Tell me EVERYTHING about your antagonists and the reason for what they are doing and for their actions. What’s the motive behind their goal and why? So, explain who your antagonists are and what their motions everything they did? You can list more than one antagonist.
What type of antagonist would you say they are?
What was it about their goal that they took it upon themselves to do it? Did they feel that the others in their lives were too weak? Why?
What matters most to your antagonist? Power? Money? Fame? Honor? Respect? Justice? Truth? Revolution? Destruction? What is the most important to your antagonist that they are willing to fight for it harder than anyone else, even if it means killing and/or hurting?
Who is the biggest threat to your antagonist, whether they believe it to be true or not?
When your antagonist pulled off their first kill or caused a serious injury to someone, what was going through their mind as it happened? How did it make them feel after going on to more deaths?
What event caused your antagonist to fall into the wrong path? What wronged them into becoming what they are?
How is the morale of your antagonistic character?
Does your antagonist have standards and care about anyone else? Are they in it for themselves or for someone else or for what the perceive to be the greater good?
Is your antagonist a person or some force?
What would happen if your antagonist and protagonist switched roles? If push came to shove, could your protagonist do harm as an antagonist? Would your antagonist ever become a protagonist given if they had different circumstances?
Bonus Question: What are one or two things you do agree with your character in some sense? Example: Your antagonist hates how lesser people are viewed as an after thought or hates warfare, but the methods on how they want to get rid of the issues are rather malicious. You don’t agree with the violence, but do agree that the treatment of the less fortunate is terrible or how war is just awful no matter what era.
Type? Um, the Donald Trump type…? King Cuthred is a spoiled brat who was born into wealth, never worked a day in his life, and grew up believing that pleasure and privilege were his birthright.
What was it about their goal that they took it upon themselves to do it? Did they feel that the others in their lives were too weak? Why?
Cuthred has no goal other than to stay in power now that he has it, and to indulge in the endless pursuit of pleasure.
What matters most to your antagonist? Power? Money? Fame? Honor? Respect? Justice? Truth? Revolution? Destruction? What is the most important to your antagonist that they are willing to fight for it harder than anyone else, even if it means killing and/or hurting?
Complete self-indulgence is the only thing that matters to him, but to achieve it he needs power and money. And the crown.
Who is the biggest threat to your antagonist, whether they believe it to be true or not?
The true king, a 14-year-old boy Cuthred currently thinks is dead.
When your antagonist pulled off their first kill or caused a serious injury to someone, what was going through their mind as it happened? How did it make them feel after going on to more deaths?
He was shagging a courtesan at the time, and didn’t give it a second thought.
What event caused your antagonist to fall into the wrong path? What wronged them into becoming what they are?
Nothing wronged him; he was simply born selfish and indifferent to others. But he wasn’t supposed to become king, and only acquired the throne after the rest of his family was killed in a surprise attack.
How is the morale of your antagonistic character?
His morale is pretty good since everything goes his way. When it doesn’t, people die, and then his morale rises again.
Does your antagonist have standards and care about anyone else? Are they in it for themselves or for someone else or for what they perceive to be the greater good?
Nope, he’s totally in it for himself.
Is your antagonist a person or some force?
He’s a normal ordinary human, but the kind who was born without empathy.
What would happen if your antagonist and protagonist switched roles? If push came to shove, could your protagonist do harm as an antagonist? Would your antagonist ever become a protagonist given if they had different circumstances?
The protagonist has a moral compass, so he’d never do deliberate harm. The antagonist is completely lacking in ethics, and therefore would always save himself instead of others, steal the treasury and make for higher ground while everyone else died around him.
I have no idea. What types of villains are there? Cause all I can think is “he’s a villain villain”
I have no idea. Enliatu was overtaken by a Dark God so actually has no control over what happens and is a literal prison in his body (but we don’t know this until the end of book 2 when he dies).
Power and revenge. Much killing happened. Turned against his daughter in the name of revenge and starting the Age of Darkness
Amneris. 100% She’s the only one who has power on par with Enliatu.
