My First "Evil" Campaign - Plotline Suggestions?

[AntiStateQuixote]

So, we're starting up a new D&D campaign and I'm breaking a cardinal rule of mine . . . I'm allowing the PCs to play evil charcters.

In an effort to head-off any PC-on-PC action (fighting and killing, you perverts!) we have worked out (mostly) a group template a la Fear the Boot as follows:

-- BEGIN GROUP TEMPLATE --

In just a few words, what is this group supposed to be?
The PCs are all street urchins and/or thugs on the mean streets of Roth, the capital city of the Oshland Empire. They are childhood friends who have grown up supporting and helping each other survive in one of the worst parts of the city.

What common experiences has the party been through?
This is one event. Each player will present an event to the group for approval as part of the "shared history" for the group:

About five years ago, when you were all still young teenagers, [one of the female characters] was approached by a pimp. He offered various monetary and other enticements for her to join his stable of girls. When she refused several such offers he decided to resort to force. He sought to kidnap her and take her to another part of the city where she would work for him. [Another character] was tipped off to the plot by a talkative kid who heard about it from a friend of a friend . . . When the rest of you found out about the plan you worked together to set up an ambush of the pimp and his bully boy guard. The five of you together beat the guard senseless and killed the pimp. You dumped his body in the Great Lake where it was later discovered by the city guard. Members of the Dockworkers Union provided alibis and hideouts for you all to keep you out of trouble on this count. This was your first involvement with the Union. They would later seek "payment" for their services . . .

What's the current status of the group and its members? Where are they? What are they doing? What sorts of things are they interested in right now?
The PCs live in the same slum neighborhood in Roth where they grew up. Everyone is directly or indirectly affiliated with The Dockworkers Union, a petty thieves' guild, street gang and labor union. The Dockworkers Union controls an area of about 25 square blocks near the northern docks in Roth. The PCs are expected to pay fees to the gang for any loot taken in thieving, mugging, burglary or con jobs. Those who are directly affiliated with the Union pay only 10% of their take, but have duties to the gang and take orders from the higher ups in the gang. Those who are not directly affiliated are free to go their own way, but must pay 50% to the gang.

The PCs are scratching a living out and trying to survive from day-to-day. There is some nebulous idea of taking control of the gang or the city or the kingdom . . . someday, but it's far off and not something anyone has thought or talked much about . . . it's just such a long way away and it doesn't put food on the table today. But one day you'll be able to take back from the rest of the world all of the good things that were denied you as children.

-- END GROUP TEMPLATE --

So, now everyone is working up new PCs to fit into that "group template," and I'm trying to work out a long term storyline for the game. The vast majority of my experience as a DM is "you are heroes . . . save the world" kind of games.

This is my plea for help . . . what kind of overarching plot do I put in front of these characters? We talked about what the game focus would be, and there is a desire for an overall campaign plot in addition to normal character development, etc.

 

[atomn]

I'd start by finding out what the ambitions of the characters are. If they have no designs on taking over the world your overarching story will be much different than if they did. It looks like they're pretty city bound, so in the effort to have them grow in power I'd have them raise in rank in their criminal organization and once they're sufficiently notable, perhaps the boss assigns them to go to either a newly developing city and become the branch of their criminal organization in that city. Or they could be assigned to go to another city to overthrow the established crime-ocracy there. Eventually, if they're ambitious enough they could come back to their hometown and take over the entire organization and become the leaders.

 

[F5]

Honestly, I think you've got enough of an overall plot right there. Work out some specific adventure ideas that you'd like to play out (maybe allies of the pimp come for revenge, or there is a kidnapping, or the group is contacted to help with a major heist, etc). But you've got the seeds planted...the Union is an influential group of antagonists that have their hooks in the players' lives. It's up to them where it goes from there. Do they work for the Union to further their own ends, or try to break away and make their own way?

That's the big strength of the "evil" campaign...it works just fine for the players' only motives to be "kill things and take their stuff" or "make myself more powerful". Flesh out some other major forces in the city (the corrput law enforcement, the greedy, inept mayor, the rival street gang, the friendly neigborhood shopkeeper, etc), and let the players go cause trouble. Ideally, they come to the attention of a noble adventuring troupe, for whom they players' little band eventually becomes the BBEG...

 

[IamTheTest]

Rise through the ranks to gain power sounds pretty good to me.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

Evil campaigns are tough to hold together very long because the players think being Evil gives them a license to screw each other over and kill each other. My suggestion is that you install a superior force/person/creature/government enitity, etc. to keep them from fracturing into a bunch of self-centered individuals rather than a group.

