
Ep 268 - Should Villains Be Sympathetic
From Taking 20 Podcast by Taking 20 Podcast
January 11, 2026 · 20 min · Episode 281
About this episode
This episode explores the importance of sympathetic backstories for villains in tabletop roleplaying games.
Is your campaign's "big bad" just evil, or is there a hero beneath the monster? This episode dives into the age-old debate for Dungeon Masters: how important is a sympathetic backstory for a villain, and whether you should include complex antagonists in your game #rpg #ttrpg #dnd #pathfinder #gmtips #playertips #tabletop #roleplaying #villains Resources: Episode 180 - https://www.taking20podcast.com/e/ep-180-let-villains-be-villains/ Episode 235 - https://www.taking20podcast.com/e/ep-235-the-why-of-villains/ Episode 253 - https://www.taking20podcast.com/e/ep-253-recurring-villains/ Thor Skywalker - Why does everyone seem to love “Sympathetic Villains” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO2dBY8DPho Buy Me a Coffee! - ko-fi.com/taking20podcast www.taking20podcast.com Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/taking20podcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/taking20podcast Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/taking20podcast.bsky.social
People in this episode
Host: Taking 20 Podcast
Topics covered
- villains
- sympathetic backstory
- Dungeon Masters
- roleplaying games
- antagonists
Keywords
- rpg
- ttrpg
- dnd
- pathfinder
- tabletop
- roleplaying
- villains
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Ep 268 - Should Villains Be Sympathetic, Episode 180, Episode 235, Episode 253
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