No idea. This dude is over 10,000 years old. I haven’t gone back that far
When someone becomes the Ruler of Terpola, they take on Naka’s power. Enliatu wasn’t strong enough so the power completely overtook him, just like it had his ancestors, and he became a villain
Uhhhh The only people he won’t hurt are his daughter and wife
Again, he was overtaken by a Dark God. There were only 2 times Enliatu broke through to show he cares for anyone else: when his daughter escaped the prison and when his daughter helped Amneris in the final battle
Yes.
He’s a person overtaken by a force.
Funny story. This is actually the plot of book 9
Amneris did s LOT more damage than Enliatu ever did. She was actually able to start the Age of Darkness and completely shatter Creation.
If Enliatu never took on Naka’s power and therefore never became possessed, I honestly have no idea what would have happened or if he’d be a good guy. There are too many variables
Villain 2: Aurelia
Aurelia was an accidental villain. She’s not a bad guy and actually ends up saving the heroes in the end, she’s just angry.
Aurelia’s goal was to get her vengeance on the First Queen for killing her loved ones and all-but destroying her kingdom. Her lover sacrificed himself to save her and his people. Unfortunately, when she awakened from a very very very very very very very very very very very you get the idea very long sleep, it was the modern day . . . and she mistook Amneris for the First Queen.
Justice. The First Queen killed her lover with, as far as she knows, no provoking. Completely out of the blue. And got away with it. So Aurelia is pissed and wants revenge. BUT she does still have a moral line and will only kill / hurt as necessary.
That would be Amneris, Colt, Hathor and Xix. They have a very rare power that has the potential to defeat what Aurelia is after: The Weapon (a major energy source - still working out the details).
That was several hundreds of millions of years ago so we haven’t gone that far back for obvious reasons
A mix of the death of her lover and being manipulated by the actual villain in that story.
Aurelia is probably the most moral villain I have. She won’t kill or harm anything unless there’s no other option, and goes out of her way to help people.
Definitely for the greater good. Standards? Well, she has morals so I guess she has reasonable standards, and she does care for others
A person
Honestly, I think the same / a similar thing would have happened
Villain 3: Nephthys
This is a fun one ;-;
Nephthys is what I’d call an actual evil villain. She doesn’t get any form of redemption, even after helping the person she’d harmed the most: her daughter (aka Amneris).
She wanted power. Simple as that.
I don’t know if something happened in her past but she feels a need to be the most powerful being there is. When her daughter Amneris was chosen by the First Being Naiu to wield her power, Nephthys completely snapped because she thought she would be chosen, not Amneris.
Power.
An she will not hesitate to hurt or kill anyone. Nephthys literally tortured Amneris as a child to try and get her power, she tricked Aurelia into helping her claim the Weapon, she kidnapped her granddaughter (Hathor) just to get Amneris’ attention and force activated her powers by attacking the Academy, killing a lot of children, and going specifically after Hathor’s friends who were trying to protect her. While trapped in the Void, Nephthys entered a ‘I will survive even if I have to kill everyone to do it’ mentality. Instead of helping those unfortunate enough to also end up in the Void, she killed them and took their supplies so she could last longer.
Amneris and Xix (who is also her daughter) are the biggest threats. Colt, Hathor and Nakia (Amneris’ twin) are a close second.
+10,000 years prior to the stories. I haven’t gone that far back but I’d take a guess and say she enjoyed it.
There are no morals ;-;
Doesn’t care about anyone else and is totally in it for herself, though a tiny part of her cares for her two dead husbands.
A person
Damage wise? Amneris would do worse. Moral wise? Nephthys would do worse. And I don’t think Nephthys could ever be the protagonist in any circumstances.
Villain 4: Jennix
A desperate one.
Jennix comes from a Creation that’s on the verge of being destroyed. They were chosen to become a cyborg and enter other Creations where they could take its power and use it to sustain their Creation and fix the damage done. Why were they chosen? No idea. Haven’t gotten that far
Power, but in the way that it’s needed to help others. This is a life or death situation for their entire Creation so Jennix will go to all lengths to find power that can be used to save their Creation, even if it means killing others in the process.
Aurora.
