Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Playing Evil
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 4908457" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>Honestly, I think there's two things you can do.</p><p></p><p>First, don't use D&D for running this kind of campaign. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> I know that's glib, but, really, at the end of the day, D&D is based in heroic fantasy. It's just not a very good system for this kind of thing. For one thing, just take 3.5 for example - your cleric, presuming he's evil, can't channel healing. That's a HUGE disadvantage right there (I got around it by chucking that rule).</p><p></p><p>Second, I think it would work much better to allow the players to generate their own hooks. Craft a setting first (ARRRRGGGHHH!) and let the players direct the vast majority of the action. Like I said, evil is pro-active. It has to be doing something in order to be evil, by and large. So, give the players a basic framework to work inside - perhaps a city or some such - and then work with the players very closely to develop adventures.</p><p></p><p>Like I said, I think an evil campaign would work much better in other systems.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well, we fixed that one right out of the chute. I made it part of the group template - an explicit agreement between all the players that they would play the campaign as PvE and not PvP (to borrow an MMOism). I told them that I didn't care how they got there, but, under no circumstances would you be allowed to gank a fellow PC.</p><p></p><p>It wound up that the group became rather polite. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> Like I said, very Sopranos. Everyone behaved reasonably well to each other, simply because it was the easiest way to achieve not coming into escalating conflict.</p><p></p><p>Thinking about it, it almost reminds me of Pulp Fiction with Jules and Vincent. Two very evil characters who treat each other with respect and almost kid gloves because they know they have to work together.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Again, I don't think D&D is a good medium for this. The system fights you too much to be "really evil". And, depending on your level of graphic depiction, that's probably a good thing as well. </p><p></p><p>Like I said, the PC's were evil. Killing the helpful NPC to sacrifice him to your dark master is pretty evil. Stealing from your patron - evil. Hunting Coatl, yeah, pretty evil. </p><p></p><p>But, like I said, trying to do this in the context of an adventure path is too problematic. There just aren't enough chances to be evil. If I were to do it again, I would have the big bad guy (sorry, don't want to spoil anything for those still playing) contact the party very early and pretty much offer them a job. In other words, the first two modules could work pretty much as written, but, everything after The Bullywug Gambit, I'd have to rewrite.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 4908457, member: 22779"] Honestly, I think there's two things you can do. First, don't use D&D for running this kind of campaign. :p I know that's glib, but, really, at the end of the day, D&D is based in heroic fantasy. It's just not a very good system for this kind of thing. For one thing, just take 3.5 for example - your cleric, presuming he's evil, can't channel healing. That's a HUGE disadvantage right there (I got around it by chucking that rule). Second, I think it would work much better to allow the players to generate their own hooks. Craft a setting first (ARRRRGGGHHH!) and let the players direct the vast majority of the action. Like I said, evil is pro-active. It has to be doing something in order to be evil, by and large. So, give the players a basic framework to work inside - perhaps a city or some such - and then work with the players very closely to develop adventures. Like I said, I think an evil campaign would work much better in other systems. Well, we fixed that one right out of the chute. I made it part of the group template - an explicit agreement between all the players that they would play the campaign as PvE and not PvP (to borrow an MMOism). I told them that I didn't care how they got there, but, under no circumstances would you be allowed to gank a fellow PC. It wound up that the group became rather polite. :) Like I said, very Sopranos. Everyone behaved reasonably well to each other, simply because it was the easiest way to achieve not coming into escalating conflict. Thinking about it, it almost reminds me of Pulp Fiction with Jules and Vincent. Two very evil characters who treat each other with respect and almost kid gloves because they know they have to work together. Again, I don't think D&D is a good medium for this. The system fights you too much to be "really evil". And, depending on your level of graphic depiction, that's probably a good thing as well. Like I said, the PC's were evil. Killing the helpful NPC to sacrifice him to your dark master is pretty evil. Stealing from your patron - evil. Hunting Coatl, yeah, pretty evil. But, like I said, trying to do this in the context of an adventure path is too problematic. There just aren't enough chances to be evil. If I were to do it again, I would have the big bad guy (sorry, don't want to spoil anything for those still playing) contact the party very early and pretty much offer them a job. In other words, the first two modules could work pretty much as written, but, everything after The Bullywug Gambit, I'd have to rewrite. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Playing Evil
Top