Every campaign has their Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes’ master criminal.
He [Moriarty] sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. – Arthur Conan Doyle
The Criminal Mastermind
The criminal mastermind is a common trope for fiction, the great Evil in the background of some stories. In fantasy campaigns, there is often a “master criminal” as a focus opponent for an adventuring group. I could have called this piece “Sauron” (Lord of the Rings) or “Shaitan” (Wheel of Time) both great Evil beings in the background of a series of stories. But Moriarty is much less charged with omnipotence than the other two. Long-time readers know I get tired of world-ending threats in games. This is more about the “master criminal” as a focus opponent for an adventuring group, more criminal than godlike threat to the world.
Meet Moriarty
Professor James Moriarty was Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis through many adventures. The author tried to kill off Holmes and Moriarty more than once, but fans always demanded their return. All of the recent Sherlock Holmes TV and films bring Moriarty in sooner or later (once as a female). Even Netflix’s Enola Holmes (“Sherlock’s younger sister”) includes Moriarty in the second movie.
But his agents are numerous and splendidly organised. Is there a crime to be done, a paper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be removed – the word is passed to the Professor, the matter is organised and carried out. The agent may be caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his defence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught – never so much as suspected. (Conan Doyle)
The master criminal is usually treated as so brilliant that he/she can do almost anything.
“When you have one of the first brains of Europe up against you, and all the powers of darkness at his back, there are infinite possibilities.” (Conan Doyle)
Behind the Scenes
On the other hand, we see in Butcher’s Dresden Files that the top boss may take actions that help Our Heroes, though that is not the villain’s intent. Admittedly, Dresden’s Chicago nemesis is much more present than Moriarty or Sauron. James Bond’s Blofeld (head of Spectre) is sometimes behind the scenes, sometimes up front. (The up-front villain fits movies better than the villain controlling everything from the background.)
A different version of enemy is the recurring villain who takes part in the action, but who manages to get away again and again – if you ever manage to get close to them at all. Khan (Star Trek) may fit into this category, though he seems to have a personal antipathy to Our Heroes as well. Players come to hate this kind of villain and anticipate the time when the villain gets “what they deserve.”
Then there’s the villain who is a minion of the chief bad guy, but is powerful in his/her own right, who may come to the fore if the minion conceives a personal hatred for one of the good guys. It’s no longer “just business,” it’s personal. As in Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies. (Sauron, in the First Age, was a minion of Morgoth but without much of the personal hatred.)
Fantasy tropes help criminal masterminds. The villain-as-spider with a hand in everything will benefit from some spells and magic items, especially crystal balls or other long-distance seeing. Long-distance communication will provide more possibilities than available in Moriarty’s Victorian Era. Mind-controlling spells, even one as mild as a charm, are great for recruiting unwitting minions. And so on. Disguise spells and doppelganger powers help the sinister sneaks of the world, as well.
Mastermind Characteristics
There are several elements that elevate a villain from mere foe and a collection of stats to a mastermind.
- Familiarity: from a former colleague or relative of a character, to the faceless and hardly known mastermind.
- Reach/Scope: Within a precinct or small settlement to an entire country or continent
- Power Level: A few minions to entire armies, a few hedge wizards to mighty magicians
- Objective: Personal power in a city all the way to conquer the world (continent, region).
- Personal hatred: of Our Heroes (or one of them), down to the bad guy who has no personal knowledge of, or interest in, the good guys.
If you play this right, a recurring villain is someone the player characters know of but don’t often meet; and when they do, the showdown is epic.
Too Many Cooks
There are several ways to use masterminds, and there is often a “Sorting Algorithm of Evil” in which each lower boss reveals that there is someone in turn more powerful behind them. This is a common trope in television series in which each season ends with a new villain, culminating in the criminal mastermind when the finale ends (assuming it doesn’t get cancelled before then).
That said, using multiple masterminds potentially reduces the influence of each villain on the game. But you can certainly have several kinds of villains involved; for example the chief villain and then a subordinate who conceives personal hatred for Our Heroes.
I confess that when I create adventures, I think far more about interesting situations than individual villains. Perhaps it’s because I think in terms of a war between good and evil. But even Lord of the Rings had several “mid-tier” bad guys (e.g., the balrog, Saruman) before the heroes faced down Sauron himself, and even then they did so indirectly.
Your Turn: If you use criminal masterminds in your campaign, how far-reaching are their plans?
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