Aurora is from my series The Akh Chronicles and is drawn into an alternate Creation (the one where my other 3 series take place) when Jennix blasts her, her cousin and their friend. Aurora, it turns out, is the third ‘Chosen One’. Amneris has Naiu (Good, Light, Order), Xix has Naka (Evil, Darkness, Choas) and Aurora has Elan (Eternity; the fusion of Naiu and Naka). Aurora is the one who defeats Jennix and sends them back to their Creation.
No idea. Don’t go that far back. No idea what’s going on in that Creation (though it may end up being the one where Amneris is the bad guy Haven’t decided yet).
Being chosen as one of a few to save their Creation by any means necessary.
I believe the right word to use here is “skewed”. They have morals, but they’re a bit all over the place because they want to do anything to save their Creation,.
There are some things Jennix left alone because they were deemed “worthless”. And they’re in it for the greater good.
A person.
If Aurora and Jennix switched places, Aurora wouldn’t have agreed to changing. She doesn’t have antagonist in her at all. As for Jennix being the protagonist, from the perspective of their Creation, they are the protagonist because they’re working to save their Creation.
Villain 5: Kek
Right, this is the one consistent villain I have
A stupid one.
I have NO idea what this guy wants other than wanting to claim the power of the Balance Keepers and the Phoenixes for some reason.
Kek is a tricky one. I think he wants power, respect, and just to generally cause chaos to see what happens. He has definitely killed to get the power of the Balance Keepers and Phoenixes (he was the reason Amneris died) and has done quite a bit of damage.
Kek is fully aware that Amneris is the biggest threat to him. That’s why he goes out of his way to harm her (except for when they agree on things which does happen sometimes).
Mixed emotions. Very mixed emotions. Partially fear, partially excitement, partially curiosity, partially justification. So long as he has a reason and he thinks it’s a good reason, he’ll do it.
No idea. I think he just really wants power
Definitely grey. Sometimes he’s a villain, other times he’s an antihero. Sometimes his interests align with the heroes, sometimes with the villains. Sometimes he’s playing his own game, sometimes he actually does help others (usually because it benefits him). I’d say Kek’s morals are the most like what people have in our world
Yes. He’s definitely in it for himself, BUT he will help others when it benefits him. Example: He wanted Naka’s power so helped Tara release Enliatu. But then he didn’t want to start the Age of Darkness so helped Amneris stop Enliatu (while also doing a few other things that got in the way of Amneris because it benefitted him).
A person.
There wouldn’t be much change tbh As for Kek being a protagonist, he is an antihero at times so technically he is also a protagonist
On the other hand, he is technically a worse villain than Amneris. Her villainous counterpart shattered Creation. Kek almost destroyed it ;-;
OKAY ONE MORE
Villain 6: Void
This is a hard one . . .
No idea. A consumer? Is that a type of villain?
Its goal is to consume. No one knows why, even Void doesn’t know why, but that’s all it does. Consume.
Eating. Yes, it has ended many lives by consuming them.
This is a hard question for this villain. Creation is the biggest threat but Creation isn’t a who. Neither is Void. They’re just . . . opposites. People wise, Amneris and Xix turned out to be a big threat because they actually stopped Void from consuming Creation. But then there’s also that other Creation where Amneris helped Void consume it . . .
Again, Void isn’t a ‘who’. It exists to consume and keep places separated. The concept of ‘killing’ isn’t something it knows because it sees those it ‘kills’ as matter to be eaten.
Doesn’t apply to this villain.
Also doesn’t apply to this villain
It was just the way it was made. So I guess technically it’s in it for itself. Void is doing what it was made to do. You’d have to ask its maker.
Void is a force and a place. It’s the place between places made to keep Creations separated and consume the Creations that are no longer needed or bleed into it.
There is no protagonist that could switch with Void. It’s just . . . the Void.
His first kill was actually after he ambushed Robin and his friends, when he killed Blaze (the rest of the team don’t know this until they reunite with Melody, who tells them). He feels no remorse for her, or anyone else he kills.
Nothing, he always wanted power
He has no morales.
He’s in it for himself.
Person
No. Robin and his friends could never do harm to innocents, and Duisternis could never be a protagonist.
