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Count Dravda
2009-10-09, 03:30 PM
So I was reading Rich Burlew's essays on alignment and such, and I think he's got a lot of good ideas. Evil doesn't necessarily rape puppies at every opportunity: evil people can love and good people can hate. I'd already been exploring the idea of tolerable evil NPCs. So I thought it would be a good idea for people to post their ideas for evil NPCs here. These people are evil, but a party of good characters should be able to work with them with minimal queasiness.


Lord Tomas Connallson. LE male human Crusader 12.
The Connallson family was started ten generations ago by a man named Connall, a simple peasant who, according to legend (and the Connallson family's historians) took up arms in his country's time of need, leading his people to incredible victories against a rival aggressor nation. When the war ended, Connall was granted a title of nobility and a generous fief for his heroism.

Tomas Connallson is a hard man. Standing just over six feet tall, he is well-muscled and keeps his hair conservatively short. He has deep, brooding eyes and his left has an involuntary twitch. He has a strong, commanding voice that brings a drill sergeant to mind and his dark hair is only just starting to show flecks of gray that betray his fifty years. He believes strongly in a hard day's work for a hard day's pay, and, under that philosophy, works his peasants nearly to death. Taxes in his territory stand at roughly 80%. He excuses this to himself by saying that if the peasants didn't like it, they could rise up and further themselves like his ancestor did. The fact that he makes this impossible does not register in his mind.

Connallson is also quite a strong racist. As a devotee of Zarus (Races of Destiny 19). Thus, he believes that humans are the ultimate race, and that inferior races are in need of human guidance...and human masters. He will barely tolerate speaking to a non-human, and he believes that half-humans are the worst abomination in existence.

He can be a reasonable person, though. If a non-human shows talent, aptitude, and valor, he may grudgingly reevaluate his position on them. If they are respectful and courteous, he may just take a liking to them. Connallson believes in family first, and his wife and daughter are what he lives his life for. He also enjoys throwing extravagant parties, where his fellow nobility, vassal lords, and any adventurers who have impressed him are treated to his generosity. If he likes a human adventurer enough, he may just attempt to set them up with his daughter.

Connallson can be incorporated into the campaign in a number of ways. He may be a patron, or the PCs' patron may introduce them to him. If they have been adventuring near his realm, he may have been impressed by their deeds and thrown a ball in their honor. He may take a liking to a particular PC, and enjoys philosophical discussions (he's more likely to pick good and lawful people over chaotic ones. He holds deep respect for the followers of Heironeous and Pelor.)

Melusine the Ageless (LE male human lich cleric 5/wizard 5/mystic theurge 10).
Melusine is an ancient evil, having existed for centuries. The reason he hasn't been smote yet is simple: he enjoys the protection of the Wee-Jas' clergy. He resides below their grandest crypt-cathedral, acting as a historian and librarian. While the junior staff are terrified of him, the church elders know that he is an incredible repository of information because he is old enough to have seen many events first-hand.

In life, Melusine was a rather boring person. He stood at 5'3", and spent his days cloistered in a temple, reading and studying. Because of this, his eyesight went bad prematurely and he needed glasses. His complexion grew pasty, he developed a plethora of allergies, and felt uncomfortable outside. He had ambition, however, and quickly became known as a rising star among the Wee Jas faithful. Once he had acquired sufficient power (late in life), he took his own life in an unspeakable ceremony designed to bind his soul to his favorite holy symbol. He had achieved lichdom. The world was his.

Lichdom was not, however, what he had anticipated. He lost his drive. He no longer wanted to explore ancient ruins with the excessive hired muscle to protect him. He just wanted to sit and pore over his books. He had eternity, and so decided to read them all.

Today, Melusine is a shell. His flesh is dead and hangs loosely from his body. His eyes have rotted away, leaving pale green flames dancing in their place. He has lost nearly all of his hair, with only a few stray hairs standing haphazardly on their own. His altered physiology has had another impact: it's cold. Always. Forever. He tries to keep away the chill by bundling up in heavy cloaks and robes, but he is destined to never feel the comfortable warmth of life again. If caught unawares, he can be seen rubbing his arms and muttering, "So cold...it's cold..." He no longer has a sense of touch, but rather a blunt mechanical sensation. He no longer wears glasses because lichdom more than replaced what eyesight he had lost in life.

In personality, Melusine is curmudgeonly, selfish, irritable, stubborn, contrary, and more than a little out-of-touch. These had been described as his weaknesses in life, but lichdom has only magnified them. He considers the books "his" and refuses to allow anyone entry to the library without the express permission of the temple's Ruby Master. He was Lawful Neutral leaning towards evil in life, but the ceremony of lichdom cemented him firmly to evil, and his outlook has been permanently twisted as a result of his undead state.

If the PCs manage to get on his good side, however, he treats them as favored grandchildren. He is very knowledgeable and has a broad array of spellcasting ability, so he makes a very good sage to come to with questions or mysteries.

Melusine is content to spend the rest of his days in the library below the temple. Eventually, after he feels he has learned all he can, he plans to take his own life and go to meet the Witch Goddess. If a PC decides to destroy him, however, he will put up as good a fight as he is able. The main ramification will be that the PCs have now angered the church of Wee Jas. This is no undead cult. They are organized, disciplined, and everywhere. Worse yet, they have a lot of social influence. Unless the PCs find a way to make amends, their lives could get very miserable.

I look forward to hearing everyone's suggestions!

-Count Dravda

Sequinox
2009-10-09, 03:38 PM
Fascinating. In my own opinion, I wouldn't put them as evil, but neutral with serious flaws. Of course, I don't want to spark an alignment debate over this. I like it enough that I might use the first guy in a campaign someday, if that sort of thing comes around. I really like smart villains and shades-of-grey morality.

Tavar
2009-10-09, 03:38 PM
Let me post one character I had along time ago:
Adelard Kranet, LE How it Should be Paladin//Kellus's Truenamer. The idea is that he will do anything for his city/country. If he could save it by being friendly to you, then he will be friendly to you. If he could do it by killing all of you and taking your women as slaves, well, he'd do it.
"To Name a thing is to Know it, to Know it is to Control it. Such is the power of the True Song, as sung by Aynala."
-Attributed

Animals: Male Lion and Tortoise

The Kranet Family has always been a Family divided. It was a small splinter clan of a major ruling house of Fayral, and in accordance with its privileged connections it was given the embassy in a small, out of the way vassal city, Rix. The Kranets kept this position for many years, and many power players in Fayral began to question the house's loyalties. In fact, their was a serious proposal to recall the family that was only tabled because of the chaos that sprang up during the Sundering. The matter was forgotten for some time, and by the time Fayral thought to return to the subject, it found that House Kranet had broken its ties with its mother city and become fully naturalized. This was a hundred and 146 years ago, and House Kranet has never wavered in support of its new city since that time. But even more characteristic of the House than its initial divided loyalties are its focuses. The House was formed by marrying a two minor members of their respective houses, one a fearless warrior, the other a philosophical sage. Ever since this act the scions of the house have swayed from one pole to the other, and it came as no surprise to many that the house's coat of arms bears a Chimera.

Adelard is perhaps the penultimate Kranet, a Chimera himself. Skilled in both Truenaming and the Arts of a Warrior, he exemplifies his house like no other. And it is therefore no surprise that he has long been a Champion of both House and City, striking at all foes to cross his path with the Territoriality of a King Lion. Yet his is not a rash voice, often arguing for patience with the long view of an ancient Tortoise.

