My 30 Day World - Who Is The Most Nefarious Villain In Your World?

I'm participating in the #My30DayWorld exercise partially because I want to see how fleshed out my world of Khardtha actually is, and also to see what I can add, prompted by questions I may or may not have already asked myself.

Day 3 - Who is the most nefarious villain in your world?

The short answer, and kind of a cop-out is "no one." Despite the number of years I have had material on Khardtha sitting in my notes, I've not actually developed it to the point where many would claim it is playable. Additionally, quite a few of my decisions when world building are player driven, and I've never been presented by a player with a "big bad."

This isn't to say there aren't villains in the world, I've just not delved into their stories much. If I had to choose, however, I'd say it would be a tie between Arvedas Dungan, a powerful magic user that threatened the peace and prosperity of a whole continent hundreds of years ago; or Karthōth, the God of the Dead in the Fartucian Pantheon, who was a thorn in the side of the very first adventurers I ever ran in the setting.

Neither have much developed for them to make them the "most nefarious," but I would likely edge Arvedas just a touch higher in rank on this, due to how oppressive his regime was.

Bleep Boop! Achievable!

Last night's session was a milestone for my group. Though we have completed a Pathfinder Adventure Path in the past (Wrath of the Righteous), this was the first one we completed with me in the DM's seat.

A few years back, I decided I would run the APs in order, starting with Rise of the Runelords. That one wrapped up in the fifth book, with the characters' lives ending in Runeforge, the magical research center created by the Runelords. Curse of the Crimson Throne came to its conclusion during play of the third book under Arkona Manor when the party fell to the claws of Sivit, the darksphinx. After that, the group (down a couple of players, I'll add) failed saves against Drow sleep poison and were quickly outmatched by Depora at the end of the first book, bringing our Second Darkness run to a close.

Then, we started Legacy of Fire. The opening felt weak, though the action and story were compelling enough to keep play going. There were times when the story fell flat, not supporting the overall narrative, and focus was lost a little. There were times I had to bolster or scale back the number of encounters to keep things exciting/stop the game from becoming a slog. Despite this, after 41 sessions since 2017, we completed the Adventure Path.

I only hope my players had fun through the campaign. Something about the end rang hollow to me, but I can't place it. It's not that they didn't have to fight for the win, it's not that I don't think they were rewarded with a bad campaign (or Dungeon Master!). I keep going back to the denouement. Legacy of Fire's epilogue isn't as satisfying to me as the three previous APs'.

We talked about it as a group after we finished, and everyone seemed ok with it. Sometimes it's a curse being the DM, when you read and know more about it all. It does feel good to not TPK in one of these and actually see it to the end, though Jhavhul did his best to try to change that.

The Council of Thieves is next in the series, but it's been requested that Forgotten Realms 2 be next. Looking forward to that!

2018: A Year in Summary

Finally settled into a place where I can bring out my PC and kind of get back into the swing of things here. Though I don't promise a huge upswing in posting, I do think I will put more on here than the three or so posts that have been sprinkled in the last couple of years.

I'm kicking off this year the same way I've done the last few and letting everyone know what I've been up to as far as entertainment goes. As always, if there are any questions or comments about the content of these lists, let me know.

2018 Use of Time
Books
Starfinder Adventure Path 2: Dead Suns 2: Temple of the Twelve (Paizo)
Pathfinder Chronicles City of Strangers (Paizo)
Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game X-Men Roster Book (TSR)
Vampire: The Dark Ages Libellus Sanguinis - Masters of the State (White Wolf)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting Inner Sea Bestiary (Paizo)
Pathfinder Adventure Path 20: Legacy of Fire 2: House of the Beast (Paizo)
Exalted 3rd Edition Jumpstart Module The Tomb of Dreams (White Wolf/Onyx Path)
Pathfinder Chronicles Guide to Absalom (Paizo)
White Night (Jim Butcher)
World of Darkness Combat (White Wolf)
Pathfinder Chronicles Dark Markets: A Guide to Katapesh (Paizo)
Pathfinder Horror Adventures (Paizo)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting Lands of the Linnorm Kings (Paizo)
Scion 2nd Edition: Origin (Onyx Path)
Pathfinder Player Companion People of the North (Paizo)
Vampire: The Dark Ages Liege, Lord, and Lackey (White Wolf)
Starfinder Adventure Path 3: Dead Suns 3: Splintered Worlds (Paizo)
Pathfinder Chronicles Heart of the Jungle (Paizo)
Shadow of the Demon Lord Expert Module A Case of Consumption (Schwalb Entertainment)
Pathfinder Player's Companion Demon Hunter's Handbook (Paizo)
Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game (Sword & Sorcery)
Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)
3.x D&D Ravenloft Secrets of the Dread Realms (Sword & Sorcery)
Pathfinder Adventure Path 21: Legacy of Fire 3: The Jackal's Price (Paizo)
The Roadmap (Cameron L Morrisey)
5e D&D Princes of the Apocalypse (Wizards of the Coast)
Shadow of the Demon Lord Victims of the Demon Lord: For Gold and Glory (Schwalb Entertainment)
Shadow of the Demon Lord Core Rulebook (Schwalb Entertainment)
Scion 2nd Edition: Hero (Onyx Path)
Pathfinder Adventurer's Guide (Paizo)
Pathfinder Module The Emerald Spire Superdungeon (Paizo)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting Occult Mysteries (Paizo)

Magazines
Dungeon 90
Dungeon 143

Movies
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2006)
Seventh Son (2014)
Divergent (2014)
Insurgent (2015)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Midnight Chronicles (2009)
Black Panther (2018)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Alex Cross (2012)
Out of Time (2003)
It (2017)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Dracula Untold (2014)
The Snowman (2017)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Near Dark (1987)
The Legend of Hercules (2014)
War (2007)
Sausage Party (2016)
Neighbors (2014)
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)
The Ridiculous 6 (2015)
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Bird Box (2018)

TV
Major Crimes, Season 6
Brave Starr, Complete Series
The Alienist, Limited Series
Legion, Season 2
Night Gallery, Season 1
Castlevania, Season 1
Castlevania, Season 2
The Haunting of Hill House, Season 1
Black Mirror, Season 4
The Last Kingdom, Season 1
Godless, Season 1
NCIS, Season 8
NCIS, Season 9
The Final Table, Season 1
The Last Kingdom, Season 2
Black Mirror, Season 3
Longmire, Season 3
Criminal Minds, Season 6
Criminal Minds, Season 7
Criminal Minds, Season 8
The Last Kingdom, Season 3
Criminal Minds, Season 9
Criminal Minds, Season 10
NCIS, Season 10
NCIS, Season 11
Criminal Minds, Season 11
Longmire, Season 4
Longmire, Season 5

Tabletop Gaming*
Legacy of Fire AP (22 Sessions)
Dead Suns AP (6 Sessions)
(Taylor)Shadowrun (1 session)
Exalted 3e "The General Direction" (5 Sessions)
(Sam)5e Tal'Dorei Campaign (14 Sessions)
(Taylor)Numenera 1-Shot
3.x D&D "Kellan's Cellar" (14 Sessions)
(Jon G)3.x D&D "By Sword and Claw" (8 sessions)
(Taylor)Iron Gods AP (3 Sessions)
(David)Deathwatch (2 Sessions)
(Taylor)Strange Aeons AP (2 Sessions)
(Paul)Serpent's Skull AP (2 Sessions)
(Sam)5e Dragon Heist module (3 Sessions)
Into the Haunted Forest module 1-Shot
*Games with names other than mine in parenthesis denote who ran those campaigns.