The Utopian villain envisions a better world, but feels she must build it herself, rather than change the existing one. To this end, this villain gathers her followers, and sets out to find a homeland where they can live as they see fit. Unfortunately, only those whom this villain deems "worthy" are invited to live in this villain's better world. Worse, the Utopian violently ejects the unworthy from any lands she claims. She wants a paradise for her people - and will go to any length to make it happen.
The paradise this villain wishes to establish is all-too-often based on excluding "undesirables." Whilst she may not have the zealous devotion to wipe out her foes that Devoted villains may possess (especially the Crusader subtype), but she will not brook interference with her plans in any way, shape, or form. Her followers scour the landscape, looking for the ideal location to build their nation. If another country already holds that land, the Utopian has every potential to claim the land anyway, becoming the enemy of organized governments who see her and her followers as threats to their sovereignty. In the most extreme examples, the Utopian may well decide that the only place to build her ideal world is on the burning ruins of the old one. Other Utopians may use a different approach - one interesting example is a Utopian who is a leader of an established government and is a truly horrifying threat to those she deems unworthy.
This villain invariably acquires a large group of followers through her charisma and promises of peace and prosperity. Her followers, displaced from their own homes from some conflict or another, are frequently desperate for any hope. These unfortunates follow the Utopian in hopes of finding security and a better way, but all-too-often wind up in a life of conflict and battle as they attempt to carve a new land for their leader.
The Utopian typically has a genuine sense of respect, and possibly even love for her followers. She has promised them a better world, and wants nothing more than to bring it about. To achieve this, the villain will cheerfully resort to the most deplorable ends: sabotage, terrorism, warfare, and even genocide to build a new land for her people. This villain is rarely inherently sinister; if she found a land and met no resistance, there would be no resistance - at least, this is what she tells herself and her followers.
If this villain succeeds in establishing her better world, it all-too-often deteriorates as the Utopian becomes a far more dangerous - and often much more threatening villain (often one of the Power Mad archetype). Victory feels hollow and new challenges must be sought out. In this way, the villain may return to haunt her foes, even if careful work by the protagonists outright avoids conflict. A Utopian villain can pose challenges for a low-level group of adventurers, especially if her power-base is small. At higher levels, this villain has the potential to threaten entire nations if she decides her perfect world is to begin in their territory...
Utopian Variants[]
- Anti-Crime: This Utopian believes that criminals are preventing society from reaching its true potential. To rectify this, the villain has begun a war against crime that punishes all crimes, regardless of severity, with one universal punishment - death.
- Purist: This villain believes that to become a great nation, it must reach a state of racial purity. To this end, the villain actively attacks and threatens any who do not meet her vigorous racial standard. She will typically recruit mobs of other like-minded individuals to force "impure" individuals and groups to leave, if not imprison them or kill them outright.
- Religious Idealist: This Utopian believes that her religion is the only correct one, and that everyone must worship her god to the exclusion of all others. To achieve this, the villain has taken to destroying temples and murdering the clerics of competing faiths.
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