One of my players is an artificer whos backstory is that he would go around breaking things then make people pay him to magically repair them, and was eventually caught in the act- being put up for execution after trying to escape the prison. Only a few days before the execution however, a white dragon attacked the town, and he was given an ultimatum of be executed or use his powers for good, and be released.
Im trying to make a villain for each pc in the party but cant think of anything other than a simple bounty hunter that waits for him to do something wrong, so if anyone has any ideas im open to pretty much anything
edit: for context btw the other villains are the kidnapped brother of the Druid that’s brainwashed into a killer that was designed to destroy the dragons plaguing the land, a spider lady that forced the warlock’s patron into a deal to give themselves unthinkable power, the sorcerers dad who was a part of the party in the past and is corrupted by a deal with Tiamat, and the enemy of the cleric’s god.
Someone he did this to- whose life savings were spent paying him to fix this item. They dedicated a great deal of effort to discovering who it was and found out about the PC. Then they gathered resources from all the other people who had been robbed and is planning to track him down and destroy him.
Did he successfully drive off the white dragon, or did they kill it?
Perhaps the White Dragon was polymorphed into a person, and the artificer scammed them, so the white dragon later tracked them down and attacked the town they were in. The artificer helped drive them off, and they have been biding their time to get revenge again.
Alternatively, as already suggested, you can have someone who was "the wrong person to mess with". Perhaps he scammed a crime boss, and the crime boss has put a price on his head for the insult? Maybe he stretched himself too far, and tried to mend a magical item, which then malfunctioned, prompting someone to seek revenge.
If he is continuing to do this in-game, maybe even have an unassuming NPC who he scams turn out to be the head of the assassins guild. I prefer in-game villain creation to pre-game!
Come on guys, if "this one is obvious" then it's not a very interesting answer is it? Probably not the best game we could play.
How about:
One of the things that the artificer broke was an old and complex grandfather clock. Unbeknownst to him, it was set with an alarm that chimed once per week to remind its owner, a forgetful old woman who had been cursed by a Night Hag, to take the antidote that the hag had told her to brew. Brewing it was a chore - it involved milking rats - but it kept her alive, much to the hag's delight. The artificer broke the clock: the old woman didn't take her rat-milk remedy, and the next day she expired, melting into a puddle of sludge on the floor containing her spectacles.
Not knowing what had happened but keen to cover his tracks, the artificer fixed up the clock and went on his way.
The puddle of slime flowed into the clock, passing on the hag's curse as well as the vengeful soul of the old woman. The clock animated, becoming part Spectre, part clock golem and part hag-curse magic.
The clock "travels through time," using other clocks as portals, but can only move from clock to clock at certain times of day. It must remain within 100 feet of a working clock at all times.
It has access to all of a Night Hag's powers.
It craves to find the artificer and subject him to the curse that the old woman was subject to, forever forced to milk rats
Its arrival is always heralded by the chiming of the hour
he’s a scammer, but is he a small fry criminal with a bigger fish crime lord out there? he’s done a deal with the authorities, but he’s still been scamming in someone else’s patch, that’s not going to go down well.
random NPC thug turns up, oops, one of the Player’s items has a nasty break. the Big Boss wants a word… he’s got a little job for you. The little jobs become bigger jobs, and at some point there will be a showdown. Or, the player embraces a life of violent crime.
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One of my players is an artificer whos backstory is that he would go around breaking things then make people pay him to magically repair them, and was eventually caught in the act- being put up for execution after trying to escape the prison. Only a few days before the execution however, a white dragon attacked the town, and he was given an ultimatum of be executed or use his powers for good, and be released.
Im trying to make a villain for each pc in the party but cant think of anything other than a simple bounty hunter that waits for him to do something wrong, so if anyone has any ideas im open to pretty much anything
edit: for context btw the other villains are the kidnapped brother of the Druid that’s brainwashed into a killer that was designed to destroy the dragons plaguing the land, a spider lady that forced the warlock’s patron into a deal to give themselves unthinkable power, the sorcerers dad who was a part of the party in the past and is corrupted by a deal with Tiamat, and the enemy of the cleric’s god.
I mean this one is obvious. Just have someone who the artificer destroyed his item and he found out he was scammed.
Someone he did this to- whose life savings were spent paying him to fix this item. They dedicated a great deal of effort to discovering who it was and found out about the PC. Then they gathered resources from all the other people who had been robbed and is planning to track him down and destroy him.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
Didn't see your post! Agree completely. :)
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
Did he successfully drive off the white dragon, or did they kill it?
Perhaps the White Dragon was polymorphed into a person, and the artificer scammed them, so the white dragon later tracked them down and attacked the town they were in. The artificer helped drive them off, and they have been biding their time to get revenge again.
Alternatively, as already suggested, you can have someone who was "the wrong person to mess with". Perhaps he scammed a crime boss, and the crime boss has put a price on his head for the insult? Maybe he stretched himself too far, and tried to mend a magical item, which then malfunctioned, prompting someone to seek revenge.
If he is continuing to do this in-game, maybe even have an unassuming NPC who he scams turn out to be the head of the assassins guild. I prefer in-game villain creation to pre-game!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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Come on guys, if "this one is obvious" then it's not a very interesting answer is it? Probably not the best game we could play.
How about:
A bigger fish.
he’s a scammer, but is he a small fry criminal with a bigger fish crime lord out there?
he’s done a deal with the authorities, but he’s still been scamming in someone else’s patch, that’s not going to go down well.
random NPC thug turns up, oops, one of the Player’s items has a nasty break. the Big Boss wants a word… he’s got a little job for you. The little jobs become bigger jobs, and at some point there will be a showdown. Or, the player embraces a life of violent crime.