The villains of Guild Wars.
Prophecies Villains
The Lich and the Titans
The Lich Lord (though known as the "Undead Lich" in-game, and known as "Lich" in one cinematic) is a powerful Undead lord who seeks the Scepter of Orr to gain the control of the Titan army and take over Tyria. He manipulates the players during the Prophecies campaign by transforming to his original form, Vizier Khilbron.
- Big Bad: Of the Prophecies Campaign.
- The Dragon: To Abbadon as Rasakel.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: He fights the Player Characters in the one place in the world that emits an aura that removes his Immortality.
- He also may teleport right into the lava and light himself on fire.
- Demonic Possession: The soul controlling him is the Torment Creature Razakel with the original body being reduced to a Soul Jar that once destroyed strips him of his inability to die.
- Devil in Plain Sight: As Vizier Khilbron.
- Dual Boss: In Nightfall, is fought alongside Shiro Tagachi.
- Evil Sorcerer
- Good Wings, Evil Wings: Bat Wings, of course.
- The Legions of Hell: The Titans, which he release from the Door of Komalie and bind to his will.
- Magic Staff: The Scepter of Orr.
- Necromancer: Raises the slain people of Orr from the sunken depths and sends them to invade Kryta.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His actual in-game name is simply "undead lich". Most players, however, decided a Final Boss needs a cooler name/title so he is usually called "The Lich" or "The Lich-Lord"
- Our Liches Are Different: A Torment Creature is his Soul Jar, but his Lich body can't be killed unless he is standing atop the Bloodstone in Hell's Precipice. Destroying his Soul Jar removes his Lich Body's inability to die which is quite unlike how the whole point of a Soul Jar is that it can grow a new body once the old one is dead not so that it can reanimate the old body every time it dies.
- Recurring Boss: Reappears once. The Gate of Madness Mission in Nightfall. As a Dual Boss with Shiro Tagachi, the Big Bad of Factions.
- Religion of Evil: Secondary Quests in the Nightfall campaign reveal that Vizier Khilbron was seduced by a Cult of Abaddon leading up to the events of The Cataclysm and his transformation into Razakel's vessel(the use of the word "this" when saying "this vessel" after mentioning how he used the Vizier makes it clear that the Lich was in fact another vessel).
- Spell My Name with a "The": Officially called "Undead Lich".
- Take Over the World
- Winged Humanoid: He has wings for some reason.
- Wings Do Nothing: As far as we see, he never actually uses his wings to fly.
The Stone Summit
Dagnar Stonepate is the cousin of Jalis Ironhammer and the founder and original leader of the xenophobic Stone Summit Dwarves. With the Stone Summit, he has begun a civil war in the Shiverpeak Mountains with the Deldrimor Dwarves, enslaved many other races including Dolyaks, Snow beasts, and humans, and aspires to rule all of Tyria.
- An Ice Person: Uses frost magic when riding on his drake.
- Beard of Evil: He's a dwarf, of course he has to have a beard.
- Cool Sword: He's revealed in Guild Wars 2 to have owned (but never seen used) the Sanguinary Blade, a greatsword made of frozen blood. Jormag's blood that is.
- The Evil Prince: He's trying to take his cousin's throne for himself.
- Evil Weapon: The Durmand Priory learns he owned the Sanguinary Blade, which is a sword made of the Elder Dragon Jormag's frozen blood. As a result, it corrupts the wielder and those it cuts. Might be the main reason he never actually wielded it.
- Fantastic Racism: The Stone Summit are xenophobic and don't allow any outsiders in the mountains, either killing or enslaving them.
- Grave Robbing: His tomb in Guild Wars 2 is robbed not only by the Dredge (Who seek to destroy anything to do with Dwarves), but also the Sons of Svanir, seeking the Sanguinary Blade.
- It's Personal: You likely would have fought him to help out your Deldrimor allies, but the fact that he killed Rurik made it pretty much inevitable.