Adelard's father was the first Kranet to get a seat on the council, and since his death 15 years ago Adelard has stood in his place, protecting Rix and all her people. His family has always urged the city to prepare against Fayral, intimately knowing its desires for control, strengthened recently by the forming of Rix's Great Portal and its renouncing of vassal status.

Due to the exacting nature of his council duties, Adelard has little time to run the Kranet House, and leaves much of the day to day management of the household to his wife, Celunin Kranet, and his younger brother, Kraxis Kranet. He also has a daughter, Helma Kranet. She is 17 years old, and he dotes on her considerably. She has expressed an interest in joining Rix's defense forces, and while Adelard is not completely pleased with the prospect of his daughter entering combat, he nonetheless is supporting her decisions. This does not mean, however, that he is not going to watch her progress intently, something made easier from his position on the council and his close relationships with said forces.
Personality:
To Name a thing is to Know it, and to Know it is to Control it. This is the power of the True Tongue.
Adelard is a man of contradictions. He is as furious as a King Lion fighting for its pride and as peaceful as the slow Tortoise.

Description:
Upon entering the Kranet family's Grotto you notice a man meditation before an elaborate statue of the Muse in Red and the Dark Forest Sage. His simple robes are cut in the style of a major nobleman, and while you can't be certain, it seems likely that were he to stand he would be relatively tall. His hair is a dark black save for the strands of grey that are scattered through it, and both this hands and face show the toll age and strain have taken. Still, he seems rather fit for a man of his years, and as you draw closer you feel bolstered: after all, if such a man is with the city then things can't be that bad. When he notices your presence he looks at you with piercing blue eyes for a moment, and you think you see his mouth twitch as if to either smile or sneer.

On the battle field Adelard is a sight to behold, his ruby red armor flashing in the sunlight and his family's ancestral weapon moving in intricate patterns. However, it is not so much a dance as a parade ground display of martial skill. His strong voice carries over the sounds of the battle, singing snatches of the True Tongue, lashing his Cities enemies with fire or bolstering its defenders.

Personality:
Adelard is a complex man. Though he cares little for the individual people of Rix, he cares for the city and would die before seeing it fall. Though he encourages fast, decisive action he also advocates patience. Some attribute this to a weakness in his character, waffling on every issue, but they miss the mark. They see him as a warrior encouraging action and believe that is what he truly wishes, only that his cowardice makes him draw back. In truth, however, he prefers to observe the situation and react after much thought, as benefits his Philosophical nature. One attribute common in any setting is his utter ruthlessness when it comes to securing advantages and punishing those he views as threats to the city.

He is a hard man who shows little emotion in Public, though it is know that he has a wife and a Daughter that he is said to dote on.

Mastikator
2009-10-09, 03:51 PM
Wow, Tomas Connallson sounds like a person I would despise with every fiber of my being.
Melusine seems annoying, but also someone you could learn to pity.

Fiery Diamond
2009-10-09, 04:27 PM
Wow, Tomas Connallson sounds like a person I would despise with every fiber of my being.
Melusine seems annoying, but also someone you could learn to pity.

I agree with both these statements. Totally would try to assassinate Tomas. Would want to stay clear of, but would feel pity for, Melusine.

Murdim
2009-10-09, 04:41 PM
Connallson is also quite a strong racist. As a devotee of Zarus (Races of Destiny 19). Thus, he believes that humans are the ultimate race, and that inferior races are in need of human guidance...and human masters. He will barely tolerate speaking to a non-human, and he believes that half-humans are the worst abomination in existence.
Human supremacists aren't racists, but speciesist. As well as goblin supremacists (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0451.html), for that matter. In fact, I remember reading somewhere that Zarus and his followers are particularly enthusiastic about human diversity.

Temet Nosce
2009-10-09, 05:05 PM
I'll be running a LE condottieri in an upcoming campaign. Is he evil? Absolutely, he's ruthless, selfish, manipulative, dominating, masochistic... The kind of fellow who'd willingly torture children to get their parents cooperation if needed.On the other hand, he restrains his troops from looting, is both generous and loyal beyond reproach to his own men and allies, and will hold to his word without even trying to quibble.

I've found that often people attempting to play evil characters often come across less as evil, and more as annoying.

Dracomorph
2009-10-09, 05:12 PM
I'll be running a LE condottieri in an upcoming campaign. Is he evil? Absolutely, he's ruthless, selfish, manipulative, dominating, masochistic... The kind of fellow who'd willingly torture children to get their parents cooperation if needed.
...

I think you mean SADistic, not masochistic.

Temet Nosce
2009-10-09, 05:24 PM
I think you mean SADistic, not masochistic.

No, although I suppose the masochism isn't inherently evil (although his reaction to getting hurt in battle will be... off putting for the enemy to say the least). He's not sadistic though, just ruthless.

SurlySeraph
2009-10-09, 05:44 PM
I find it's often easier to make sympathetic LE characters than CE ones, because it's easy to make LE characters responsible, trustworthy, a bastion of the community, etc., but still evil. It's hard to clearly show admirable traits in a CE character.

With that said, Chaotic Evil characters can easily be just as nice as LE ones. They're Chaotic: they judge people on a case-by-case basis rather than discriminating, they won't feel ideologically compelled to hurt you any more than they'll feel compelled to help you, and they're a lot more fun to hang out with. If they like you, they can save you. If they don't, they'll probably just mess with you immediately and have done with it instead of starting decade-long schemes to destroy everything you love like a LE person who hates you would. Chaotic Evil characters are more likely to harm you than Lawful Evil, but they're also much more likely to change their mind and be nice to you.

Rhiannon87
2009-10-09, 06:14 PM
Oh, I've got several...

Lena, NE Half-Fiend Bard


The good ol' nature vs nurture debate in this girl. She's 16, raised by an evil cult, and thus knows nothing but evil. She helped cultists try to kill the party, brutally executed a supposed traitor, laid a trap for the party to get ganked by incorporeal undead... But when the party found the ghost of her grandfather, who explained that his daughter (Lena's mother) had been brutally raped by demons/devils in order to spawn Lena and then requested that they save her, well, the party did their best to oblige. They actually managed to keep her from attacking them with evil summons, introduced her to her grandfather, and now the poor thing's all confused. Depending on how things go, she could end up shifting to Neutral. She's not evil by nature, just by nurture, and she's been confronted with some things that are making her doubt her nurturers.


Eric and Kadi Graymorn, Human Fighter & Rogue


Strictly speaking, only one half of this couple is evil; Eric is CN, while his wife his NE. Kadi is a rogue with an abrasive personality and an acidic sense of humor; Eric is more reserved, and tends to rein in his wife's harsher tendencies. Kadi is also a little bit of a serial killer. She murders men who hit on her when they persist after she's explained that she's married, or who hit on any of her friends who are in relationships... she hangs around a fair amount of "lowlife scum" criminals who don't really see marital fidelity as anything important, so this happens every few months or so. Eric helps her escape from the scene of the crimes. Her wedding ring is a ring of Mind Shielding, so paladins detecting evil won't find her.


I also have plans for an affably evil lich, but s/he isn't really fleshed out yet.

Superglucose
2009-10-09, 06:36 PM
Versuras (lit. "The Betrayer"):

EiVersuras was, once upon a millenia ago, a powerful Priest who specialized in death and healing magics. Not producing undead, mind, but rather he focused on the ebb and flow of life, the study of this tide, and how best to control it for his people's benefit. He was also quite ambitious, and when the four high-priests decided that they would sacrifice themselves to seal off the nameless evil, was one of the front runners in the civil war that determined who the successors of the theocracy would be. Eventually he lost to his dear friend Llanaar, a master of the elements, and took up a position as Llanaar's right-hand man, all grudges of the civil war forgotten.

