Why evil?

[Timeboxer]

This has probably been brought up before, but. In the course of my gaming career, I've known a few people who have insisted upon playing evil characters -- by which I mean, they find playing good and neutral characters "boring" and distasteful and uninteresting. I've never been able to work out why this is, because I think that, say, playing a Paladin can really be rather interesting and difficult.

I know it can't be related to personal morality or anything -- most of these people have been pretty upstanding in their non-gaming lives, and in at least one case, the person is a devout religious type. So, what exactly is the allure to players of evil, anyway? Pillaging and looting seems like it can only go so far.

 

[Crothian]

I don't get it either. The only evil game I played in was an excuse for the players to do whatever they wanted.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Some people like to play the Raistlinesque character who helps the other PCs save the world and performs other such good deeds, but pulls up her sleeves and uses anything in her power to pursue this goal (including murdering children and sacrificng their souls to demons). I've seen such a player before, and he isn't too disruptive, most of the time.

Then there are others who just want to randomly slit all the other characters' throats, then pillage and rape. Those I can't understand.

 

[ThirdWizard]

In my experience it has been people who think of good as goodey-two-shoes types and neutral as lack of personality. Very rarely does someone who has a good grasp of alignments come to me and want to create an evil character. It's odd, but in my experience neutral characters end up being more evil than the evil ones. At least, based on what is origionally written on their character sheet.

 

[yennico]

Here are some reasons why some persons want to play an evil PC:
After years of gaming and playing the X. good PC they want to play something different.
If you play an evil campaign you can play some evil monster races you normally can not play or take classes you normally can not play e.g. Death Knight.
The adventures in an evil campaign are different than in a campaign of good PCs. Normally these PCs don´t rescue the virgin out of the clutches of a dragon (except to sacrify the virgin to an evil god ).
Evil PCs also have motivations. They are like the good PCs also motivated by greed, pride, etc.
A player who plays an evil PC like a person who randomly slits throats is annoying and boring. I played in at least two evil parties at two cons. One was like Crothian said but the other was really good. The other party, I played a LE dwarf worked really well together although they are all evil. They freed an evil god of nature out of his prison in a temple.

To run an evil campaign is more work than to run a good one.

 

[WayneLigon]

...I've never been able to work out why this is, because I think that, say, playing a Paladin can really be rather interesting and difficult. ... I know it can't be related to personal morality or anything -- most of these people have been pretty upstanding in their non-gaming lives, and in at least one case, the person is a devout religious type.

1. It could be that you're not portraying the upside of Good well enough? Ask them to give you some specifics. Maybe they've bought into the idea that they have to be as bad or worse than the bad guys to 'succeed' at D&D. Maybe they need a more tangible benefit to see the advantages of being 'good'.

2. Everyone needs to cut loose and play against type now and again. Maybe they need to do it for a few weeks, then will feel refreshed and ready to get back to being heroes. Or have some few pointed lessons in why Evil is Not The Way.

3. Do these people always want to play evil characters? If so, maybe it is an indication of some RL issue or problem on their part. A problem with authority figures is what I've found to be the case with the few people I've know who constantly wanted to play evil characters - their perception of evil is a kind of freedom rather than what evil really is.

D&D isn't a therapy tool by any means but the choices they are making might indicate issues they probably talk about away from the gaming table. Do they give any sorts of indications they want to engage in that kind of behavior when you're out to lunch at Wendy's instead of sitting arounf a table knee-deep in orc bodies?

 

[Timeboxer]

Well, what I had in mind when I wrote the first post wasn't people who enjoy roleplaying evil characters just as a matter of course, or like to unwind by being occasionally evil. I was thinking of the people I know who insist on playing evil characters in virtually every campaign, and who find good characters profoundly "not fun" in some way.

F'rinstance, one person I'm thinking of prefers to play evil characters because "evil is sexy." Or something similar -- the sentiment being that evil is glamorous and fun to play, whereas good is blah and boring.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I blame drow.

 

[yennico]

I blame drow.

You mean playing Drizzt´s clons is out of date, now playing drow is up to date?

 

[Dark Jezter]

Every time I've seen a player make an evil PC it was because they wanted to be the "different one," i.e. every other character in the party is good-aligned, so one player makes an evil character just to be contrary.