- Magic Knight: Wears plate armor and wields an axe the one time he's on foot, but mostly assaults his foes with frost magic.
- Mounted Combat: Rides an ice drake into battle.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: When you finally get to confront him and exact revenge for Rurik's death, the results of the battle don't really have time to sink in, because killing him and his cronies is only the first part of the mission. There is no time to mourn/celebrate/acknowledge anything before the Mursaat and their White Mantle minions, including Confessor Dorian, show up and have you fight an even tougher, more epic battle. As a result, Rurik is a Forgotten Fallen Friend during this battle.
- Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Pretty standard for the evil variant of Dwarves.
- Tin Tyrant: Along with a horned helmet, he wears plate armor on his chest and legs.
- Warrior Prince: Being cousin to the king, Dagnar is a prince himself, a title he's referred by in the sequel.
The Mursaat and the White Mantle
The Mursaat, also known as "The Unseen Ones", are a race of floating humanoid spellcasters from another world. The White Mantle's religion consider them as deities. In appearence, they have several long wings that allow them to float, three elongated toes, and golden armor and masks. They are often seen with their jade construct minions and towers.
- Aliens Are Bastards: They're from another world, and they massacred a good part of the White Mantle leadership and secretely took control of Kryta via the White Mantle leaders they spared the life of.
- Evil Versus Evil: They fight against the forces of the Lich and dread the awakening of the Titans, which will destroy them according to the Flameseeker Prophecies.
- God Guise: The White Mantle considers them as gods.
- Gold and White Are Divine: They wear golden armors and are worshipped as gods by the White Mantle.
- Golem: The Mursaat themselves never have physical damage-dealing professions, leaving that to their jade constructs.
- Instakill Mook: Mursaat have Spectral Agony, a devastating spell that causes a huge health degeneration and damage over time on the player's character, killing said character in a matter of seconds. In order to counter this, players have to get their armor infused by the Ancient Seer with a spectral essence, which is found after slaying octopus-like spectral monsters.
- The Man Behind the Man: They secretely took control of Kryta via manipulating the White Mantle cult.
- Portal Door: How they came from their world. Several jade portals can be seen at Mursaat outposts in the last missions of Prophecies.
- Power Floats: They levitate instead of walking.
The leader of the White Mantle. Seemingly a wise and benevolent man who knights the player characters as thanks for their aid, it turns out that he and the White Mantle in turn are serving the nefarious race of spellcasters known as the Mursaat.
- Bait the Dog: He seems a benevolent religious leader when you first him, as he stands by your side against the undead and knights you. Then you learn what the White Mantle's goals truly are...
- Beard of Evil
- Corrupt Church: Saul D'Alessio started the White Mantle with good intentions, but since he was taken away and the Mursaat took a more direct role, it has turned into an oppressive theocracy.
- Good Powers, Bad People: Goes hand in hand with Light Is Not Good, being primarily a healer with very bad intentions.
- Hat of Authority: Wears a priestly hat, fitting for his status.
- Healing Hands: Uses healing spells to aid his followers.
- High Priest: The closest thing to a leader among the White Mantle.
- Knighting: He knights the players as part of the White Mantle, as thanks for their aid.
- Knight Templar
- Light Is Not Good: White robes? Check. Divine abilities? Check. Nefarious intentions? Check.
- Magic Staff: Wields a glowy blue staff as his weapon.
- The Medic: He's a healer first and foremost.
- Sinister Minister
- Staff of Authority: His staff is both a weapon and a mark of authority.
- Villain Forgot to Level Grind: When you first encounter Dorian (as an ally, mind), he's at level 20. At this time, it's likely that you're at a lower level, so he's actually quite effective. However, when you finally fight him late in the game, he's still at level 20... at a point where every generic enemy is at 24 and every boss is at 28. Whoops.
