Rannok, a Dungeon Mastering Reader recently said something so obvious that I had never thought of it:

Even for villains I take a shine to, I never invest too much time in creating them until AFTER they survive the first encounter with the party.

Darn PCs.

Since introducing an interesting villain in a game is never as easy as it seems I thoughts I’d link to villainy-related resources:

• Proper Villainy by StupidRanger.com
  • Part 1
  • Part 2
  • Part 3
  • Part 4
  • Part 5
• NPCs you love to hate by yours truly
• What makes an NPC stand out to your players by Treasure Tables’ GM Wiki
• Awesome NPCs - why villains aren’t player characters by Jonathan Drain’s d20 source.
• Making memorable NPCs for D&D by Phil, the chatty DM