Help me create an Evil PC

[toberane]

OK, one of the DMs in our group has decided to resurrect an old campaign made up of evil characters in the Forgotten Realms. The problem is this: I don't play evil characters well. I like heroic, brave, etc. characters. I got around this last time by playing a Chaotic Neutral character that got along with the evil characters well enough until I had an alignment shift (to good) and betrayed them, much to their dismay, and I ended up ruining all their carefully laid out plans.

That character is currently hiding out on the elemental plane of air and can't really show his face in Faerun for a while. I promised that this time I wouldn't be so wishy-washy and that I would actually create an evil character (no promises that I won't betray them again, just that I won't turn good. ).

So give me some ideas for an evil character that I could play and enjoy. No utter psychopaths or complete bastards, please. I want the character to have a little style.

 

[the Jester]

I really enjoy lawful evil the most as far as playing evil pcs goes.

A couple of thoughts:

1. A LE fighter seeking to carve out a kingdom, regardless of the suffering it causes others. A loyal master to those that stay loyal to him. Works well for humans or dwarves, especially.

2. A cleric of an evil god whose attitude boils down to, "Well, if you don't follow my deity, you have no value. Therefore I can do as I like regarding you until you convert, at which point you can become a valuable servant of my malefic lord."

3. A shifty-eyed NE halfling bard who focuses on disparaging enemies rather than enhancing friends (I even have a cool homebrewed prc for this one!)

 

[Mr. Kaze]

So give me some ideas for an evil character that I could play and enjoy. No utter psychopaths or complete bastards, please. I want the character to have a little style.

Xellos from Slayers Try is my favorite sort of playful evil.
1) Never do for yourself what you can trick somebody else into doing for you.
2) Sell out your party members as soon as the price is right.
3) Blithely disclose secrets you shouldn't, then innocently request that people don't misuse the knowledge.
4) Wander off just before you're useful.
5) Offer your opinion when it is most useless or misleading.
6) Revel in the misery that 4 & 5 cause while reminding everybody in the party that you may still have a part to play as "not even the wise can see all ends" and other irksome two-way mantras like that.

And most of all, if anybody ever asks you a direct question, the answer is "It's a Secret."

::Kaze (notes that Dimension Door should also be your absolute best friend.)

 

[Bront]

Generaly, remember that an Evil character is not nessessarily a bloodthirsty backstabing freak who bathes regulary in other people's blood for pleasure (though that's evil to).

Some Tax Collectors are evil, simply enjoying their job and imposing their will on others with their (limited) authority. They are still loyal to who they serve, and might even be honest, but generaly they will push their authority to the limit, and tend to ignore anything outside their job. It's a "Sorry, just doing my job" to even Joy when he has to take some poor soul's land due to taxes. This can apply to guards, and other positions of authority.

There is no reason an evil person can't actualy look out for the "good" of others. It is either just a small part of their personality (Always a big tipper, willing to give to beggers) or it's done in a fairly twisted way (Some could argue vigilanteism could be construed as evil, depending on how it's done)

Generaly, an evil person is going to focus on self or cause more than consiquenses or others. It does not mean that he will rape/pilliage/burn/rob/kill any person or town he comes upon.

Here's an interesting suggestion. Play a good character who slides into evil by going well beyond what would be "good" for his cause. In his mind, he's still good because his cause is good. But in action, he is evil. Think things like environmental terrorists, or protesters that bomb abortion clinics or kill doctors to use a few RL examples of people, who to the general public might be considered evil, but believe their cause is good (I'm not going to get into the actual debate about if it is or not, just using the general public view).

Hope this helps.

 

[palleomortis]

I would say that it kinda depends on what kinda evil guy that you want. If you want the barbaric, backstaber, go with the first post up there. Then you have the fast talking rouge/bard on the second post(I would say that is a bit more fun to play.), and then you have the generaly good willed guy that seem to be more influenced by gold then by the good of others.

I really depends on what you want, or what is in the rest of the groupe.

 

[Seeten]

A Lawful Evil character with a code of honor(real honor) and a thing for justice, is perfectly within the LE alignment. You can kill mercilessly, and without remorse, those who do terrible and nasty things, and still maintain a conscience(like you have out of game) that you dont do things like rape, or harm children.

My LE Necromancer spends significant time with a good party, because she has a strong code, and while she does use some pretty vicious means to an end, she never harms innocents(protects them, even) and she never betrays a friend.(A true friend.)

Evil doesnt mean stupid anymore than Paladin means stupid, and evil people get along just fine. Check out the mafia for more details.

 

[palleomortis]

Oh, Don't do that. Last time I checked out the "Mafia" I wound up 20d6 hit point down, DON'T DO IT MAN, DON'T DO IT!!!!!

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

You can always paly a real evil bastard. Sick, sadistic, has all sorts of fantasies of doing evil things to people. Then doing it to thier dog.

But, he's a chicken. He's too scared to act on all his impulses for fear of reprisal. Like, say he grew up in the area where Torm (or some other LG) guy was running around during the Time of Troubles. He's been raised LG with the threat "or Torm will come down & smite thee". Now, he's seen evil people get away with things. Torm's not crushed them personally.... but Farmer bob you helped raise him TALKED to Torm for Ao's sake! Maybe the PC is speacial blessed by Torm & if he (the PC) does something too evil, Torm'll appear & banish him to hell.

Or maybe he's the son of a planeswalker & know's what hell (& the abyss) are really like & doesn't want to spend eternity there.

Play an evil coward with no backbone. He wants to be evil, will knowingly associate with evil, even encourage evil. Himself, he's too cowardly to do anything beyond CN.

Sniveling lackey Can be fun.

 

[palleomortis]

Hey, so do you know me somehow?

 

[moritheil]

How about you play someone whose entire destiny is to help out evil far more than he helps the cause of good, no matter what he does? All the innocent children he helps will grow up to be genocidal maniacs. All the puppies he feeds will turn out to grow into dogs that maul people and bite their hands off without provocation. The woman he rescues from a dragon develops a severe personality disorder and keeps getting herself kidnapped in the future, refusing to do work, because she now has the notion that someone will always pop up to save her. Et cetera.

That way you can play your normal self, but with a heavy shading of despair because no matter what you do in the name of good the results are always evil. Eventually, you can show the character progressing to "it doesn't matter what I do!" and wind up with bleak indifference.