So, you want to be evil? Congratulations, you’ve chosen the path of the villain.
You are the shadow in the vents, the whisper in the dark, the horror lurking just out of sight. You’re here to make the story interesting—but don’t get ahead of yourself.
No plan survives contact with the enemy. You might have crafted the perfect scheme, every detail accounted for, but the moment you step into the fray, chaos will unfold.
Your victim might pull a gun, security might burst in at the worst possible time, or a janitor might slip you on a wet floor and ruin your dramatic reveal. Roll with it. The best villains are adaptable.
And remember: The thrill of the hunt is intoxicating—but don’t let it blind you. If you’re having fun but your target is miserable, you’ve missed the point. This isn’t just about winning—it’s about creating a memorable experience for everyone involved.
Who This Guide Is For This guide applies to villains who can engage in roleplay, like Syndicate operatives, changelings and traitors. It does NOT apply to antagonists like blobs, xenomorphs, or spiders—things that exist purely to consume, spread, and kill. If you’re playing one of these, roleplay can still happen, but it has to occur organically, without the protections or expectations outlined here.
Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk about how to be a proper villain.
Evil 101: A Villain’s Guide to Being Truly Terrifying (and Terribly Fun) Lesson One: Know Your Role (and Play it Well) So, you’ve been chosen as an antagonist. Congratulations! The Syndicate (or perhaps some other dark power) has deemed you worthy of a special kind of chaos. But before you go cackling into the night, let’s get one thing straight: Being a villain is an art, not a checklist.
The objectives you’ve been given? They’re suggestions, not orders. They exist to inspire you, not to chain you. Your true goal is not just to win—it’s to make the round more interesting for everyone involved. The best villains aren’t the ones who rack up the highest kill count. They’re the ones people talk about after the round ends.
But before we go any further, let’s get into the most important rule of villainy:
Lesson Two: Keep Your Victims Coming Back for More A truly great villain understands one simple truth: A terrified audience is an engaged audience. The more fun your victims have, the more they’ll want to come back and play along. Make them fear you, respect you, even hate you ICly—but never make them miserable OOCly.
Here’s how to keep your victims entertained while being utterly despicable:
Use LOOC like a mastermind. A quick “Hey, you good with this?” can mean the difference between an intense roleplay experience and someone feeling uncomfortable. A happy victim is a repeat customer, after all. Pace yourself. Instant murder is boring. A slow, creeping dread? That’s storytelling. Let them feel the walls closing in. Let them wonder if they’ll escape. Let them hope—and then decide whether to crush that hope or twist it into something even worse. Losing isn’t failure—it’s fuel. The best villains don’t just win. They lose spectacularly. They taunt their captors, they escape against all odds, or they go down in a blaze of defiance. A villain who makes the round memorable is worth any amount of silent murderbots. Opt-in matters (except when it doesn’t). Players can choose to opt out of antagonist interactions—you can see their status by examining them. Respect their choice. However, if they’re your assigned target for murder or kidnapping, then, well… the Syndicate doesn’t take "no" for an answer. Even then, roleplay first. A sudden bullet to the skull is just wasted potential. Attacking an antagonist means the gloves come off. If you hunt the monster, the monster gets to hunt you back. If you start swinging at an antagonist, you are no longer a victim—you’re a combatant. That means you forfeit any protections from the opt-in system. You made your choice. You threw the first punch. And now you’ll see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. Lesson Three: The Difference Between a Villain and a Jerk A great villain elevates the round. A bad villain drags it down. Let’s break it down:
Great Villains Create Stories. They play with tension, they build suspense, they make people feel like they’re in a movie. Bad Villains Are Just Powergamers. If your idea of being a bad guy is just speedrunning objectives and winning at all costs, you’re not a villain—you’re just a player disrupting the round. Compelling Villains Make Others Shine. Maybe your cruelty pushes a security officer to become a hero. Maybe your betrayal forces an unlikely alliance. Annoying Villains Hog the Spotlight. If nobody else is having fun, you’re doing it wrong. Lesson Four: The Rules of Evil (Yes, even evil has rules) Don’t powergame. Your goal is not to be an untouchable god-king of destruction. Play fair. Let the drama unfold. Don’t metagame. You do not have omniscient villain powers. Play like your character would, not like you read the wiki. Respect the chain of escalation. Jumping straight to murder is for amateurs. Set the stage, build the tension, make them beg for mercy—or at least for a more interesting death. Always make it fun. If people enjoy losing to you, you’re doing it right. Lesson Five: Villainy is a Two-Person Job Yes, you’re the villain. Yes, you’re the monster in the dark, the dagger in the back, the whisper of betrayal in the cold void of space. But here’s something most amateurs miss:
Villainy isn’t a solo act. It’s a duet. The most memorable antagonistic encounters aren’t just about what you do—they’re about how your victims respond. It takes two to make a great scene, and if your target is playing along, the experience will be far richer than a simple game of hide-and-seek with a stun baton.
