One in a million?

[Pielorinho]

I do think that the misunderstood evil creature is one of the groaner cliches of fantasy gaming. While I'd highly discourage it for my players, I do so on an aesthetic basis, not a rules-basis: I'm just suspicious of the idea, and suspicious that a player in a FRP is going to be willing to put up with the disadvantages of being a misunderstood evil creature.

But in some campaigns, it could work fine. Angel the TV show is almost written like an episodic game, and it centers around that one in a million (well, two in a million, now) vampire who isn't evil, and it works fine.

Daniel

 

[Speaks With Stone]

Depending on your campaign, can't you have the character remain evil, but have his agenda align with the other "good" characters? Perhaps he is pissed at the demon dude so much that he enjoys torturing and killing his minions and so on. He's evil fighting evil in a nasty way. I find that more satisfying than "I'm just a misunderstood Shrek."

Sort of a sympathy for the devil, he hates being controlled or manipulated or used and he fights nasty against those folks, but he's willing to use/put up with the goody goodies as they have a common goal for the moment.

 

[Darklone]

Sure, it's possible. But it has usually been already done for a few times and repetitions are sooooo boring.

 

[Speaks With Stone]

Fair enough.

I'd never allow it in my game because I allowed it once and it went a bit sour.

But surely, there are only so many original ways of playing a character. They are all LIKE someone else. I guess it depends on how much your group has done it before. I can't count how many "happy go lucky" adventurers I've seen. Or hot headed impatient types. Studious knowledge seekers. Self serving, conniving thiefs. On and on.

I think the real trick is in the little things you do to set your character apart. Sure most of those have been done, too, but a fun combination of character style/traits/motives and how they interact with the other characters and the environment is the trick.

I know what you mean about the "one in a million" being an old standby, but so what. I tend to model character personalities on characters in books or movies because I liked that personality. Roleplaying gives you the opportunity to play with what you like. In the past I've modeled characters on G'Kar from Babylon 5 (barbarian turned diplomat turned religious figure), Invisible Man (insane, self-serving illusionist), and so on.

Anyway, just thought the "It's so done" attitude shouldn't prevent a player from playing a character he wants to. If that player has never done it before and it works with your world, seems like you should work with them. Not everyone derives joy out of being completely original. If the player just read Interview with a Vampire or an Anita Blake book and wanted to explore that, let em.

I'll appologize in advance for rambling. Benadryl induced haze due to a yellow fog of pollen outside has made concentration more difficult than usual.

 

[Darklone]

Not a problem. I've just seen sooooo many guys looking at me with puppy dog eyes and pleading to play some evil guy.... then I asked, ok, what kind of evil guy? - Well, EVIL.

Ah. Uhm. Yes. Play a halfling rogue. Neutral good.

I do agree that I would probably allow a well played evil character played by a good player in an appropriate campaign... If my campaign would allow that.

 

[Forrester]

this'll kill my friends hopes of a chaotic good Fey-ri, who escaped from the demon spawn that she reviles, only wanting to be accepted by other elves, No matter what...

God that's nauseating. Next thing you're going to tell me she wants to dual wield scimitars.

Anyone have a link to a "puke" smiley?

 

[Spatzimaus]

I'm with the Nauseating Cliche Police.

There's a huge difference between playing a character that follows one of the usual personality archetypes and one who has that one-in-a-million "rebel from an evil empire" syndrome. Stylistic reasons aside, there are good balance reasons to disallow this sort of thing; many of those Evil races are more powerful than their Good counterparts, as a balance factor. So, the "Good Demon" usually wants all the advantages of a powerful race without the roleplaying penalties the race comes with.

Sure, being an outsider makes a nice plot hook, but it's just staggeringly overdone. The Drizzt Syndrome isn't the only cliche I get tired of. How many characters have you played with who was the sole survivor of some cataclysm that destroyed their hometown? Maybe it was overrun by Orcs, maybe it was a divine thing, who knows. How many watched their parents killed by (bad guy/monster race/wild animals/a Flumph)? How many drink a lot, sleep around, fight every Evil thing that moves, and spend all their remaining money on better weapons and armor?

Just for kicks, I played a sane character once. He came from a loving middle-class family, his parents and siblings were all still alive and were happy to see him when he returned home, and he had a steady girlfriend. He didn't have any big traumatic experiences in his past.
He went into adventuring to raise enough money to start his own business, and once he got it he more or less retired (well, the near-TPK in the Abyss along the way helped that one a bit- the one time he ever did an adventure for the Greater Good). He wouldn't fight Evil things unless he had a good reason, and he didn't like the stupid "you only live once" risks most adventurers thrived on.

It drove the rest of the party nuts. They were so used to the hack-n-slash mentality that when someone said "err, no, I don't want to kill that Red Dragon, he hasn't done anything to ME, and those things can hurt" they got confused.

 

[CRGreathouse]

IMC, all the prime numbers are lawful neutral. Only one is CG.

Yeah, but what about the composite numbers? What are they? And if they're perfect? Abundant? Deficient? You need to think about these numerological things before making a "Numbers and Alignments" sourcebook.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

except maybe joining that...Eldrauth...something....

the human killers!...

Eldreth Veluuthra. "Victorious Blade of the People".

The fey'ri are described as "Usually Evil" in Monsters of Faerûn.

Races of Faerûn also tells of fey'ri who have chosen to leave the banner of House Dlardrageth. Who are hunted down by the original Demonfey since they pose a threat to them (their device is secrecy now, they can't risk someone telling the whole elven population of Feyrûn that they are there).

It further states that fey're are usually chaotic evil. Some hear an echo of their elven heritage and are chaoitc neutral, and a few may be entirely neutral. But none have yet been found who are lawful or good.



The best bet is to let him play a CN fey'ri character - and advice him to wear an elven disguise at all times (use their alter form ability to look like a sun elf or moon elf, and better get many ranks in disguise!).
If you like, you can even incorporate Demonfey into the game, as House Dlardrageth opens the renegade hunting season and the players are repeatedly attacked by summoned demons or actual fey'ri (and later even original Demonfey half-demon elves).

 

[Hypersmurf]

God that's nauseating. Next thing you're going to tell me she wants to dual wield scimitars.

Lucky guess, or did you already read Greycastle's other thread?

-Hyp.