D&D 5E Evil character in the party

[marcelos]

I have DMed for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I have an evil character on the players' group (running lost mine of Phandelver - 5E).

The player is experienced, and his character is a female rogue. He often tries to take treasures they find for himself, has been asking how much damage he would do if he attacked a sleeping character he does not like, and wanted to take over leadership of a bandit group they defeated. During most of the battles he avoids staying near the main action, and often explore other areas while their colleagues are fighting.

So how do you guys deal with this kind of behavior?

I mean, if the other members of the party are not punishing the guy (probably because they have a lot of respect for the player), should I do anything?

Sometimes I find it refreshing to have this character around, but other times it feels like the other players are not having fun as they would otherwise.

 

[Nebulous]

I have DMed for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I have an evil character on the players' group (running lost mine of Phandelver - 5E).

The player is experienced, and his character is a female rogue. He often tries to take treasures they find for himself, has been asking how much damage he would do if he attacked a sleeping character he does not like, and wanted to take over leadership of a bandit group they defeated. During most of the battles he avoids staying near the main action, and often explore other areas while their colleagues are fighting.

So how do you guys deal with this kind of behavior?

I mean, if the other members of the party are not punishing the guy (probably because they have a lot of respect for the player), should I do anything?

Sometimes I find it refreshing to have this character around, but other times it feels like the other players are not having fun as they would otherwise.

You should probably ask the players out of session, including the one playing the evil character, how they feel about it. Maybe they don't mind as much as you think.

 

[Diamabel]

You should probably ask the players out of session, including the one playing the evil character, how they feel about it. Maybe they don't mind as much as you think.

Agreed - Maybe they don't mind, but then again.. maybe they mind a lot more than they are letting on.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

When I played a NE character in the party, I was a Ftr/Rogue. A real thug.

None of what I did was directly contra to the party's goals, though. And when the PC acted out towards other PCs in the party, it always had a bit of plausible deniability: shoving the party wizard through the (mundane) wall of fire was both because he was a bully AND because the party needed to cross that barrier but the player was being indecisive about his PC's actions. A boot to the butt was both evil and productive.

Treasure? Instead of skimming in a more obvious way, he'd often claim to find nothing and then leave stuff behind, with an eye towards collecting it later when nobody was looking. Sure, he lost out on some stuff, but in the meantime, he didn't have to lug around too much, and that which he DID recover later was his.

He was restrained because he wasn't stupid. He knew he had to keep the rest of the party thinking of him as an ally in order to stay safe.

But considering attacking a sleeping party member? Contemplating changing allegiances? Your PC/Player sounds a bit more...CE megalomaniacal. Self-destructive.

I'd adopt a wait and see approach. It is quite possible that this will be a self-correcting problem. If he oversteps his bounds, it is quite possible the party will punish him. (Search ENWorld for my story about Bear, the big, dumb bodyguard to the party thief- the thief did not end well...)

 

[Ezequielramone]

I have a "bad player" once, he didn't want to collaborate and was selfish. It's not the same, I know, it's my nearest experience. once he did something extremely selfish, something that even give him a benefit, instead he was waiting alone in the mountain while the rest of the group walk the all the way Carrying the stoned character who was "no more an ally, but a piece of rock and I will not teleport it"....
I had to act, he was annoying me, so I asked each player in private an ask how did they felt about him. I have to invite the bad player to not show up anymore.
His excuse was that he was interpreting his selfish character. for me, having a bad attitude can't be justified in the alignment or the personality. it's a game where you cooperate. go play single player video games if you want to be an ass hole.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Regardless of alignment, that character is doing some stuff that is (to me) fairly annoying. If the other players aren't having a problem with it then I wouldn't worry too much. Eventually they may tire of the antics and a fragging may be in order.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I've had a player play a bad PC, and in short order the rest of the party kicked him out of their group. Lesson here? You aren't guaranteed to play PCs, because the rest of the PCs won't put up with it.

I've had a bad player play a PC and in short order the rest of the players kicked him out the group. Lesson here? If you're an person, the rest of the gaming group won't want to play with you.


Either way, there really isn't much you as the DM need to do. Especially from the in-game behavior. It tends to sort itself out.

 

[iserith]

I have DMed for more than 20 years, and this is the first time I have an evil character on the players' group (running lost mine of Phandelver - 5E).

The player is experienced, and his character is a female rogue. He often tries to take treasures they find for himself, has been asking how much damage he would do if he attacked a sleeping character he does not like, and wanted to take over leadership of a bandit group they defeated. During most of the battles he avoids staying near the main action, and often explore other areas while their colleagues are fighting.

So how do you guys deal with this kind of behavior?

I mean, if the other members of the party are not punishing the guy (probably because they have a lot of respect for the player), should I do anything?

Sometimes I find it refreshing to have this character around, but other times it feels like the other players are not having fun as they would otherwise.

It sounds like you didn't have a Session Zero or have players make characters together to fit a particular agreed-upon party premise. These are both ways to avoid the issues you're beginning to see in your game. It's never too late, by the way, to have a discussion to get everyone on the same page before moving forward.

One thing I would address with your group is to take a look at the "goals of play," the "win conditions" if you will, for D&D 5e as outlined on page 2 of the Basic Rules. Paraphrased, no matter what else occurs, if you have a good time and create a memorable, exciting story as a result of play, you win! It stands to reason that if you don't achieve those two goals of play, you lose (sad face). So as players and DMs, when it comes to making a decision or presenting some elements of the game (or making an adjudication), we have to ask ourselves: "Is this going to lead to a good time for everyone at the table?" and "Is this going to help create an exciting, memorable story as a result of play?" If the answer to either of those question is "No," then the decision we're contemplating isn't good enough and we should do something else instead.

When we think of things this way, it's simply not enough to do "what my character 'would' do." It's not enough to choose the most efficacious, optimal tactic or strategy. It's not enough to, as DM, mete out logical, but boring consequences or to adhere to the rules no matter what. Those things might lead to a good time and the creation of a memorable, exciting story, but it's often just as likely that they won't. So your friend who is playing the evil rogue needs to think about this with regard to her actions and decisions and behave accordingly. "Is it fun for everyone else when I don't contribute to the battle? Does it create an exciting, memorable story when I wander off and steal loot for myself?" Because it sure doesn't sound like it.

Good luck.

 

[Thyrwyn]

Kudos, iserith. Well said.

 

[Joe Liker]

Anytime the DM is even thinking about giving players the option of rolling evil characters, it needs to be very clearly stated at the outset, and player feedback considered. I personally will always bow out of such a campaign because dealing with this type of behavior is not fun for me.