I had this idea of a BBEG who hides in the shadows and used living beings like puppets. Their favourite "puppets" are children, because children pull on the heartstrings.
The whole idea is that the BBEG is a powerful magic user, and they are using their magic to capture people (most often young children) and turn them into a sort of marionette doll. They don't particularly care if the child gets hurt, because they will just use their magic to heal them, or discard them and seize control of a new "puppet", if the existing one is too badly injured or has been killed
So you never actually see, the actual BBEG at first, you just get to see their "puppets"
I should say that the "puppets" are not possessed. They are all fully aware of what they are doing and their emotions and fear and tears are real, but they are not in control.of their bodies and so can't stop themselves from doing whatever the BBEG wants them to. The BBEG purposefully leaves them fully aware and purposefully choses children because children pull on the heartstrings.
I mean who is going to kill a terrified child, even if they are trying to kill you, most people's reactions would be to want to comfort and protect them, not fight back.
I don't think I'm really explaining this idea very well, but I hope you see what I mean.
I am having trouble coming up with who would be capable of this kind of thing though.
Do you guys have any idea what kind of creature or being would be capable.of this type of magic, and willing to do this kind of thing?
Do you guys have any idea what kind of creature or being would be capable.of this type of magic
Any suitably high CR creature would do; fey, fiend, archmage, lich. Like, you could come up with anything.
and willing to do this kind of thing
Any creature evil enough.
I think you're worrying about the wrong details, you should be fixated on what, who and how, but why? Why would a creature work this way, how does it benefit them?
I like an idea of a magic item corrupting a wizard/cleric, assuming you want the BBEG to be of that sort.
Their mentality, no matter if cursed or insane, may be to see the child to be more of an item than creature.
Or, if they enjoy the child's torment, they may view it as penance for some imagined wrong or wrong the child will do. The more the child suffers, the more sanctified that child becomes. In that view, of course having MANY puppets is just improving the common good.
Like has been said, I would ask the question of why does the creature do this first.
Why does it work from the shadows like this? Is it because it is from another plane and can only access your world from a physic stance? Does it have an aversion to daylight? Does it simply enjoys having things to play with- if so, is this because it has suffered loss or is lonely and so collects children to fill the void.
Why children? Like you mentioned, it is because it doesn't think people will hurt children, but in this case it needs some sort of understanding of yours worlds society. Is it an ancient evil king, cursed into an undead state (lich) burred under the city cursing the children of those who imprisoned him? Is it that children can see things adults cant (the classic horror trope). Is it an entity that maybe looks child-like and so plays with the children in the streets influencing them as it goes (pied piper kind of thing).
How does it control children? Is it through physic manipulation? An inherited bloodline curse? Is it some sort of spider creature that has a 'web like' control? Is it some sort of Fey controlling through reflections or illusions on the effected victim? Is it an unknown cosmic horror that is cult worshiped and that children are recruited and indoctrinated ? Is it simply a cursed object that effects people who come into contact with it.
Based of any of these kind of questions, I would then build from there.
Sorry for all the question marks, I really like the concept of this and kind got a bit carried away with ideas. I am curious to see what you come up with in the end.
There are a lot of options here. But I think that IslaSongstorm is on the right track. I think the WHY is the BBEG is doing it, might define the WHO and that will lead into HOW. So ideas that I randomly generated in my head:
Is it an angry Dryad because the parents are killing the young trees in the forest?
Is it a Hag because the Hag want's the parents to come to it for help, so they can create more misery in the world?
Is it a Devil, looking for someone to save their children?
Is it a Wizard, angry at a town for their shabby treatment?
Is it a an Undead or Supernatural creature feeding off the fears of the children for sustenance? (Something Wicked this Way Comes)
Is it someone just plain insane idea that this will 'help' the children
Is it a Dalkyr, who doesn't need a reason that a mortal would understand, and it fulfills a goal not even understandable by players.
I would warn, that depending on your story, this can get dark really quickly, and it might not be everyone's cup of tea. And if an evil player party is present, they might help <shudder>.
Like has been said, I would ask the question of why does the creature do this first.
Why does it work from the shadows like this? Is it because it is from another plane and can only access your world from a physic stance? Does it have an aversion to daylight? Does it simply enjoys having things to play with- if so, is this because it has suffered loss or is lonely and so collects children to fill the void.
Why children? Like you mentioned, it is because it doesn't think people will hurt children, but in this case it needs some sort of understanding of yours worlds society. Is it an ancient evil king, cursed into an undead state (lich) burred under the city cursing the children of those who imprisoned him? Is it that children can see things adults cant (the classic horror trope). Is it an entity that maybe looks child-like and so plays with the children in the streets influencing them as it goes (pied piper kind of thing).