Telegraphing: The Art of Building Suspense A common mistake among villains is striking too fast without giving their victim time to process or react. A sudden “Surprise! You’re dead.” moment is boring. Instead, give them something to work with.
Consider this:
The Amateur Changeling Experience: You silently grab someone, mute them, stab them with your armblade, and absorb them in a dark maintenance tunnel before they even know what was happening. They had no chance to act, react, or engage. You get to bag a kill, but they get nothing.
The Master Changeling Experience: You’ve been watching your victim all shift. They’ve noticed you a few times—always nearby, always watching. Maybe once, they passed you in the hallway and you just smiled—too wide, too long. Maybe you bumped into them in maintenance and whispered, "You shouldn't be here." And when the time finally comes, you give them a moment—they see you transform, the chitin cracking, the flesh shifting. They run. They scream. They fight. But in the end, the hunt is inevitable.
Tell me, which one is more fun? Which one is memorable?
A Victim's Role: Meeting the Villain Halfway Villains aren’t the only ones responsible for good roleplay. Victims have a part to play too. If your first instinct is to instantly scream on comms, run, or just grab your gun without any kind of reaction, you’re robbing yourself of an amazing scene.
Here’s an example of victim roleplay:
The Ruined Kidnapping: You’re abducted, but the moment you wake up, you scream on radio, kick over a chair, escape within the minute, and call for security. The villain has no chance to engage, no time to build tension, and no opportunity to make it an interesting scene.
The Engaging Kidnapping: You wake up restrained in a dark room, an agent sitting across from you, watching. Instead of immediately panicking, you take a deep breath. "So... Who's paying for me?" You stall. You engage. You test their patience. You ask questions. Now, the kidnapper has something to work with. Maybe you try to trick them into thinking you're worth more alive. Maybe you act defiant, or maybe you play frightened, letting the villain enjoy their control—before turning the tables when the time is right.
This isn’t about rolling over and letting villains win. It’s about playing along to make the struggle worthwhile. Giving your crewmember or villain an opening doesn’t make you weak. It makes you a fantastic roleplayer.
Closing Thoughts: Create the Scene You Want to Remember At its core, SS13 is not a PvP game. When the round is over, people won’t remember who had the highest kill count or completed the most objectives. They’ll remember the story. The best antagonists don’t just kill people—they make sure everyone remembers being hunted, betrayed, or outplayed.
So next time you’re playing the villain—or the victim—ask yourself:
"Am I making this interesting?"
If the answer is yes, then congratulations—you’re doing it right!
The Final Question: What Kind of Villain Will You Be? Will you be the charismatic mastermind, weaving a web of lies and manipulation?
The brutal enforcer, feared and respected?
The tragic monster, doomed by fate but still pressing forward?
Or will you just be another forgettable murderer with a laser gun?
The choice is yours.
Now go forth, my wicked protégé. Scheme, deceive, and revel in your misdeeds—but do so with style. A villain who slaughers without thought is just another corpse-to-be. A villain who weaves a tale? They become a legend.
Go make them remember you.