Dungeons and Dragons: Best Female Villains, Ranked

Summary

• Tasha, an archfey wizard, is loyal to only herself.
• Ivana Boritsi, a ruthless darklord skilled in poison, rules Borca selfishly.
• Zuggtmoy delights in witnessing the decay of the living.

Dungeons and Dragons spans its multiverse over countless editions, movies, novels, and more than one game, tapping into the abundance of lore available. These in-depth worlds are accompanied by enthralling stories propped up by an interesting cast of characters, both heroes and villains.

Villains are just as integral to any story as the heroes are. Without villains, there is no conflict, and conflict is needed to keep any story interesting. No doubt even casual D&D fans could name villains such as Vecna, but there are a wealth of many more, particularly female villains, that deserve accolades for their nefarious natures.

7

Tasha

The Only Side She is Truly Loyal to is Her Own

• Challenge Rating: 20
• Power Level: Archfey
• Home Plane: Feywild

Tasha, whom veteran D&D fans might know as Iggwilv, has gone through some alterations since her first iteration. She has changed from chaotic evil to chaotic neutral, serving only her own goals. She ascended to the ranks of archfey after creating her own domain in the Feywild, which is just a mere taste of the power at the fingertips of this formidable wizard.

Adopted by the evil hag Baba Yaga, it is little surprise Tasha didn’t grow up to be a benevolent caster, but she doesn’t seek to serve some ancient entity or bring about ruin. Her only agenda is her own, and what side she falls on if she is ever pulled into any sort of conflict is the side that would benefit her. While this wouldn’t exactly make her an outright villain, her status as a chaotic evil character in past editions can’t be forgotten or forgiven so easily.

6

Ivana Boritsi

A Skilled Poisoner with a Toxic Touch

• Challenge Rating: Unknown
• Power Level: Darklord
• Home Plane: Borca

Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft expanded on the Domains of Dread, which previously in 5e consisted only of Barovia, and other domains were mentioned in name only. This supplemental book gave details on more locations within the mist and the dark lords that ruled over them. One such place is Borca, jointly ruled by Ivana and Ivan, introducing 5e players to a fantastic and intriguing female villain.

Blessed with beauty and cursed with a poisoned touch, Ivana doesn’t need a man to feel complete. She feels content and settled as the ruthless ruler of Borca. Under her reign, the arisotcracy enjoys the finer things in life while the poor buckle beneath the strain of poverty and starvation. Her callous nature means she cares little for those in her domain beyond the scope of how they can benefit her. As deadly as she is beautiful, Ivana is a fun villain for DMs to RP and fun for players to contend with.

5

Zuggtmoy

A Mockery of All Things Living

• Challenge Rating: 23
• Power Level: Demon Lord
• Home Plane: The Abyss

Demon Lords are fearsome creatures known to have power beyond lesser demons, exercising their dominion over demonkind, and embodying their own twisted domains. Out of the Abyss features quite a few of these Demon Lords, one of the strangest and most mysterious being Zuggtmoy, otherwise known as The Lady of Rot and Decay.

On the surface, her goals seem rather simple, as she wishes to infect all living things with her spores to reduce them into her mindless slaves made up of mushrooms and mold. However, it would be wrong to assume she herself is such a simple creature. Rather, she takes a sickening delight in watching as her enemies slowly transformed into allies. Out of all the villainous D&D women, Zuggtmoy is the one with the most patience, as she relishes watching the slow decay of all things around her.

4

Zariel

An Angel Who Fell From Grace

• Challenge Rating: 26
• Power Level: Archdevil
• Home Plane: Avernus

Mirroring the Nine Hells are the Seven Heavens, the place the benevolent celestials call home. This place is far from the infernal reaches of the hells, but apparently not far enough for Zariel. Once Solar, much like Lucifer, Zariel fell from grace, becoming something far more evil and thriving within the hells. She became the Archduchess of the Hells, crowning herself with a halo of fire.

Even before she became an archdevil, Zariel was a fearless warmonger, praising combat prowess and overzealous rage. The latter ultimately led to her downfall, becoming one of the great evils she used to lead her troops against. The fact that she was once a hero is what makes Zariel such a well-written and compelling villain, as it shows that even the holiest of beings is still susceptible to corruption. Furthermore, even at her most evil, Zariel reflects on her past with sorrow, and hesitates to destroy ties to her origin. Perhaps there is hope for her still.

3

Shar

One of the Most Powerful Goddesses

• Challenge Rating: Unknown
• Power Level: Greater Deity
• Home Plane: Towers of Night

Across the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons, there seem to be just as many evil deities as there are benevolent ones, reveling in the worship of their minions and bestowing favor upon those with a catch. Shar is one such goddess. Baldur’s Gate 3 players will know her as the goddess Shadowheart devoted herself to, whose loyalty was not exactly rewarded with kindness.

As the very personification of the void, emptiness, and loss, Shar is not as calm as one might expect, wishing to undo creation and bring about chaos. Her goals often brought her into conflict with other gods, of whom she had no qualms in slaying and taking over their portfolios. Even among the gods, Shar is a powerful player that should never be taken lightly. She has little care for mortals except for those she can use as pawns to further her own destructive schemes.

2

Lolth

The Spider Goddess Weaves Webs of Oppression

• Challenge Rating: Unknown
• Power Level: Lesser Deity
• Home Plane: The Abyss

The Underdark is one of the most famous locations in Dungeons and Dragons. It is home to all manner of terrifying and deadly creatures, as well as the duergar and more notably, the drow. Known as evil elves, the female drow extol their matriarchal society, believing the males to be lesser. Many men accept their lot in life to avoid incurring the wrath of the women in their houses, or even more worryingly, that of Lolth.

The evil spider queen is the quintessential goddess of the drow, worshipped and feared in equal measure. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for how she revels in bloodshed and torture, subjecting her minions to her evil machinations just as she would her enemies. If there were ever a character to be called evil incarnate in Dungeons and Dragons, Lolth would be a strong contender for that title, but that is what makes her one of the best villains in the game.

1

Tiamat

The Five-Headed Dragon Goddess is a Legendary Figure

• Challenge Rating: 30
• Power Level: Lesser Deity
• Home Plane: Nine Hells

By far, one of the most iconic and recognizable female villains in D&D history is Tiamat. With a name derived from a Mesopotamian goddess, this five-headed dragon is also a goddess for all the chromatic and evil dragons, with none able to match her insatiable greed and wicked nature.

Though she can be beguiling in her own way, for a short time, Tiamat’s disdain for the lives of mortals would soon creep up, betraying the performance she put on, which was always to fuel her own nefarious goal. But when one is as powerful as Tiamat, and literally immortal, she likely doesn’t need to charm others that often. Each of her five heads comes with its very own breath weapon, making this draconic villain a force to be reckoned with.