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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jardel_Karabella" data-source="post: 2559741">I agree almost entirely with Draggy... however I do have some concerns with endorsing "blatant evil".The problem with blatant evil in the ISRP setting is that it... breaks the setting.  It is generally something best left to novels and tabletop games where the settings can move and shift to the home of evil.Blatant evil by it's very nature requires the evil doer to have some sort of immunity to the consequences of their actions, usually this is obtained by being either so dangerous and deadly nobody dares to oppose you (ala Bullseye from Daredevil comics) or by being the one  who is indisputably incharge of whereever you are (like Strahd in Baravaria from the Ravenloft setting).In all the ISRP settings the neutral ground effect is critical to allow people the full spectrum of characters (good, evil, neutral, sort of good, kinda evil, members of specialist groups etc) and in order for the neutral ground effect to remain, everyone has to play by the same rules.Ergo, if someone is to be "blatantly evil" they need to be commiting their blatant evil outside the setting and hence being at least to some degree... subtle.  Otherwise it leads to the logic that if they're going to be blatant evil... good should blatantly attack... then it's a whole mess etc.This is where a lot of folks fall down in my experience, they want to be evil and they want to provide demonstrations of their evil so everyone gets they're evil... so they go and do something evil and try to make up excuses why they shouldn't suffer the consequences.When dealing with evil you have to be careful as to how you mix and measure.  If you're too subtle then it's entirely possible people will never pick up that you're a bad person (maybe that's how you like it... like Keyser Soze from the Usual Suspects) but if you're not subtle enough it turns into a bad joke (not going to mention any names... past or present here).But, as Draggy stated, the key to playing good evil is to keep your focus not on the evil, but on the characters. Like the good characters you'll have to work out the two most important things: Whys and hows.Why do they do all these terrible things they do ("They're evil." is never a workable answer) and how do they get away with it? ("The law is bad." "The Wizos won't arrest me." "Because I say so." and "Because we need bad guys." are not workable answers for this one) and then just build on it from there.All of the best villians in roleplaying and literature are ones who are not evil because they want to be, but rather because they see it as a necessary means/lifestyle to their goals.Manshoon was not cruel and heartless because he thought it was cool, he was cruel and heartless because he felt power was something you had to take from others, hence he couldnt' afford any sympathy for others.Strahd, when you break him down, is but a man who is forever denied peace of conscience. He sacrficed everthing to get what he wanted and watched it all turn to ashes, now the thought of anyone having anything joyful without paying for it in blood drives him to sadistic jealousy.Dracula was a being who stripped of his ability to relate and be loved by people, but given power over the life and death of others in the process. Thus he revels in the joys he can have in his power while longing for something else, forever embittered and tormented.Not one of these folks ever commits an evil act to be... evil, they do it to further their own ends with no regard for whether it's right or wrong.  If they believed that helping an old lady across the street would help them... they'd do it, they'd also hurl said old lady into traffic or push her down a manhole if they thought it'd further their agenda.Evil characters created in this manner are much more terrifing and sinister for two simple reasons: One, we can relate to them and understand why those terrible things... even if most certainly don't condone what they're doing.  And two: It gives them a much more diverse range of actions which will compliment each other and provide contrast.It's much more shocking to see someone brutally murder one of your friends if only ten minutes ago you saw them giving milk to a stray cat than if ten minutes ago they were ranting about how evil they were.</blockquote>

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