A great evil is rising, gaining power and support, poised to
realize its great plan to take over/remake/destroy the world. What
greater adventure is there for a hero than to thwart this terrible
effort?
What, indeed?
Have
you ever been reading a book, or watching a movie/show where the
villain is just so compelling or cool, you just can't help rooting for
him/her? Where you find yourself imagining what things would be like if
the bad guys won?
How much more epic could it
be for a new group of heroes to rise against the victorious darkness?
While this isn't an entirely new idea, it is one with a lot of
unrealized potential. The concept is used quite a bit, usually on a
smaller scale. Ever start an adventure where you and your companions are
prisoners that need to escape to get things started? Kind of the same
idea. Often comes off as contrived and can be difficult to pull off.
Much
like the classic plot of stopping the evil villain before all is lost.
After a while, the idea of hacking through legions of harbingers, foot
soldiers, scouts, spies, minions, lieutenants, pets, evil twins, and
second-in-commands can start to feel contrived. How often do the heroes
arrive just in time to stop the main villain just moments before the
completion of whatever ritual, ceremony, sacrifice, opening, or
button-push that will plunge the world into eternal darkness? Big
climax. Big finish. Big heroes.
Ever been
following a story where the hero has to keep the villain from assembling
the scattered pieces of an ancient artifact to keep them from victory?
You know when the hero gets one of the pieces, but the villain gets
away? You ever find yourself yelling at the page or the screen? "Why do
you need to chase after the villain? You won!" Because, that's why.
Just, because. The artifact won't work without all the pieces, but
neither will the story.
Next time, we'll discuss the ways in which the heroes can become involved in the adventure after evil has won and all is lost.
No comments:
Post a Comment