A World in a Mirror Darkly

[Phasics]

Are there any existing or has anyone played around with making a world based on the idea that evil is the norm.

Factions, Religions and Ideologies are all based on our notion of evil. It is the accepted and expected way of doing things thus in this world evil acts are techinically not considered evil. Tyrrany, opression, torture, slavery selfishness. is all part of society, it lies in everyone very core and everyone beleives it is right.

Ther are pockets of resistence of "good" people who are considered the evil ones in this world.

imagine healing a dying homeless person in the street only to be attacked for your trouble by the authorites since as you crossed a core belief that that homeless dying man is paying for his failure in this life or the last.

e.g. religion
(Pseudo Buddist)
slaves believe that in a past life they failed in some way and that thier current lot in life is punishment for failing in the last. they do not dispise thoes above them they would however jump at any oporunity to improve thier own life at the expense of anyone else as they would beleive this is the way to a better life.

The more power you have in this life the more power you will have in the next.

Now the Law/Chaos axis still holds, just because everyone is evil by our standards dosent mean socitey dosen't function its just everyone's core values are completely differn't.

Now insert this worlds evil "good" people. thoes who preach understanding, tollerance , abolisment of slavery, helping the less fortunate are considered enemies ofthe state in most cities and are hunted down by the local authorites much in the way evil people would be spurned and hunted down in a reuglar universe.


Enter the adventuring group !
just think of how many reverse scenario's there are. a world where you own cunning and ruthlessness will gain you respect from your peers. Or perhaps you want to be a goodie goodie and try and convert the whole world, GOOD LUCK , you'll need it LOL. bout as easy as trying to convert all the races in the Forgotten Realms to evil !

 

[DarkKestral]

Dark Sun has elements of this, and can be quite fatalistic at times.

The original versions had slavery as the norm, an oppressive environment that would kill the strong and weak alike, and arcane magic gets it's power by sucking the very life force out of the earth. The gods are dead, and many of the elemental powers from which divine magic is now derived seek further annihilation of this dying world.

There are sorceror-kings, who rigidly control societies with powerful arcane magics and psionics, (they are epic on BOTH progressions) and many of the kings have turned themselves into dragons in search of even more power. The paladin equivalents are often brutish thugs with a veneer of nobility, and some magical power given to them by their kings.

For entertainment, slaves fight as gladiators in combat to the death. This is considered preferable to other work, as it gives the slave a measure of respite from endless toil and a chance to win their freedom, as well as glory.

People who aren't enslaved mostly think this is OK, and the slaves just figure it's their lot in life. Few are willing to leave the cities, as it means entering the desert, in which it's almost like Russian roulette whether you live or die. This is a world where GOOD characters think nothing of lying, cheaing, and stealing, or even using deadly poisons or assassinations. Evil characters are even worse.

Mind you, this was an official setting.

 

[Land Outcast]

Midnight might work for what you are searching for...

The Land of Shadow
The Fallen God
In the ageless time before the dawn of history, there was a war in heaven. In desperation, the lords of light severed the black spirit of the dark god Izrador, casting him out of the celestial kingdom.

The Veil
The gods succeeded in vanquishing their brother, but Izrador corrupted their magic and turned their victory against them. As the fallen god’s spirit was severed from his physical form, so to was the celestial kingdom severed from all contact with the material realm. The lords of light discovered that they could no longer commune with their mortal children.

The Shadow
The dark one fell to the earth, his foul essence staining the land with its evil shadow. Weakened and bodiless, Izrador retreated to the ice and cold of the far north. There he slumbered, slowly recovering his strength and dreaming of vengeance across eons of time. Empires were built and crumbled to dust, races were born and died, and the Shadow in the North grew deeper and darker.

The Age of Twilight
Three times the fallen god rose and threatened the nations of Aryth with iron and dark magic. As the First Age drew to a close, an elven host led by Aradil, the Witch Queen, met and defeated Izrador’s horde on the plain of Eris Aman. At the end of the Second Age, the elves joined the dwarven lords of Kaladrun and the Dornish barbarian kings to once again throw back the dark one’s armies in the Battle of Three Kingdoms.

The Last Battle
At the end of the Third Age, four of the greatest heroes of Aryth were corrupted by the Shadow. These new servants, the Night Kings, led Izrador’s foul hordes across all the lands of the world.

