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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bendris Noulg" data-source="post: 402874" data-attributes="member: 6398">I run a game focused on politics and military actions.  The general alignment of the game centers around Lawful Evil.In this game, sieges are held, in which civilians lose their homes, private businesses are burned and looted, public wells are poisoned, important leaders are assassinated, prisoners are tortured, etc.  But through it all, there has always been one underlying principle which has continued to guarantee success and victory: Loyalty and Brotherhood to the Company.Taking matters further, even though the PCs tend to be evil, they have essentially developed a "cause" to wave around as a flag for the general public to see: They have essentially resurrected the pride of the people in establishing a new government to replace the world-spanning empire that fell thousands of years ago.  Although they themselves have little faith in returning this empire to glory, and in fact view it as little more than a tool to sway the hearts and minds of those they've conquered, they have found a great deal of success in establishing governmental structures centered around Lawful Good concepts, all of which view themselves as "substates" of this empire even though the empire, in reality, does not exist.Within the group, amongst the PCs and NPCs of this band of conquerers, there is honor, commitment, loyalty, brotherhood, and unity.  They depend on each other, and prefer to use treachery, deceit and cunning to face the enemy from a point of superior positioning and planning rather than place anyone in undo risk or treat anyone as a sacrificial lamb to gain an advantage.  The less losses, the better.As the DM of this group, I play many unsavory characters, and have done so for long periods of time.  The longest running NPC is the grizzled old Company Sergeant that is harsh, cruel, relentless and unforgiving, the type of guy who has turned down positions of command because he likes killing and would rather take his chances on the front line where he can kill rather than sit at a table moving little wooden miniatures on a map.I've been actively role-playing this character for five years.Consequently, this is where the BoVD gets it's value: No matter how nasty these guys are, there's always somebody more vile to fight, displace and replace.  By the nature of vileness, I'm able to prove that Evil PCs, in the same manner as Elric, Gurney Hallack and others, can be heroes.Honestly, how many people here watched Payback and didn't cheer for the bad guy?  How many here watched Pulp Fiction and loved the characters even though every one of them was an icon of self-interest (aside for perhaps Julius)?  Who here wanted to see George Clooney die in From Dusk to Dawn?  Who's been thrilled by Clint Eastwood's "Man with No Name" character?  Who laughed when Micky and Mallory Knox got away?Each of these characters was, by D&D standards, Evil.  Yet, in all of these stories, they were often the "good guys" by virtue of there always being someone, or something, worse for them to fight.</blockquote>

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