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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Thia Halmades" data-source="post: 2715796" data-attributes="member: 35863">My campaign uses a frappe of what I'll call 'real' evil; things that can be done by normal people, everyday (murder, lying, charging high interest, etc.) and 'fantastic' evil - devils, demons, ancient cults, etc.  To answer the question what can one man do, you've got a lot of good things flowing in this thread.  So first, DamionW:- Let's say you're good.  You do good deeds, you believe in the general goodness of those around you.  You gain satisfaction from the deeds you do.  By rule of nature (balance) you must have a foil.  We've ALL known this guy; whether it's the town bully, a wicked enterprenuer who runs people out of their own businesses and then 'buys them' so he can take on the risk of the local 'crime boss' who somehow NEVER bothers him, there's a tangible evil there that can grow and spread.- Evil organizations.  Let's leave 'adventurer' out of this for a minute, and look directly at the base scenario.  One of the precepts I run my campaign by is that everyone - EVERYONE - is classed.  Whether it's a heroic class, a base class, a PRC or an NPC class (expert, warrior, etc.) everyone has a class.  Major NPCs take on PC classes.  My Hobgoblins are notorious barbarians, and tend to Rage at the sight of Elves.The Mafia, the Yakuza, the Triads, any branch of Shadow Government (re: the X-Files) are all fantastic examples of normal people doing evil things.  Those evil things can generate interest from larger, deadlier authorities.  What can start off as 'Gus the Bar Keep' can easily keep pace with the PCs as they go around, putting out the fires generated by Gus, and here's the best part:- Tell Gus ALL of their plans.  Gus is their BEST FRIEND.  You want evil?  You really wanna bend the minds of your PCs?  Get into their heads.  Who could've known we were here?  They'd never consider Gus, especially not if he's smart, has a scape goat, and has 'constant rumors' of a 'well crafted intelligence organization for the local BBEG Union."By the time anyone figures this out, the PCs are ... 10th level?  And Gus now has powerful allies and is in the center of an intricate web.  There's no evidence that he, himself, has ever committed a crime.  You get some possession fiends involved, you're good to go.  A plot like this, with a persistent villain, can take you all the way through Epic.Sometimes evil comes from derangment of despair; sometimes its rewarded, sometimes its punished.  Sometimes they're the same thing (Ravenloft).  Sometimes the only motive people have is that they hate people.  But that's what makes it interesting.</blockquote>

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