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GameMastery Guide / Nonplayer Characters / Villains / Villainous Archetypes

Scheming Noble

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 92
A scheming noble is an ideal villain for a campaign highlighting political action. This type of villain is normally an aristocrat, though typically multiclassed to provide a greater challenge. Scheming nobles are usually lawful and of the same race as the regional sovereign and other nobility.

Personality: Nobles are raised on intrigue, decadence, and manipulation. Outwardly, they might affect the personality of a loyal retainer or of boon companions who have a ruler’s ear. Beneath the facade, they scheme for ways to advance themselves and eliminate rivals.

Followers: Scheming nobles are often attended by a number of paid servants, guards, even assassins. Ultimately, if someone sells a service, they might be on the noble’s payroll. Some followers might be motivated by actual loyalty or personal ambitions, but most are well compensated both for their service and for their silence.

Plans: These villains envy what others possess. Less ambitious schemes might include engineering scandals and planting evidence to bring down rivals, while grander plans might include ruling the kingdom, either by stealing the throne or by turning the sovereign into a puppet.

Archives of Nethys

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Scheming Noble