PDA

View Full Version : Motivating Good and Evil at the same time



The Glyphstone
2009-10-10, 10:21 PM
What sort of plots/plot hooks would you use to interest a party composed of both Good and Evil characters? Assume that they are capable of working together or at least cooperating for the time being - no Stupid Evil or Lawful Anal here, but still approach the world with either personal selfishness or selflessness.

Glyde
2009-10-10, 10:26 PM
Overthrowing a corrupt government for revenge/righteousness/fairness?

Drakyn
2009-10-10, 10:30 PM
You could go with mutual endangerment forcing cooperation - "we're all screwed unless we hang together, like it or not" - but that'd fall apart pretty fast once the imminent, plot-starting danger's past, unless it's either very prolonged (some kind of apocalypse campaign) or they find a damned good reason to stick together by the time the crisis is over.
Or maybe all the party members are hired for the same job, or have a mutual target or foe - enemy of the enemy is my sort-of-kind-of-acquaintance-whom-I-cannot-quite-conceal-my-distaste-for. Nothing stopping a bunch of heartless SOBS from hating undead just as fervently as a party of paladins, or moreso if they have the right backstory.

Je dit Viola
2009-10-10, 10:31 PM
I would do:

Save the world from the Demon Orc Vampire Things that have 'Smite Evil' and use ten times a Day!

--Saving the world for the Good
--Not being destroyed for the Neutral
--Daily Value of Bloodlust for the Evil.

Mewtarthio
2009-10-10, 10:36 PM
Money. Everybody likes money. Or, more generally, power.

Blue Ghost
2009-10-10, 10:39 PM
Generally, good characters would not go for adventures that violate their principles, while evil characters would not go for something that give them no personal gain. So any kind of adventure that involves helping (or at least not hurting) others, with a promise of reward, would work.

Zeta Kai
2009-10-10, 10:43 PM
I made this monster (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116356) to be a viable antagonist for parties of any alignment. Chaotic Neutral & Chaotic Evil enemies are always fun options. Remember, Evil is not monolithic, so an evil party can & will find reason to fight an evil antagonist.

Leewei
2009-10-10, 10:44 PM
I once played a Neutral Good cleric of Pelor in a party with a Neutral Evil Wizard/Oracle of Vecna. He kept his secrets fairly well -- I always figured in-character that he was a True Neutral with issues. The BBEG was my enemy and his competition.

Keshay
2009-10-10, 10:48 PM
Best motivation for anyone anywhere: threaten thier loved ones, or in lieu of loved ones, thier lives.

Everyone likes living.

Zeta Kai
2009-10-10, 10:56 PM
Everyone likes living.

Have you seen the suicide rates lately? :smalltongue:

Grumman
2009-10-10, 11:45 PM
Best motivation for anyone anywhere: threaten thier loved ones, or in lieu of loved ones, thier lives.
I have to disagree. First, it punishes the players for being trusting enough to create loved ones that you could use as RP-hooks. Second, for some character concepts it is more blatant DM fiat than others - any character who specialises in killing mages isn't going to be the sort of person the NPCs can find, let alone threaten. And third, being PCs, they are probably the sort of people who don't take well to blackmail anyway.

Mewtarthio got the right answer, in my opinion. Everyone loves loot, and any self-respecting baddie who recognises that adventuring is a fast and bloody path to riches and unlimited cosmic power is going to appreciate that. As long as they aren't questing to stop their own allies or interests, a great big pile of trade goods is going to make anyone happy.

Tyndmyr
2009-10-11, 05:28 AM
Generally, good characters would not go for adventures that violate their principles, while evil characters would not go for something that give them no personal gain. So any kind of adventure that involves helping (or at least not hurting) others, with a promise of reward, would work.

Depends. If they're both on the lawful side of the spectrum, and those lawful systems mesh at all, it's quite possible that they could end up motivated for a completely lawful reason.

I dunno how often this happens in practice, since it seems many people use the evil alignment as an excuse to act completely selfishly, but in principle, it could happen.

Gamerlord
2009-10-11, 08:15 AM
Let them start out in a tavern, let them try to start a brawl between each other "Because he is good" "Because he is evil" But send an unstoppable force to destroy the town before they kill each other, they HAVE to flee, once they are in the woods, they don't really have any supplies, little food, little drink, and spellcasters are low on magic.

Good: Will want to warn other towns and also get revenge for those who died in the attack
Neutral: Just wants to live and get back at the unstoppable army of doom
Evil: Flee to live another day and get revenge