1. ElConesaToLoco

    ElConesaToLoco Active Member

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    Main antagonist ends up being demented (Could this work?)

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by ElConesaToLoco, Apr 17, 2018.

    So, this is just some crazy idea I've come up with, and I'm wondering if the readers could cope with such a plot twist at the end.

    What if the main bad guy, who's a necromancer that's been switching bodies for decades at this point (More on that later), while pretending to be the emperor(s), ends up all crazy and incapable of any coherent thought? I'm thinking something like he has developed dementia or alzheimer's disease, so he doesn't even remember who he really is, or who the MC is (The MC was just another victim). So when the protagonists reach him to do justice, they realize he doesn't even remember his heinous crimes, and someone else has been secretly in charge of the empire for the last decade.

    So, the main bad guy has turned into a demented lunatic with no real political power, and punishing him for his crimes is no longer possible. They would have to kill him, though, because he's still a really powerful wizard, and his dementia could trigger a devastating magic accident. The fake emperor's son tells them that the leading commander of the empire's legions is really the one in charge, but they have no reason to go after him, meaning the story would actually end like this, with the big bad guy a shell of his former self, killed only to prevent a very likely magical accident (Basically a mercy killing, to be honest).

    Now, to explain why the emperor has become demented, I'll say that soul transfering between bodies has the side effect of acquiring part of the original body owner's memories, which causes all kinds of confussion (This was already established, so I'm not making it up at the last second), and he's been doing it for decades. His current body is the fourth since he took over the original emperor's body (He takes over his sons bodies to keep himself in charge). So, the mental taxation would build up over decades, accelerating the normal brain ageing, making him demented at just 40 years old (As of his current body).

    Here's the thing, the second story arc in the book is all about the MC deciding to do justice with the emperor, and traveling with his reluctant daughter from their own kingdom all the way to the empire's capital, just for this reason. That's why I wonder if readers could swallow such a downer ending, with no justice served, and only some demented almost 500 years old necromancer getting mercy killed by the man whose life he completely ruined and the start of the book.

    Aditional information, for context: This is for the most part a character driven story, in which the plot mainly serves as the reason why the protagonists are going from one place to another. It's all about the journey and the lessons they learn through the book. This final "showdown" would teach the MC that his desire for justice is just that, HIS desire for justice, and that it wasn't his gods that sent him there to do their biding. The book would then end with him vowing to keep travelling the world in search for innocent people in need of help, not because that's what is espected of him (He's a legendary hero) or because his gods have chosen him as their deliverer of justice (Which he thought up until this point), but because that's who he is, and what he wants to do, which in the end, it's the main lesson he has to learn.

    Have I gone crazy?.
     
  2. GlitterRain7

    GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

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    I think it depends on how it’s written. It could work, it could not. Downer endings aren’t always a bad thing, at least in my opinion. It’s basically just how you execute the idea.
     
    Indigo Abbie likes this.
  3. ElConesaToLoco

    ElConesaToLoco Active Member

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    I guess I'll try it, get some test readers and see how they feel about it. Maybe by the time I get to the ending section of the plot, I've figured out how to write it in a satisfying way.
     

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