D&D 5E (2014) How to play an evil cleric

[Coroc]

I think you took my post much more seriously than I did : )

Well it sounded a bit odd, you got to admit

 

[Flamestrike]

I'll try

I could easily see people in lawless lands, or seeking order at any cost to devote themselves to Hextor or Bane.

When their clerics come into town with army in tow, they establish themselves, eradicate crime from the area (with severe punishment), chase out other wishy-washy religions, eradicate nearby savage and hostile non-humans and generally establish order, peace, prosperity and security (with an iron fist).

I've seen enough real people in my life embrace fundamentalism, ultra nationalism, and fascism to know one doesnt have to be a 'bloodthirsty psychopath' to embrace the teachings of deities like Bane and Hextor.

Deities like Cyric would promote the religion as freeing oneself from social norms and the shackles of morality, and doing or taking what you want, when you want it.

This would also appeal to a lot of people who are not necessarily bloodthirsty psychopaths.

A lot of normal people would baulk at the level of restraint, honor, self sacrifice, altruism and mercy that the Good deities demand.

 

[Helldritch]

I could easily see people in lawless lands, or seeking order at any cost to devote themselves to Hextor or Bane.

I've seen enough real people in my life embrace fundamentalism, ultra nationalism, and fascism to know one doesnt have to be a 'bloodthirsty psychopath' to embrace the teachings of deities like Bane and Hextor.

Deities like Cyric would promote the religion as freeing oneself from social norms and the shackles of morality, and doing or taking what you want, when you want it.

This would also appeal to a lot of people who are not necessarily bloodthirsty psychopaths.

A lot of normal people would baulk at the level of restraint, honor, self sacrifice, altruism and mercy that the Good deities demand.

Evil is always tempting. It is an easy way to solve a lot of problems. It will use whatever excuses it can to justify horrific actions. Be it in the name of justice, "goodness", mercy, vengeance or simple security. We have plenty of that in history. Evil is evil.

 

[humble minion]

One thing it'd be interesting to think about is how the evil deities marketed themselves (for want of a better word) to would-be worshippers. I mean, the great majority of people believe that they are mostly good (with a few lapses, flaws, etc - everyone's human after all). 'Roll up, roll up, and worship the master of evil!' isn't really going to strike a chord with many. So the priest of Bane maybe isn't going to 'sell' Bane as the god of tyranny, he's going to talk about Bane offers strength and the disciplined rule of law and will crush the evils of [insert locally disliked other here] under his iron fist and will stop the Youth Of Today playing that terrible noise they call modern music and make them get haircuts etc. The stern father-god who will do what's good for others even if they're too childish to see it. All sorts of gods of necromancy etc could market themselves as goods of strong-minded elite free-thinkers, who dare seek out knowledge where others do not.

(It'd probably be different for gods like Bhaal whose portfolios are necessarily secret by nature - that might be a more conventional 'evil cult' arrangement where a lone priest would target and slowly indoctrinate his recruit over a period of time. Kinda like a grooming technique.)

Perhaps Hextor sells himself as almost the survivalist god - the world is brutal and full of violence, if you don't believe it, you're naive and will be helpless meat when harsh reality comes for you. All that stuff about honor and mercy? Yeah right, you know full well that all goes out the window when the battle starts. Would you rather win, or play nice? But with my teachings, you'll be ready. Worship me and you'll be the toughest guy in the room when it all hits the fan.

Shar from FR has always had a pretty good sales pitch. She's the god that tells you that no, you don't NEED to forgive, it's ok to hold on to your bitterness, and that your anger and sorrow and pain are the most important things in the world and they justify anything you want to do, no matter how extreme, and anyone who tells you otherwise is an interfering busybody who doesn't understand...

 

[Helldritch]

Evil deity will appeal to the desperate, the vengeful, the downthrodden, the left out, the sick, the angry, in short, to anyone with negative feelings. As I said earlier, most of the worship directed toward evil deities is the placating type. People want that deity to be at ease and not doing what it is representing. It takes a special depraved kind of person to actively worship a deity for what it represents.

The Shar example you gave is perfect. It clearly represent what I explained. The shades of grey that are necessary to start accepting evil acts and tenets. So was the example of Hextor that I gave. It really depends on the portfolios of the deity to define how it will approach potential priest/worshipers. Take for example Nerull. The god of death, darkness and underworld. His sale pitch won't be to appear as a potential savior. Potential worshipers are those that lost family or loved one through violence. They will be encouraged to take revenge on the killer of their loved one. Be it directly at them or their loved ones or simply their associate. The string of death will be to ensure the downfall into evilness of the new worshiper. Once in the clutch of evil, the lure of power will become the main drive that will ensure that the worshiper stays faithful.

Nerull will not hide its ugliness but will count on it. He will appeal to assassin and those of shady work as a mean to help hide themselves (darkness aspect). The Death aspect will still be there as these killers are providing a steady supply of death to the Reaper.

The underworld aspect will come to the fore for those who are near death or have loved one that are near death. They will try to placate the deity into releasing the soul of their deceased to their rightful eternal resting place/plane faster.

So as you can see, the worship of an Evil deity can be appealing to almost anyone. It is only a matter of circumstance and will power that will determine if you fall into worship or placating mode.