Still, the high-priests had not managed to eradicate the evil, but merely hold it at bay. Llanaar was as headstrong as EiVersuras, but also less cautious. He believed he could end the threat that the nameless evil posed... and for good. To protect the world and eradicate, once and for all, misfortune amongst its people.

EiVersuras disagreed. Eiversuras believed that there was no way to eradicate the evil, correctly believing that the current priests were nothing compared to the old high-priests, who had been unable to eradicate this evil. There were a great many debates in the hall of the high council, until the final vote. Three for Llanaar's plan, with only EiVersuras opposed.

So that night, EiVersuras snuck into Llanaar's chambers, and used his mastery over death to kill his best friend. Then, for fear of another of the priests merely taking Llanaar's place, he systematically killed off each of the hundred remaining priests in one night. Finishing the last and absorbing their life energy into himself just before dawn, he found himself on the eastern gate of the empire as the sun rose. Magically, he amplified his voice.

"I have killed the priests, and I have betrayed my friends. As the final remaining priest, I pass this judgment to myself: that I am hereby exiled from the Great Empire, and stripped of my title and place amongst the Priests. I am no longer EiVersuras, but Versuras instead."

With that he lept off the hundred-foot-high wall, and landed on the other side, fleeing before the Empire's army would mobilize. It is said that the whole empire heard his voice that day, and indeed shortly afterwords Versuras was caught by an entire legion on a hill in the eastern reserve. He quickly and succinctly decimated the troops, leaving no survivors.

These days he wanders the earth, also known as "The Warlock," the mysterious leader of a large cabal of wizards dedicated to the protection of the Empire. He is immortal, keeping death at bay by taking life, and continues to do so to this day. He looks for the chosen one, the hero who can eventually take down the nameless evil, so that he might die fulfilling the final wish of his best friend: that the nameless evil be destroyed.

Versuras is very patient, but he views all of his followers as exceedingly expendable. If he ever finds the chosen one, however, he will treat that individual as better than his son. He's extremely disdainful to anyone who he feels is "foolish," and is exceedingly protective of any who he deems his "students." Everything he does is done for one goal: to finally get peace in his soul so that he can kill himself and reach the afterlife promised him by his god should he defeat the nameless evil.

By the by, lawful evil.


Also, Princess Ialana, Heir to the Barony of Hohenheim, Vice Governor of (I forget the province), and King of the Goblins

Princess Ialana was exiled from her homeland because she refused to partake in an arranged marriage. She murdered her husband-to-be because it seemed to her she had no other way, and that murder was simply expedient. As punishment, she was exiled (not executed because she was a princess).

Off she sailed and in a far-away continent, she began collecting titles, and becoming an extremely well-known assassin. To this day, people tremble in fear at the thought of The Goblin King.

How is she likeable you ask? Well, as the Vice Governor of (province) she is constantly taking steps to assure the continued prospering of the province, and also (since she came from a ren-tech level area and is now in a midevil-tech area) is very focused on proper nutrition. Since she has assumed control of the province (the Governor is normally unfit to lead, and only gets worse depending on his mood) she has promised, and delivered, balanced diets to all of her subjects.

Still, her subjects are little more than slaves, robbed blind (by her, of course) and then somehow arrested for a crime, shipped south to work off their fines, after which they mostly remain because, well, they have no money to move back. At the same time, she pays rather well, so they don't have much cause to complain... except maybe that they're being paid with their old money from before she robbed them...

This one, despite the intricate plans she weaves, is very much Chaotic Evil. Her maxim is "Shoot first, then shoot again to make sure it's dead, the make the Necromancer rip the soul from the afterlife and bind it to its skull. Then, if I need to know something, I'll start asking questions."

Xefas
2009-10-09, 07:07 PM
Lord Tomas Connallson. LE male human Crusader 12.
The Connallson family was started ten generations ago by a man named Connall, a simple peasant who, according to legend (and the Connallson family's historians) took up arms in his country's time of need, leading his people to incredible victories against a rival aggressor nation. When the war ended, Connall was granted a title of nobility and a generous fief for his heroism.

Tomas Connallson is a hard man. Standing just over six feet tall, he is well-muscled and keeps his hair conservatively short. He has deep, brooding eyes and his left has an involuntary twitch. He has a strong, commanding voice that brings a drill sergeant to mind and his dark hair is only just starting to show flecks of gray that betray his fifty years. He believes strongly in a hard day's work for a hard day's pay, and, under that philosophy, works his peasants nearly to death. Taxes in his territory stand at roughly 80%. He excuses this to himself by saying that if the peasants didn't like it, they could rise up and further themselves like his ancestor did. The fact that he makes this impossible does not register in his mind.

Connallson is also quite a strong racist. As a devotee of Zarus (Races of Destiny 19). Thus, he believes that humans are the ultimate race, and that inferior races are in need of human guidance...and human masters. He will barely tolerate speaking to a non-human, and he believes that half-humans are the worst abomination in existence.

He can be a reasonable person, though. If a non-human shows talent, aptitude, and valor, he may grudgingly reevaluate his position on them. If they are respectful and courteous, he may just take a liking to them. Connallson believes in family first, and his wife and daughter are what he lives his life for. He also enjoys throwing extravagant parties, where his fellow nobility, vassal lords, and any adventurers who have impressed him are treated to his generosity. If he likes a human adventurer enough, he may just attempt to set them up with his daughter.

Connallson can be incorporated into the campaign in a number of ways. He may be a patron, or the PCs' patron may introduce them to him. If they have been adventuring near his realm, he may have been impressed by their deeds and thrown a ball in their honor. He may take a liking to a particular PC, and enjoys philosophical discussions (he's more likely to pick good and lawful people over chaotic ones. He holds deep respect for the followers of Heironeous and Pelor.)

Melusine the Ageless (LE male human lich cleric 5/wizard 5/mystic theurge 10).
Melusine is an ancient evil, having existed for centuries. The reason he hasn't been smote yet is simple: he enjoys the protection of the Wee-Jas' clergy. He resides below their grandest crypt-cathedral, acting as a historian and librarian. While the junior staff are terrified of him, the church elders know that he is an incredible repository of information because he is old enough to have seen many events first-hand.

In life, Melusine was a rather boring person. He stood at 5'3", and spent his days cloistered in a temple, reading and studying. Because of this, his eyesight went bad prematurely and he needed glasses. His complexion grew pasty, he developed a plethora of allergies, and felt uncomfortable outside. He had ambition, however, and quickly became known as a rising star among the Wee Jas faithful. Once he had acquired sufficient power (late in life), he took his own life in an unspeakable ceremony designed to bind his soul to his favorite holy symbol. He had achieved lichdom. The world was his.

Lichdom was not, however, what he had anticipated. He lost his drive. He no longer wanted to explore ancient ruins with the excessive hired muscle to protect him. He just wanted to sit and pore over his books. He had eternity, and so decided to read them all.

Today, Melusine is a shell. His flesh is dead and hangs loosely from his body. His eyes have rotted away, leaving pale green flames dancing in their place. He has lost nearly all of his hair, with only a few stray hairs standing haphazardly on their own. His altered physiology has had another impact: it's cold. Always. Forever. He tries to keep away the chill by bundling up in heavy cloaks and robes, but he is destined to never feel the comfortable warmth of life again. If caught unawares, he can be seen rubbing his arms and muttering, "So cold...it's cold..." He no longer has a sense of touch, but rather a blunt mechanical sensation. He no longer wears glasses because lichdom more than replaced what eyesight he had lost in life.

