How do you get that real sense of antagonism and/or rivalry between

>>51361529
Go through player backstories, look for people to kill.

>>51361529


Let the rivalry happen organically. Players latch onto the strangest things. Chances are they'll become the rivals of one or more of your NPCs instead of the other way around.

>>51361691
Okay, that's fair, and I usually do try to let things develop naturally. Nobody likes a forced joke, after all.

But lemme ask my question in a slightly different way. I have an enemy that's going to be a recurring problem for my players, how do I make sure said enemy isn't merely an annoyance or, even worse, someone too forgettable to recall next time they show up to mess with the players?

>>51361744
Test their reactions to the character. If the players don't like him, dont bring him back. If you insist o bringing him back, don't get too attached. Even the most level-headed player will probably look for a permanent solution if only for pragmatic purposes. If they want to kill him let it happen. If you save him through fiat, players just get mad and will refuse to engage him in the future.

Like with any NPC if you introduce rival the players like, they will seek him out.

>>51361936
He's an enemy, though, shouldn't I want my players to not like him?

>>51361529
Have the rival hire thieves to steal their shit.

Let your players have a good chance of getting the loot back though.

>>51361744
In my experience the best way to get players to hate a villain, is betrayal.

The first time you meet him, have him be friendly and helpful, ideally sell them a false sob story to play on their altruism. Then stab them in the back. Every time he shows up again it's like twisting the knife, and you can even have the villain taunt the PCs in character.

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>>51361975

If they don't like him, they're going to kill him.

Creating a recurring rival is a tricky situation. The "douchebag rival" character is honestly kind of an annoying trope. Characters like that only ever survive for one or more of these reasons:
>the protagonists are morally opposed to murdering people
>the protagonists are fine with killing people but are not in a position to get away with it. .
>One or more of the protagonists have an emotional connection to the rival (frenemies)
>the writers don't want their pet comic relief characters to die

Players in a TTRPG have fewer constraints though because of the medium's freeform nature. I usually don't going "Well the way I like to do it is...", but I've found the most success in introducing more serious recurring villains. Characters or entities which I establish early on are beyond the players' abilities to defeat. This gives them 1) a long term goal (find a way to stop this character) and 2) a way to "push back" against players who push the boundaries of the world too far.

>>51362350
You make an unfair assumption when you label the character as "pet comic relief". A recurring enemy for a party doesn't have to be Team Rocket-style goofs; there's as wide a personality spectrum for villains and rivals as there are PCs.

Making it so that the NPC enemy survives from one encounter to the next because the PCs CAN'T kill them, either because the enemy is too strong or because the PCs don't have a chance to fight him/her or because the enemy is fought and beaten but gets away somehow, that's not really the important part of a recurring enemy. I mean, you want something that fits to the story for a justification to why the enemy keeps coming back, but that's not important in the sense of making it a good character.

Making "defeat the enemy" into a long-term goal for PCs is a good goal for the DM because it makes the enemy memorable. The players' ears will perk up when they hear his name. They'll get excited when the chance to finally put him down is at hand, and feel great frustration if he slips away again. I think >>51362241's probably on the right track as far as a great way to quickly establish a character as a memorable enemy, but it isn't a practical approach in all games. Another good idea is to make the enemy have something the PCs want/need. If your players are invested in the plot at all, that will make them remember the enemy too, because he's an important target- not BBEG tier, but an important person to keep track of nonetheless.

Basically, if you want a recurring enemy for the party, you need to plan them in advance (save for the rare situation where it happens organically). The first thing you need to do is figure out why they are an enemy to the party, like with any foe. Then figure out why they and the PCs keep crossing paths again, what connection do they share. Then you can worry about figuring out stuff like why the party can't just kill him before you and your game are ready for them to.

Make some NPCs that the players will like then kill them off.

That depends on your group, OP. Are they fond of murdering the shit out of everything, and just generally being edgy murderhobos? Make a minmaxed captain of the townguard, and never have him out to kill them. Always have him as this tauntingly altruistic "Everyone can change!" guy. Your players really like getting a crap ton of magic items and being rich as shit? Make a cat burgler who seems to be steal shit right out from under the players' noses. If they're super serious RPers, Lord Calcico is your blueprint for this one. There is, however, one consistent rule to keep: Let them die. If the PCs best him, don't fiat the antag out of trouble, even if it's the first encounter. This should happen naturally, and if you don't know your group well enough to figure out their ideal nemesis, you probably shouldn't have made this thread.