D&D 5E Would You Rather Have a LE or CN party member?

[Oofta]

Boring evil and gross evil make awful PCs.

Evil characters can be really compelling, otherwise shows like Breaking Bad wouldn't have been nearly so successful.

Well, this is a "would you rather".

I know some people would play CN as cray-cray. I've experienced it with wolfman. I also know that some people that play LE will emphasize how they get off on bathing in the blood of their enemies and that they will "take any woman they want" because I've experienced that as well.

The former was a pretty awful PC, the latter was cringe-worthy keep-the-doors-locked-when-this-guy-is-around and warn your female friends about him awful.

Given no other information I would rather have Conan the Barbarian or Catwoman in a campaign than Hannibal Lecter or a bigoted Nazi-wannabe.

 

[billd91]

Would I rather have LE or CN in the party? Can't say for sure - it's entirely dependent on how the character is played. An asshat player will be an asshat with either.

 

[Zardnaar]

True, the 2E description was just ... dumb.

But I'd probably still take that over a guy who enjoys murdering innocents, torturing people and forcing themselves on women because they're actually playing their character as evil. Maybe no one else ever played with that guy that was just into playing evil characters so they could act out twisted dark fantasies. It can be ... repellent? Icky? Gross? Not something I want to spend my leisure time being part of.

I try and play my evil NPCs (and PC singular lol) as not to over the top. Its not like the average psychopath walks down the street wearing bloodstained clothing.


Tony Soprano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Walther White are more my inspitions. Most evil people wold not see themselves as evil or they would focus it on target group or whatever and otherwise be mostly like anyone else. My LE group also has LNM tendencies (depends on the chapter) and a few LG in it the L part is more important. Its humanocentric very us vs them if you're human and don't oppose them they may as well be LG, if you're a heretic or anything much more exotic than an Elf, Dwarf, Halfling you may be in trouble in their lands.

They're also monotheistic as well, doesn't help. Praise be to Vanya, she has a nice cathedral at Kriegsburg. If the PCs try and destroy them they expose the human lands to slavers, raiders, orcs etc.

 

[Oofta]

I try and play my evil NPCs (and PC singular lol) as not to over the top. Its not liek the average psychopath walks down the street wearing bloodstained clothing.


Tony Soprano, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Walther White are more my inspitions. Most evil people wold not see themselves as evil or they would focus it on target group or whatever and otherwise be mostly like anyone else. My LE group also has LNM tendencies (depends on the chapter) and a few LG in it the L part is more important. Its humanocentric very us vs them if you're human and don't oppose them they may as well be LG, if you're a heretic or anything much more exotic than an Elf, Dwarf, Halfling you may be in trouble in their lands.

They're also monotheistic as well, doesn't help. Praise be to Vanya, she has a nice cathedral at Kriegsburg.

I get that. At the same time when I play CN, I'm going more for Conan, The Hulk or Han Solo. Rules were meant to be broken, but that doesn't mean that you're insane.

But IMHO there's a lot more room to play a deplorable character in LE than CN. Now, if this is a question of LE or CE? That's a different story, and probably depends on my mood at the time. After all, stuffed shirt hitman or blow up just for the hell of it? Decisions, decisions.

 

[Zardnaar]

I get that. At the same time when I play CN, I'm going more for Conan, The Hulk or Han Solo. Rules were meant to be broken, but that doesn't mean that you're insane.

But IMHO there's a lot more room to play a deplorable character in LE than CN. Now, if this is a question of LE or CE? That's a different story, and probably depends on my mood at the time. After all, stuffed shirt hitman or blow up just for the hell of it? Decisions, decisions.

When I DM I generally do not allow evil PCs LE maybe and that depends on who want to play it.

If someone cheese their way around AKA the old I'm CN but really CE they find another group to play with.

 

[BookBarbarian]

I get that. At the same time when I play CN, I'm going more for Conan, The Hulk or Han Solo. Rules were meant to be broken, but that doesn't mean that you're insane.

But IMHO there's a lot more room to play a deplorable character in LE than CN. Now, if this is a question of LE or CE? That's a different story, and probably depends on my mood at the time. After all, stuffed shirt hitman or blow up just for the hell of it? Decisions, decisions.

I've decided my next PC will be fiercely protective of his party and willing to die for any of them CE.

Take that expectations!