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Evil wizard help
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Evil wizard help
#1I created this evil wizard who dispite my best efforts is not unique enough for the story i've put him in.
He has the following characteristics:
1 He is young, only 25 and is still has a long way to go in reaching his full magical potential.
2 His goal is to take over an empire, from inside as quickly and bloodlessly as possible (he wants to seem like a tyrant)
3 He does not believe in honour, but has good morals as he only kill to gain power and/or if they get in his way, he is not compleatly ruthless.
4 His source of magical strenght is an indominable ambision which drives him.
5 He was concieved when his mother was raped and he always felt unwanted.
6 He posesses the Allpower. This gives him tramendous magical power in all kind of magic.
7. He is the manipulating sort. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: -
Re: Evil wizard help
#2Lets see what the problems are.
1. Age 25 - Not a major problem in and of itself, but this seems rather young for an aspiring Sorcerer-Emperor. Lack of experience could be cited.
2. Quick and Bloodless Coup of the Empire, wants to appear tyrannical - This could be interesting, how does he plan on claiming the throne? Is he a blood relation to the ruling dynasty, a bastard born of an illicit union while a royal was on campaign, out hunting, or otherwise looking for a good time? Could make him interesting if he was.
3. Honorless, but has morality, not ruthless - This is a very difficult paradox to deal with. The ability to kill for gain or progress IS ruthlessness. Perhaps you mean that he isnt cruel or sadistic. He'll kill someone to gain power, but he isnt going to impale them alive and leave them hanging for three days while eating cheerio's out of their mother's skull. Perhaps this could go back to the age question where he is still getting his evil-wizard-legs and hasnt fully commited to the path of evil and destruction.
4. Indomitable Ambition - now that is certainly a power, but what is it he wants to become, I know it is to become the Emperor, but why? What will he achieve? Or does he simply seek power for the sake of power (weak as a motivation)
5. Product of Rape - Info on father? See 2. Was he unwanted, or did he just feel that way? If he was unwanted, why didnt his biological mother abandon him, give him to a monastary, or to the evil wizarding orphanage?
6. The Allpower - What the heck is the Allpower? Is it a jewel, a pointy hat, a pair of superman tighty-whiteys? How/Why does it give him tremendour raw power? Does he have the ability and control to use this power, or does accessing it threaten to overwhelm him?
7. Manipulative - okay.
I think the main problem here is that there is no character, no persona inside the black cowel, no identity behind the buring eyes.
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Re: Evil wizard help
#3I think the reason he does not seem to have a personality is because I did not describe him fully I was planning on just giving a general description but if you insist...
1. Age 25: I have seen plenty of games and read alot of books with young powerful heroic magicians so why can't there be young evil wizards. His inexperience is substatuted with power and intelligence. also the point of putting him at this age is so that the characters can see him grow. To allow him to develop as well as the heroes
2. Sorry I meant to say he does not want to appear tyranical. He wants people to like and follow him. There is absolutly no power gained from hatred by the people and he is not one to rely on fear either. He wants to win the peoples' support by showing his strenght. The Empire is a republic, though not a democracy and he wants to control it because he thinks he wants the control of an emperor.
3. Yes that is what I meant. He only kills because he has to, he wants nothing other than power and will only kill if it is necesary for his success. He is not phycopathic or anything and he was thought to have a respect for life, but to take it if necesary. I suppose he is kind of ruthless. Also he is going to be set in grey world with no set good or evil so his lack of honor is really not important as morals are. However as he gets closer to power he will get more ruthless and power hungry. He will kill more easily and the desire for power will become the focus of his life. He will eventually have no respect for life at all.
4. He gets his ambition from a desire to control and have power over others. It also stems from feeling worthless as a child and trying to make up for that weakness with power. He wants to be in control because of fear of being controled.
5. His mother was a healer and part of a unit of military healers, one of the best. They went out into the front line to heal the wounded etc. however they were all thought how to fight as they were involved in a lot of combat (as much as any other unit, even more). The unit was in a secured area after a large battle however she separated from the protection of the unit to cover more ground when she was attacked and raped by a deserter. She was quite far and just out of sight of her comrades. Some time later she was found knocked unconcious by another healer. Two days later they found the man who did it and after he was identified he was executed quite gruesomely. The rape of a healer made many leave and it had to be shown what happened to those who violated those who saved countless lives. She kept the baby that followed knowing that he was her flesh and blood and left the army. The healer tried to treat her son well, but just could not connect bond with him as she remember what happened every time she looked at him. Although the boy showed amazing magical power it was never enough to bring a smile to his mother's face When the boy was nine the mother had another baby and it was just to much for the child. He ran away and began to make up for his feeling of worthlessness with power.
6. The Allpower is a magical ability that allows him to use all types of magic (necromancy, healing, scrying, elementalisim, mind magic etc) in my world there is many different types of magic. It also gives him huge raw magical power to use in any of these disaplines.
