Evil Characters?? Whats your take.

[Umbran]

I don't have a problem with Evil characters, per se. I have a problem with characters that are excessively disruptive to the party. I don't enforce sweetness andlight between PCs, but I do expect all PCs to have a decent reason and chance to be able to work together for long periods with the other PCs.

Since most of my players want to play heroic types (whether I'm running D&D with alignment, D&D without alignment, or some other game), that means that Evil is strongly selected against. When surrounded by Good PCs, Evil ones frequently don't have much of a lifespan.

I found that you learn alot about people and the level of "evil" they are willing to reach if given the freedom to do so.

I don't find this to be the case at all. I find you learn a great deal about people's ability to play a role that is not themselves, and about what they find to be entertaining in role-playing, but not much else.

 

[Mallus]

The game, for us, isn't about exploring morality.

How about exploring the occasional mindless, reptilian hostility inherent in the human psyche?

I don't think gaming does an especially good job of that.

Its pretty good at the venting thing I mentioned. At any rate better than a videogame. The NPC's plead with more variety in a good pen-and-paper game.

Slightly more seriously, I think playing evil (sometimes) is more, well, honest. No pretences. No fake moral justification for killing things and taking their stuff and rising to god-like level of adolescent male power. Just naked aggression and reward. I'm not saying this the right way to play. Just a refreshing alternative...

 

[Zappo]

I allow evil characters, with the caveat that I will let logic and consequences follow their course. As a result, noone plays murderous maniacs or party backstabbers, because they know that they won't get away with it in the long run.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

How about exploring the occasional mindless, reptilian hostility inherent in the human psyche?

We play paintball for that.

Slightly more seriously, I think playing evil (sometimes) is more, well, honest. No pretences. No fake moral justification for killing things and taking their stuff and rising to god-like level of adolescent male power. Just naked aggression and reward. I'm not saying this the right way to play. Just a refreshing alternative...

I think a lot of it depends on the group and what the group wants. If you're playing some kind of game where the opponents are, say, celestials and all the players are evil with a fiendish template, I can see the fun in the game being played. But if one of the hypothetical group is a social worker who says "you want to really know about evil...." it can just get depressing.

I guess I'm accidentally moralizing here and that's not my intention, just as I know it's not the intention of any pro-evil group to call me an uptight prig. It's just I've gamed since '89 without the use of evil as a PC alignment and I haven't missed it. Who knows? Maybe I'll dust off my old quickling theif, bring him up to 3.5 and try him out again. But probably not soon.

Happy gaming!

 

[Mallus]

But if one of the hypothetical group is a social worker who says "you want to really know about evil...." it can just get depressing.

I used to game w/a social worker who worked out of North Philly. I hear you...

 

[shilsen]

I'm very comfortable with running or playing evil characters. As long as they are played with the same caveats that any characters are in my game, namely that all actions have consequences and anti-party PCs aren't allowed, there's really no problem with having them in the game. I'd also say that, on the whole, it's harder to DM/play a successful evil campaign than a successful good campaign.

 

[Plane Sailing]

One of our group suggested an all-evil campaign, so I'm playing in one at the moment - you can read about it in a story hour here http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=98470

It is quite an interesting exercise, since we started out at 1st level we began as pretty much evil-incompetent, but we're gradually getting better at it

 

[Turanil]

So now I ask the public, whats your take on evil PC's, like, dislike, fun, have you ever done it??

Playing:

The only time I did play evil was back in 1e, when Unearthed Arcana was released with those cool (i.e.: read munchkin) drow PC race. So we were two players plu a DM. We players, both played a drow fugitive from the Underdark: one fighter/mage, and me a fighter/thief. We really did play mean, bad, cruel, totally evil, and this was great fun.

The campaign ended at 8th level because we had become too much powerful (1e drow were really unbalanced). The last sessions were about eradicating a wererat's organization (they summoned demon-rats). Just because they wanted to avenge themselves of us, in retaliation of our having desecrated an idol to steal its jewel eyes in one of their temples, we were totally upset. "How they dare". First thing we do: a fireball in one house where we suspect some of them live. End result: half of the city on fire. Then, gorish murder of the entire community of wererats. Really fun, one of my best games with these dark elves...

I would like to play again an evil campaign; evil elves or duergars, would be cool. The only thing, I would like a campaign of evil against evil, a quest for hideous vengeance. However, I don't want to play evil against good and innocents.

DMing:

I DMed a solo campaign thieves-city style. The PC was an assassin-cleric (of a vengeance god). Here also we had great fun, and it was also evil against evil (I think I was more evil than the player's character).

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Often the PCs in my games have goals that require evil actions to obtain (taking over a city, avenging a loved ones death by killing off the entire offending familiy, accumulation of wealth, mercenaries who work simply for the highest bidder) or who just do not care that much for morality. Hence these characters are either neutral or evil.
These character might be honorable or virtuous but take actions that warrant a non good alignment.

 

[Stone Angel]

Usually what I find is that the evil characters tend to try to manipulate the others. Grand shcemers and the like. I also find that humor of all things is used better by the villians than a regular adventurer saves the day campaign.


The Seraph of Earth and Stone