- Villain with Good Publicity: As the closest thing to a leader among the White Mantle, Dorian is well regarded among the populace and treated with respected.
Markis is a member of the Shining Blade who first meets the players at the end of The Wilds mission.
- Bald of Evil: After he's revealed as a traitor he gets his own bald-headed model.
- Commander Contrarian: He's first to protest to Evennia about allowing the Player Characters to live at the end of The Wilds mission. Of course, The Complainer Is Always Wrong. He has his reasons: He's trying to set the Player Characters up as a Red Herring Mole to Evennia.
- Multi Shot: He's a Ranger, with the ability to shoot arrows at several targets.
- The Mole: Markis is actually a member of the White Mantle who has infiltrated the Shining Blade's Inner Council. He betrays the location of the Henge of Denravi and the meeting place with Vizier Khilbron, leading to the capture of most, if not all of the Shining Blade's Inner Council.
- Traitor Shot: One where he's not even onscreen. At the end of the Riverside Province mission, Saidra asks the Player Characters where Markis is. He apparently told her that he would meet up with them outside the temple. There was no such plan. Not that it really has time to make an impact. Vizier Khilbron reveals the truth during the next mission.
Factions Villains
No one but Shiro Tagachi knows what made this sacred imperial bodyguard—the emperor's most trusted servant—turn on his master on the Day of the Jade Wind. Did Shiro plan to sever the unbroken imperial bloodline and crown himself emperor? Was it revenge he sought, for some perceived wrong the emperor had done to Shiro or the Tagachi family? Could Shiro have been seeking some form of power that historians can no longer comprehend?
Whatever his motive, Shiro's act has been literally carved in stone. On the last day of the Harvest Festival, the emperor's favored bodyguard arrived at the Harvest Temple and was waiting when the emperor reached the pinnacle of the temple's tower. Shiro cut down the emperor of Cantha where he knelt on the holy floor, staining it forever with the monarch's blood. Shiro himself was slain only moments later, but his revenge on those who killed him was the most significant event in Canthan history since Kaineng founded the empire. In Shiro's final moments, he drew on all of his ill-gotten power to drain the emperor's very soul away. Seething with magic but mortally wounded, the treacherous bodyguard screamed, and his voice washed over an area hundreds of miles across. Shiro's death wail became the Jade Wind, a cataclysmic wave of energy that turned trees, animals, people, and open water into stone and crystal.
In the wake of Shiro's fall, the empire carried on. But Shiro's legacy on the continent is undeniable and permanent. Today, many signs point to Shiro's return after two centuries in the border realms of the afterlife. A spectral force driven by rage, a thirst for power, and a special kind of madness, he corrupts everything in his wake. The Canthan people know nothing of this, and suspect that the hideous results of "the Affliction" are some kind of monstrous plague. But even those who know that Shiro stalks the shadows have no idea of the power seething within him— or what he might do with it.
- Anti-Hero: Even before he became evil, he was more like a The Punisher or Deadpool like anti-hero than a good guy. At one point he killed all the people in an Am Fah (basically a fantasy Mafia/Yakuza) cell, even those who surrendered. In another, some people kidnapped the Emperor's son and he killed them all and put their heads on display. Even consider the people deserved it in both cases, it still shows he always had a ruthless side and was never a straight up hero.
- Back from the Dead: He returns to life at the end of Factions, only to be killed again and sentenced to the Realm of Torment, where he's killed again, sending his soul back to the judgment of Grenth and his followers — in other words another sentence to the Realm of Torment (how many times this cycle of dying and being sentenced to the Realm of Torment is going to happen is unknown).
- Big Bad: Of the Factions campaign.
- Bodyguard Betrayal: He was the bodyguard that betrayed his emperor and stabbed him in the back.
- Cool Sword: Wields a pair of curved single-edge swords.
- Driven to Villainy: He was corrupted by a servant of Abaddon disguised as a fortune teller.
- Dual Boss: Is fought alongside the Lich in Nightfall.
