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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rmcoen" data-source="post: 7757341" data-attributes="member: 6692404">I'm not saying any given person can't be Evil (however anyone defines it), just that "Real Life" doesn't have handy alignment labels for entire races. I think most people would agree that Hitler was Evil, but was the average German soldier? or citizen? (I won't argue Secret Police or SS.) But in D&D, we accept - depending on GM fiat and worldbuilding - that "Orcs are evil", "Giants prefer elves as snacks", and "Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup". Everything out in the wilds really is out to kill you, your friends, your neighbors, and generally tear down everything you know and love. How is that - to tie back to the article concept - a uniquely American viewpoint? Other posts have comments on the different cultural viewpoints of the heroes, but I haven't seen one analyzing the worlds in which those heroes move. Voldemort, Sauron, Shiva, Malsumis, Crnobog, Iago, Moriarty, Randall Flagg, or Medea - these people/gods/spirits just want to destroy. None of them are American, all of them make good BBEGs (some a little more epic than others), and your heroic fantasy can revolve around "zero to hero", "heroic because", or "heroic in spite of" as you or your GM chooses.[EDIT: Randall Flagg is American, my bad.]</blockquote>