Among my many other projects, I am the editor of the Gargoyles online fanzine Avalon Mists. In the Autumn issue, I presented a strange little something of my own design, the Random Gargoyle Generator, as part of a Writers’ and Artists’ Challenge.

It got some amazing results in terms of pics and stories, inspired an automated version from someone much more computer-savvy than I, and created more than a few people who became self-professed RGG addicts, rolling up clan after clan of random gargs.

So I thought it might be fun to try something similar with villains, and I present for your entertainment and possible use, the Random Villain Generator. If you try it and get some fun results, send them to me (anything from a rough rundown to a character sheet to a pic to a full-out story) and we’ll include them in a future issue of Sabledrake.

Note: Math and its related activities have never been my strong point (just one more reason why I majored in Psych; the only math-type prereq was Statistics, and as none of the professors wanted it either, I wound up taking it from the same quirky guy who taught the Psychology of Creativity course).

Therefore, of course, these tables are only a guideline intended for fun. Results that are contradictory, inappropriate, or downright silly should be re-rolled, ignored, or adapted to fit the character.

Table 1 – Race. Roll 2d6

2-3 Dwarven

4-5 Undead (roll on 1a)

6-8 Human

9-10 Elven

11 Orcish

12 Other (roll on 1b)

Subtable 1a – Undead. Roll 1d6

                                1 Vampire

                                2 Ghoul

                                3 Lich

                                4 Ghost

                                5 Mummy

                                6 Zombie/Skeleton

Subtable 1b – Other Race. Roll 1d6

1 Werecreature

2 Minotaur

3 Dragon

4 Centaur

5 Merbeing

6 Gnome/Halfling

Table 2 – Gender. Roll 1d6

1-3 Male

4-6 Female

Table 3 – Age. Roll 2d6

2 Child

3-4 Adolescent

5-6 Young Adult

7-8 Adult

9-10 Mature Adult

11 Elderly

12 Ancient

Table 4 – Appearance. Roll 3d6

3 Unbearably Beautiful

4-5 Exceptionally Beautiful

6-7 Handsome/Beautiful

8-9 Attractive

10-11 Average

12-13 Unattractive

14-15 Ugly

16-17 Hideously Ugly

18 Unbearably Grotesque

Table 5 – Hair/Fur Color. Roll 3d6

3-4 Metallic (roll on 5a)

5-6 White (roll on 5b)

7-8 Blond (roll on 5c)

9-10 Black (roll on 5d)

11-12 Brown (roll on 5e)

13-14 Red (roll on 5f)

15-16 None

17-18 Streaked (roll twice more on this table and combine, re-roll 15 or above)

Subtable 5a – Metallic. Hair is shiny, metallic hue. Roll 1d6

                1 Platinum

                2 Gold

                3 Silver

                4 Bronze

                5 Copper

                6 Iron Black

Table 6 – Hair Style. Roll 1d6 on each subtable

Subtable 6a – Length

1 shorn/crewcut

2 short

3 midlength

4 long

5 very long

6 bearded or roll again

Subtable 6b – Style

1 loose

2 ponytailed

3 braided

4 curled

5 wigged

6 loose

Table 7 – Skin Color. Roll 1d6

1 fair

2 dusky

3 dark

4 bronze-olive

5 reddish-copper

6 re-roll; on another roll of 6, albino

Table 8 – Height. Roll 2d6

2 dwarfism

3-4 short

5-9 average

9-10 tall

12 gigantism

Table 9 – Body Type. Roll 2d6

2-3 very thin

4-5 slender

6-8 average

9-10 very fit

11-12 mesomorphic

Table 10 – Physical Impairments. Roll 3d6

3-5 drug addiction (roll on 10a)

6-7 sickness (roll on 10b)

8-11 none

12-13 minor permanent injury or impairment (roll on 10c)

14-15 major permanent injury or impairment (roll on 10d)

16-17 crippling injury or impairment (roll on 10e)

18 abnormal physical feature (roll on 10f) or roll twice more on this table

Subtable 10a – Addiction. Roll 1d6

                1-2 Alcohol

                3-4 Tobacco

                5 “Light” drug (marijuana, caffeine)

                6 “Heavy” drug (cocaine, opium)

Subtable 10b – Sickness. Roll 1d6

1 blood disease (hemophilia, anemia)

                                2 degenerative disease (cancer, Alzheimers)

                                3 respiratory disease (tuberculosis, bronchitis)

                                4 social disease (syphilis, herpes)

                                5 bone disease (brittle bones, arthritis)

                                6 mental illness (depression, schizophrenia)

                Subtable 10c – Minor. Roll 1d6

                                1 mild scarring

                                2 extensive scarring

                                3 missing digit (finger, toe)

                                4 sexual dysfunction

                                5 damaged facial feature (ear, nose)

                                6 roll twice on this table

                Subtable 10d – Major. Roll 1d6

                                1 missing sensory feature (eye, tongue)

                                2 missing extremity (hand, foot)

                                3 missing internal organ (kidney, lung)

                                4 missing/damaged sexual organs

                                5 hunchback / spinal deformity

                                6 roll once on this table and once on 10c

                Subtable 10e – Crippling. Roll 1d6

                                1 missing/useless limb (arm, leg)

                                2 missing/useless limbs (both arms, both legs)