How does it control children? Is it through physic manipulation? An inherited bloodline curse? Is it some sort of spider creature that has a 'web like' control? Is it some sort of Fey controlling through reflections or illusions on the effected victim? Is it an unknown cosmic horror that is cult worshiped and that children are recruited and indoctrinated ? Is it simply a cursed object that effects people who come into contact with it.
Based of any of these kind of questions, I would then build from there.
Sorry for all the question marks, I really like the concept of this and kind got a bit carried away with ideas. I am curious to see what you come up with in the end.
I like the idea of an ancient Lich King, who was defeated by a band of heroes 1000 years ago. At the time, the heroes were unable to locate the Lich Kings phylactery, and so we're unable to kill him. Instead, they sacrificed themselves, to lock the Lich King away by dragging him into another plane of existence. Then used themselves to seal shut the gate, transmuting themselves, body and soul into an impenetrable barrier that would prevent the Lich King from ever returning to their world.
For a thousand years, the barrier has stood firm, empowered by the will of the ones who created it, keeping the Lich King trapped and preventing him from returning. The will of mortals, however, no matter how great, has its limits, and after a thousand years of constant attack, holes have appeared. Not big enough for the Lich King to escape, but large enough that he can reach out with his magic and effect the world once more.
He desires to bring down the barrier altogether, and open the gate, allowing him to return to the world, raise an army of undead and take back what was once his. To break the barrier, however, he needs the blood of heroes. Specifically, he needs the blood of the ones who created the barrier in the first place. There is only one problem, though; there is no blood left. The heroes who imprisoned him 1000 years ago, were powerful spellcasters, and they used themselves, body and soul, to create the seal. There must be relations of those heroes still alive, however, descendants, other family members who carry the same blood in their veins, and so he uses his magic to capture children. He has an entire cult made up entirely of captured children and though them he works, testing each one to see if they have the blood he needs and then turning them into his puppets when they don't pass the test.
Why children you might ask? Well, he needs descendants of the heroes who trapped him on the other plane or more accurately, he needs their blood, and children are easier to manipulate and control. Remember, he is still stuck on the other plane and is using his magic, directing it through the gaps that time and attack has opened in the barrier. Adults with a will and a mind and personality of their own would be too difficult for him to manipulate and use, with the same amount of control that he has over his child puppets.
So far now, he targets children, although he is not averse to taking control of an adult if he has to - it is just that his control of an adult would be so much less, and they usually manage to break free after a time. When he finds the right one though, his cult is going to sacrifice them, to use their blood in the ritual that he has taught them, to bring down the barrier. Once he is free, once he has opened the gate and returned to the world, he plans of using feeding all the members of his cult to his phylactery, to regain all of his power.
Then the world will need heroes once again. Men and women, strong enough to stand against the darkness. Lucky then, that such heroes already exist in the world, even if they don't know it yet.
So I know that I have just rambled on a whole lot, but I have tried to answer your questions, and I hope what I wrote makes some kind of sense.
On a side note, do you think this Lich would make a good villain, and what do you think of my ideas for him? Also, what kind of story and campaign would you expect from this?
Hi guys,
I had this idea of a BBEG who hides in the shadows and used living beings like puppets. Their favourite "puppets" are children, because children pull on the heartstrings.
The whole idea is that the BBEG is a powerful magic user, and they are using their magic to capture people (most often young children) and turn them into a sort of marionette doll. They don't particularly care if the child gets hurt, because they will just use their magic to heal them, or discard them and seize control of a new "puppet", if the existing one is too badly injured or has been killed
So you never actually see, the actual BBEG at first, you just get to see their "puppets"
I should say that the "puppets" are not possessed. They are all fully aware of what they are doing and their emotions and fear and tears are real, but they are not in control.of their bodies and so can't stop themselves from doing whatever the BBEG wants them to. The BBEG purposefully leaves them fully aware and purposefully choses children because children pull on the heartstrings.
I mean who is going to kill a terrified child, even if they are trying to kill you, most people's reactions would be to want to comfort and protect them, not fight back.
I don't think I'm really explaining this idea very well, but I hope you see what I mean.
I am having trouble coming up with who would be capable of this kind of thing though.
Do you guys have any idea what kind of creature or being would be capable.of this type of magic, and willing to do this kind of thing?
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.
Any suitably high CR creature would do; fey, fiend, archmage, lich. Like, you could come up with anything.
Any creature evil enough.
I think you're worrying about the wrong details, you should be fixated on what, who and how, but why? Why would a creature work this way, how does it benefit them?
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Literally any evil creature, whether its humanoid or other. Fey and Fiends are the first that come to mind though.