- Dual Wielding: Wields both of his swords at the same with great skill.
- Evil Sorcerer: Though he is primarily a melee fighter (Assassin, to be specific), he does wield several powerful magical abilities and is referred to as a sorcerer in many sources.
- Fallen Hero: He was the Emperor's bodyguard 200 years ago.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: His faced is heavily marked with scars of an almost ritualistic design. They don't exactly make him look anymore trustworthy.
- Hate Plague: Shiro's main weapon during the Factions campaign. He also couples it with a Type Two-B Your Soul Is Mine! to bind the souls of the dead into his Afflicted and Shiro'ken.
- The Kingslayer: Emperor slayer.
- Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: Villainous example. Let's make the powerful and patient Omnicidal Maniac collect the souls of the dead which will mean that he will have plenty of time to wander around the world. Supervise him? No, I don't think that'll be necessary.
- Magic Knight: As an Assassin, he's mainly a melee fighter, but he also wields powerful magical abilities.
- Master Swordsman: He's one of the most renowned swordsmen in the game.
- Near-Villain Victory: He completes his plan to return to life only to lose because he's no longer an immortal Grim Reaper.
- One-Man Army: He takes on a large number of imperial troops on his own after his betrayal. It's only after he's managed to be disarmed that he gets killed.
- Shinigami / Psychopomp: His punishment for his crimes in life was to escort the souls of the dead to the Underworld as an Envoy.
- Taken For Jade: He's transformed into a Jade statue by the other Envoys upon his defeat. It's not an And I Must Scream situation though, as you encounter his soul again in the Realm of Torment.
- Unwitting Pawn: The Fortune Teller that drove him to madness and evil was a minion (and Avatar) of Abaddon. Shiro's Jade Wind as well as the destruction of Orr were both part of Abaddon's greater design to weaken his prison in the Realm of Torment.
Head of the Ministry of Purity, and Ashu's aunt. While the people see her as a herald of peace and courage, she's actually little more than a power-hungry tyrant who intends to make Cantha 'perfect' by any means necessary.
- Evil Aunt: To Ashu and Miku.
- Fantastic Racism: Has tried several times to exterminate the Tengu from Cantha.
- Knight Templar: She ordered her soldiers to take out the two major gangs in Kaineng... and the families of each and every member of those gangs, which is where the Player Character draws the line.
- Light Is Not Good: Just like the White Mantle of Kryta, white is the Ministy's dress code. Of course, white is the color of death in many parts of Asia.
- Meaningful Name: Reikoku is Japanese for "heartless".
- Utopia Justifies the Means
- Villain with Good Publicity: It's been stated that, if the Emperor even tried to move against her, Cantha would erupt in civil war as a result.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: When Miku returns and tries to patch things up with Ashu, Reiko turns the crowd on her by claiming she's an assassin sent by the Emperor.
A mysterious Fortune Teller you see throughout the flashbacks of "Factions". You see her fortelling greatness in Shiro's future, causing him to come back to her for advice. Eventually, she warns him that the Emperor he's sworn to protect intends to kill him at the Harvest Ceremony, and Shiro strikes her down in rage. In Nightfall, you can find out that she was actually an Avatar of Abaddon who was sent specifically to manipulate Shiro and turn him evil.
- Humanoid Abomination: She's an Avatar of Abaddon.
- Mind Screw: Being a Mesmer. And it was her job.
- No Name Given: Is only known as the "Fortune Teller" or Demonic Fortune Teller, which isn't surprising considering she's Abaddon's Avatar and thus Abaddon himself.
- Posthumous Character: In Factions. All you know of her is told from flashbacks.
- One-Winged Angel
Nightfall Villains
Centuries ago, Turai Ossa saved the nation of Elona by defeating the undead lord Palawa Joko. In gratitude, the populace praised him as the warmarshal of Kourna... and the nation accepted him as their king. Since that time, all of Kourna’s warmarshals have been direct descendants of Turai. Varesh Ossa is the latest inheritor of that legacy—and like her ancestor, she has a vision for the future of the nation.
