Exchange of Realities

We all know that for whatever strength the Dark Powers field, Good will counter with its own representatives. Sometimes it’s the direct, targeted “I will destroy evil” types, sometimes it’s the career ‘you dare to cause trouble and I punish you’ types, sometimes it’s something else. If we exist, they will come; it’s how the Laws of Dramatics work. But what’s to say we can’t interfere a little in the process? Is there any reason why we couldn’t try to shape these protagonists, to get the kind of running enemy who we amuse and are amused by in equal portion, who may win regularly but isn’t going to end the game? Don’t so many of us want to have that kind of nemesis?

And we all know that 50% of our nemeses are created by our actions, or at least the actions of those around us. Destroy the village, or kill the family, and the survivor will search for vengeance. Abduct the mentor, and face the wrath of the student. Swipe the MacGuffin, and its hereditary guardian or destined wielder will track you down to recover it. Isn’t it lovely how reactive protagonists are?

So how can you affect the process? First, think about the qualities you’d like in a protagonistic opponent. In general, you’ll probably be looking for someone whose moral code prohibits killing; whose approach to things going wrong is to focus on treating the symptoms rather than eradicating the malady; and preferably, who would be just as much in it for the heroing as for the stopping you. (Small distinction? Hardly. If they’re in it to stop evil, they’ll try to get rid of us, but if they’re in it for the hero career and all the benefits that come of it, losing us as their opponent means that at best they’ll have to get used to the tricks of a new foe and at worst they’ll be out of a job—and as a result, they won’t kill us.

Got those? Good. Now start seeing who’s got those qualities. Depending on the population of your target area, you’ll probably have a decent-sized list. To narrow it down further, look for protagonist-material—compassion, sense of adventure, something to prove—or if you’re feeling like a grayer world, go for an antihero. (Be careful, though; they’re higher-maintenance.) Extra credit if some of the qualities that make your target hero-material are hidden or suppressed; statistically, those are the likeliest to love the job for the job’s own sake. Then narrow it further by figuring out which of these people would be drawn to you as a personality. I don’t necessarily mean by friendship, or respect, though those can work pretty well—I’m looking just as much as that sort of envy they might get from your successes and lack of constraints, or the realization that you really do know what you’re doing, or, best of all, a morbid fascination with what the world has made of you and whether they too could have become such a thing.

And, having chosen one or more (preferably just one; it’s better to have a high Hand to hero ratio than vice versa), you need to trigger them. It’s a highly individualized process—really, would it be any fun if they were all the same? Some you can just toss a MacGuffin by ‘accident’ and then start doing things that could be countered by its use. Others just need to see you display villainy in their general direction, and then the “JUSTICE!” instinct kicks in. For others, there’s always the old mentor abduction gambit—or if you really want a nice customized foe, be the mentor and then stage your own disappearance. If they need to get powers, arrange something that would grant them….

But do remember, the younger the protagonist you want is, the less intense you’re going to want to be in giving them reason to chase you. Scaring them? Just fine. Damaging them enough to make them rethink their morals? More dangerous—you never know when ‘thou shalt not kill’ will be the moral damaged.

And a note, particularly to the people in the cape-worlds—blinking. Well. Avoid. Sexual. Assault. It turns the causal factors beyond the Fourth Wall against you, it’s near-impossible to stay on the safe side of “monster” once you’ve done it, and it’s been such a heavily used tactic with so little variance that I can hear the suspension of disbelief straining all the way over here. Besides, there are much more original ways to set an opponent off.

Try it! Let me know how it works!

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