In personality, Melusine is curmudgeonly, selfish, irritable, stubborn, contrary, and more than a little out-of-touch. These had been described as his weaknesses in life, but lichdom has only magnified them. He considers the books "his" and refuses to allow anyone entry to the library without the express permission of the temple's Ruby Master. He was Lawful Neutral leaning towards evil in life, but the ceremony of lichdom cemented him firmly to evil, and his outlook has been permanently twisted as a result of his undead state.

If the PCs manage to get on his good side, however, he treats them as favored grandchildren. He is very knowledgeable and has a broad array of spellcasting ability, so he makes a very good sage to come to with questions or mysteries.

Melusine is content to spend the rest of his days in the library below the temple. Eventually, after he feels he has learned all he can, he plans to take his own life and go to meet the Witch Goddess. If a PC decides to destroy him, however, he will put up as good a fight as he is able. The main ramification will be that the PCs have now angered the church of Wee Jas. This is no undead cult. They are organized, disciplined, and everywhere. Worse yet, they have a lot of social influence. Unless the PCs find a way to make amends, their lives could get very miserable.

I really like these guys. The first, maybe because I've known a few bigots in my life that were actually nice, jovial people when they weren't making ridiculous, ignorant remarks that would be hilarious if it weren't for the fact that they were serious, which made it sad.

Melusine is great, just because he's the crotchety old man archetype to the max, which makes him a perfect larger-than-life fantasy character.

"We di'n't 'ave yer new fangled 'Sending Stones' back in my day. We'd yell int'r a pickle jar, n' seal it up real quick 'like. Then we'd mail it to yer. 'course, we di'n't 'zactly have glass 't the time, what with the war n' all. Which war, ya ask? Well, it was wunna'them...primordial wars, whatcha call it? Asmodeus clearin' the original Baatorians outta Baator. Ah, I r'member Asmodeus when 'e was jus' knee-high t' a grasshopper. What? Y'never 'eard of a Baatorian? Er, blast ye spoiled whippersnappers! S'whats wrong with yer generation. Ya think just because the'r aint published stats fer somethin'...means it don't exist!"

Leliel
2009-10-09, 07:28 PM
While I agree Tomas is evil, and annoying to everyone, I think Melusine probably only qualifies as evil if you're really intolerant of an irritating personality.

He's just an angry and bitter old man. While he is an undead, his attitude is more along the lines of "misanthropy" than "kill all life".

SurlySeraph
2009-10-09, 07:42 PM
Not to get off topic, buuuuut...


Melusine is great, just because he's the crotchety old man archetype to the max, which makes him a perfect larger-than-life fantasy character.

"We di'n't 'ave yer new fangled 'Sending Stones' back in my day. We'd yell int'r a pickle jar, n' seal it up real quick 'like. Then we'd mail it to yer. 'course, we di'n't 'zactly have glass 't the time, what with the war n' all. Which war, ya ask? Well, it was wunna'them...primordial wars, whatcha call it? Asmodeus clearin' the original Baatorians outta Baator. Ah, I r'member Asmodeus when 'e was jus' knee-high t' a grasshopper. What? Y'never 'eard of a Baatorian? Er, blast ye spoiled whippersnappers! S'whats wrong with yer generation. Ya think just because the'r aint published stats fer somethin'...means it don't exist!"

"You call yourself a paladin? Ha! In my day, paladins didn't have any of your fancy armor or Holy Avengers. They didn't need it! I remember the first paladin who tried to kill me, good ol' Sir Ector. He smote me with a stick. Not any of your fancy maces or quarterstaffs, just a little twig, like you find lying around on the ground. It wasn't even pointed! And just that was enough to send me back to my phylactery. A real man, that Sir Ector.

"Of course, he survived four or five of my Rock Swarms to the face before that, and his armor was made out of ripped dishtowels. Oh yes, Rock Swarm is a spell! We didn't have any of your fancy-shmancy Meteor Swarms in those days. We couldn't afford them! And we couldn't have gotten them at 9th level even if we could afford them. I had to sacrifice a hundred epic spell slots and enough life force that I couldn't cast epic spells for the next hundred years just to power two Rock Swarms. And I was grateful!"

Shpadoinkle
2009-10-09, 08:09 PM
This one is based on a character I wrote about, sort of. I wrote up ideas for stories and outlined some details, but I never got around to actually writing the stories.

Tarquin, male human warblade (fighter if you're one of those people who hates the ToB), NE

In his early thirties, Tarquin is a large, physically intimidating man with medium length black hair. His arms are crisscrossed with small scars from all the battles he's seen, and a large scar runs vertically over his right eye. He is broad shouldered and covered in muscle, deeply tanned, and covered in muscle. He claims to have both dwarf and giant ancestors, but whether this is true or not is indeterminate.

He despises thieves (bear in mind this is defined as "people who steal," not the rogue class), murderers, and assassins, and occasionally will seek them out so he can murder them. Other crime, such as corrupted public officials, for example, he cares nothing about. He cares nothing for politics and considers himself a part of no country or organization, besides whatever other adventurers he might have joined force with at the time. He will risk his life to save his adventuring companions, and is more protective of those who have earned his trust.

He prefers large weapons and heavy armor and sports them whenever possible, favoring in particular his greatsword.

A fairly normal, if unusually large man when he was younger and began adventuring, he was rather idealistic and neutral good. After being murdered and robbed blind by someone he consiered an ally (he was later raised, of course), he began to lose his idealistic shine. A second attempt on his life a few years later by someone else he thought he could trust (he killed his would-be murderer instead) firmly cemented his hatred of murderers and thieves, and he began to take personal affront at thier actions. Consequently, he takes great joy in killing such people, and wil prioritize them over other enemies when it's practical.

Shortly afterward, while fighting a necromantic cult, he was level drained very severely. This resulted him in weakening from level 14 all the way back to level 3.

Even though he's now back at level 3, he still possesses the equipment of a 14th level character, so advancement would be rather quick for a while, even though he'd most likely be working alone.

He is aware of the fact that he willlingly hunts down and kills murderers and thieves makes him a murderer himself, but he doesn't really care.

Ormur
2009-10-09, 09:55 PM
I picture the classic evil guy you could work with as a nihilistic misanthrope who hates people in general but doesn't do anything about it because he's just busy making a living in a ordered society. He doesn't have an urge to kill people or anything and he realizes that doing so would just get him in trouble but if he had a reason and could get away with it he wouldn't hesitate.

Outwardly he's probably a surly cynic with a biting tongue but If your character and him share interests you could get to know him and even find him charming and intelligent. Then after some time you'd find out about his twisted worldview and realize that he not merely rude. He may hate people in general but he can make an exception for his few worthy friends and maybe family. Most people aren't consistent anyway. He's probably LE/NE.

I've talked to people I imagine to be like this and it can be fun and informative but the thought of their worldview is always chilling.

It's like the evil version of the guy that wishes everybody well but can't be bothered to do much about it since he lives in such a nice place.

hamishspence
2009-10-10, 04:06 AM
Its not an uncommon archetype in the more cynical fantasy and sci-fi fiction.

When the group runs into an Obstructive Bureaucrat in Simon R. Green's Deathstalker, he rationalizes his job as "the chance to screw up people's lives"


"I only want one name," said Hazel.

