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Memorable cRPG villain

Starwars

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All in all, my nostalgic answer would be the Master.

Myrkul in Mask of the Betrayer was a delicious bastard. The Founder could also be considered a villain in some sense. Part of why that campaign works so well, gives you the chance to react to the characters (though Myrkul is always a dick).

Since it's fresh in my memory, Gaunter O Dimm in the Witcher 3 is quite good. Creepy, scary yet charismatic in a way. And with that lovely feeling of there being a lot more going on besides what we see in the story in the game.
 
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Codex Year of the Donut
Since it's fresh in my memory, Gaunter O Dimm in the Witcher 3 is quite good. Creepy, scary yet charismatic in a way. And with that lovely feeling of there being a lot more going on besides what we see in the story in the game.
He was actually one of the few I thought of along with my first choice. Couldn't even remember who the "real" antagonist of Witcher 3 was.

There needs to be a mandatory "writing villains for dummies" class for RPG writers, because this genre is really suffering.
 

Tyranicon

A Memory of Eternity
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Since it's fresh in my memory, Gaunter O Dimm in the Witcher 3 is quite good. Creepy, scary yet charismatic in a way. And with that lovely feeling of there being a lot more going on besides what we see in the story in the game.
He was actually one of the few I thought of along with my first choice. Couldn't even remember who the "real" antagonist of Witcher 3 was.

There needs to be a mandatory "writing villains for dummies" class for RPG writers, because this genre is really suffering.

Eredin Bréacc Glas, commander of the Wild Hunt and King of the Aen Elle. Basically, space elf from another world.

The games suffer from the fact that you have to read the books to get the full story. Even then, Witcher 3's main villain was a big let down.

Roach was a better antagonist in every way. Put up more of a fight too.
 

octavius

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Diablo was quite memorable too, what with a great line like "Not even death will save you from me".
The Butcher too with "Ah, fresh meat!" and Anduriel with "Die, maggot!".

Cardboard characters with good catch phrases are more memorable than long winded generic dungeon basement dwellers who ejaculate hollow threats when all their minions have been converted into XP.
 

JarlFrank

I like Thief THIS much
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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Since it's fresh in my memory, Gaunter O Dimm in the Witcher 3 is quite good. Creepy, scary yet charismatic in a way. And with that lovely feeling of there being a lot more going on besides what we see in the story in the game.
He was actually one of the few I thought of along with my first choice. Couldn't even remember who the "real" antagonist of Witcher 3 was.

There needs to be a mandatory "writing villains for dummies" class for RPG writers, because this genre is really suffering.

Witcher 2's Dethmold also comes to mind.

Bonus points for the devs making him a disgusting faggot.
 

Thal

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For me it's Sarevok, who had that Darth Vader quality that made an impression to me back in my pre-teen years. I also like how the conspiracy is uncovered slowly and you don't actually meet him in person until the final showdown. But by then you know who you are facing and what's at stake.

I also want to reiterate that Gaunter O'Dimm stands head and shoulders above all the other modern examples.
 
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For me it's Sarevok, who had that Darth Vader quality that made an impression to me back in my pre-teen years. I also like how the conspiracy is uncovered slowly and you don't actually meet him in person until the final showdown. But by then you know who you are facing and what's at stake.

I also want to reiterate that Gaunter O'Dimm stands head and shoulders above all the other modern examples.

Err… you meet Sarevok several times before the final confrontation.
 

Thal

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For me it's Sarevok, who had that Darth Vader quality that made an impression to me back in my pre-teen years. I also like how the conspiracy is uncovered slowly and you don't actually meet him in person until the final showdown. But by then you know who you are facing and what's at stake.

I also want to reiterate that Gaunter O'Dimm stands head and shoulders above all the other modern examples.

Err… you meet Sarevok several times before the final confrontation.

Sure, you meet Koveras and Armoured Figure. I didn't really count them, because one time is in disguise in the other you're essentially observing the showdown.
 

Supermedo

Augur
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Apr 12, 2013
Messages
275
Huh...
I actually don't know, none of cRPG villains made an impression to me, well maybe Darth Nihilus? too bad the fight was fucking joke.
Now I know he isn't the main villain but Demogorgon was memorable for me, I remember fighting him several times when my party was level 17 or 18, I remember how happy I was killing that bitch.
 
