A BBEG That Erases Itself From Players Memory
I was recently inspired by the tale of SCP 055 to create a unforgettable (ha) villain.
The villain is a “antimeme”. A being or idea that can be perceived normally in the moment, but cannot be reliably recalled afterward, causing its existence and actions to constantly slip from memory.
The horror and gameplay gimmick come from players uncovering evidence of encounters, missing time, altered events, and forgotten people while struggling to maintain continuity long enough to understand or stop the villain.
Slowly the PC's have to uncover what the Villain is not so as to finally lcoate and defeat the villain. This is very much a slow burn type of idea where the players will slowly realize something is wrong.
A few example encounters:
The Missing Party Member
> >Setup: The party visits an inn. The innkeeper says, "Ah, the usual four rooms for you folks?" >
>The Twist: The party looks at each other. There are only three of them. They have always been a party of three... right? > > The Clue: They go upstairs. There is a fourth room paid for. Inside is a backpack filled with gear, a half-written letter to a family they don't recognize, and a diary. The diary details a grand adventure with the party, but the name of the author is completely smudged out. The antimemetic villain didn't just kill their friend; it erased the memory of their existence.
The Mid-Combat Amnesia
> The Setup: Start the session in the action "Roll initiative. You are all at half health, the Wizard is out of 3rd level spell slots, and the Barbarian is raging. There is a massive, smoking crater in the middle of the tavern, and three town guards are dead on the floor. There are no enemies in sight." > > The Twist: When the players ask “What are we fighting?!”, you reply: "You don't know. But your swords are drawn, and you feel terrified." > >The Clue: When they investigate the room, they find a pool of weird, shimmering blood. If they track the blood, the tracks abruptly vanish after ten feet. Their brains literally refuse to process where the tracks lead.
What other cool ideas can you come up with that would make a villain such as this a cool BBEG and a fun mechanic for your game? Any unique insperation on how you would run this BBEG?