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<blockquote data-quote="DreadPirateMurphy" data-source="post: 5008382" data-attributes="member: 20715">Wow, I had no idea being evil was so cool.&nbsp; You can do anything you want without consequences?&nbsp; Being evil means you're immune to the laws of nature and society!&nbsp; No wonder it is so cool.Seriously, when did our perspective on evil become reduced to cartoon villainy?&nbsp; Skeletor and Beast-Man are our exemplars?Evil does not mean dumb, as in, &quot;I will murder anybody who crosses me, regardless of the circumstances!&quot;&nbsp; Whatever passes for law, whether that be a well-organized constabulary or frontier justice at the end of a noose, will catch up with you.Evil does not mean dishonorable, as in, &quot;I am going to betray my allies just because it is convenient.&quot;&nbsp; Many folks who are evil can still be pretty good team players, and many folks who are evil can still be responsible and dutiful in whatever role they find themselves.Evil comes down to extreme self-interest, and a lack of moral concern for others.&nbsp; In modern terms, we define evil individuals as suffering from sociopathic disorders -- but there are a fair number of such folks who hold positions of responsibility.&nbsp; That, at least, is the most universally applicable definition of evil.&nbsp; Of course, it can also be defined relatively, in terms of &quot;something in opposition to forces I consider to be good.&quot;&nbsp; A priest of Pelor might see opponents of the church as evil, even if technically they are &quot;unaligned&quot; or even &quot;good.&quot;I think &quot;evil&quot; is frequently portrayed as cool in D&amp;D because it is simply more fun to beat cool villains.&nbsp; That's why James Bond villains and henchmen are so often unusual -- Oddjob, Jaws, Dr. No, etc.&nbsp; Very few bardic epics are written about the time Henry the Heroic killed generic mook numbers one through twelve as they looted the Slightly Discomfiting Temple of Moderate Inconvenience.&nbsp; It's just a story trope, and not really a reflection of the designers malefic intent.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="DreadPirateMurphy, post: 5008382, member: 20715"] Wow, I had no idea being evil was so cool. You can do anything you want without consequences? Being evil means you're immune to the laws of nature and society! No wonder it is so cool. Seriously, when did our perspective on evil become reduced to cartoon villainy? Skeletor and Beast-Man are our exemplars? Evil does not mean [I]dumb[/I], as in, "I will murder anybody who crosses me, regardless of the circumstances!" Whatever passes for law, whether that be a well-organized constabulary or frontier justice at the end of a noose, will catch up with you. Evil does not mean [I]dishonorable[/I], as in, "I am going to betray my allies just because it is convenient." Many folks who are evil can still be pretty good team players, and many folks who are evil can still be responsible and dutiful in whatever role they find themselves. Evil comes down to extreme self-interest, and a lack of moral concern for others. In modern terms, we define evil individuals as suffering from sociopathic disorders -- but there are a fair number of such folks who hold positions of responsibility. That, at least, is the most universally applicable definition of evil. Of course, it can also be defined relatively, in terms of "something in opposition to forces I consider to be good." A priest of Pelor might see opponents of the church as evil, even if technically they are "unaligned" or even "good." I think "evil" is frequently portrayed as cool in D&D because it is simply more fun to beat cool villains. That's why James Bond villains and henchmen are so often unusual -- Oddjob, Jaws, Dr. No, etc. Very few bardic epics are written about the time Henry the Heroic killed generic mook numbers one through twelve as they looted the Slightly Discomfiting Temple of Moderate Inconvenience. It's just a story trope, and not really a reflection of the designers malefic intent. [/QUOTE]

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