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RPG Wokedex Strap Yourselves In
Everyone forgot Dark Savant I see. Perhaps he wasn't so memorable after all. Getting swindled by Rat Mafia must've tanked his rep.
 
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Codex Year of the Donut
I actually don't know, none of cRPG villains made an impression to me, well maybe Darth Nihilus? too bad the fight was fucking joke.
RPG villain fights end up nearly always being anticlimatic so I think the ones that stick with us the most are ones we don't fight directly or are frequently encountered throughout the game.
 

Supermedo

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I actually don't know, none of cRPG villains made an impression to me, well maybe Darth Nihilus? too bad the fight was fucking joke.
RPG villain fights end up nearly always being anticlimatic so I think the ones that stick with us the most are ones we don't fight directly or are frequently encountered throughout the game.
One thing you gonna hand it for JRPGs is that they have memorable boss fight with epic orchestrate music and multi phase fight ex: Kefka from Final Fantasy VI
 

Serus

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If jrpgs count then Kefka from Final Fantasy 6. Yes, i know what you will all say. Hear me out. I don't even like jrpgs, i played only a few in my life, finished one (obviously FF6). Their gameplay is often atrocious, the characters usually lame, their settings... that depends. Overall they suck. However Kefka...
What villains in crpg often do? They try to destroy something, often the world or part of it. Then they miserably fail because the heroes stop them. Lame. Well, Kefka is not a looser as most other villains. He actually is successful, no mater what the heroes do. He destroys the world that the player tries to save in the 1st half of the game. And no, there is no time travel in this story. That makes him memorable IMHO. In the end he is defeated but the world is still destroyed. In a way, he wins. Not often to be said about villains in rpgs. Also he acts like a clown, literally, despite being a powerful magician and later ruler.
 

Darth Canoli

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I can't believe nobody named him already, he's the most charismatic villain, he has a lot of henchmen and he doesn't care about you at all, because you're nothing but an insect, until you're not anymore.

The Dark Savant!

Also:

You! You're the villain and you didn't even know about it, how about that?
 

Erebus

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These two :

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Last edited:

ShaggyMoose

Savant
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I realise this is not an RPG, but I wanted to give an honourable mention to Handsome Jack from Borderlands 2. He was well voice acted and amusing while still being threatening. Otherwise, SHODAN wins this thread.
 
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Updating my .txts about anyone mentioning Handsome Jack as a well-done villain. Admittedly I didn’t get far into BLand 2, but that was… ah, not my experience.
 

Lord_Potato

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Gaunter O'Dimm from Witcher 3: Heart of Stone expansion. A cunning and malicious foe, and one that Geralt wth all his prowess cannot defeat with a sword. Every moment he's on screen (or we face the consequences of his various "pranks") is memorable.

All three members of the Sith Triumvirate from Knights of the Old Republic 2. Darth Nihilus as the spooky omnipotent threat capable of devouring entire planets, Darth Sion as the physical enemy you can defeat in combat - but are afraid to even try. And Darth Traya, ofcourse, which you get to know really well before you finally cross the lightsabers.

Caesar and Mr. House in Fallout: New Vegas if like me, you decide to take other paths to victory. Conversations with both of them are interesting and force you to think if they're not right (they're not).

Hugh Darrow from Deus Ex: Human Revolution - not really a villain, rather a very misguided man, who wanted to do the right thing... and in order to achieve it caused a global massacre. You only fight with words, because he's no match for Adam Jensen in his prime. But it still felt good to put a bullet in his brain before going to turn off his genocidal signal.
 

perfectslumbers

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Irenicus is my first thought like other people, Gaunter O Dimm too even though TW3 isn't a crpg.

The Transcendent One acts silly during his encounter but
he is a part of you, and you are ultimately the villain in your own story. It makes Planescape very memorable and makes the transcendent one acting like a doofus work better when he is just another part of you. And I like the ultimate merging of many selves as the ending to the game.

I'm not sure if we're doing exclusively antagonists, or villains as well. But Vivec is an amazing villain even though he's not an antagonist. Have never felt more satisfied at killing an NPC in my life.
 

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