I have an idea for a villain and would like feedback on it.
The villain was once an aboleth who was banished for his research on the gods. He began building a cult dedicated to him and eventually grew powerful enough to perform a ritual to steal power from the gods. He performed the ritual but, instead of turning him into a god like he thought it would, it transformed him into an elder evil. He was sealed away by a powerful cleric and is seeking a way to break free.
I like the idea of it, and odds are if he's set up correctly so will your players. I would try to answer critical questions that help make the character a bit more believable to players that may know the lore (unless you're making your own lore up).
Things like:
If he's strong enough with a strong enough following to build a ritual to steal power from the gods, but was sealed by a single powerful cleric
How strong is he really? Conversely, how strong is this badass cleric?
Which god was he stealing power from, and what would that power allow him/her to do?
Elder Evils are typically given the name because they are so ancient they "Predate" the gods
So is this Aboleth an "Elder Evil" or does it simply have strength comparable to an Elder Evil?
Either way, what could possibly seal an entity that powerful without help from the gods?
Which gods would assist in sealing the entity? (The one worshipped by the cleric, the one the aboleth stole power from?)
It's answers to these questions and questions like it that will flesh out the Aboleth more and may even give them a personality. Allowing their position, motives, and actions to be better understood by you and the party; so ending it's reign will feel much sweeter.
I would say that the cleric called in the power of an overdiety, like Ao to seal Xarathall away.
As for the god he stole power from, I would think it would be a dead god of the seas. I'd imagine stealing power from a dead god is easier than taking it from a live one.
I like it, I think once you have those details laid out, then you have an incredible villain on your hands. Next thing to do of course is the build up and discovery your players will do around the villain. (Coming upon worshipers of him uncovering more of the mystery, handling an off hand side quest that eventually links back to more information, then trimming the herd of powerful followers eventually culminating in having to deal with the entity itself)
The most important thing to know about any villain is why. What were it’s motivations? Answering that question is the difference between a memorable villain and a plot device. The best villains have reasons for their actions beyond, “I want ultimate power for its own sake.” The maxim is: Everyone is the hero of their own story.
It wanted to steal the power of the gods in order to then do what?
I have an idea for a villain and would like feedback on it.
The villain was once an aboleth who was banished for his research on the gods. He began building a cult dedicated to him and eventually grew powerful enough to perform a ritual to steal power from the gods. He performed the ritual but, instead of turning him into a god like he thought it would, it transformed him into an elder evil. He was sealed away by a powerful cleric and is seeking a way to break free.
What do you guys think?
I like the idea of it, and odds are if he's set up correctly so will your players. I would try to answer critical questions that help make the character a bit more believable to players that may know the lore (unless you're making your own lore up).
Things like:
It's answers to these questions and questions like it that will flesh out the Aboleth more and may even give them a personality. Allowing their position, motives, and actions to be better understood by you and the party; so ending it's reign will feel much sweeter.
I would say that the cleric called in the power of an overdiety, like Ao to seal Xarathall away.
As for the god he stole power from, I would think it would be a dead god of the seas. I'd imagine stealing power from a dead god is easier than taking it from a live one.
I like it, I think once you have those details laid out, then you have an incredible villain on your hands. Next thing to do of course is the build up and discovery your players will do around the villain. (Coming upon worshipers of him uncovering more of the mystery, handling an off hand side quest that eventually links back to more information, then trimming the herd of powerful followers eventually culminating in having to deal with the entity itself)
The most important thing to know about any villain is why. What were it’s motivations? Answering that question is the difference between a memorable villain and a plot device. The best villains have reasons for their actions beyond, “I want ultimate power for its own sake.” The maxim is: Everyone is the hero of their own story.
It wanted to steal the power of the gods in order to then do what?
It wanted the power of the gods so it could rebuilt the ancient aboleth empire that the gods destroyed long ago.