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I like an idea of a magic item corrupting a wizard/cleric, assuming you want the BBEG to be of that sort.
Their mentality, no matter if cursed or insane, may be to see the child to be more of an item than creature.
Or, if they enjoy the child's torment, they may view it as penance for some imagined wrong or wrong the child will do. The more the child suffers, the more sanctified that child becomes. In that view, of course having MANY puppets is just improving the common good.
You have just described a hag... Cruelty, evil enough to "use" children, weird magical powers, like to be manipulators.
Like has been said, I would ask the question of why does the creature do this first.
Why does it work from the shadows like this? Is it because it is from another plane and can only access your world from a physic stance? Does it have an aversion to daylight? Does it simply enjoys having things to play with- if so, is this because it has suffered loss or is lonely and so collects children to fill the void.
Why children? Like you mentioned, it is because it doesn't think people will hurt children, but in this case it needs some sort of understanding of yours worlds society. Is it an ancient evil king, cursed into an undead state (lich) burred under the city cursing the children of those who imprisoned him? Is it that children can see things adults cant (the classic horror trope). Is it an entity that maybe looks child-like and so plays with the children in the streets influencing them as it goes (pied piper kind of thing).
How does it control children? Is it through physic manipulation? An inherited bloodline curse? Is it some sort of spider creature that has a 'web like' control? Is it some sort of Fey controlling through reflections or illusions on the effected victim? Is it an unknown cosmic horror that is cult worshiped and that children are recruited and indoctrinated ? Is it simply a cursed object that effects people who come into contact with it.
Based of any of these kind of questions, I would then build from there.
Sorry for all the question marks, I really like the concept of this and kind got a bit carried away with ideas. I am curious to see what you come up with in the end.
I am a square. Watch me equilateral.
There are a lot of options here. But I think that IslaSongstorm is on the right track. I think the WHY is the BBEG is doing it, might define the WHO and that will lead into HOW. So ideas that I randomly generated in my head:
I would warn, that depending on your story, this can get dark really quickly, and it might not be everyone's cup of tea. And if an evil player party is present, they might help <shudder>.
I like the idea of an ancient Lich King, who was defeated by a band of heroes 1000 years ago. At the time, the heroes were unable to locate the Lich Kings phylactery, and so we're unable to kill him. Instead, they sacrificed themselves, to lock the Lich King away by dragging him into another plane of existence. Then used themselves to seal shut the gate, transmuting themselves, body and soul into an impenetrable barrier that would prevent the Lich King from ever returning to their world.
For a thousand years, the barrier has stood firm, empowered by the will of the ones who created it, keeping the Lich King trapped and preventing him from returning. The will of mortals, however, no matter how great, has its limits, and after a thousand years of constant attack, holes have appeared. Not big enough for the Lich King to escape, but large enough that he can reach out with his magic and effect the world once more.
He desires to bring down the barrier altogether, and open the gate, allowing him to return to the world, raise an army of undead and take back what was once his. To break the barrier, however, he needs the blood of heroes. Specifically, he needs the blood of the ones who created the barrier in the first place. There is only one problem, though; there is no blood left. The heroes who imprisoned him 1000 years ago, were powerful spellcasters, and they used themselves, body and soul, to create the seal. There must be relations of those heroes still alive, however, descendants, other family members who carry the same blood in their veins, and so he uses his magic to capture children. He has an entire cult made up entirely of captured children and though them he works, testing each one to see if they have the blood he needs and then turning them into his puppets when they don't pass the test.
Why children you might ask? Well, he needs descendants of the heroes who trapped him on the other plane or more accurately, he needs their blood, and children are easier to manipulate and control. Remember, he is still stuck on the other plane and is using his magic, directing it through the gaps that time and attack has opened in the barrier. Adults with a will and a mind and personality of their own would be too difficult for him to manipulate and use, with the same amount of control that he has over his child puppets.
So far now, he targets children, although he is not averse to taking control of an adult if he has to - it is just that his control of an adult would be so much less, and they usually manage to break free after a time. When he finds the right one though, his cult is going to sacrifice them, to use their blood in the ritual that he has taught them, to bring down the barrier. Once he is free, once he has opened the gate and returned to the world, he plans of using feeding all the members of his cult to his phylactery, to regain all of his power.
Then the world will need heroes once again. Men and women, strong enough to stand against the darkness. Lucky then, that such heroes already exist in the world, even if they don't know it yet.
So I know that I have just rambled on a whole lot, but I have tried to answer your questions, and I hope what I wrote makes some kind of sense.
On a side note, do you think this Lich would make a good villain, and what do you think of my ideas for him? Also, what kind of story and campaign would you expect from this?
A caffeinated nerd who has played TTRPGs or a number of years and is very much a fantasy adventure geek.