Of MICE and Villains

 Every campaign needs a memorable villain and every villain needs a good motivation. So where do we get good motivations from?

In spy craft the acronym MICE, or some variation of, is used to describe the motivations for an asset turning traitor and I think is a good frame work to explore motivations for RPG campaign villains. There are a few definitions of what MICE stands for but lets dive in on the one I like so you can see what I mean.

Money

"Greed is good" - Gordon Gecko

This is the easiest to understand and often is a motivation for players. Who doesn't want to build up fat stacks of loot? While this can be purely someone looking to acquire coin you can also think of it as power or anything along those lines.

Ideology

"Rise up? Do you really believe men will fight and die for a rag on a pole?" - Richard Sharpe

This can be religion, political beliefs or nationalism. Nothing gets people killed on a grander scale than ideas and dreams. For examples see pretty much the entire of human history.

Coercion

"I had no choice. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry." - Lando Calrissian

This might be better employed on a sub villain than your full big bad but plenty of people find themselves backed into situations by outside forces and end up doing bad things. Of all the motivations this is the one you have to be most careful with as you can end up going down paths of coercion which involve subject matters not all players will be comfortable with, make sure you know your table before you go down dark paths.

Ego

"He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him. I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and round the Antares maelstrom and round Perdition's flames before I give him up." - Khan Noonien Singh

Some people just feel the burning desire to prove they are better, this can be an inbuilt trait or come from a slight at hands of another. Underling or adviser ignored by those above them filled with resentment turning down an evil path to prove everyone wrong is a good example.

That covers the basics but things become really interesting when you start mixing and matching these motivations to create layers to your characters.

Some bandit in the woods robbing people for money, are they just doing it for money or is there an ideology behind what they are doing? You got a Robin Hood on your hands here.

An NPC being coerced seeks out the help of the party to pay a ransom? Turns out there was no ransom and they've just made off with the money and made the party look bad, on going villain potential here.

The priest leading a peasant revolution backed by the ideology of helping the serfs break the bounds of the feudal system? They don't care about the peasants at all in the end, the priest's ego was slighted by the ruler of the land.

Does the knight's ego demand he face the king in single combat to prove he is the greater warrior or is the knight's family being held hostage and he is being coerced into killing the king?

Go out and make layered villains, surprise you players!