Varesh Ossa is a brilliant commander, a loyal Kournan who instills loyalty and dedication in her troops. Like her ancestor Turai, she has also shown an interest in more spiritual concerns. Elonians see much of Turai’s greatness in Varesh. By using political acumen, her charismatic presence, and the influence of her family legacy, Varesh has rallied the Kournan army, inspiring them as Turai Ossa did long ago. Some loyal Elonians hope that she can unify the nation again, restoring it to the greatness of its past. Others fervently hope that she does not share his madness. History will see how well Varesh succeeds on her own spiritual quest.
- Body Horror: Watch her appearance change in the cutscenes as the game goes on. When we first meet her, she is a strikingly beautiful Kournan woman. This makes her gradual transition into a Margonite even more disturbing, particularly at her last appearance in the Ruins of Morah mission where she has fully transformed into a hideous Eldritch Abomination Margonite leader.
- Deal with the Devil: While Abaddon isn't exactly the devil, their arrangement certainly fits.
- Dark Messiah: She views herself as the harbinger of a new glorious age under Abaddon.
- Evil Is Hammy: Very much.
- Evil Sorcerer: Dervishes are hybrid fighter/casters, though Varesh's magic is divine in nature. Abaddon is the god linked with arcane magic though, so the sorcery thing still applies.
- First-Episode Twist: Varesh is the villain. In case you couldn't already tell. Pretty sure the trailers spoiled this too.
- In game, this is revealed in the cutscene after the second mission (Out of 24 total missions).
- Heck, she's Obviously Evil if you look at the manual.
- Glorious Leader: She uses nationalistic rhetoric to inspire great loyalty in the people during her formative years of power. She also relies heavily upon her family legacy.
- The Heavy: Abaddon is definitely the Big Bad of the campaign, but Varesh is the one driving the plot. Until she's slain in the Ruins of Morah mission, anyway.
- I Lied: She kills the priests of Lyssa even after promising Morghan that she would leave them unharmed.
- In the Hood: Once transformed into a Margonite, she covers her hood with a hood.
- Magic Knight: As a Dervish she can fight as well in melee as she can sling spells at her foes.
- My Death Is Just the Beginning: When you slay her, Abaddon's prison is breached and the vortex to the Realm of Torment opens.
- One-Winged Angel: She completes her transformation into a Margonite during the Ruins of Morah mission.
- Purple Is Powerful: Kourna's glorious leader, dressed in royal purple.
- Religion of Evil: Spreads her worship of Abaddon among her followers.
- Sinister Scythe: Her weapon, comes with the territory of being a dervish. In her case, the 'sinister' part is played straight.
- You Are Too Late: Gets a couple of these: The first is Kehanni's death. The Player Character and General Morghan are unable to reach her in time. For the second, see My Death Is Just the Beginning.
In recent years, Varesh has spent more time with Kahyet than her other generals. For decades, General Kahyet has served faithfully as the Dervish mentor of Varesh. At seventy years old, she has endless stories of the history of early Elona. Although she is still an effective commander, her health is failing. Many Kournans take comfort in knowing that Kahyet’s insights and wisdom might live on in their warmarshal.
Kahyet has served as a teacher and guardian to Varesh Ossa for years, assisting her in her studies of the principles of Ascension, Dervish philosophy, the Elonian gods, the history of Turai Ossa, and more esoteric lore. When she learned that Varesh was following the same spiritual path as her ancestor, Kahyet guided her on the path, inspiring her with secrets that only a few truly understand. Kahyet’s time may be running out, but she knows that an era of greatness is at hand.
- Evil Mentor: She is responsible for leading Varesh down the path of darkness in the first place.
