D&D 5E I Need Help Finding my EVIL

Okay, so I play with a bunch of folks that are fun to hang around, and we always have a good time, but we don't really know each other super well.
As DM, I understand that I need to wear multiple hats simultaneously - referee, benevolent NPC, Villainous NPC, drunk on the corner...
Most of these roles I can do. I like role play. I like prepping and creating situations. I like the idea of the masses being under my command...
But, I am realizing, I am having trouble releasing my inner evil.
I know I have a sadistic side - I'm married and have kids....
But, I'm not really sticking to it in game.
Like... "Ha ha ha! I have you tied up, and you're not giving me information, and your friends are coming to rescue you...." What I prolly should say is: "Too bad they're going to find you dead" and slit throat (ie. auto crit start your death rolls, bitch). But what I usually say is "Wait here, I'll be back when I kill them all" knowing that the chances of that happening are slim to none.
I need to be more RUTHLESS. I need to be more SADISTIC. I need to be more EVIL. But, I am having trouble manifesting that while I'm supposed to be the fair, referee simultaneously.
What do you do to dig up your evil villainous brain? Your unfeeling, dastardly heart?

"Good night, Wesley. I'll most likely kill you in the morning."
-Dread Pirate Roberts

As I DM I tend to prioritize telling stories more than killing PCs. We had a DM who was bloodthirsty, and while he was a great storyteller, it was irritating that characters did not have longevity.

So my advice would be to stick to what is fun and tells the best story, because that is what I know. If the PC was captured and is helpless, don't just kill it unless that significantly contributes to the story.

In my game, I took one player aside and told him that while he was wondering about town in downtime, he was captured and replaced with a doppelganger. When the party got to the room his real character was in, the rest of the party saw not only his real PC, but doppelgangers of all the rest of the PCs tied up in chairs. Chaos ensued as each player did not know who the real PC was for the other players.

I also had a period of downtime where the cleric was captured by his estranged father and murdered to tie up a loose end. He was resurrected by Heironeous after his body was dumped. At the end of that session, the player told us that a move across the county that had been anticipated for a while was finally happening, and he would not be able to join us anymore. His PC became a pseudo avatar/messenger of Heironeous, popping in when the player was able to join us.

The thing I have found that really works to make players nervous is to put in just one more encounter before they get that short or long rest. On many occasions, the players thought their characters were runnig on fumes and then they got jumped for one more encounter. The ingenious things they have come up with when their backs are truly to the wall are fantastic.

For some DMs, like me, fear is a sweeter scent than death. Last Wednesday, the level 10 party fought and defeated a CR13 cleric of Kyuss, after a room of ghasts, a room of ochre jellies, a room of spawn of Kyuss, and another room of spawn of Kyuss and a Morgh. They probably should have taken a short rest in there somewhere, but they pushed on for various reasons. With his dying breath, the cleric released an ulgurstata (think CR13 undead purple worm with bite, acid breath and aura attacks). So the party has just finished off the cleric and are thinking about a short rest and they hear banging from a previous room as the ulgurstat attempts to break through the ceiling and into the arena above where 18,000 spectators/victims are waiting. When one of the PCs investigates, the doors blow open and I place the purple worm mini that my daughter and I made together on the table.

The wizard was sprayed by necromantic acid. The rogue fired a crossbow and watched as the bolt that was flying true was batted away by a storm of hundreds of tiny tendrils (40 foot aura, 1d12 damage and immunity to nonmagic ranged weapons). They ran to another room to rest. But the ulgurstata resumed its escape through the roof to the arena. Do the PCs risk their lives, or do they let the ulgurstata go (in which case, BAD THINGS HAPPEN that they don't know about yet). There are things that I have set up that will help them, but they have to rise to the challenge to take advantage of them.

So this rambling post is my way to suggest that you scaring the PCs/players and placing them in difficult situations that can still be overcome is more scary/evil is more fun for all than just slaying PCs.

If you just want to show them that they should fear your world, play through an adventure where you TPK the party. Make sure it is a slow process where they feel like they are doing okay at the start, and then their hope slowly drains away until they are all dead. Play all of the monsters and NPCs entirely by the book. Then have them wake up and it was all a dream.

Let them know it may not be a dream next time.

When having them face weak opponents that are extremely unlikely to actually kill them, play those opponents to the best of their ability. Make full use of their intelligence. Make it clear to the players that monsters and NPCs want to live and win. Then the players will be afraid of tougher monsters who are playing for keeps.

Also, seem disappointed when they survive a serious encounter without anyone dying. Express a mixture of glee and guilt when an NPC really thrashes a character.

