@Estheryuki:

It's all mix of metaphors. After observing different manipulative villains, you inevitably find that they line up somewhere on an scale of emotional to cold but intelligent.

Those on the emotional end of the scale can be thought of as 'puppetmasters' because we think of a puppet show as a humorous (therefore based in emotion) thing. Puppet shows have a lot of slapstick humor; Puppetmasters intend to hurt those they manipulate. Also, emotional manipulators fake close relationships with their puppets, just as real puppetmasters have relationships with their puppets. (Jeff Dunham, anyone?)

Those at the intellectual end, however, are quite different. They are often high up in a chain of command (often military) and those they 'manipulate' the most are pawns. Some pawns are more useful (therefore less expendable) than others, but he's not afraid to sacrifice any of them, especially to save Number 1. He is not trying to hurt his enemy as much as defeat him. His plans are always very logical and thought-out. Surely, these are characteristics that can also be attributed to someone who plays chess, hence the Chessmaster.

Then there's the matter of the guys in between. The only I can think of off the top of my head is a guy who plays Dominoes with people (lines them up and knocks them all down with a single poke)

You probably knew all that already, but never really realized it on a conscious scale.

@Estheryuki:

Puppetmaster is too narrow a term actually. A puppetmaster is someone who jerks people and their emotions around like puppets on strings (hence the name), like Iago from Shakespeare's Othello. But there are other sorts of manipulators. Like the Chessmaster: He's the polar opposite of the Puppetmaster. He manipulates minds instead of emotions, and his pawns against his enemy instead of each other. Also, while the Puppetmaster usually is an emotional figure with little direction beyond an immediate goal, the Chessmaster is an intellectual who has many long-term goals, often a master plan that satisfies them all. Other classes of manipulators fall between the Puppetmaster and the Chessmaster. It all depends on how much they use emotions versus intelligence to manipulate.

Ooooh! I'm still working on some villains for my story (Six heroes, and I still don't know who they're fighting against) so I'll definitely be referring back to this!
Another well-written and insightful fan word! Awesome!

@wallpaperotaku:

Ah, yes, the mysterious overlord. Always great as the main villain. But don't be afraid to create some particularly brawny henchmen for the hero to fight. Nobody forgets Oddjob.

@Markus wolfe:

Oh, she's a D. Gray-man Noah. Besides the fifty-bazillion exorcists out there...Her name is Loralyn Stafford and she is the Noah of Conspiracy! I have a few pics of her with more to come if only I wasn't so lazy to scan stuff on the way! :D I hope you like~! I'll explain more on her story later, so please forgive the loooooong wait! *sweatdrops* ^_^'

Thanks! this is a lot better than most published guides that say stuff like "To make a good story, create conflict between a protagonist and antagonist, and give room for a lot of character development. The end"
well duh!
your fan word was much more insightfulthan that! I hope to use this to help me develop my "overlord mysterious" achetype.
One thing that I would add though, is that it is not always a lack of morals or beliefs that makes one a villian, but sometimes that they are misled in their morals and that it is oftentimes their beliefs that drive them to fulfill their purpose. Badguys may be considered heros by their own people, and may think they are doing the right thing. The hero decides that the Villian's means to an end are not justified.
I guess that made a little sense :)
Thanks again!
~Wall-iE

@lazyweird1:

Thanks! Incidentally, what sort of villain did you create?

Wow! Great dude! I always had trouble coming up with villans, but I did manage to make one (and only one) that I was happy with. So I guess that's good enough. You obviously spend a great deal of time working on OC guides and for that, I thank you! *bows*