AL'S LABORATORY - The many intelligent writers and artists of Neopets produce
a cascade of evildoers in their legendary Gallery of Evil for you to fear. The
Pant Devil, Balthazar, The Jelly Chia, and Count Von Roo are just a few of these
vicious, powerful creatures. These are most definitely the vilest of the vile
in Neopia. But, taking a close look, they are also the most overused characters
in Neopian Times stories.
In a daring quest to save a princess, there has to be an evil character to
lock up the princess in the first place. Dr. Sloth, with some kind of monotonous
plan to take over Neopia could be a perfect kidnapper, and a tribe of Pant Devils
could work, sure. But that would be much too predictable. If you want to captivate
your audience, a good, brand-new villain who has never been seen in Neopia is
a big helper.
Sure, not all stories need an antagonist. It could be as simply as an argument
between two perfectly decent characters. Or the villain could reform in the
end, and they could all live happily ever after. (Personally, I'm not a big
fan of 'happily ever after' stories, I prefer a nice, gory ending.) But in different
stories, villains add a certain spark. They create the plot. Without them, your
character would be sitting on a park bench, eating a ham sandwich and feeling
extremely bored, as well as your readers.
Now, I'm going to name a few different kinds of villain structures that are
commonly used in many stories. I may not name all of them, but this is an idea-starter,
not a super villain-factory. YOU create your OWN villains. It's better to start
from scratch then to use a mold.
The All-powerful Dark Overlord: A villain found in most fantasy and sci-fi
stories. This is a person/thing with a lot of powers, whether physical, mental,
or financially influential, and it just so happens that they decide to use them
for evil rather than for good. They often have minions and spies to aid them
in their evil plans, and can provide many difficult obstacles for a hero/heroine.
Dr. Sloth is a good example of an evil overlord. There are many variations on
Sloth's character for different authors, but it all basically comes down to
the same thing: He's big, he's bad, he's green, and he want to take over Neopia.
The Snob: This kind of creature is usually seen in rags to riches tales. The
snob isn't as powerful or evil as the Dark Overlord, but they are arrogant,
pain-in-the-necks for your hero/heroine. They do more emotional harm than physical
harm, and the extent of their powers usually ends at convincing every other
pet that your hero/heroine is the evil one. In most stories, the snob starts
at the high point of their snobbishness, and then is humiliated greatly in some
way by the hero/heroine and reduced to a super-low. These guys are wicked, but
an Evil Overlord would eat them for lunch.
The Thief: Most used in Mysteries, and probably the easiest character to create.
Someone has taken something from your hero/heroine (Paint Brush, Magical Orb
that can cause the apocalypse, your toothbrush, your soul, your dignity, etc...),
and they want it back. So they track down the person who stole it, slap them
around a little, and all is set right in the world. Thieves are usually more
cowardly than the other villains: They strike the hero and then flee. A good
example of a thief in Neopia is the Pant Devil.
Monsters: Unlike the other characters mentioned, monsters have no reason for
harming the hero/heroine. They just stupidly and blindly attack. Not much to
see there. These characters usually have powerful physical strength, and are
more likely to be used as minions than as master villains.
Double Crossers and Deceivers: These pets may seem like they aren't enemies
to your hero/heroines at first, but they can launch a surprise attack against
your hero/heroine at any time during the story. Although they are not the most
vital villains, they add a nice bit of spice to the spaghetti sauce.
Combo:
Thief + Snob = Arrogant pet who steals stuff.
Thief + Double-crosser = Makes friends with you, then snatches your goodies
and flees.
Thief + Monster = A giant ape who kidnaps your girlfriend and taker her to
the top of a tall building. You have to jump over barrels and smash things with
a hammer to retrieve her.
Thief + Evil Overlord = A big sister seizing the computer from you when you
need it most.
Now, I'm going to detail different situations for you to use these villains
in. Again, I'd like to remind you that YOU create the plots. This is not a plot
factory, nor is it a villain factory...
ADOPTION STORY (eeeeuck): Who is the villain there? When you think about it
at first, you think of a cruel owner who heartlessly left their pet for no reason.
But that's predictable. Now, look at it a different way. Do you have to start
the story from when the pet was first abandoned? Why not start it a little later?
The villain could instead be Dr_Death, or another pet in the pound that constantly
torments the hero/heroine. Or, you might not need a villain at all! How peachy
keen!! :)
RAGS TO RICHES: The obvious villain here is a snotty pet who has lots of money
and is cruel to the other pet. But obvious stories are obviously unoriginal.
What about a cruel landlord who needs the rent by the end of the year or he'll
kick the pet out? Or an evil person, like Jhudora, who promises the poor pet
riches if he/she does a horrible thing for them and ends up tricking them into
doing something horrible? Of course, these stories don't need villains either.
Maybe your pet can win the lottery or something like that.
QUEST: There is a lot of stuff you can do for this! Dark Overlords like Dr.
Sloth are okay, but some people getting tired of hearing about him. Try something
a little surprising. Perhaps the evil force is not just one person, but a whole
bunch! In longer series, you can have a whole assortment of villains! The Dark
Overlord can have a whole bunch of different minions with different abilities
to use against your heroes. Or, there can be no Dark Overlord at all, just a
bunch of random villains who pose as obstacles along the way of the hero/heroine's
goal. Once again, you don't need to have a villain in these stories. Your pet
can simply pull an Indiana Jones, and narrowly escape being run over by a large
boulder.
COMEDY: In comedies, the villains can't be too serious. They can be super powerful,
they can be snobby, they can be thieves or traitors, but they absolutely need
to be the SLIGHTEST bit funny. You should have lots of fun creating THESE guys!
:)
Well, that's the scoop on villainy, kiddies. Remember, they don't have to be
evil, dark thingies in black cloaks with red eyes in order to be a menace to
society...of course, those guys aren't without their charms...
Oh, and one last thing: Every villain has one thing in common...
The Evil Laugh. MWAAAA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAA!!!! | 