Tundra
A conflicted villain
She wanted to earn the main antagonist’s honor, but after serving him for a while, started to wonder if she should do this
Honor, from the main antagonist
Pond is the biggest “threat” to Tundra, before Tundra decides to join him.
The one person she killed she instantly felt horrible about, which helps fuel her switching sides.
The main antagonist actually saved her life, which is why she wants his honor.
Her morales are good, that’s another thing that helps her switch sides.
She cares about the antagonist, even after she switched sides, because he saved her life. She cares about Pond once she does switch sides.
Person
Pond could also never hurt innocents. If Tundra never had to be saved, then she wouldn’t have ever become a villain.
Cinnamonfrost
She wants to toy with everyone
She’s the one who’s been keeping cats from getting into StarClan or the Dark Forest, and keeps taunting them (until another cat comes and gets them away from her). She also plans on eventually coming into cats’ dreams to taunt them, too.
She wants the other cats to respect and fear her
The cat who gets the Spirit Cats (what I’m calling the cats who can’t get into StarClan or the Dark Forest) away from Cinnamonfrost, a group of cats who call themselves the Hope Flowers (they come to the Clans and tell them they know how to save the Spirit Cats), and the Clan cats who go with the Hope Flowers to do what they need to.
Her first kill was a rouge cat, and she did it to scare the Spirit Cats into not trying to escape (since his spirit faded away from being killed a second time).
She’s always wanted others to fear and respect her.
She has almost no morales
She doesn’t care about most cats, but she does care about one: her sister.
Cat
Most of the other cats could never do harm (aside from the ones who would have ended up in the Dark Forest). There is a chance Cinnamonfrost could have been good, but it never happened.
Fang
Feels like she isn’t an antagonist
One of her pups got killed by a lion, and she thinks the pride her clan knows is the ones doing it.
Justice for her pup, and to figure out why he was killed by the lions she thought were her friends (they aren’t the ones who did it).
She thinks the lions in that pride are the biggest threat to her. The real biggest threat is another pride, the ones who actually killed her pup.
She didn’t kill anyone before the lion pride (and her clan) showed her that the other lions were evil. She did, however, end up hurting one of the lions. She didn’t feel guilt at first, but after she found out about the second pride, she felt guilty.
The death of one of her pups.
Her morales are also good.
She cares about her clan, including her pups. She cares about the first lion pride, even when she blamed them for what happened.
Hyena
For the other hyenas, and most of the first lion pride, no. There is one lioness, Sunny, who has cubs, and if she had thought the hyenas had killed one of them, she potentially would have done the same as Fang. If Fang’s pup was never killed, or she knew instantly that it was the second pride who did it, she wouldn’t have attacked the first pride.
My main antagonists are three characters named Mephisto, Delimira, and Saint Mal’gel.
What type of antagonist would you say they are?
Mephisto
Mephisto is somebody who desires the truth of what has really caused his family to fall from grace. He wants to learn the reason behind the problem to resolve in order to make changes. He doesn’t care about the amount of bodies he’ll need to crawl over, all he seeks is truth and justice.
Delimira
Delimira is someone who enacts punishment and law to those who wrongs the mighty Saint Mal’gel, but is also someone who yearns for the great blissful life where she can feel and be the queen she envisioned for herself.
Saint Mal'gel
Saint Mal’gel is a god, which is what a Saint is called on Alagossia who demands order and things remain the same. Mal’gel is a stickler for traditions, the status quo, and the normalcy that he created. The Thornwoods are not allowed to question him, never set off the path he laid out for them neither. They are only to live in pure ignorant bliss, never questioning or understanding things. Those who question Mal’gel are doomed to be perished from their graces.
What was it about their goal that they took out upon themselves to do it? Did they feel that the others in their lives were too weak? Why?
Mephisto
Mephisto, being the eldest child, took it upon himself to be the one who changes his family since he is the Crown Prince. Faust soon learned, but had mixed feelings about what to do to help his family. Those actions got Faust killed and Mephisto less closer to the goal. So, he decided to do it on his own without his family, in fact watching his family fall to pieces, then blaming them for standing in his way and for being weaklings.
