Evil protagonists from fiction - or 'Examples of how to play the bad guy without being a total jerk'

[Esau Cairn]

At different points they can be, certainly. They go through phases for sure. But they cooperate quite a lot with both each other and with other folks.

Some of whom they eventually betray, but hey, if I had a game with those two as PCs I'd call it a huge success.

Maybe it's that "I'll-make-meth-and-destroy-other-people's-lives-to-save-myself" thing that makes him a jerk. YMMV.

 

[Manbearcat]

Maybe it's that "I'll-make-meth-and-destroy-other-people's-lives-to-save-myself" thing that makes him a jerk. YMMV.

What kind of a world do we live in where making meth and destroying peoples lives to save yourself makes you a jerk?

World’s gone soft. Nuke the entire site from orbit.

 

[Esau Cairn]

What kind of a world do we live in where making meth and destroying peoples lives to save yourself makes you a jerk?

Ikr. Some people find the dealings of such organizations as the NCAA offensive for some reason...

 

[Manbearcat]

Ikr. Some people find the dealings of such organizations as the NCAA offensive for some reason...

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Those same “some people” clearly don’t appreciate Red’s wisdom in The Shawshank Redemption.

“Get busy makin’ meth and destroying peoples lives to save yourself...or get busy dying’.”

That’s damn right.

 

[Sepulchrave II]

 

[Manbearcat]

I’m surprised no one mentioned this guy

 

[Sepulchrave II]

Alex from A Clockwork Orange, although I'd concede that he's a jerk.

 

[prabe]

I’m surprised no one mentioned this guy

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Isn't that kinda the point of being a heel, though?

And ... I've heard second/third-hand that outside the squared circle it's the heels who are super-awesome to interact with.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Considering people thought she was the hero until the end, perhaps Daenerys Targaryen counts? I've been rewatching Game of Thrones and she reads very differently now in earlier seasons.

 

[Flamestrike]

Considering people thought she was the hero until the end, perhaps Daenerys Targaryen counts? I've been rewatching Game of Thrones and she reads very differently now in earlier seasons.

She explicitly said on several occasions from as early as S1 that one day she was going to slaughter tens of thousands, rip down castles, and burn everyone to death.

But for her advisors (Jorah, Barristan Selmy, Tyrion) she would have burnt and massacred a lot more people, and a lot earlier as well. She was always going for the 'kill them all' and was always talked down by Good aligned protagonists.

She did mostly listen though, and I had her pegged as CN for most of the early seasons.

That changed rather dramatically from the moment she arrived in Westeross.