"That's what everyone says!" snapped the clerk. "Do you know how much work it takes to track down just one name? No, of course you don't, and you don't care either, do you? No-one cares," he said wistfully. "No-one appreciates you here. The lunchbreak's a joke, there's only one toilet, and the pay's rotten. I'd quit, if it wasn't for the pension. And the constant chances to screw up people's lives. I see my job as a kind of revenge against an uncaring society. It's either this or planting explosives in public places, and explosives are expensive."

Thatguyoverther
2009-10-10, 05:17 AM
Its not an uncommon archetype in the more cynical fantasy and sci-fi fiction.

When the group runs into an Obstructive Bureaucrat in Simon R. Green's Deathstalker, he rationalizes his job as "the chance to screw up people's lives"

Bureaucratic evil is one of my favorite types of evil.

I try to avoid characters that are 100% pure evil. They should be subtle and nuanced, otherwise the characters are facing caricatures. In my book it kind of breaks the verisimilitude.

Like Big Mike from the game I'm running. He's an unpleasant brute who uses extortion and intimidation to keep people in line, and doesn't flinch at animal abuse, slavery, rape and murder. But on the converse side he's created a slice of civilization in the middle of a Post-Apacolyptic free for all, and keeps dozens of people safe and well fed.

Fiery Diamond
2009-10-10, 06:01 AM
Oh, I've got several...

Lena, NE Half-Fiend Bard


The good ol' nature vs nurture debate in this girl. She's 16, raised by an evil cult, and thus knows nothing but evil. She helped cultists try to kill the party, brutally executed a supposed traitor, laid a trap for the party to get ganked by incorporeal undead... But when the party found the ghost of her grandfather, who explained that his daughter (Lena's mother) had been brutally raped by demons/devils in order to spawn Lena and then requested that they save her, well, the party did their best to oblige. They actually managed to keep her from attacking them with evil summons, introduced her to her grandfather, and now the poor thing's all confused. Depending on how things go, she could end up shifting to Neutral. She's not evil by nature, just by nurture, and she's been confronted with some things that are making her doubt her nurturers.


Eric and Kadi Graymorn, Human Fighter & Rogue


Strictly speaking, only one half of this couple is evil; Eric is CN, while his wife his NE. Kadi is a rogue with an abrasive personality and an acidic sense of humor; Eric is more reserved, and tends to rein in his wife's harsher tendencies. Kadi is also a little bit of a serial killer. She murders men who hit on her when they persist after she's explained that she's married, or who hit on any of her friends who are in relationships... she hangs around a fair amount of "lowlife scum" criminals who don't really see marital fidelity as anything important, so this happens every few months or so. Eric helps her escape from the scene of the crimes. Her wedding ring is a ring of Mind Shielding, so paladins detecting evil won't find her.


I also have plans for an affably evil lich, but s/he isn't really fleshed out yet.

Lena is an example of a character that if I were a player, I would abandon any larger plot to focus entirely on trying to redeem. Kadi is understandable, actually, but I would hate to be around her because of her abrasive nature and acidic humor. I probably wouldn't try too hard to catch her for the murders, because frankly, I think she's right that they deserve it.






Versuras (lit. "The Betrayer"):

EiVersuras was, once upon a millenia ago, a powerful Priest who specialized in death and healing magics. Not producing undead, mind, but rather he focused on the ebb and flow of life, the study of this tide, and how best to control it for his people's benefit. He was also quite ambitious, and when the four high-priests decided that they would sacrifice themselves to seal off the nameless evil, was one of the front runners in the civil war that determined who the successors of the theocracy would be. Eventually he lost to his dear friend Llanaar, a master of the elements, and took up a position as Llanaar's right-hand man, all grudges of the civil war forgotten.

Still, the high-priests had not managed to eradicate the evil, but merely hold it at bay. Llanaar was as headstrong as EiVersuras, but also less cautious. He believed he could end the threat that the nameless evil posed... and for good. To protect the world and eradicate, once and for all, misfortune amongst its people.

EiVersuras disagreed. Eiversuras believed that there was no way to eradicate the evil, correctly believing that the current priests were nothing compared to the old high-priests, who had been unable to eradicate this evil. There were a great many debates in the hall of the high council, until the final vote. Three for Llanaar's plan, with only EiVersuras opposed.

So that night, EiVersuras snuck into Llanaar's chambers, and used his mastery over death to kill his best friend. Then, for fear of another of the priests merely taking Llanaar's place, he systematically killed off each of the hundred remaining priests in one night. Finishing the last and absorbing their life energy into himself just before dawn, he found himself on the eastern gate of the empire as the sun rose. Magically, he amplified his voice.

"I have killed the priests, and I have betrayed my friends. As the final remaining priest, I pass this judgment to myself: that I am hereby exiled from the Great Empire, and stripped of my title and place amongst the Priests. I am no longer EiVersuras, but Versuras instead."

With that he lept off the hundred-foot-high wall, and landed on the other side, fleeing before the Empire's army would mobilize. It is said that the whole empire heard his voice that day, and indeed shortly afterwords Versuras was caught by an entire legion on a hill in the eastern reserve. He quickly and succinctly decimated the troops, leaving no survivors.

These days he wanders the earth, also known as "The Warlock," the mysterious leader of a large cabal of wizards dedicated to the protection of the Empire. He is immortal, keeping death at bay by taking life, and continues to do so to this day. He looks for the chosen one, the hero who can eventually take down the nameless evil, so that he might die fulfilling the final wish of his best friend: that the nameless evil be destroyed.

Versuras is very patient, but he views all of his followers as exceedingly expendable. If he ever finds the chosen one, however, he will treat that individual as better than his son. He's extremely disdainful to anyone who he feels is "foolish," and is exceedingly protective of any who he deems his "students." Everything he does is done for one goal: to finally get peace in his soul so that he can kill himself and reach the afterlife promised him by his god should he defeat the nameless evil.

By the by, lawful evil.


Also, Princess Ialana, Heir to the Barony of Hohenheim, Vice Governor of (I forget the province), and King of the Goblins

Princess Ialana was exiled from her homeland because she refused to partake in an arranged marriage. She murdered her husband-to-be because it seemed to her she had no other way, and that murder was simply expedient. As punishment, she was exiled (not executed because she was a princess).

Off she sailed and in a far-away continent, she began collecting titles, and becoming an extremely well-known assassin. To this day, people tremble in fear at the thought of The Goblin King.

How is she likeable you ask? Well, as the Vice Governor of (province) she is constantly taking steps to assure the continued prospering of the province, and also (since she came from a ren-tech level area and is now in a midevil-tech area) is very focused on proper nutrition. Since she has assumed control of the province (the Governor is normally unfit to lead, and only gets worse depending on his mood) she has promised, and delivered, balanced diets to all of her subjects.

Still, her subjects are little more than slaves, robbed blind (by her, of course) and then somehow arrested for a crime, shipped south to work off their fines, after which they mostly remain because, well, they have no money to move back. At the same time, she pays rather well, so they don't have much cause to complain... except maybe that they're being paid with their old money from before she robbed them...

This one, despite the intricate plans she weaves, is very much Chaotic Evil. Her maxim is "Shoot first, then shoot again to make sure it's dead, the make the Necromancer rip the soul from the afterlife and bind it to its skull. Then, if I need to know something, I'll start asking questions."


Versuras is my favorite kind of LE. He's the kind of LE that I can see and say, "definitely evil, but has strong good traits that I think are important." Kind of like Sesshoumaru from Inuyasha (definitely a LE character).

Fishy
2009-10-10, 02:23 PM
Since her game died and there's no real way to salvage her, might as well post her here...

