Vyzinoxr: Cave by Håkan Ackegård
In time, your dungeon will likely grow to the point where it is large enough to attract one of those arch-villains who are ever seeking world domination. This occurs when a single monster group accumulates 6 loot (remember, this includes the surface kingdoms), or when the surface kingdoms are overrun by monsters.
Setup[]
Place a new sheet of tracing paper on top of the dungeon and attach it. Transfer all monsters and loot from the lower strata. Redraw any occupied areas of the dungeon on the new strata, along with major landmarks.
Roll randomly on the Arch-Villain table to determine which arch-villain arrives.
| Roll | Arch-Villain |
|---|---|
| 1 | The Dungeon Master |
| 2 | The Thought Lord Cult |
| 3 | The Liche King |
| 4 | Make up your own! |
If you’ve played this game a few times, you can try two villains at once.
The Season[]
The arch villain takes its turn before any monster groups each season. No new monster groups enter the world once the Age of Villainy has begun (optional rule: they do!).
Adventuring Groups[]
During the Age of Villainy, an adventuring group appears every year after all monster groups have completed their turn.
Add +1 cumulatively to the size roll for the group each turn after the first.
In the Age of Villainy, all adventuring groups are considered lawful.
Building Strong Villainies[]
Sometimes the villain is just plain weak. An arch-villain can simply fizzle out after a couple of seasons with a bit of bad luck and a tough adventuring group. If you want to make sure you get more bang for your villainy, choose a villain well-suited to your dungeon.
Here are some pointers:
- If there’s a Wizard’s Tower with any loot in it, this gives a bit of a boost to the Dungeon Master.
- Un-mined mithral or gold can also be a boon to the Dungeon Master, as long as he can survive long enough to use it.
- For the Thought Lords, infiltrating a group early is the key to survival. Consider allowing them to automatically win their first infiltration attempt.
- Breeder groups are very useful to the Thought Lords, as they provide a steady stream of sacrifices.
- The Liche King gets a weak start in games where the Age of Villainy is triggered by a strong lawful group. The more strong and/or wealthy chaotic groups there are, the stronger the Liche King will be.
- The Liche King also gets strong more quickly if there are tombs already in the dungeon.
See also[]
- Homebrew Age of Villainy
- Homebrew Arch-Villains