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Re: Evil wizard help
#4Now, we have something to work with.
He seems like he could have been a nice guy, because at the very heart of the character, he wants to be accepted. Who doesnt? The primary difference being that his want of acceptance is stained by a parallel desire for mastery over others, the sort of power that was held over him as a child. in essence, he didnt get enough love as a child.
Commodus from Gladiator might be a good basis to work from for creating the evil wizard who desires nothing more than acceptance and the power to protect his own destiny. He cannot have any vengeance, his tormentors are likely beyond his grasp (his executed father, his escaped mother, etc)
Give him a few likes and dislikes, perhaps a fascination for women who are healers, exceptional healers that he would associate with positive memories of his mother, or going to the other extreme finding lust or love in the arms/loins of female gladiators and warriors.
any help? -
Re: Evil wizard help
#5Thanks it helps a good bit. He is more of the control freek nature as he longs to be in control of everything than someone with a bad childhood but I suppose the two things balance out. Do you think that it is too stereotypical? -
Re: Evil wizard help
#6One of the things that I really liked about the White Wolf games was the adoption of a nature and a demeanor. On the surface they simply dictate how a character is able to regain willpower, away from the DnD you rest and regain WP.
This evil necromancer's nature, the central part of his psyche that the common world will never see would be 'child' as the NPC is looking (in vain, and even if he doesnt admit it even to himself) for others to take care of him. Now this isnt implying a lack of ability, this is very much the not enough hugs as a child.
On the other hand, his demeanor is how he portrays himself to the rest of the world, and in his case, it would seem that a Director, or architect would be likely since he is looking at the world in larger than life terms, looking to gain power and control over others.
He could use soome bits of his power for things important to him, such as donating funds or other resources to the combat medics, or opposing them entirely. He could have front organizations working to make life easier on orphaned children, or he oculd give them the love and attention he himself never had. That would give him a very loyal cadre of eager and willing recruits to populate his circle of cronies, especially as he ages. If he becomes the emperor, it would be nothing for him to appoint a friend here, a loyal associate there... -
Re: Evil wizard help
#7Okay! If there's one thing I enjoy, it's evil wizards! First things first, I'll just say that it's extremely difficult to make a 'unique' character these days - nearly everything has been covered.
Anywho - to seem 'filled', a character has to have several different things. These include - but aren't limited to - Traits, flaws, abilities, personality and Appearance.
Lets get started by giving MY view of each of your points ^.^
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1. Age 25: I have seen plenty of games and read alot of books with young powerful heroic magicians so why can't there be young evil wizards. His inexperience is substatuted with power and intelligence. also the point of putting him at this age is so that the characters can see him grow. To allow him to develop as well as the heroes
Alright, As Scrasamax said, 25 is fairly young to have such ambitions, however - as will be pointed out later, there could be reasons for having such ambitions at such a young age.
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2. Sorry I meant to say he does not want to appear tyranical. He wants people to like and follow him. There is absolutly no power gained from hatred by the people and he is not one to rely on fear either. He wants to win the peoples' support by showing his strenght. The Empire is a republic, though not a democracy and he wants to control it because he thinks he wants the control of an emperor.
Alright, In my eyes, this basically means he is wise, which is a good trait :) He's prepared to do anything to get where he wants to, but he's also aware that the public eye could make or break him. This also shows that he believes that feats of strength and power, so having the people in 'awe' of him is the road to his success.
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3. Yes that is what I meant. He only kills because he has to, he wants nothing other than power and will only kill if it is necesary for his success. He is not phycopathic or anything and he was thought to have a respect for life, but to take it if necesary. I suppose he is kind of ruthless. Also he is going to be set in grey world with no set good or evil so his lack of honor is really not important as morals are.
Alright. bieng honorless definitely doesn't mean he's strictly evil. As is mentioned later, he ran away at 9 years old, and he would have lived a life on the streets for a while, which means he would have learned that having 'honor' won't work in a world of thieves and villians, where it's kill or killed. However, he still held onto his views of morality in spite of his life, so he won't kill if there's another option for him to climb the power ladder.
However as he gets closer to power he will get more ruthless and power hungry. He will kill more easily and the desire for power will become the focus of his life. He will eventually have no respect for life at all.
And the typical "Power consumes all" aspect :) Get a taste of power and you'll want more.
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4. He gets his ambition from a desire to control and have power over others. It also stems from feeling worthless as a child and trying to make up for that weakness with power. He wants to be in control because of fear of being controled.
As I said earlier: "Control or be controlled" "Kill or be Killed". His ambition is to be on the top so he IS on top, if you get my meaning. Show that you are the most powerful, and you won't have to worry about others pushing their power over you.
