Brainstorming - Suggested props for an evil wizard stronghold

#1 Hi ,

you should also add these

-a knight armor standing
-traps (makes the game more challenging)
-shield and weapons on the walls
-dead people chained on the wall or lying on the floor with an axe in their head (just an idea)

will your game be having multiple weapons and armor? would be nice

#2 Whiteboard with evil schemes and villainy self-help books, I'd think.

#3 Portals: Evil Wizards always have portals to dark places
Graveyard: Along with the tombstones and the like, graves + undead = win
Gargoyles: Stone winged thingies which, of course, aren't always just decoration
Torture Equipment: What to Evil Wizards do with the people they're captured?
Alchemy Equipment: From Pestor & Mortar through to Bubbling Tubes and even Incubation Tubes with bodies floating in them

just some stuff :)

#4 It depends on what kind of Evil person your talking about. Most people tend to go for the standard evil design of rotting bodies, castles falling to bits and evil dungeons. If you want a tip, check out the film Vampire Hunter D. This film will gives you some interesting ideas on gothic style but also a different style to the usual gothic. Any of the Castlevania games would also give you a good idea on lots of different styles that could work really well. Having freaky stuff in your game can also add a little more edge to it as well.

#5 Puddles of blood and gore.
pots and random boxes of junk
carpets
mirrors
cages

#6 Thanks for all the ideas so far, I really appreciate it, they will all add to my now growing list of props I should make. (I might use a chalkboard rather than a white board :))

#7 Take a look at some of the many evil Oblivion dungeons/scenes and you'll find all this stuff and more..

#8 Skulls, floating, glowing skulls.....removed eyes, with the optic nerve still attached.....and Cyclops skulls too. They may or may not do anything....i just think they would look cool.
BTW, i only read the Topic, so if this is off.......post a more accurate and descriptive title, it's not MY fault I was too lazy to actually read your post!! *heavily laden sarcasm*

#9 Just how evil are we talking about? Are we talking a "Saturday morning cartoons" villain, or a "Torture babies for fun" villain?

SMC Villian:
*Selection of Evil Hats. If you can't /stylishly/ destroy the world, then what's the point?
*Tapestries of Dark Forboding Lands. It's so inspirational to gaze at distant lands you've conquored in the past.
*Jars filled with random/unidentifiable organs... for that late-night snack.

TBFF Villain:
Selection of victims handy when you just feel the need to mutilate an innocent person. Chained to the walls, floors, whichever. And don't limit yourself to chains either: Hands growning out of the wall (made of flesh, stone, bone), horde of servants (roaches, li'l demons, snakes), or just lop off their limbs and leave them flopping around on the floor.
Tapestries made of human skin (think MC Esther lizards with the eyes and mouths stiched shut)
Jars filled with hideous failed experiments and/or keepsakes. They don't have to be dead. The ocasional twitch or eye following the player will really Creep Them Out. The ol "begging for death" bit is a classic heebee-jeebee inducer.

Wow... that's making ME queasy, and I just made it up.

--Mark

#10 Some bars on the ground with hands poking up through them waving about, getting ready to be killed and made into undead.
plus summoning pits?

#11 Some bars on the ground with hands poking up through them waving about, getting ready to be killed and made into undead.
plus summoning pits?

#12 Make sure to throw a crystal ball in there with Bill Gates' head floating around...

(sorry, couldn't resist)

#13 Evil doesn't have to mean filthy. Subtle clues like paintings/carpets with downright nasty motif is
always an option. Badly mismatched tapestries are their own level of evil. Just like thread necromancy :)

Minions of varying degrees would be most common - necromancers fewer, and not many people are
depraved enough to actually become liches..

#14 It all depends on the personality of your evil wizard.

To take the old ADnD alignment system.

Chaotic Evil - "Use it, and lose it" basic gore & sacrifices. Think Diablo. Keep the tourists away, running and screaming.

Lawful Evil - "Waste not, want not" almost anal-retentive in putting everything in jars. Think dracula, all the stuff behind locked and secret doors.

Or one could go with a split personality "Dr. Jeckel/Mr. Hyde", "Two-face" - where the lawful evil motif is a public thing, and the psychotic side is behind the closed doors...

#15 Good point, Ronny! Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but that doesn't mean that godlessness is next to sloppiness. Some of the most evil people I know are anal retentive neat-freaks! =)

Matt, I'd suggest developing a personality for your evil overlord. Is he (she?) a scientist-necromancer, exploring new realms of depravity? Or is he a warlord, embracing magic solely for the power it brings? Why is he evil? Was he a good guy corrupted by the dark nature of the magic he studied? Is he seeking power for revenge? Is he pissed off because someone stole his pacifier as a baby?

How about his likes and dislikes... Does he surround himself with luxuries? With books? With art and fine sculpture? With symbols of power? Maybe all of the above: a "trophy room" lined with rare scrolls in glass cases and mysterious artifacts on pedestals, side by side with the heads of enemies in glass jars...

Developing a personality for your villain will suggest more props for your game, and will bring depth to the underlying story.

So... what's he like?

Quote:Make sure to throw a crystal ball in there with Bill Gates' head floating around...

I hear they're replacing the gypsy in Disney's Haunted Mansion with that.

#16 (agreeing with Ronny)

Have you guys ever seen Rock N' Rule? It's an old movie, which is, ironically, slated for a re-release "soon".

Anyway...

The main protagonist is purely evil. He wants to bring a demon into our world and take over. His henchmen do all his dirty work, while he dresses in tuxedos, rides in limos, eats caviar, and lives in a pristine mansion.

One line I recall well, is a response to a question, "Boss, are we evil?"

The response was, "just remember, the opposite of evil is live." He definitely is evil, but he also has a life to run. Villains don't have to exude pure hatred or flaunt floating heads, they just have to be good at what they do.

#17 Thanks for all the ideas, there are lots of useful bits of information you've all put forward. Please don't be annoyed but I am actually working on something other than this project at the moment so while I value your ideas and input they may not get used for some time, hopefully this thread can be of use to other people making games involving villainous characters.

#18 Love the whiteboard idea. Lots of images from Evil Board Meetings. Stick man lying down, arrows showing direction of travel of axe, and a value attached to each movement for the FD....

PS - How about a Conservative party manifesto?

#19 Love the whiteboard idea. Lots of images from Evil Board Meetings. Stick man lying down, arrows showing direction of travel of axe, and a value attached to each movement for the FD....

PS - How about a Conservative party manifesto?

#20 And here, I thought this thread was dead. Long live -- er, exist -- the necromancers!

Quote:"Excellent. And now, Bob Dole will read from the Necronomicon."

"Ezak iziri golanus, maledictu nosferatu in principi..."

How about a necromantic movie collection on Beta? Necromancing the Stone, Bridget Jones' Grimoire, Lifeless in Seattle, Waiting to Exhume, Gigli...