                                3 paralyzed, waist down

                                4 paralyzed, neck down

                                5 absent sensory feature (blind, deaf)

                                6 requires life support

                Subtable 10f – Abnormal Feature. Roll 2d6

                                2 conjoined twin

                                3 additional limb

                                4 rudimentary tail

                                5 additional digit or digits

                                6 webbed digits

                                7 additional or eye or eyes

                                8 additional or abnormal teeth

                                9 abnormal body hair

                                10 organs growing externally

                                11 rudimentary wings

                                12 hermaphroditism

Table 11 – Profession. Roll 3d6

3-4 scholar

4-5 politician/advisor

6-8 warlord

9-10 wizard

11-12 priest

13-14 thief

15-16 advisor

17-18 entertainer

Table 12 – Personality Type. Roll 3d6

3 irrational

4-5 sullen

6-7 sadistic

8-9 megalomaniac

10-11 vengeful

12-13 fanatical

14-15 charismatic

16-17 noble

18 cold and emotionless

Table 13 – Motivation. Roll 3d6

3 madness

4-5 love

6-7 revenge

8-9 greed

10-11 ambition

12-13 jealousy

14-15 religious / higher purpose

16-17 bloodlust

18 possessed/controlled

Table 14 – Goal. Roll 1d6

1 obtain item (roll on 14a)

2 obtain person (roll on 14b)

3 conquer land

4 avenge insult

5 please a god or other entity

6 gain power (roll on 14c)

                Subtable 14a – Items. Roll 1d6

                                1 mysterious artifact

                                2 legendary weapon

                                3 book of lore

                                4 map / secret code

                                5 medicine / elixir

                                6 animal

                Subtable 14b – People. Roll 1d6

                                1-2 object of threatening prophecy

                                3-4 rightful ruler / heir

                                5-6 true / destined love

                Subtable 14c – Power Type. Roll 1d6

                                1 political

                                2 religious

                                3 wealth

                                4 acclaim and fame

                                5 magical

                                6 psychic

Table 15 – Underlings. Roll 1d6 on each subtable as applicable

15a – Number

1 none

2 one henchman

3 small group

4 large group

5 army / nation

6 pet/familiar

15b – Type

1 magical creature / undead

2 thugs / brutes

3 soldiers / guards

4 toadies / citizens

5 priests / apprentices

6 slaves / prisoners

15c – Loyalty

1 rebellious

2 reluctant

3 cowed

4 devoted

5 enslaved

6 bought

Table 16 – Lair. Roll 1d6

1 cave / wilderness

2 ruins / shack

3 house / shop

4 castle / temple

5 dungeon

6 mobile

Sample random villains:

#1 – Fire Wasp

Race: human

Gender: male

Age: young adult

Appearance: ugly

Hair: black, short, braided

Skin: reddish-copper

Height: average

Body Type: very fit

Physical Impairment: none

Profession: wizard

Personality Type: vengeful

Motivation: ambition

Goal: obtain elixir

Underlings: small group, guards, rebellious

Lair: mobile

Fire Wasp wasn’t always ugly and mean. Once a happy child, he made the mistake of offending a witch and was cursed with ugliness. His family was so horrified that they abandoned him in the wilderness, expecting him to die. He survived and confronted the witch, and when she refused to remove the curse, he lost his temper and killed her. By doing so, he wound up gaining her powers for his own, but the curse remained. Through long years of research, he has learned of the existence of an elixir that he believes will reverse the effects. He has gotten a taste of power and finds that he likes it, and fears that if he does find the elixir, it will also remove his magical ability. He is belligerent and a scrapper, angry at the world because he has no home. He travels from place to place in the company of a small group of guards, who fear him and would rebel given an opportunity.

#2 Luvina

Race: undead, ghoul

Gender: female

Age: child

Appearance: unattractive

Hair: red, long, loose

Skin: fair

Height: average

Body Type: slender

Physical Impairment: mild scarring

Profession: thief

Personality Type: megalomaniac

Motivation: jealousy

Goal: avenge insult

Underlings: pet

Lair: house

Luvina died at age seven from a fever. She came back as a ghoul because her grave was, unbeknownst to her parents, on soured and evil ground. The results of her ordeal can be seen in her gaunt face and the scars all along arms that she got while breaking out of her coffin. Since her resurrection, Luvina has taken up residence in an abandoned house near a cemetery, with only her pet carrion crow as a companion. She stays indoors by night, but when dusk falls she goes out into the streets to beg or steal. Because she rose from the dead and because she is still basically as self-centered as any child, she is convinced that she is special, and will go out of her way to cause trouble for anyone who seems better off than she is.

#3 Azgrak

Race: orcish

Gender: male

Age: elder

Appearance: average

Hair: none

Skin: dark

Height: short

Body Type: average

Physical Impairment: missing hand

Profession: advisor

Personality Type: sadistic

Motivation: greed

Goal: gain political power

Underlings: army of thugs, cowed

Lair: wilderness

The brother to the chief of the orcs, Azgrak was always the brains of the family. He worked his way up until he had control over a large chunk of the orcish army living in constant fear of him (or, more likely, of his torture-chamber). Now that Azgrak’s brother is dying, his position is in danger because Azgrak’s sons have no use for their dried-up, one-handed, bald old uncle. He’ll do anything to keep or improve his position.

I'd like to make a comment about this article.

This page has been visited Hit Counter times.