishes doing when the time comes to do it. Occasionally he may manipulate events so that such things may occur, but he will not force them to. Only his code of honor and sense of perfection limits this, and opponents may be able to dissuade him from a course by either flattering him or citing his divinity (“Would a being of your stature resort to such a thing?”). Otherwise, he expects logical arguments for why he should not do what he desires to be done.

A narcissist, he tends to be quite confident both in his abilities and his mind and reacts violently to criticism. When he has the opportunity, he loves to show off what he knows. He takes enormous satisfaction in solving problems others cannot solve, devising plans others cannot unravel, and otherwise demonstrating his intellectual superiority. It’s sometimes possible for his enemies to trick or goad him into competing with them in some sort of intellectual challenge. Of course he never commits himself to a challenge without being sufficiently prepared and victory being almost assured. It is also wrong to assume that he answers every challenge. He’s not so wrapped up in his intellectual vanity that it makes him stupid, and he may just strike down a challenger for being so brazen.

Scorn, mockery, impudence, wisecracking, or any other show of disrespect or taking him lightly infuriate him, and even trivial remarks may set off his hair-trigger prideful temper. More than once he’s casually slaughtered someone who made the mistake of saying or doing something that offended him. Likewise he is obsessive and protective of what he regards as his, and can fly into a rage over the most insignificant incidents. Those that suffer his wrath may face a quick death, or the lingering agony of prolonged suffering; depending on his mood. Even if he does not immediately say or do anything, his simmering anger will find its way to the person responsible. Only through immediate repentance and submission can the target hope to avoid this fate. Sometimes he can be provoked into forcing his hand through losing his temper, or by making him look foolish or breaking his illusion of absolute control. Likewise, he also expects a measure of honor, responsibility and courage from others, and can be driven to rage-filled attacks if his enemy resorts to cowardly, underhanded tactics to win.