This time, the dark god won.

The dwarven clans were broken and retreated to their holdfasts deep within the earth. The elves withdrew into their vast and ancient forest, abandoning all to the Shadow. The Dorns, tamed during the Third Age by a power from across the sea, were betrayed from within and surrendered to the Night Kings. The corruption of Izrador spread from the ancient battlefields of Eredane until all the world had fallen under the Shadow.

A century has passed since the end of the world.

The World of Midnight
In the aftermath of the war, Izrador and the Night Kings embarked upon a campaign to consolidate their power and eradicate their enemies. The elder races are being systematically hunted down and exterminated. The continent-spanning forest of Erethor has become an island of light in a darkening world, as the elves fight a neverending battle against besieging hordes of goblinoids. The surviving dwarven clans have locked themselves in their mountain holdfasts, and the streets of once-proud subterranean cities have become killing fields for the Night Kings’ troops that are sent in to root them out.

While the desperate war rages on in the ancestral homelands of the elder races, the lands of men are ruled with an iron fist by the minions of the Shadow. Many cities lie in ruins, and most common folk live in walled towns, locking the gates against the darkness each night. Literacy and learning are punishable by death, and ignorance spreads across the land like a terrible plague.

As the Shadow falls across the world, a few brave heroes dare to oppose the tyranny of the Night Kings. They struggle to stem the tide of darkness and restore hope to a despairing world. Pursued by the Night Kings’ foul minions and the secretive legates of the Order of Shadow, these heroes will never receive parades and victory feasts as the reward for their noble efforts. Their greatest foes are often the suspicion, resentment, and fear of the very people they strive to champion and protect. Welcome to the world of Midnight!

 

[loki44]

The City State of the Invincible Overlord is essentially a LE place.

 

[Griffith Dragonlake]

For now we see through a glass, darkly;

…has anyone played around with making a world based on the idea that evil is the norm.

Yes I created and ran Grymwurld™ for around 25 years.

Factions, Religions and Ideologies are all based on our notion of evil. It is the accepted and expected way of doing things thus in this world evil acts are techinically not considered evil. Tyrrany, opression, torture, slavery selfishness. is all part of society, it lies in everyone very core and everyone beleives it is right.

Ther are pockets of resistence of "good" people who are considered the evil ones in this world.

“… No one doubted in the Middle Ages that the vast majority would be eternally damned. Salvandorum paucitas, damnadorum multitudo (Few saved, many damned) was the stern principle maintained from Augustine to Aquinas.” — Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century.

Grymwurld: A Dark Mirror™ was a campaign that I ran (and later published online) based on 14th Century Europe. Evil was so rampant that it was considered the norm. The Church herself was corrupt and rotting from the inside. The PCs and a small number of NPCs were the bright light in an otherwise dark and grym wurld.

Law and Chaos were the acknowleded forces at work. People accepted a totalitarian regime to protect them from brigands, bandits, barbarians, and monsters. Law = Good and Chaos = Evil. The Inquisition (LE Paladins) abused their Detect Chaos abilities to find Chaotic people and execute them. It mattered not if they were Chaotic Good. All that mattered was that they detected as Chaotic.

The PCs on the other hand understood that the real fight was between Good and Evil and Evil was winning.

Game-wise, all healing spells were empathic (including raise dead, restoration, &c.) unless the caster was a pacifist in which case it was miraculous. However, the last time a miracle man came around healing the sick and the poor, he got crucified…!

Running that campaign was the most fun I have every had in my entire life. I was blessed with very creative role players who also enjoyed combat. Many victories were pyrrhic but remembered nonetheless.

 

[Phasics]

very cool

thanks for the info guys , I've got some reading to do

 

[Baron Opal]

There is also Calasta (sp?), a Scarred Lands setting book that details a LE kingdom that works. The populace is fairly happy as their tithes arm cruel templars that keep the monsters of the world at bay.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

based on 14th Century Europe. Evil was so rampant that it was considered the norm. The Church herself was corrupt and rotting from the inside. The PCs and a small number of NPCs were the bright light in an otherwise dark and grym wurld.

The behavior of many in the real middle ages of Europe can be considered Chaotic Evil by the D&D descriptors.