Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Why Do You Play Evil Characters?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 5720339" data-attributes="member: 54846"><p>First, I'll say I enjoy playing heroes. If <em>the game is about being a Hero</em>. If we're supposed to be heroes but really we're just raiding tombs and wandering around, that's not very heroic to me. I'll be Good, if being Noble and Heroic is what the story <em>calls for</em>. If not, then I'll play a character who doesn't need to be. </p><p></p><p>I should differentiate that I don't play (or like to play with) the type that murders or does other heinous things "just because", or who goes on a lark to burn the town down. The same with trying to kill party members. I don't want to derail the Game, and IME these sorts of "I'll do what I want and other senseless, wanton evil, and no one can stop me" does often result in a downward spiral that kills the campaign, or at least everyone's fun. Often these actions have no <em>consequences</em>, or it's harder to enforce consequences for that type of behavior. As long as the party stays cohesive and it doesn't result in going too far-afield, I'm happy as a player or a DM.</p><p></p><p>Beyond that, it seems that it's more what the system (and DMs) define as evil. For instance, I love undead. And I love necromancers. Death and undead and immortality are <em>interesting</em>. But D&D has traditionally said "All undead are evil, casting Necromancy spells is EVIL", so the response from me is "Well, then I guess if playing around with that stuff is evil, then I'm evil."</p><p></p><p>Also, I like assassins. I mean you can't swing a dead goblin without hitting a Hollywood movie about a hit-man as the main character, so it's a natural trope. But assassins, once more, are evil because killing people for money in cold blood is evil. Even <em>Dexter</em>, someone who kills murderers who have escaped the justice system, does so by knocking them out and then murdering them when they are defenseless. Not exactly Good.</p><p></p><p>But there's also mob movies, and since mafias are Lawful Evil organizations, to play in those, you again, have to be evil.</p><p></p><p>Finally, playing evil allows for a level of practicality. You don't have to act on the forced good response. "I dont' care about the orphans, we're here for the treasure. Get it and go." Perhaps that's more Neutral, actually - a mercenary attitude. But again, you do not see that all that often in campaigns. But Evil also permits "Ends Justify Means" play.</p><p></p><p>Although I will say that, while LE can be enjoyable, it's more fun to walk on that fine edge. Evil-Leaning, but never tipping over. Working for that Evil patron, but never quite succumbing. Playing Elric, or whathaveyou, where you're rebelling just enough to have a sliver of a soul left.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rechan, post: 5720339, member: 54846"] First, I'll say I enjoy playing heroes. If [I]the game is about being a Hero[/I]. If we're supposed to be heroes but really we're just raiding tombs and wandering around, that's not very heroic to me. I'll be Good, if being Noble and Heroic is what the story [I]calls for[/I]. If not, then I'll play a character who doesn't need to be. I should differentiate that I don't play (or like to play with) the type that murders or does other heinous things "just because", or who goes on a lark to burn the town down. The same with trying to kill party members. I don't want to derail the Game, and IME these sorts of "I'll do what I want and other senseless, wanton evil, and no one can stop me" does often result in a downward spiral that kills the campaign, or at least everyone's fun. Often these actions have no [i]consequences[/i], or it's harder to enforce consequences for that type of behavior. As long as the party stays cohesive and it doesn't result in going too far-afield, I'm happy as a player or a DM. Beyond that, it seems that it's more what the system (and DMs) define as evil. For instance, I love undead. And I love necromancers. Death and undead and immortality are [I]interesting[/I]. But D&D has traditionally said "All undead are evil, casting Necromancy spells is EVIL", so the response from me is "Well, then I guess if playing around with that stuff is evil, then I'm evil." Also, I like assassins. I mean you can't swing a dead goblin without hitting a Hollywood movie about a hit-man as the main character, so it's a natural trope. But assassins, once more, are evil because killing people for money in cold blood is evil. Even [I]Dexter[/I], someone who kills murderers who have escaped the justice system, does so by knocking them out and then murdering them when they are defenseless. Not exactly Good. But there's also mob movies, and since mafias are Lawful Evil organizations, to play in those, you again, have to be evil. Finally, playing evil allows for a level of practicality. You don't have to act on the forced good response. "I dont' care about the orphans, we're here for the treasure. Get it and go." Perhaps that's more Neutral, actually - a mercenary attitude. But again, you do not see that all that often in campaigns. But Evil also permits "Ends Justify Means" play. Although I will say that, while LE can be enjoyable, it's more fun to walk on that fine edge. Evil-Leaning, but never tipping over. Working for that Evil patron, but never quite succumbing. Playing Elric, or whathaveyou, where you're rebelling just enough to have a sliver of a soul left. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Why Do You Play Evil Characters?
Top