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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gillette" data-source="post: 2559749" data-attributes="member: 38083">At the risk of seeming like a total snot--I'm a professional actor, IRL.  This is my way to blow off steam and keep my hand in with character development and improvisation.  As an actor, there are two things to keep in mind, and that are taught early on, no matter what sort of character you're creating.  And I think this applies to any medium, be it acting, writing, or whatever.1)  No character thinks of himself as evil.  No matter how evil your character may think that baddie is, *he* will not see himself that way.  He may see that his behavior is not accepted in society, however.  A good example of this, are real life psychopaths.  Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, The Green River Killer (the most prolific known American serial killer to date and the reason for many standards in modern policework)--all of them believed what they were doing was their right and, in some cases, good for society.2)  Good or evil, a well made character is fallible.  If they are not, there is no reason for people to be interested in him/her.  People respond, positive or negative, to characters that have qualities they recognize in themselves.  Perhaps they are lousy liars, or fear the dark, or chew their fingernails when they are trying to intimidate someone.  Major or minor, those traits should be colorful, brave choices that balance the strengths of the character.  In acting, these things are called 'risks'.  Hannibal Lecter has a very big weakness:  His love for Clarice.  He knows it's a potentially fatal flaw, but still can't help it.  Clarice, though she is the protagonist, has the same flaw in respect to Hannibal.  These flaws often become the thing others are most interested in.  One of Gill's flaws is Jardel.  She would do *anything* for him, regardless the consequences or the evilness of the act.  And she wouldn't regret it in the least.  Most likely he (and everyone else) won't suspect the extent of the things she'd do for him, or at his whim.  Which is how she likes it.  After all, that sort of thing is the perfect tool to use against her if they knew of it.  It dovetails nicely with another flaw of hers:  The closer she becomes to someone, the more she hates to tell them no, especially if it's something that will truly make them happy.  If she has no love or respect for you, you can go to hell.  If she does, she becomes the biggest pushover in the world.Quite often, the reason evil characters' actions are ignored by others in the chat, ridiculed or looked at in a bad light is because they have been written, or visualized by their players as the 'ultimate evil':  the character who has amazing magical items, the most powerful magic, vast connections, endless money or the blackest heart.  No wonder they are ignored.  There is no story if there is no give and take between characters.  And after all, aren't we all here to create stories, however improvisational they may be?If we aren't, in my opinion, it becomes what I call verbal masturbation.  As such, I'd prefer those folks keep it to themselves.  Go write a short story or something.</blockquote>

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