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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Odhanan" data-source="post: 2859990" data-attributes="member: 12324">Evil that makes sense. Not that evil in D&D doesn't make sense (it may at times), or that it isn't always flavorful or fun, but it's often two dimensional, very "black and white", and I have a hard time, sometimes, to rely with characters with no other motivation than just being evil for the sake of it. I like cliches when they are well handled, but after a while they destroy my suspension of disbelief.I like villains who have a reason for being evil. For me, for Evil to feel real, it has to be a valid choice of action, at least at the beginning, before it becomes a spiral. If events, people/items and choices in the game are clearly "right" or "wrong", then there isn't any real choice. Evil actions may look like valid options at times, especially for a "greater good", or for reasons that have more to do with ego than ethics and morals (vengeance, frustrations, "right" wrongs done to you by giving in to various forms of evil acts). The one cheezy reason to avoid IMO for being evil is "wanting power". When an individual wants "power", that's for a purpose, that's not a goal by itself. Whether it's to make him/herself feel better, to get revenge on a particularly powerful foe or foes, to perform an epic act that has a particular significance for the character, whatever. But there has to be a reason beyond the desire for power. Alignments are not known around our game table. The DM decides who is what alignment, if those alignments change due to this or that action in game, even though a few spells and abilities (Detect... spells) may allow PCs to know part or all of a character's inclinations.</blockquote>

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