Z is for Zealot
Zealots make the best villains. Their fanaticism means they’ll go to almost any extreme to accomplish their goals. These extreme actions make them more likely to come to the attention of the player characters, and more likely to call the players to action. While most Dungeons and Dragons campaign settings include a wide selection of gods and religions, religion is just one form zealotry can take.
A ranger or druid could decide to begin killing humans in a farming community because they’ve been cutting down trees in an ancient forest to build their homes. Leaders of the merchants’ guild kidnap the child of a politician who supports increasing their taxes. A necromancer is stealing every body from the local cemetary as part his plot to take over a kingdom, or even the world.
In addition to their willingness to do anything for their cause, their fanaticism leads them to overestimate their own abilities. This overconfidence can frequently lead to the villain’s downfall.
I agree. The villain in my latest is a zealot
The heroes get to introduce a bit of reality to the situation. Thanks for following and reading!
Compelling argument. Congratulations. We completed the challenge.
Thanks! And congrats to you as well! It was not a simple task. Going to do a summary post this week to both close out, and lead into my follow up posts that will be posted this month.
We did it! Congratulations! I have an award for you!!
Thanks so much! While a lot of work, it was also a lot of fun!
Zeal really can bring a fanatic down in a heartbeat. That’s probably because they’re not quite thinking things through in the heat of the moment. Thanks for sharing, and it’s a pleasure to meet you post A-Z Challenge!
They are so convinced they are right, they just don’t take into account that they might fail. Good meeting you as well! Hope to see you again.
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