- Evil Old Folks: Being an old woman doesn't absolve her of having evil intentions.
- Magic Knight: As a Dervish she swings her scythe as well as she invokes magical prayers.
- My Death Is Just the Beginning / Starter Villain: She's served her purpose by the time you reach her. Time for the plot to kick into high-gear.
- Religion of Evil: She's the one who passed along the dark knowledge to Varesh.
- Sinister Scythe: Her weapon, comes with the territory of being a dervish. In her case, the 'sinister' part is played straight.
General Bayel rose through the ranks of Kourna’s army through dedication, hard work, and ruthless use of force. As an Ascalonian, he worked twice as hard to prove himself as many Kournan recruits, demonstrating his resolve and discipline again and again. If he knows the outcome of a battle comes down to his life or someone else’s, he sees nothing wrong with making sure it’s the other soldier who loses. His zeal extends to battles against countless opponents. When the Centaurs became rebellious, he volunteered to lead the “pacification campaign” against them. When the corsairs showed a blatant disregard for Elonian law, he took pleasure in leading raids against them, taking revenge on behalf of his adopted nation. Overwhelming force has solved many of his greatest problems.
As a result, Bayel is admired in the courts of Warmarshal Varesh, feared by those who serve him, and hated by those who oppose him. His enemies claim that he cares little for “collateral damage,” that he considers the deaths of civilians a small price to pay for the security of the state. As a ruthlessly efficient war machine, General Bayel will stop at nothing to destroy his enemies once he sets his sights on an objective. Victory demands nothing less than complete dedication.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Rose up the Kournan ranks quickly, despite being a foreigner.
- The Dragon: To Varesh.
- General Ripper
- Good Powers, Bad People: Is a monk by trade.
- Holy Hand Grenade: He's primarily a smiting monk.
- You Can't Go Home Again: He originally hails from Ascalon, but there's not really much of a reason for him to ever want to go back.
The Hunger is a servant of Abaddon and refuses to take orders from anyone but Abaddon and Varesh Ossa.
- All Animals Are Dogs: He's not really an animal, per se. But he is very bestial. Bayel even calls him hound.
- Eye Scream: It's implied that he's the one that ate Kormir's eyes.
- Our Demons Are Different
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Doesn't actually kill Bayel, but makes it very clear to him who's in charge.
The Drought is another servant of Abaddon and is fought in the waterworks, attempting to cause a drought.
- Boss-Arena Idiocy: Yes, wait for the heroes to fight you in an area where you can be weakened.
- Optional Boss: Well, you can only fight him if you recruited the Master of Whispers. It's implied that he's killed by the Order of Whispers if you didn't join him.
The Blasphemy is another servant of Abaddon and is fought on the Grand Court of Sebelkeh, trying to capture the Shrine of Lyssa for himself.—-
- Flunky Boss: The Blasphemy mostly attacks with his minions. He himself is actually easy...and you have to kill him numerous times, the battle only ends when you capture the entire base.
Eye of the North Villains
The Tome of Rubicon tells of a titanic struggle between the Great Dwarf and the Great Destroyer, hinting at an apocalyptic time when this battle will once again be rejoined. The Dwarves believe that time is nigh. Hordes of creatures with hearts of flame and skin as black and as hard as obsidian have welled up from the Depths, pulling the Dwarves into a vicious war that threatens their very existence. While the face of the Great Destroyer has never been gazed upon by any mortal creature, the Dwarves do not doubt that these swarms of Destroyers are merely the spawn of the Great Destroyer, which will soon rise.
- Big Bad: Of the Eye of the North Expansion Actually, just the Dragon-in-Chief to the Elder Dragon Primordus, who is one of the Big Bads of Guild Wars 2.
- Hive Mind / Keystone Army: The Destroyers are all linked to him and it is his destruction that finally stops their march through the Asura tunnels and across the Northern Shiverpeaks.
- Magma Man
- Sealed Evil in a Can