Delimira
Delimira wanted to be closer to feeling like a queen, while ensuring that justice and those who go against God and what is set for the Thornwoods. She disregards her own son, her husband and even her granddaughter who she has yet to meet to instill the law that, god is right, just, and the only truth. So, she wants to rid those who are a threat to Saint Mal’gel, but also in hindsight she yearns to become the queen of a new realm.
Saint Mal'gel
Saint Mal’gel is tricky because the Mal’gel that Aeris knows is indeed a clone, a lesser clone who is only meant to keep Aeris and her family from getting to close to their goal, while lying as he says that he will aid them in rebuilding an empire that will never come. This is Aeris and the rest of the lower branch’s punishment from centuries ago. While the true Mal’gel watches it’s flock do as they are told, the false Mal’gel is to make sure the sinners never progress and everything is right in his world.
What matters most to your antagonist? Power? Money? Fame? Honor? Respect? Justice? Truth? Revolution? Destruction? What is the most important to your antagonist that they are willing to fight for harder than anyone else, even if it means killing and/or hurting?
Mephisto
For Mephisto, it is Truth and Destruction. He yearns for the truth, but to also bring forth destruction as he plans to rebuild everything for himself. He wants to change the hell his family endure, but not for their sake, for his own sake to rebuild a kingdom or empire where he can see a life where he is living in peace and rule like the king he was meant to be.
Delimira
For Delimira, it is Power and Justice. She desires to be in control to start her own kingdom, her own empire to rule like the queens she admired. At the same time she wants to instill justice in a broken dynasty, by slaying down the ones who go against Saint Mal’gel and herself.
Saint Mal'gel
For Saint Mal’gel, it is Order and Respect. Mal’gel wants the family who pray and worship the Saint to never go against the laws and traditions that are set in stone for them. Mal’gel demands respect for the things it does and enacts order and control for the dynasty. To Mal’gel change is boring, gross, uncultured to them, traditions keep it happily fed, safe, pleased, and more importantly engaged. When all is right, god is pleased in their happy heaven.
Who is the biggest threat to your antagonist, whether they believe it to be true or not?
Mephisto
For Mephisto, there are two people actually which is surprisingly one of them being Aeris and the other being Delimira. Aeris because she is the long-lost heir coming from nowhere, trying to stand in the way of him claiming the chance for him to take hold of the truth. While Delimira is the self-proclaimed judge and executioner of the dynasty, who has the power to erase Mephisto without a second thought. It’s funny because they are both Kriegmans. LOL!
Delimira
For Delimira, it is her own son and granddaughter both. Not having Aeris dead, never set well for her and the goal was to have Aeris died alongside her mother, that didn’t happen. Her son who she deemed worthless and still does, is a potential threat when he decides to break free and go to kill her.
Saint Mal'gel
For Saint Mal’gel, his own clone and the lower branch are the threats to them. The clone more so because it is the lesser part of themselves in a physical form.
When your antagonist pulled off their first kill or caused a serious injury to someone, what was going through their mind as it happened? How did it make them feel after going on to more death?
Mephisto
To Mephisto, when Faust died, it bothered him because he still wanted Faust’s usefulness to help him. Faust was viewed more as a tool that shattered and caused his plans to fall into ruin.
Delimira and Saint Mal'gel
To Delimira and Saint Mal’gel, to them it was necessary and caring about it is just unwarranted.
What event caused your antagonist to fall into the wrong path? What wronged them into becoming what they are?
Mephisto
Mephisto learns about the truth of why his family has fallen from grace along with what caused the downfall of Jachira.
Delimira and Saint Mal'gel
Delimira and Saint Mal’gel’s stories on their path to villainy are not yet know at the moment. I am still figuring it out for them when that time comes, but there’s something. I just don’t know what that is at the moment.
How is the morale of your antagonistic character?
Mephisto
Mephisto wants to know the truth of everything, but only for his own sake, not his family. His morals are a bit screwed up in terms, where seeking out answers to some great mysteries and learning the truth about things is great, yet he only wishes to utilize what he learns for himself, knowing others want to know, the way he see it as, it is most important to himself, and himself alone.