If they are serving something that could turn them to hamburger and regularly demonstrates this to them it should keep them humble... at least until they start to reach the mid levels and start to attain enough power to start challenging the authority. Think of Sauron, for example.

If I think of some other suggestions I'll post 'em.

 

[painandgreed]

Evil campaigns are tough to hold together very long because the players think being Evil gives them a license to screw each other over and kill each other. My suggestion is that you install a superior force/person/creature/government enitity, etc. to keep them from fracturing into a bunch of self-centered individuals rather than a group.

Your experience is different than mine, but a common enemy is always good.

For short term games, take any "heroic" adventure and turn the plot into "they have lots of stuff you can go take and nobody will care". Despite for all those heroics, good characters always seem to make plenty of money doing what they do. Enough to entice evil characters into doing the same jobs anyway.

Longer term over all plot? Perhaps the pimp was a made man. He may have been a shmuck, but the underworld still can't have one of their own whacked by some kids and let them get away with it. It then becomes the kids versus the theives guild. At first, the people they send out will be weak and even going after the kids as an after thought. As the kids win more and more, the threats will get more and more serious until it's obvious "us or them". Then it becomes raids on hide outs, assassinations, getting blackmail info to make people switch sides, etc. Even if they don't take over, they'll have to kill the current gang lords or be taken out.

 

[atomn]

Evil campaigns are tough to hold together very long because the players think being Evil gives them a license to screw each other over and kill each other. My suggestion is that you install a superior force/person/creature/government enitity, etc. to keep them from fracturing into a bunch of self-centered individuals rather than a group.

Or if the players out of character agree that even though their characters are going to be Evil, that doesn't mean they must have a desire to stab each other in the back. Just because they're Evil doesn't mean they can't be unambitious or work well with others.

 

[paradox42]

+5 Keyboard has a point, but there's something to be said for characters with well-roleplayed backgrounds and motives too. With such motives, it's possible to motivate an Evil character to commit "heroic" acts and thus even use standard adventure modules designed for Good-aligned PCs; think of Belkar in Order of the Stick (though he's an Evil character in a Good party so by necessity his hooks would be different than those for an all-Evil party anyway).

I started my current Evil party (see sig below- that character is a member) on the trail of a cult worshipping a mysterious Dark God bent on world annihilation by hooking off the fact that the party tank is a holy warrior of the LE god of Power- he's very much a crusader. The nominal party leader, a LE Telepath, also got into the act when the same god of Power spoke to the character in a dream- the Telepath and tank then went ahead and basically got the others to go along because they didn't have any better ideas themselves. The idea is, the god of Power, as part of the current world pantheon, doesn't want to see the world destroyed, because then what would he rule over? The party is doing his dirty work in this matter- and not incidentally getting plenty of power-ups and wealth for themselves. With this hook I led them onto a sort of combined Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil and high-level Age of Worms adventures; the Dark God in my game combines aspects of Kyuss and Tharizdun so it works out well.

 

[BlackMoria]

Simple - it is about revenge and power. Revenge against those who used/abused them while growing up, slights (real or imagined), etc.

Being marginalized and/or used/abused growing up, this leads to - power. Manuvering to be a power so that they can't be used or abused anymore. Natural route is to become a power to be reckoned with in the town. That alone will give you lots of mileage.

World domination is out. Lots of evil campaigns have the party somehow think that that is an achieveable end but it is not. Unless the party can muster vast armies to conquer and hold territory and there is the small matter of trust in their underlings and generals, who, being cut from the same cloth, are looking for their own opportunities to be the king of the hill - the average party size of evil characters is not going to take over the world.

But a town or country....sure.

 

[Herobizkit]

I've been watching a lot of "The Shield" lately. In short, it's about a cop and his team who uses "any means necessary" to get the job done, including breaking the law; extortion, blackmail, thievery, and even outright murder aren't past these guys.

Two ways you could spin this for your group:

1. The PCs become informants/patsys/inside men for a branch of corrupt city officials. They are called upon by the city to "get the job done", whatever it is. As the PCs help the officials, the thieves' guild works on earning leverage and blackmail so that the guild can get their own man (maybe one of the PCs) into a position of official power.

2. The PCs strive to become law-abiding citizens, solving crimes and being very helpful to the city guard. One day, their deeds get noticed by "someone important" and they are invited to join the city watch. The PCs become a "special unit" used to deal with particularly violent crimes or to hunt down Very Bad Men. They use their official power to further their own ends, becoming like the corrupt "cops" I mentioned above.

It's a solid show. If you've never seen it before, watch it.