Are you sure he didn't mean the Tiger?
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My PCs are horrible people!
- Thread starter fireinthedust
- Start date
Are you sure he didn't mean the Tiger?
Embrace it. No matter if the PCs are good or evil, people will hear about what they have done and what they are capable of.
Think of it this way: do you think the henchmen of supervillains start off as people thinking 'I wanna be an evil guy who has a high chance of getting killed!' or rather as regular people who get into a slippery slope of poverty or misdeeds that forces them into such a role?
Are they completely egotistical and chaotic, so that they only follow the plot set up for 'Good' characters when it suits their whims? In this case they could be contacted by a BBEG, who wants them to work for him, promising them exactly the rewards they care most about. This gives them the chance (and a reason) to do all the evil they please, at least for a while. Maybe they will eventually refuse to cross the moral event horizon, once the BBEG's plans are revealed or when they are asked to do something even they won't do, or maybe they will go along with the plan until the bitter end, fighting stronger and stronger minions of Good all the while.
Or maybe they are indeed interested in 'saving the world', it's just their methods that leave much to be desired. Give them the chance to be ultimate badasses. Maybe a wealthy nobleman hears of them, and wants to set up an office for them as some kind of a vigilante justice group. The nobleman and his allies give them money and resources, as well as tips towards where they might find problems to solve. They would only have one rule: get the job done, no matter the cost. Peasants might lend aid out of fear and awe, nobles might be forced to aid to avoid becoming the object of their interest themselves.
The PCs shouldn't be punished for who they are. As heroes (maybe evil ones, but still heroes), they should be able to find a place in the world. Any role a hero might follow comes with problems that must be overcome.
Think of it this way: do you think the henchmen of supervillains start off as people thinking 'I wanna be an evil guy who has a high chance of getting killed!' or rather as regular people who get into a slippery slope of poverty or misdeeds that forces them into such a role?
Are they completely egotistical and chaotic, so that they only follow the plot set up for 'Good' characters when it suits their whims? In this case they could be contacted by a BBEG, who wants them to work for him, promising them exactly the rewards they care most about. This gives them the chance (and a reason) to do all the evil they please, at least for a while. Maybe they will eventually refuse to cross the moral event horizon, once the BBEG's plans are revealed or when they are asked to do something even they won't do, or maybe they will go along with the plan until the bitter end, fighting stronger and stronger minions of Good all the while.
Or maybe they are indeed interested in 'saving the world', it's just their methods that leave much to be desired. Give them the chance to be ultimate badasses. Maybe a wealthy nobleman hears of them, and wants to set up an office for them as some kind of a vigilante justice group. The nobleman and his allies give them money and resources, as well as tips towards where they might find problems to solve. They would only have one rule: get the job done, no matter the cost. Peasants might lend aid out of fear and awe, nobles might be forced to aid to avoid becoming the object of their interest themselves.
The PCs shouldn't be punished for who they are. As heroes (maybe evil ones, but still heroes), they should be able to find a place in the world. Any role a hero might follow comes with problems that must be overcome.
wedgeski
Adventurer
It's all very well saying, "The beauty of RPG's is that if the players want to be evil, you can make it happen for them!" but like many DM's I have no interest in enabling those kinds of fantasies.
In this instance, it just sounds like they're being the kind of mercenary adventurer you'll find in a million games around the world. But, if your PC's aren't being heroic, and heroic games are the kinds of games you want to run, you need to sit down with your players and make sure you're on the same page.
In this instance, it just sounds like they're being the kind of mercenary adventurer you'll find in a million games around the world. But, if your PC's aren't being heroic, and heroic games are the kinds of games you want to run, you need to sit down with your players and make sure you're on the same page.
Style
Explorer
The issue, my friend, is a simple one. Do you - or can you - enjoy running games of this type?
If so, then do so, and entertain your players in a fashion befitting their desires.
If not, then speak to them clearly and make your objections known. Do so without rancour.
It is not your place to hew to preconceptions of heroism, nor teach a moral lesson on the consequences of unchecked bastardry, when the players simply want to be double-hard bastards. However, nor is it your place to abase yourself before their desires to rampage unchecked across your gameworld if you are looking for a nobler type of game.
Style has run both types of game in the past, and finds each to have its own merit. Style recommends that you examine your preferences and act accordingly!
If so, then do so, and entertain your players in a fashion befitting their desires.
If not, then speak to them clearly and make your objections known. Do so without rancour.
It is not your place to hew to preconceptions of heroism, nor teach a moral lesson on the consequences of unchecked bastardry, when the players simply want to be double-hard bastards. However, nor is it your place to abase yourself before their desires to rampage unchecked across your gameworld if you are looking for a nobler type of game.
Style has run both types of game in the past, and finds each to have its own merit. Style recommends that you examine your preferences and act accordingly!
Herobizkit
Adventurer
At this point, I would consider running a purely beer 'n pretzels style of game - worry less about plot and alignment dilemmas and more about setting up scenarios for killing things and taking their stuff.
On a side note, your group has elevated thuggery to a cartoonish level... so why shouldn't the world also be of a cartoonish level? I think back to old cartoons and terrible villains like Duke Igthorn, Skeletor, every villain on the classic Hercules... basically, if you wear greys or purples on a cartoon, odds are you're the villain.
So your players are acting callous towards bandits and are taking slaves where it's legal... I'd call them Neutral (possibly Lawful, since they're basically Street Justice-ing everything) Evil, accept everything they do is for their own gain, and carry on.
Maybe humanoids start taking interest and following them around. That should raise a few eyebrows.
On a side note, your group has elevated thuggery to a cartoonish level... so why shouldn't the world also be of a cartoonish level? I think back to old cartoons and terrible villains like Duke Igthorn, Skeletor, every villain on the classic Hercules... basically, if you wear greys or purples on a cartoon, odds are you're the villain.
So your players are acting callous towards bandits and are taking slaves where it's legal... I'd call them Neutral (possibly Lawful, since they're basically Street Justice-ing everything) Evil, accept everything they do is for their own gain, and carry on.
Maybe humanoids start taking interest and following them around. That should raise a few eyebrows.
SnowleopardVK
First Post
Heh, sounds like my players. The only consolation is that they're slowing moving towards inevitably killing each other, with the well-optimized LG one being the most likely to survive.
Most just answer an ad in the "Help Wanted" section. (I understand BBEGs offer decent salaries and benefits, as well as good medical & dental plans.*)
* a buddy of mine was a bouncer at a strip club when a regular asked him if he'd like to become a bodyguard- 6 figure salary and full medical/dental. He almost took the job, but his GF asked him to ask the regular about the average elapsed time between taking the job and using the benefits covering critical care. The answer was "less than a year"...he passed on the opportunity.
Squire James
First Post
This sort of suggests some kind of scenario where the PC's get into some fix where having some friends would be useful, and either ends in failure or has some "friend" rescue them with a lot harsher terms than they would have had if they had just been pleasant with him. Mr. "He's old" could be Mr. "he's a powerful wizard", now with 4 Geas/Quest spells prepared.
This is almost a classic Villain victimization justification.
The person sees everything as afront against them, and that they were doing nothing wrong and this other party acted against them.
They refuse to accept that these actions against them were provoked by them.
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