I'm not sure how it will work for you, but that's how I've ended up running my campaign, and my players seem to think I'm a killer DM despite the fact that none of the characters have died...yet.

Tormyr said:

When one of the PCs investigates, the doors blow open and I place the purple worm mini that my daughter and I made together on the table.
View attachment 66946
The wizard was sprayed by necromantic acid. The rogue fired a crossbow and watched as the bolt that was flying true was batted away by a storm of hundreds of tiny tendrils (40 foot aura, 1d12 damage and immunity to nonmagic ranged weapons). They ran to another room to rest. But the ulgurstata resumed its escape through the roof to the arena. Do the PCs risk their lives, or do they let the ulgurstata go (in which case, BAD THINGS HAPPEN that they don't know about yet). There are things that I have set up that will help them, but they have to rise to the challenge to take advantage of them.

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Dude, that purple worm is sweet as hell.

Sword of Spirit said:

If you just want to show them that they should fear your world, play through an adventure where you TPK the party. Make sure it is a slow process where they feel like they are doing okay at the start, and then their hope slowly drains away until they are all dead. Play all of the monsters and NPCs entirely by the book. Then have them wake up and it was all a dream.

Let them know it may not be a dream next time.

When having them face weak opponents that are extremely unlikely to actually kill them, play those opponents to the best of their ability. Make full use of their intelligence. Make it clear to the players that monsters and NPCs want to live and win. Then the players will be afraid of tougher monsters who are playing for keeps.

Also, seem disappointed when they survive a serious encounter without anyone dying. Express a mixture of glee and guilt when an NPC really thrashes a character.

I'm not sure how it will work for you, but that's how I've ended up running my campaign, and my players seem to think I'm a killer DM despite the fact that none of the characters have died...yet.

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Killer DM who hasn't killed anyone. . Your comment about playing the monsters as well as possible reminds me of Tucker's Kobolds. http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/

Another twist on the weaker monsters is to make CR5 or CR10 versions of them. Some players just about piss themselves when a goblin multiattacks and action surges for 40 hp of damage or casts cone of cold.

BigVanVader said:

Dude, that purple worm is sweet as hell.

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Thanks. DM Scotty has great ideas.
[video=youtube;mzLSXMgzWpk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzLSXMgzWpk[/video]

Tormyr said:

So this rambling post is my way to suggest that you scaring the PCs/players and placing them in difficult situations that can still be overcome is more scary/evil is more fun for all than just slaying PCs.

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This. Increase the difficulty of the encounters--or, at least, some of the encounters. If you are using a formula, create an encounter one, two, or three levels above the PC's. Place it somewhere the PC's can easily escape from.

Then don't hold back. One of three things is likely to occur:

1. The PC's have a difficult fight and win;
2. The PC's have a difficult fight and flee;
3. The PC's, through superior dice rolls, tactics, or sheer luck, win fairly easily.

In any event, you should learn something to help you improve your DM'ing skills with this group.

I know I have a [-]sadistic[/-] masochistic side - I'm married and have kids....

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I fixed that for you.

Evil is purchased by the death of the innocent, not the death of the PCs. Do they have families? Perhaps the fighter's one true love... dangling from a noose, or simply flayed. That nice old lady who invited the bold adventurers to share her dinner? Butchered. A lovely village on banks of a river? Demolished. That library where the wizard was going to do all that research? Burned.

Find the things that can indirectly affect the PCs. Challenge their morals, challenge their ethics. Challenge their wallets (can sell extra loot if the merchant is in three pieces). Hostages! That can die!

Step 1: Give party a puppy
Step 2: Kill puppy
Step 3: Evil

furysmuse said:

What do you do to dig up your evil villainous brain? Your unfeeling, dastardly heart?

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I design the villain. It's what I do best. I figure out the mindset and motivation of each one, bringing them to live in a literary sense. I then figure out what they'd do, and simply have them do it. Some of these things can be downright scary, which is why I play with a mature group that can handle adult themes.

It's actually the most fair way to referee it. The players need to defeat the villain, and the villain is well detailed and designed, making for a strong challenge. My players know that my villains are VILLAINS, and expect no mercy, unless it comes with an even greater cost.

If you need inspiration to come up with villains, I suggest you check out good horror novels and short stories. I've gotten quite a bit of inspiration from Steven King. The start is to come up with a need for the villain, then figure out the easiest way to do it, since that is often the most evil. Develop everything from this motivation, and you'll quickly find a terrifying foe for your PCs. You might want to warn them in advance though...