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Evil Parties - and Evil PC's - A Discussion
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<blockquote data-quote="Andre" data-source="post: 2028155" data-attributes="member: 25930"><p>The problem I have with evil characters is that I want to play and GM in campaigns in which the characters are HEROES. Evil, no matter how compelling the character, is not heroic.</p><p></p><p>Consider, being evil means that in some fundamental way the character does not share the same values that we, as a community, feel are important. Maybe the character hates a particular group and acts on that hatred regardless of the other person's rights. Maybe the character believes the end justifies the means. Maybe the character believes might is right. Whatever, the heroic character will view those attitudes as personal flaws and work to better him/herself. The real hero will grow and change.</p><p></p><p>An evil character, OTOH, will always be played as evil, at some point. Otherwise, the character isn't really evil. Your character killing two men because she didn't like what they said is an example. No matter how compelling your character background, that kind of behavior is unacceptable in a civilized society and cannot be permitted. It's selfish. It makes the object of her hatred a thing, not a person. It's not heroic.</p><p></p><p>In movies and books, evil characters can sometimes be more interesting than the heroes, but almost always because the medium allows us to see inside the person. To see the internal struggles, or contadictions, or suffering. Motivations can be the primary focus of the story.</p><p></p><p>Rpg's, OTOH, focus on action. A session that tried to focus on my character's internal thought processes would probably bore me to death, even more so the other players. Play focuses first on what we do, second on why we do it. I suspect that the vast majority of groups do so also. And if the game focuses on action, then playing an evil character means performing evil actions - in game. Which leads me back to my point that I want to adventure with heroes, not villains. YMMV, but I find playing evil characters incredibly un-fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Andre, post: 2028155, member: 25930"] The problem I have with evil characters is that I want to play and GM in campaigns in which the characters are HEROES. Evil, no matter how compelling the character, is not heroic. Consider, being evil means that in some fundamental way the character does not share the same values that we, as a community, feel are important. Maybe the character hates a particular group and acts on that hatred regardless of the other person's rights. Maybe the character believes the end justifies the means. Maybe the character believes might is right. Whatever, the heroic character will view those attitudes as personal flaws and work to better him/herself. The real hero will grow and change. An evil character, OTOH, will always be played as evil, at some point. Otherwise, the character isn't really evil. Your character killing two men because she didn't like what they said is an example. No matter how compelling your character background, that kind of behavior is unacceptable in a civilized society and cannot be permitted. It's selfish. It makes the object of her hatred a thing, not a person. It's not heroic. In movies and books, evil characters can sometimes be more interesting than the heroes, but almost always because the medium allows us to see inside the person. To see the internal struggles, or contadictions, or suffering. Motivations can be the primary focus of the story. Rpg's, OTOH, focus on action. A session that tried to focus on my character's internal thought processes would probably bore me to death, even more so the other players. Play focuses first on what we do, second on why we do it. I suspect that the vast majority of groups do so also. And if the game focuses on action, then playing an evil character means performing evil actions - in game. Which leads me back to my point that I want to adventure with heroes, not villains. YMMV, but I find playing evil characters incredibly un-fun. [/QUOTE]
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