Tragedy- LE (or CE) Changeling Artificer//Rogue (Sniper spec)
Tragedy is a La-Resistance-style Freedom Fighter in a war that hasn't started yet.

Don't get her wrong, she loves humans, collectively and individually. She desperately wants some sort of peaceful coexistance, she abhors violence and senseless death, and her son- who barely knows she exists- is half human. She loves humanity, and in return, they are going to try to kill her.

Tragedy and her people are shapeshifters- inherently alien, frightening, and untrustworthy. One day, in the inevitable future, humanity is going to stop being amused, realize exactly what they are capable of, and stop tolerating their presence. Maybe not in her lifetime, maybe not in her children's or their children's, but a bloody and violent war is coming and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it.

Except win.

In the minds of Tragedy and her conspirators in the Cabinet of Faces, the only future where the changelings have any life worth living is the one where they are in control. Of everything. They're trying to build a world-spanning information network, capable of predicting and pre-empting any threat to the changeling population as they exist now, and some hypothetical future secret empire run entirely by and for changelings. Tragedy has thrown away anything resembling a normal life and dedicated herself entirely to making it happen. Ideally, without anyone getting hurt. (She's doing her utmost to move the Cabinet away from the traditional assassinate/impersonate/replace model and towards a kidnap/paralyze/impersonate/brainwash/return-mostly-unharmed method.)

So yes. If Bad Things are going down, she probably knows more than most about who might be behind it. And if innocent people are getting hurt, she'll want to throw what she can spare into making it stop. Unless it's part of her secret campaign to overthrow the world. For the kids.

Count Dravda
2009-10-11, 05:11 AM
Oh, here's a more...everyday evil. Anyone played Fallout 3? Colin Moriarty, from Megaton. We'll put him as a NE expert...3 or 4. Any race.

He seems friendly and jovial enough. When you first meet, he gives you a good, firm handshake and tells you you're going to be good friends. The man is, however, not to be trusted. If you need something (where the bandits went who kidnapped your sister, for example), he smiles and, without dropping his charm, notes you that you need to know that, badly. And yes, he does know where they went. But what you're asking for is information, and information is a commodity. 100 gold sounds reasonable for such a valuable commodity, doesn't it? A failed Diplomacy or other check made to talk his price down makes him double or triple the price as he realizes how badly you want it.

Furthermore, he keeps a secret record of everybody who passes through his town, with lots of notes on the locals. He collects dirt on everyone: "Jenny Stahl's brother has a drug problem. Should come in handy if their bar starts becoming too big a threat to business." "No one knows Jericho used to be a Raider. I'll keep that little nugget tucked away for future use." "The priest seems pious enough, but he's an alcoholic. He should see reason, with the right application of blackmail and bribery."

The bartender is selfish, callous, and self-centered. He's always looking to twist a situation to his advantage, and wouldn't hesitate to rob a man blind if there were no chance of getting caught. While his brand of evil is relatively mundane, he's still neutral evil.

Chrono22
2009-10-11, 05:26 AM
One of the most endearing characters I've every played started out as neutral good- but do to a series of unfortunate circumstances slowly progressed to evil. You see, he started out as a free monstrous creature, and then became enslaved. For several years, he was mistreated and abused by humans. He managed to break free, but he became stranded in a strange new land with no knowledge of his surroundings or how to return to his previous life.
At that point he was justifiably wary of humans... this fear was repeatedly driven home after he attempted to gain assistance at a farm. Out of desperation, he kidnapped a human wandering the roadside (a homeless person), to force/coerce the human into teaching him common. The homeless man was of no use... but for the first time, my character felt a sense of control... for the first time he realized he had a way to exact revenge on the evil humans for stealing his life from him.
He killed the human, and committed his life to destroying humanity and freeing other beings from their tyranny.

After destroying several farms, a band of adventurers attempted to kill him... and nearly succeeded. With their weapons, treasure, and equipment, he began to gather and arm minions who would join him in his quest... mostly goblins.

At one point he realized that not all humans are the same.. but his preconceptions about them as a species and his own selfish desires for revenge prompted him to wipe out the vermin.

Too bad the campaign ended too early... I can think of a good ending for it.
Being killed by a paladin of freedom.

Shademan
2009-10-11, 05:46 AM
since we're all throwing out evil guys here I'll chip in mine.
Kazam, the oldest lich in existence! loyal servant of Vecna and all that jazz...
alignmentwise he is either neutral or lawful evil, not really sure where to put him because he is as close to neutral as he can get, but liches having to be evil...well...
So Kazam sits in his tower deep in the desert where he uses his insanely high divination skills to observe the world, writing down history without bias. He sees himself as THE keeper of knowledge and have a library filled with books that he have written.
over the last three thousand years or so.
As if that isn't enough he have created a device that lets him send his astral spirit back to the past so he can record whatever happened BEFORE history begun!
If knowledge is power, Kazam is the most powerful being in the world! so what does he do with the knowledge? nothing really. Power is not something that interests him, he just wanna sit and watch.
...that sick ol' lich, hahaha.

He will assist people with the knowledge they seek if it is harmless enough and if they strike a nice deal. In the campaign he was in, he helped the PC's because if he didn't the world (heck, the universe and the planes!) would collapse in on itself.


(library liches....seems to be something goin' around.)

Foryn Gilnith
2009-10-11, 08:28 AM
but liches having to be evil...well...
Liches must be evil at the time of creation. Their alignment may change as normal afterwards.

TelemontTanthul
2009-10-11, 10:46 AM
The most acceptable evil?

That would be ambitionless greed.

Someone who wants shiny objects, but isn't really willing to kill people over them.

That is why Haley from OOTS is not considered evil, because it is a minor offense.


Basically you can water down any villain, even the murderers, and make them appear good.

Examples: Darth Vader, and Robin Hood.

PhoenixRivers
2009-10-11, 10:49 AM
Thurm Wyrmskin
Chaotic Evil Barbarian

Early in his life, Thurm was a brash and cruel warrior. He had all the traits typical of his tribe... Swift ruthless action, distrust of outsiders. That's not to say he didn't distrust his kinsfolk too. It's just not something he really let show.

Shortly after Thurm's 25th birthday, he and his brother were hunting elk. The winter was hard, and the tribe's food was low. The two brothers split, to scout more ground. Fortune favored Thurm's brother. Thurm came upon his brother, preparing to dress a pair of rams that he found and killed along the cliffside. Thurm, calculating quickly, moved to help his brother, Skall. Or so Skall thought.

As Skall went to the cliff lip to drag the second carcass back, Thurm picked up the first one and bashed into his brother from behind. As his brother tumbled down the cliff, Thurm sent the ram's body tumbling after. Only then did he grab the second ram, throwing it over his shoulder and taking it to the village. He told the tale, of how he and his brother came across two rams, and sought to slay them. Alas, as he slew one, and wounded the other, it came at Skall, and they both fell to the rocks below.

Skall was commended, and when the tribe sent men to retrieve the ram, and Skall's body, they all saw, and believed.

Skall has aged much since then, grew by measures more cautious, realizing that while might makes right, he doesn't always have the might. He leads his tribe now, more a testament to a deal brokered with a pair of captured Ogres than anything else. The tribesmen hunt, and he feasts, nightly. He cares not who passes through his land, or even what they hunt, so long as all who come to his village hear his tale, and pay homage to his greatness. Under his rule, many of the traditions of his tribe have been cast aside. Thurm believes much more that people should see fit to do what they please, so long as it doesn't interfere with his pleasures.

