Where have all the heroes gone?

[ValhallaGH]

Me (as King's advisor): Well, you get to keep the treasure you find.

Players: We want some cash. Or some magic, up front.

Me (as King's advisor): Hmmm. You know those horses you have? If my troops were to check the brands, I wonder if they'd be from the merchant caravan that went missing?

Players: But we got them from some bandits we took out!

Me (as King's advisor): So you say. I'm sure the "real bandits" would say something similar. Did you know the penalty for horse theft in this kingdom is death by hanging?

Players: Hey wait a minute!

Me (as King's advisor): Of course I could overlook this peccadillo for those who give service to the Kingdom . . .

Ah, a man after my own heart. Warms the cockles of an evil DM's heart, that sort of RP does.

 

[haakon1]

the people who play Evil as if it were the same thing as being poopy headed are usually poopy heads in real life too.

Nod.

I played a Lawful Evil half-orc assassin in college. Being Lawful, he would never betray the party, though I don't think they were all aware of that.

He didn't like the dwarf -- mostly because the dwarf didn't like him -- but he got along fine with the rogue. Mostly for him, evil was a cultural/religious thing -- he liked poison, liked killing and eating things, viewed assassination as an ancient orcish martial art, and liked to start barfights for fun and steal from the stupid hoomans in town.

 

[Moonstone Spider]

I had a PC who stole unconcious NPC's clothing and underwear to sell. It was meant mainly as a parody though, enemies would get conked on the head (The character was also a pacifist who used lethal force only as a last resort) and wake up later without a stitch on. It was a running gag that led to some funny moments. Particularly once he realized he could also sell the body parts of dead creatures and enemies to alchemists and began taking ranks in butchery. . .

 

[Harmon]

Your problem is the opposite to our table. Its pretty much heroes all the time. In the past few years we have played villians once or twice as one shots.

As far as hero types being boring- your players need a little imagination, create people they would like to have as friends and or loved ones, people that inspire greatness.

 

[interwyrm]

I've noticed that in CRPGs I tend to want to play a good character, and do every good thing. I only start considering the evil path when there is greater reward (gold/xp) in doing the evil path.

A step in the right direction, I think, would be giving xp rewards for doing good things that don't involve killing monsters, and in giving gold/item rewards when they are not asked for.

A thought about this specific situation - let him play the evil necromancer. Try to create good rp reasons for him to abandon the evilness. Create at some point, a crucial moment, in which the character can choose to forsake evil. If he chooses good, fine. If he chooses to irreversibly follow evil, NPC him. It has to be a crucial moment that there is no turning back from though.

 

[Sarellion]

A step in the right direction, I think, would be giving xp rewards for doing good things that don't involve killing monsters, and in giving gold/item rewards when they are not asked for.

It seems to me that the player´s enjoyment is in screwing over that party and laughing at the other players.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I find that this problem tends to be related to certain players more than anything else. Some people just aren't capable of co-operating with others and working in a team. Has this player been like this for other games.

I had a player who wanted me to let him play a kua-toa rogue because all the other options from the PHB were boring. I gave him multiple other suggestions, all of which were knocked back. I think he was hoping that I would cave in and let him play it if he held out long enough. In the end he just quit the group. I am very glad that I stuck to my guns on that one. One bad player can ruin a campaign for everyone else very quickly.

Olaf the Stout

 

[pogre]

Is it just in our area that this is common thing or is it more wide spread?

Not a problem in my gaming circle. Of course we're mostly a bunch of old vanilla players.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

I think heroes are great girls and guys.

Too bad that, in 25 years of playing, I hardly ever saw a hero or heroine played, in any roleplaying game of any type, be it D&D or otherwise. Those few actual heroes and heroines I *did* see didn't last very long.

No, the above wasn't meant as a joke. It is all too ghastly true.

 

[Seeten]

My group has none of these problems.

Our M&M group is a fire blaster, a laser blaster, a strong girl, a lightning blaster, a mental blaster, and a sonic blaster. All are good.

Our D&D group is a paladin, cleric, etc all good.

Yet I'm bored. I am so bored of everyone must be a hero rp in D&D that I am GMing the M&M so I can be evil finally.