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Evil protagonists from fiction - or 'Examples of how to play the bad guy without being a total jerk'
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<blockquote data-quote="Flamestrike" data-source="post: 8288030" data-attributes="member: 6788736"><p><strong>NB</strong>: For the purposes of this thread:</p><p></p><p>- <strong>Evil </strong>= harming, murdering, killing and hurting others (for reasons other than self defence, or the defence of others, in a proportionate manner, and as a last resort),</p><p><strong>- Good </strong>= kindness, charity, self sacrifice, altruism and mercy.</p><p><strong>- Lawful </strong>= 'adheres to a code of honor, is predictable, respects family, order and tradition' </p><p>- <strong>Chaotic</strong> = 'Unpredictable, impulsive, unorganized, reckless and rebellious'</p><p></p><p>With someone who sits in the middle of either of those axis, '<strong>Neutral</strong>' with respect to them (possibly leaning one way or the other).</p><p></p><p>That's what we're going with as the default <strong>in this thread.</strong> Those of you who think Frank Castle is 'CG' because he only genocidally brutally murders, massacres and tortures 'criminals' and 'he breaks the law all the time' look elsewhere. In the above definition he's (Lawful) Evil.</p><p></p><p>No alignment based quarrelling please. For our purposes, the above holds true in this thread - run your own games and define alignments how you feel like; this isnt the thread for that.</p><p></p><p>Now that's out of the way...</p><p>-------------------------------------------------------------</p><p></p><p>Lets see some examples of Evil protagonists in fiction, that are not also team killing jerks, or moustache twirling parodies that evilly aligned PCs are often portrayed as. To be included they must be</p><p></p><p>1) Protagonists of the story</p><p>2) Not jerks to the other protagonists (this rules out the <strong>CE </strong>Rick Sanchez)</p><p>3) Workable as a PC in your average party of PCs without bringing the game to a total screeching halt.</p><p></p><p>I'll advance a few:</p><p></p><p><strong>Amos Burton </strong>(the Expanse, TV). <strong>NE</strong>. Depicted as a complete sociopath lacking any emotions and little empathy, who was horribly abused as a young boy, before becoming a stand over man for a Baltimore crime syndicate and then escaping off world, taking on the moniker of a Gangster he brutally murdered as cover:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]137490[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p><em>“There are ways that you can live a good life, without being a good person.” </em><strong>-Amos Burton</strong></p><p></p><p>Despite repeatedly being shown to be OK with murder, executing unarmed prisoners, torture, doling out a good beating or two, and more, he's an invaluable member of the crew of the Rocinante , as their mechanic and muscle, being prepared to do things the rest of the crew find... 'distasteful'(when the LG James Holden isnt holding him back from doing things his way).</p><p></p><p><strong>Titus Pullo </strong>(Rome, TV). <strong>CE</strong>. Centurion and member of the 13th legion of Rome, he is a proud rapist, torturer, murderer, deserter, hit man, thief, slaver, gambler and worse.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]137491[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p></p><p><em>Now, your best method of pleasing a woman is the warm, beating heart of an enemy. Oh, women say they don't like it, but they do</em>! - <strong>Titus Pullo</strong></p><p></p><p>Unpredictable and violent, he murders love rivals, boasts of his rapes and murders, and engages in frequent torture and killings (including his best friends wifes lover). However his redeeming feature is his respect and bond with (LN) Lucius Vorenus, with Pullo having a genuine respect and close friendship with the latter. It is this relationship that perhaps tempers Pullos wilder nature (from time to time - see above for when it led him to go a bit... <em>medieval </em>on someone in the sewers).</p><p></p><p>Using the above examples (and the above definitions), does anyone else care to advance any evilly aligned protagonists that aren't jerks to the other protagonists or two dimensional moustache twirling murderbots, that could function in a PC group as a fellow PC?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Flamestrike, post: 8288030, member: 6788736"] [B]NB[/B]: For the purposes of this thread: - [B]Evil [/B]= harming, murdering, killing and hurting others (for reasons other than self defence, or the defence of others, in a proportionate manner, and as a last resort), [B]- Good [/B]= kindness, charity, self sacrifice, altruism and mercy. [B]- Lawful [/B]= 'adheres to a code of honor, is predictable, respects family, order and tradition' - [B]Chaotic[/B] = 'Unpredictable, impulsive, unorganized, reckless and rebellious' With someone who sits in the middle of either of those axis, '[B]Neutral[/B]' with respect to them (possibly leaning one way or the other). That's what we're going with as the default [B]in this thread.[/B] Those of you who think Frank Castle is 'CG' because he only genocidally brutally murders, massacres and tortures 'criminals' and 'he breaks the law all the time' look elsewhere. In the above definition he's (Lawful) Evil. No alignment based quarrelling please. For our purposes, the above holds true in this thread - run your own games and define alignments how you feel like; this isnt the thread for that. Now that's out of the way... ------------------------------------------------------------- Lets see some examples of Evil protagonists in fiction, that are not also team killing jerks, or moustache twirling parodies that evilly aligned PCs are often portrayed as. To be included they must be 1) Protagonists of the story 2) Not jerks to the other protagonists (this rules out the [B]CE [/B]Rick Sanchez) 3) Workable as a PC in your average party of PCs without bringing the game to a total screeching halt. I'll advance a few: [B]Amos Burton [/B](the Expanse, TV). [B]NE[/B]. Depicted as a complete sociopath lacking any emotions and little empathy, who was horribly abused as a young boy, before becoming a stand over man for a Baltimore crime syndicate and then escaping off world, taking on the moniker of a Gangster he brutally murdered as cover: [ATTACH type="full" alt="1622277825988.png"]137490[/ATTACH] [I]“There are ways that you can live a good life, without being a good person.” [/I][B]-Amos Burton[/B] Despite repeatedly being shown to be OK with murder, executing unarmed prisoners, torture, doling out a good beating or two, and more, he's an invaluable member of the crew of the Rocinante , as their mechanic and muscle, being prepared to do things the rest of the crew find... 'distasteful'(when the LG James Holden isnt holding him back from doing things his way). [B]Titus Pullo [/B](Rome, TV). [B]CE[/B]. Centurion and member of the 13th legion of Rome, he is a proud rapist, torturer, murderer, deserter, hit man, thief, slaver, gambler and worse. [ATTACH type="full" alt="1622278360093.png"]137491[/ATTACH] [I]Now, your best method of pleasing a woman is the warm, beating heart of an enemy. Oh, women say they don't like it, but they do[/I]! - [B]Titus Pullo[/B] Unpredictable and violent, he murders love rivals, boasts of his rapes and murders, and engages in frequent torture and killings (including his best friends wifes lover). However his redeeming feature is his respect and bond with (LN) Lucius Vorenus, with Pullo having a genuine respect and close friendship with the latter. It is this relationship that perhaps tempers Pullos wilder nature (from time to time - see above for when it led him to go a bit... [I]medieval [/I]on someone in the sewers). Using the above examples (and the above definitions), does anyone else care to advance any evilly aligned protagonists that aren't jerks to the other protagonists or two dimensional moustache twirling murderbots, that could function in a PC group as a fellow PC? [/QUOTE]
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