Chieftain Thurm has several wives, and is typically seen in the company of at least one. He trades away his tribe's supplies for wine, and other luxuries. Almost without fail, the winters are hard times for his people, but they get by. He's known to be an amiable fellow, so long as his indulgences are met, and his pride soothed, something the tribe has learned to do long ago. Travellers are generally shunned, but ones seeking passage through his lands are typically sent on quests in lieu of taxes. What they do is rarely laid out in detail. Rather, any who impress Chieftain Thurm with their tribute can expect to share in the food of his table, his wine, and even perhaps, the women of the tribe, should they so choose. During these times, the ogres are rarely seen, but the tribesmen know, are there, waiting for their master's command.

There's a Chaotic Evil that manipulates, and leads a life of excess. Still, as long as he is not challenged, he can be won over, and even be generous, after a sort. Most adventurers aren't ones to question where the feast they eat comes from... In this case, the backs of those he dominates.

He believes cunning to be his power, manipulating ogres into cowing his tribe into submission. And like most chaotic evils, is most concerned with getting his way. As long as his needs are met, he's a big supporter of personal freedom, and not organized enough to think up specific tasks for would-be adventurers.

Kris Strife
2009-10-11, 11:07 AM
I think either the DMG or The Book of Bad Latin had a character idea for a wizard who'd died with out realizing it, and is now a lich, again, completely unaware/in denial of the fact. Supposed to have a kind of absentminded proffessor type personality.

maniakmastah
2009-10-11, 01:01 PM
Well, here's one of my older villains from my campaign. She was one of my favorites, as she displayed a wide variety of emotions and roles.

Nazza, CE Demon-possessed Rogue/Assassin

Many years ago, there once was a little girl named Mary, who lived with her older sister Elizabeth, who worked as a live in maid for the Del Vinas family. The Del Vinas family were a family who delved deep into magic, unafraid of old superstition and the belief that any power, no matter how powerful or how dark, can be harnessed and controlled to benefit the good of mankind. Mary lived happily enough, despite the sometimes hostile looks she'd received, thinking that once the Del Vinas' work was complete, they'll change. But on a cold winter night, her world was shattered for life.

One night Mary woke up to hear the sounds of violence erupting outside her home. Peaking outside her window, she was horrified to see the whole village attacking her home en masse. That's when Elizabeth came into her room and took her with her to hide. Despite the best efforts of the Del Vinas family to try and protect themselves and defuse the situation, the Del Vinas family were taken from their homes, tortured, and burned alive as the angry mob invaded their home. Once the people were finished with looting, they found Elizabeth and Mary, and were dragged from their hiding place and vicious beaten, raped, and murdered Elizabeth before little Mary's eyes before they turned their attention to Mary. As she was suffering Elizabeth's fate as well, a voice called into her head, asking her if she wanted revenge against the people for what they did. Feeling betrayed and angered at the mob's sadism, she agreed vehemently, and this was the last thing she remembered as she felt a sword pierce her heart.

Flash forward to many years later, and suddenly Mary, who had suddenly found herself aged to adulthood, was breathing again. Still remembering how both she and her sister were made to suffer at the hands of a lecherous mob, she wanted their blood and she wanted to make them suffer as much as they made her and her sister suffer. That's when the voice talked to her again, identifying itself as Nazzarene telling her that she can give her the power she wants, all she has to was bind her own soul with this voice's and become one. Left with nothing to lose and revenge to gain, she agrees, and Mary and the evil spirit became one, becoming Nazza.

In the years that Nazzarene and Mary had become one, Nazza had learned the arts of being stealthy and silent with her murders, using sneakiness and guile to get close to those she wants to kill. The treatment she suffered, combined with Nazzarene's own love of pain, has made her quite the sadist, often times breaking victims and prolonging their suffering before killing them, though she also displays masochistic tendencies, often giggling with twisted glee when stabbed or injured. Making good use of Nazzarene's ability to alter her physical form to other humanoids, she learned the arts of seduction and knows exactly how to get intimately close to others before butchering them.

Though physically an adult, mentally Nazza shows child-like tendencies, often times giggling, skipping and singing nursery rhymes even as she's committing the most disturbing of acts, smiling sweetly and brightly even as blood is showering onto her. Not just keen to make her attackers suffer, she feels the whole village is responsible for what happened to her, and shows in killing any man, woman or child who happens to be in her sights when she's "playing". If coming across those who are sympathetic towards her, she often times let's them live and lavishes loving attention towards them (like she used to when Elizabeth was alive), but be forewarned that Nazza's madness is never far from the surface, and if she even thinks that someone is lying to her, she'll make their lives a nightmare with the unbridled malice of a child.

Nazza's most defining traits are her madness and her mood swings. When her madness is at it's lowest, Nazza is quite charming and very charismatic, capable of being very affectionate and loving to those who have gained her favor. Being a skilled rogue and one of the village's best assassins, she knows many underworld connections and (for a price, depending on her mood) can get the PCs all kinds of information, illegal items, steal anything they might need, or kill anyone who is in their way. But at it's worst, Nazza is a violently brutal serial killer who will kill someone for either the smallest slights, imagined ones, or just to watch them die, and those who work with her know to be very careful around her, as she's very good at hiding her expressions if needed. Despite her newfound love of pain and killing, she's still the same scarred little girl who cries herself to sleep, wanting her older sister to come back and make things better.

Depending on how the PCs interact around town, Nazza may either tail them out of idle curiosity to get a general outlook of them, try to hire them to help her in getting her revenge, or set them up to get them out of the picture to keep them out of her way. If they try to fight her, Nazza uses trickery and guile to split up the party, picking them off one at a time before moving to the next victim. Should the PCs do anything to remind her of her sister or how she suffered in the past however, she reacts frighteningly, making that person the primary victim of her wrath.

Tell me what ya'll think.

Rhiannon87
2009-10-11, 01:42 PM
Lena is an example of a character that if I were a player, I would abandon any larger plot to focus entirely on trying to redeem. Kadi is understandable, actually, but I would hate to be around her because of her abrasive nature and acidic humor. I probably wouldn't try too hard to catch her for the murders, because frankly, I think she's right that they deserve it.


I was actually pretty impressed that my players managed to win her over. The main tanks tend to be "hit first, second, and third, then ask questions later while they're tied up and bleeding" types, so I figured they'd end up battering the poor little bard around. But the first time she showed up after they met her grandfather, they were like "hey let's chat" and managed to make convincing enough arguments to at least confuse her. The next conversation they have with her will be tricky... she's confused, which makes her angry, and unless they can convince her otherwise, she might blame the party for confusing her nice simple worldview.

If they do shift her to neutral, I'd like to figure out a way to have her catch up with the party again later in the campaign that doesn't seem really trite or silly, just so they can feel kind of rewarded for Doing Good.

Piedmon_Sama
2009-10-11, 08:00 PM
My favorite villain I've ever made is Finn Conners/Fion Concobar (name is old or modern Irish depending on setting); Chaotic Evil Human Fighter 4/Rogue 3/Assassin 1. Raised in a poor town family, his brother's gambling debts got him in trouble with a street gang. They were impressed when Finn, age 10, settled the debt by stabbing his older brother to death to protect the family, and let him join their ranks. He never saw his family again, but made his reputation as a brutal street-fighter, always ready to play the game of knives to the death, a man with no fear for his own life.

His reputation caught the notice of the Assassins' Guild, who approached him and offered to make him a made man, if he'd kill on their payroll. They should have known better–Finn took the training (murdering a man simply to prove his sincerity), and when he had mastered the secret of their Death Attack, struck out on his own.

