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Message: <blockquote data-quote="TheSword" data-source="post: 8631311" data-attributes="member: 6879661">So I think there are some points to consider…The response to the state of Bellum omnium contra omnes is the social contract and peace. Competition/War is a starting point not an end point. We are social creatures genetically and loneliness is not a great end point. I suggest you read AD&D Van Richten’s Guide to Liches and his Guide to Vampires to get an understanding of the deep sadness,  regret and ennui that can result from that viewpoint taken to its logical conclusion.Secondly if fear of retribution is necessary for you as some kind of limiter then I would suggest there is always someone bigger and badder… to keep you in line. You can also be brought low by a group whose whole is greater than the sum of their parts… this is the very premise of an adventuring party. It sounds like you want to play the BBEG. Which is cool… I recommend Way of the Wicked for pathfinder 1 but convertible to 5e with ease.Thirdly it sounds like your characters lack motivation. They have goals but no explanation for what drives them there. Power is a goal not a motivation to reach a goal. A desire to prevent someone ever having power over you again may be a motivation, or the desire to understand the secrets of life to return your tragically dead mother/wife to you. Wanting to cast 9th level spells because they’re there isn’t a very good motivation. Wanting to cast spells because something has happened to you which means you want to cast them is the missing gap in your descriptions.There are lots of powerful people who aren’t sociopaths. Sure some are but not everyone sees life as a game with money/influence a way of keeping count. Plenty of top surgeons/consultants (the most egotistical people I have come across in my life) are genuinely lovely people able to connect with people on a human level and have lovely families and strong friendships. Yet they carry life and death in their hands and make decisions about resources have profound effects on individuals. Dr Frankenstein was obsessed, a deeply disturbed and traumatized man… hardly someone to emulate.If you create a character that doesn’t appreciate sunlight, the taste of a nice glass of wine/beer and a great meal, the genuine love of another person, or the feeling of security that comes from stability and a family around you… don’t be surprised if you struggle to see why you shouldn’t be evil.Summary<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Think about your motivation</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Think about what it would be like to be constantly at war and whether that is a desirable state</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Think about what you have to give up to see power as an justification in its own right</li> </ul>- and if all else fails the DM needs to bring in an adventuring party to bring you down or a galactic power to put you in your place <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🤷🏻‍♂️" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f937-1f3fb-2642.png" title="Man shrugging: light skin tone    :man_shrugging_tone1:" data-shortname=":man_shrugging_tone1:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /></blockquote>

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