Winning the Battle to Lose the War with a Big Bad
Mar 10, 2018 23:27:09 GMT -8
Post by Deleted on Mar 10, 2018 23:27:09 GMT -8
So you've just killed the big bad. Congrats. Now what? Not what's next, at least for you. There is likely not to be a next for you, at least one you will enjoy. I'll explain.
There is always someone who will want to do things you don't like. Getting rid of one doesn't change that. In fact, it may work against you. Any questions the Big Bad's followers had about your cause got answered as soon as you killed him. The threat was real. He was right. And like any good big bad, he's already been grooming his successor. Heck, your move to dispatch him might even be the move he needed to get commitment to his cause. His allies see that if they don't close ranks, they might be next.
Like a hostage negotiator, I am here to inform you of a simple fact: Killing him won't get you what you want. Killing the big bad is not the end, but the middle of a plan to win the war against him. Before you kill him, you should prepare yourself for what will happen afterwards. Find someone with ambition who has a claim to the Big Bad's power. Offer it to them in allegiance. Find a way to legitimize his killing so that his followers can't paint you as the villain. Like a lumberjack, you plan out how his fall will occur and cut him down so it happens just so.
Even if the big bad is an insane god bent on world destruction, you don't think someone doesn't have designs on his power? What about his enemies who now stand unopposed (because evil fights evil as often as good)? These considerations are what make a game interesting and alive. The different powers and factions all have their own goals, and seldom is everyone opposed to a single opponent. Once you figure it out, your realize that opposition need not be invincible or someone the party must rise to defeat. The real problem should have never been being able to kill them, but what would happen if you did!
There is always someone who will want to do things you don't like. Getting rid of one doesn't change that. In fact, it may work against you. Any questions the Big Bad's followers had about your cause got answered as soon as you killed him. The threat was real. He was right. And like any good big bad, he's already been grooming his successor. Heck, your move to dispatch him might even be the move he needed to get commitment to his cause. His allies see that if they don't close ranks, they might be next.
Like a hostage negotiator, I am here to inform you of a simple fact: Killing him won't get you what you want. Killing the big bad is not the end, but the middle of a plan to win the war against him. Before you kill him, you should prepare yourself for what will happen afterwards. Find someone with ambition who has a claim to the Big Bad's power. Offer it to them in allegiance. Find a way to legitimize his killing so that his followers can't paint you as the villain. Like a lumberjack, you plan out how his fall will occur and cut him down so it happens just so.
Even if the big bad is an insane god bent on world destruction, you don't think someone doesn't have designs on his power? What about his enemies who now stand unopposed (because evil fights evil as often as good)? These considerations are what make a game interesting and alive. The different powers and factions all have their own goals, and seldom is everyone opposed to a single opponent. Once you figure it out, your realize that opposition need not be invincible or someone the party must rise to defeat. The real problem should have never been being able to kill them, but what would happen if you did!