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5. His mother was a healer and part of a unit of military healers, one of the best. They went out into the front line to heal the wounded etc. however they were all thought how to fight as they were involved in a lot of combat (as much as any other unit, even more). The unit was in a secured area after a large battle however she separated from the protection of the unit to cover more ground when she was attacked and raped by a deserter. She was quite far and just out of sight of her comrades. Some time later she was found knocked unconcious by another healer. Two days later they found the man who did it and after he was identified he was executed quite gruesomely. The rape of a healer made many leave and it had to be shown what happened to those who violated those who saved countless lives. She kept the baby that followed knowing that he was her flesh and blood and left the army. The healer tried to treat her son well, but just could not connect bond with him as she remember what happened every time she looked at him. Although the boy showed amazing magical power it was never enough to bring a smile to his mother's face When the boy was nine the mother had another baby and it was just to much for the child. He ran away and began to make up for his feeling of worthlessness with power.
History. Past. THIS is where your character is made. How a character WAS defines how he IS.
What I see from this point is a Mother who, because of her training as a healer of an army, felt Duty-bound to do the right thing and raise the child that she never wanted. However lack of love for the child meant that the child was left without bieng taught some of the life-skills that he should have been. Compassion, love, praise was all non-existant for him - he couldn't even get his mothers applause from performing powerful feats of magic!
The birth of a new child that the mother WANTED was the final push of rejection needed to drive the boy from home and start a life on the streets, where he would learn valuable life skills and survival, and also become wise, if not overly intelligent. He would have to fend for himself, stealing and such.
This small bit of history gives your character more depth than any other point made so far :) From this we can derive that your character has
Traits: Magical ability
Wisdom (From living on the streets)
Basic skill in underhanded dealings: Thievery, sweet-talking/diplomacy, the ability to stay unseen when wanted and to walk silently.
Flaws: Lack of compassion and love (Both of which might push other people away from him, if they do not understand him)
Personality: Bluntness (He never had to handle 'polite conversation' the way he grew up, so he has no patience for "So, how about the weather today?" and the like :P )
Quiet/brooding (Mind you, he will be able to act friendly and open when need be)
Appearance: Lanky, lean muscled, the occasional scar from street-fights and such, Tanned skin.
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6. The Allpower is a magical ability that allows him to use all types of magic (necromancy, healing, scrying, elementalisim, mind magic etc) in my world there is many different types of magic. It also gives him huge raw magical power to use in any of these disaplines.
In my opinion, this 'allpower' seems a bit overpowered, but then I don't know too much about it :) But then, there are ways to weaken this power using his history
- The fact he hasn't had disciplined training for his magical abilities means that sometimes his spells may fail, or not work quite as well as intended. So basically, he has the POTENTIAL of bieng extremely powerful, but lacks the training to put it in practice.
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Another thing mentioned was that he was Manipulative.
- I love manipulation, and think it's far better than brute force or speed or accuracy or any other traits :) The right words said here, and the odd rumor spread there can mean worlds of difference in the future.
Anyway, I'll try to bundle my thoughts together into what I think your character is:
The dark wizard appears to be fairly young, but street-hardened. What he lacks for in experience he makes up for in determination. His life as a loner has aged him beyond his years, and mentally, he is twice as mature as his physical age.
Due to his unloving childhood and difficult teenage years, he has picked up many skills and abilities which aid him throughout life. Because of his 'If you aren't the hunter, you're the prey' attitude, He is obsessed with gaining power to make himself feel more secure with himself. Lately, his thoughts have turned to the emperor - if he could become the emperor, he would never have to fear about lack of power again.
Using deception, Assassinations, Rumors and even some of his mind-manipulating powers, in a few short years he has already come up from a street urchin to a minor noble. Because he doesn't want to seem cruel and unjust in the publics eye, he puts on appearances 24/7 of how a noble should act, and he keeps all his dirty dealings 'under the table'. This also means he does all his dirty work himself, because a loud-mouthed hireling could mean the end of his budding career. He isn't a believer of 'honour', but he does have morals and as such he won't kill or even decieve if there is another way of doing things. However, as he continues assassinating key nobles and bribing, and spreading rumours, he is slowly becoming hardened to the feeling of guilt, and is even almost beginning to enjoy the thrill of it all.
In a nutshell, This wizard is a scheming noble, not afraid to do dirty work to gain reputation and status if necessary.
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Aaaanyway. I hope something in my rambling helps a bit, Necromancer. It's 3:45 am here and i'm tired so apologies if some of what I wrote doesn't make sense, too :)
- Shadoweagle -
Re: Evil wizard help
#8Thanks Shadow eagle your post was great. Thanks for staying up so late to write it.
The thought about him being a noble is one I had not thought much on but seems like a good idea that fits in with the way think of him. However the world he is in is a mainly roman setting and so he will have to use military and magical means to size power rather than intrigue.
Also I understand how the Allpower seem so powerful but that is the point. The reason he is so successful is that he can use a wide range of powers comparered to others only able to use one. For instance he can slaughter mind mages with physical elemental attacks, the same way he can overpower elementalists mentally. It makes up for his lack of power.