Delimira
Delimira faith in Saint Mal’gel and the ideal for being a queen gives her messed up morals. She believes that God is good, just, and fair that nobody should question or go up against that, but thinks that all women should strive to be queens and build a monarchy where they can rule as a mockery to men.
Saint Mal'gel
Saint Mal’gel morals are only instilled by the fact they demand order, control, and traditions are placed for a good reason and how change is never good.
Does your antagonist have standards and care about anyone else? Are they in it for themselves or someone else or for what they perceived to be the greater good?
All three
No, they do not, they only care about themselves.
Is your antagonist a person or some force?
All three
Delimira and Mephisto are pure-blooded Tirrons while Saint Mal’gel is a deity.
Is your character somewhat racist or holds strong prejudices towards other people?
Tragic? Anti-villain? Morally-grey?? Classical villain? Something along those lines?
Are you saying that could be possible in the real world? Consumers are in turn villains because they help feed major corporations into being the monsters that they are? LOL!
Just joking. So, the void is a villain because it feeds on things like it’s hungry because of instincts?
Some of my characters in some stories, yes (plus the hyenas and lions and all that), some are like horses and zebras and other herbivores, others are mystical creatures, and then humans.
I suppose he does, although that will never become an issue in the book. I meant he’s a Donald Trump type in the sense that he’s an overgrown little boy born with a silver spoon in his mouth and unable to waste a moment’s thought on anyone but himself and his own desires. To him other people only exist to be servants and sycophants, and he never takes the word no for an answer. (ง︡’-'︠)ง
I don’t have a prominent antagonist in my current work, though the characters do have a common antagonist in their backgrounds. So here are the answers for the antagonist in my first novel.
Rau (as of 1989):
Somewhere between chaotic evil and neutral evil. Someone only the very brave or very foolish cross.
Rau left the South African Special Forces (Recces) because they didn’t pay enough, and because Rau thought their ROE was too restrictive. Rau found running a mafia army in the collapsing Soviet Union to be far more enjoyable…And the Russia - Eastern Europe slave trade to be far more profitable…The Army cannot match the Mafia’s pay ~ Markus.
Power, Money, Honor. Rau doesn’t forget past slights, even from his time in the military. Rau’s answer to treason and betrayal is death.
A small unknown business owner in Russia, who happened to be an acquaintance of Karen’s father. Before the story’s start, Rau made the mistake of capturing the business owner’s daughter, with the intent of smuggling her into Europe, then shooting the girl and leaving her fatally wounded in the snow after an attempted escape. When Karen heard of her associate’s loss, she dispatched Zorik to settle the matter (with the subtly and finesse the IDF’s shock troops are renowned for).
“Meh. Easier than I thought.”
Being born, I guess. Rau was naturally like this.
Rau’s morale was fine, until he made another mistake; harassing Zorik’s new friend…A young albino girl called Ashley (nicknamed Little Ghost by Rau, and Little Angel by Zorik)…For Rau, everything went south from there.
Rau’s only friend is his second-in-command, Dimitri, a Spetsnaz-trained ex-KGB sniper. Rau met Dimitri during a joint African-Soviet covert operation, and the nutcases thoroughly deserved each other. When Rau formed his mafia army, Dimitri became his enforcer and HR advisor.
A person, well, a human.
This kind of happened to Ashley, a main protagonist. When Ashley learned the details of Zorik’s mission to hunt and kill Rau, she persuaded Zorik to abandon the hunt. Ashley hated Rau, and wanted him dead, but not at the cost of risking Zorik’s life. In my second novel, Ashley had assumed the role of moral compass for Karen’s mercenaries, and the nickname Little Angel was Ashley’s call-sign among the mercenaries. I promised Ashley our fighters would never kill in cold blood ~ Karen.
Don’t really apply to like half my characters tbh ;-;
That is possible but is also not what I meant lol
I wouldn’t say it experiences “hunger”, that was just the only way I could think of to describe it. It’s hard to describe a villain when the villain isn’t a person but is a location and force. It exists to consume, but it doesn’t have thoughts because it isn’t alive
The only people he won’t hurt are his daughter and wife