Here’s a worksheet to create your henchmen.
1) Pick their story job/archetype.
☐ The Dragon: Big Bad’s right hand man / #2 / chief lieutenant.
☐ The Heavy: the most active threat the hero tangles with, even if they’re not the top villain.
☐ The Gatekeeper / Threshold Guardian: blocks access to a place, person, or clue.
☐ The Tracker: keeps the hero from ever truly getting away.
☐ The Temptation engine: tries to pull the hero off the path.
2) Define their rank + reach.
☐ What’s their title in the villain ecosystem? (captain, fixer, consigliere)
☐ What can they command? (people, money, magic, access)
☐ What can’t they do without permission? (jurisdiction limits = tension)
3) What’s their work style?
☐ Full-Fledged Antagonists (Scary on steroids.)
☐ Punch-Clock Villains (They’re there for the paycheck.)
☐ Incompetent lackeys (Accidentally sabotage the plan.)
4) Pick their weapon.
☐ Muscles
☐ Brains
☐ Guns
☐ Knives
☐ Bombs
5) Give them a signature.
☐ A distinct tactic (poison, intimidation, manipulation, charm)
☐ A distinct presence (stillness, speed, menace, humor,)
☐ A distinct tell (polishes a ring, wipes hands after a fight, hums)
☐ One humanizing detail (not to soften them, but to sharpen them)
6) Decide their cruelty style.
☐ Surgical (clean, efficient, minimal emotion)
☐ Performative (makes an example, sends messages)
☐ Personal (enjoys the intimacy of harm)
☐ “I’m doing this for your own good” (chilling)
7) Nail the loyalty glue (why they stay.)
☐ Fear (of the boss, of poverty, of exposure)
☐ Belief (ideology, religion, “the boss is right”)
☐ Love / devotion (twisted, obsessive)
☐ Debt (the boss saved them, owns them, blackmails them)
☐ Ambition (they want the crown, or at least a nicer chair)
☐ Addiction (power, status, violence)
8) Choose their end state
☐ Defeated (clean loss)
☐ Escapes (recurring nightmare)
☐ Flips (betrays the boss, temporarily aligns with hero)
☐ Promoted (becomes the new Big Bad)
☐ Redeemed (rare, earned, and usually costly)
More on Henchmen
Scriptnotes Ep. 692: Crafting the Perfect Villain (John August)
Scriptnotes Ep. 465: The Lackeys Know What They’re Doing (John August)
How to Write a Henchman Archetype
Terrible Writing Advice: Evil Lackeys - video
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