Dungeons & Dragons: 10 Subclasses That Would Make A Great Villain (2024)

has numerous villains, each with their own stat block and usually loosely based around one of the core classes. When crafting your own villain, using these class mechanics can save you from having to craft an entirely new stat block from scratch while hoping that it's balanced.

Within these core classes there are also subclass abilities that lend themselves to villainous characters, and sometimes even directly built for them. When crafting a character with plans to take over the material plane and beyond, some subclasses are ideal for finding the perfect theme or combat ability that suits them best.

10 Path Of The Zealot Barbarian

Xanathar's Guide To Everything

One of the more flavorful barbarian subclasses, the path of the zealot gives you the opportunity to use your campaign's deities or those from the Forgotten Realms in unique ways, depending on the themes of the campaign. A zealot barbarian would be unshakable in their beliefs, using them to justify any act as long as it realizes their goals.

The specific class abilities also make creating a villain using these features especially tenacious, as they can be easily resurrected and even impossible to kill while raging. By making the barbarian a religious leader with zealous followers, prepare for your players to fight them again and again, even after death.

9 College Of Spirits Bard

Van Richten's Guide To Ravenloft

Although bards aren't typically seen as dangerous villains, the college of spirits gives bards a connection to the occult and undeath, which allows them to weave stories of terror or reveal hidden truths best left forgotten. Although less violent than other classes, a college of spirits bard might be more dangerous if left to their own devices.

The main focus of this subclass are the spirits the bard calls upon to empower themselves and their allies, which means how and why they draw on these spirits is crucial to making them truly a villain. Also, because you control them, you can decide which abilities from the spirit table take effect without relying on rolls, or even craft entirely new ones.

8 Death Domain Cleric

Dungeon Master's Guide

Found in the Dungeon Master's Guide as a villainous class option, the Death Domain cleric makes an ideal antagonist in campaigns focused on religion and deities. Other than just a necromancer, a cleric of death seeks to use the powers of undeath to further the terrible goals of their god.

This makes it important to establish that it's their connection to their god that grants them their powers rather than through study or magic items. The more you deepen the lore of the prime deity they serve, the more hints you can give your players to somehow defeat the cleric.

7 Oathbreaker Paladin

Dungeon Master's Guide

Another villainous option from the DMG, paladins who have forsaken their holy oath and turned their backs on their moral code become oathbreakers. Also, any paladin can become an oathbreaker, perhaps even characters that were once allies to your campaign's party.

Establishing why this paladin broke their oath is enough to create the necessary backstory for this villain while providing a plot hook for your players to find and use against them. This subclass is also surprisingly powerful and, at high levels, can potentially take the party solo.

6 Drakewarden Ranger

Fizban's Treasury Of Dragons

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Although a low level drakewarden only has a small drake, at 15th level, it grows to a large size and can be mounted. This gives the ranger a terrifying presence as they take to the skies, raining arrows on the party as their drake spews flames on the battlefield.

If you want to stay true to the Forgotten Realms lore, making the drake chromatic instead of metallic can hint at its evil nature. This type of villain will likely be more of a loner, relying on the power of their drake to cause havoc or enact a pledge of revenge, and even just their silhouette in the distance is enough to cause panic.

5 Fiend Warlock

Player's Handbook

A classic option for warlocks is to make a literal deal with a devil, doing the bidding of their infernal master in return for terrifying power. This can be to gather souls for the Blood War, weaken a political opponent, or open a portal from Avernus to the material plane.

Although this gives the villain a cliché vibe, it doesn't mean you have to rely on tropes to pull it off, especially when you consider any conflicting goals between patron and warlock that might give your players a way to drive a wedge between them. As with the best villains, this subclass can help you establish setting lore that acts as a hook for your players.

4 Mastermind Rogue

Xanathar's Guide To Everything

Although less dangerous than a paladin in combat or less proficient with magic than a sorcerer, a rogue mastermind can do the most damage by acting as an ally or spy. By revealing or collecting the most volatile secrets possible, this rogue has far more power than swords or spells could provide in the short term.

This might be the most challenging subclass to roleplay, as it requires you to keep their motives, intentions, and even identity a secret until they can move on to their heinous plans. However, they are the most satisfying to pull off when you rip away the mask and reveal that Pumpernickel Hopscotch was the bad guy the whole time.

3 Swarmkeeper Ranger

Tasha's Cauldron Of Everything

Also containing a ton of flavor value, despite crawling insects, swarmkeeper rangers can allow you to craft entirely unique villains just based on the type of swarm that they keep. A swarmkeeper might use locusts to ravage farmland, flies to spread a deadly plague, or spiders to drain their enemies.

Despite the subclass ruling that the swarms are intangible spirits, you can make them into real, summoned swarms that act like swarming creature stat blocks. Other swarmkeeper abilities like Mighty Swarm or Swarming Dispersal give your villainous ranger protection against your players and can make them seem more of a threat aside from their swarms alone.

2 Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

Tasha's Cauldron Of Everything

In horror campaigns with mind flayers or eldritch beings, aberrant mind sorcerers can tap into their unknowable magic and cause terror wherever they go. These sorcerers might be the leaders of cults of Elder Evils and command armies of star spawn.

Their abilities can also be used to warn or alert players of their presence, such as speaking directly into their mind or causing their flesh to deform in unique ways. A high-level sorcerer could even use Warping Implosion to put pressure on your players to make plans that are highly strategic.

1 Shadow Magic Sorcerer

Xanathar's Guide To Everything

Drawing power from the frightening realm of the Shadowfell itself, shadow sorcerers use this energy to call forth death hounds and harness darkness. Not only are Shadow Sorcerers hard to catch, but they can be a mortal threat when they choose their targets carefully.

By leaning into the Hound of Ill Omen feature, you can make it a recurring character that stalks the party or reveals the presence of the sorcerer. Their 18th level feature can also give them a powerful ability that reveals the extent and danger of their magic, amplifying their position as a villainous threat.