Finn loves fighting, to the death best of all. He doesn't waste his time fighting amateurs–precisely why he left the Guild. They'd have had him knifing old men in their bedrooms, no sport in it. And Finn won't have anyone telling him what to do. He's a complete hedonist, indulging in whatever he can grab between fights, and always moving to new places (a man like him can't afford to stay in one place too long). Finn is always utterly true to his word, usually given in death threats, but when he meets a man he respects (even if it's someone he's about to kill) he lets the man know. He lives the way he chooses, no compromises, never forgets his word, doesn't bother to bully the weak, and never backs down even from an unwinnable fight.

I just know if I get a chance to play this character again, he's gonna be dead in two sessions, but all the same it'll be a ton of fun.

EDIT: And, in case anyone thinks I'm missing the point of the thread, I maintain this character could work comfortably in a party of any alignment skew. Maybe not with a RAW-Paladin (I always ignore the association rule, it's stupid) but otherwise fine.

Flying Dutchman
2009-10-12, 11:08 AM
This was my char from my last campagin I had him on the sheet as a true neutral but I guess he may have been neutral evil.

Fonkin Nackel: Gnome Trasmutation Wizard



His father owned a trading outpost in the desert, and was rasing Fonkin to take over the family buisness. However Fonkin was more worried about studing magic with his gradfather. His grandfather was loved illision magic and tried to instill that love into Fonkin but Illision magic was only about changing peoples perceptions Fonkin wanted to accualy change the world to manipulate matter it's self. Knowing that he could never persue his love of magic from his home He decieded he would go to the college of magic in the swaps. He stoed away on a Caravan headed to the swamps and was caught.


He was brought before Mathe the half-elf who owned the caravan, who owned a giant bazzar in the swaps. Mathe is sort of a mob boss in the world He is in the busniess of information and runs alor of smuggling oporations as well. When Fonkin was brought before Mathe and asked if he had any talents, he turned Mathe's cat into a tiger. Mathe being in a cheery mood that day Offered Fonkin a place an an enforcer for him. Fonkin told math that if he let him go to magic school he would work for mathe for 4 years for every year he was gone. Mathe agreed and paid for Fonkin to go to the magic college Fonkin garduated in only 4 years, Then came back an fufilled his promise.

He worked as hired muscle bulling people and elimanting competition. Fonkin feels no remorse for the people he kills, He cares only about his magic. Fonkin comes to love the life as Mathes enforcer. Mathe pays very well and Fonkin loves the wine and women that come with the job for working with someone below the law. Fonkin also has alot of time between missions and spends his days studing his magic at his leasiure. When his years are up, he deiceds to stay on and work for Mathe on the long term. Doing anything he is asked. He is a cold hard gnome, but not one who seeks to injure others, but someone who will do so to support his life style.

ondonaflash
2009-10-12, 03:26 PM
A good example of Acceptable Evil is a Evil Person who doesn't attempt to harm the party, or isn't plotting to destroy the world. A politician, such as a duke, or a lord who is trying to raise his station, he's willing to do anything to climb the ladder of succession, only becomes a villain if you assume he is unique, and that everybody above and below him on that ladder isn't exactly the same.

With that in mind I propose the Iron King:

It was a time of chaos, the government that had ruled the world for millenia had just collapsed, causing order to break down, and the world to fall back to its primal urges. A disaster of cataclysmic proportions had brought an end to the savagery and the world was ruled by despotic city states. The most powerful of these states was the one that traced its lineage to the previous empire. They were corrupt and indolent, and ruled their people through fear and magic. Rather than wage a war for themselves they found the Iron King.

The Iron King was a cunning and ruthless general, he fought his way through four out of the five major countries on one continent, but disappeared before he could defeat the fifth.

In the six months he had been missing his "superiors" had divided up the lands conquered, and taken to warring among themselves for control. When he returned he was quite upset. He declared his intentions to invade them, and when their first armies came through ambushed them and slaughtered them at a mountain pass. He used their corpses as "straw men" to bolster the appearance of his forces at the first keep, and then allowed the second army through to attack the keep, he then closed in from behind and pinched them against it.

Having defeated two armies, he executed the officers and conscripted the enlisted. He conquered the first nation by allowing the wizard in control to teleport into his camp, where his men through enchanted chains around him and speared him to death. When his armies marched on the nations capital with the corpse of the opposition's leader as their banner all resistance fell away.

Through similar tactics he executed and conquered each nation in turn, by going further than the opposition thought he would, by out smarting and outfighting them. Finally he declared himself High King, ruler of the entire continent. He appointed 5 Kings to rule under him, from his own personal retinue, and forbade them from having any standing military force larger than 500 units per city, as defined by population.

When a council of nobles approached him, demanding that the people (read: They) have a voice in the government, each noble suffered a tragic, and fatal accident in their home, while the High King's armies were safely housed in their barracks (The High King had a standing army, pointing out that laws made by a King do not apply to a king). When the Burning Duke invaded from the north the Iron King trapped his forces in a ravine, while a storm raged 5 miles uphill. He had the Duke drawn and quartered as a public spectacle, and declared that the "security of the sword", that is, the right of a noble to be executed by their own sword, would be denied to any and all revolutionaries.

When wood elves kidnapped his son for ransom he attacked them and freed his child, and then proceeded to surround the forest that was the wood elves' ancestral home and torch them, killing any wood elves who fled.

He had is two eldest sons poisoned, so succession would go to his third.

But most importantly he kept the peace. He kept the people safe. Law breakers were treated harshly, swiftly, and efficiently. He maintained order and worked to bring about a peaceful empire, that could grow and become more than it was.

"I had my two eldest sons put to death for this nation and by the gods I'm not going to let you destroy it!"

Count Dravda
2009-11-30, 08:28 PM
Just came up with another one. I guess this is a bump.

Pandus (CE male human Urban Ranger 5/Assassin 8)

Pandus is a sniper who sells his services to a corrupt nobleman who needs people taken care of, and he isn't shy about selling his services to other bidders. His specialty is high-profile, visible assassinations in broad daylight (such as at a theater or during a parade), after which he uses his assassin spells and natural abilities to slip away.

Pandus is a pseudo-intellectual who considers himself an "artist" and fancies himself a philosopher warrior. His true interests are good food, comfortable living, and pretty girls, but he manages to legitimize his lifestyle to others with florid and poetic language. When he isn't killing, he's spending his money eating, smoking, and leering at wenches while discussing politics with people who look up to him, or at least don't make him feel insecure.

His targets will include anyone, from a beggar who saw something he shouldn't have to a benevolent priest to a vicious killer. Because of this, he could easily be tracking the same villain the PCs are. An alliance of necessity could be forged, and, during the fighting, one of the PCs might save his life.

In such a situation, he decides that he "owes" the PC in question a favor, and tries to repay his debt using the way most obvious to him: by brutally slaughtering anyone who inconveniences the PCs. Chaos surrounds the party as kill after brutal kill takes place around them, seemingly at random. His targets are the surly innkeeper, the obstinate clerk, the guard who had a bad day, and the reformed villain the PCs set back on the right path.

The scenario might spiral out of control, as the authorities realize that the only factor in common with the killings is the PCs. Putting a stop to it isn't easy, either, since no one knows who Pandus really is, or how to contact (let alone reason with) him.

This one's kind of more a scenario than just a bad guy, but I kind of like it. It's inspired by Celesto Morgan from Dominic Deegan (http://www.dominic-deegan.com/).

-Count Dravda