Heroes from villains

[killianh]

I've been wanting to run a party against an elder evil for a while and I have a new campaign running now. I hope to set up the initial encounters to start that part off within a few sessions. My problem is that the party decided to go evil for this run since we haven't done an evil campaign in a while.

I'm hoping to put them against The Worm That Walks but the trouble I'm finding is how to hook the party into helping out (other than outside of standard greed).

The party is the "ransack the village, torture the innocent" types, though usually only to accomplish whatever goal is before them (other than one time when said goal was to alleviate the boredom of the party after a month long travel).

long story short: how do a make a group of self serving characters fight against the Worm that Walks without simply bribing them?

[Crustypeanut]

What is the WtW's overall goal, or have you decided on that yet? Perhaps he's destroying villages that the players would have preferred to ransack themselves.. or perhaps letting him achieve his goal would ruin their destructive fun?

Or, perhaps the WtW has taken his own interest in the players and attempts to kill them, as he may believe they're a possible threat.. despite being evil themselves.. which would prompt them to kill the bastard trying to kill them.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Remind them that evil isn't one big happy family.

The arrival of an elder evil is bad for everyone that's not that elder evil or one of its servants. Just give them a reason to think it would go against their interests if they don't put a stop to it.

Fair warning: evil V evil can, and should, get downright nasty. I hope your comfort zone isn't too narrow to do it justice.

[olentu]

For the most part people don't really want to die a horrible death. You just need to make them realize the threat to their lives that an unleashed elder evil would pose. Well, unless you consider wanting to live standard greed.

[Ardantis]

I say you capitalize on their "petty" evil by luring them into the cult dedicated to summoning the Worm. Promise them cash and prizes (treasure and power) but gently amp up what is asked of them.

Basically, upgrade their J.V. evil to VARSITY evil. This should make players uncomfortable, show them the consequence of playing evil, and result either in the disgusted characters fighting against the cult OR the twisted, depraved characters summoning the Worm and then having to battle it for their own survival.

Either way, it's a campaign. You need to be O.K. with such frightening concepts as groupthink, assimilation, and corruption. This will turn an action campaign into a horror campaign rather quickly, but then again, you are dealing with Lovecraft.

[Maquise]

I recommend taking a look at the Compacts from Black Crusade. The game is basically about playing fairly nasty characters, and the Compacts are a way of making all of them agree to stop fighting each other and stay focused on a common goal.

[Karoht]

They go to try and work FOR WtW.
He laughs in the face of their petty 'evil'
He then proceeds to... [insert horrible act performed upon the party, possibly killing one party member, possibly just torturing one for no real reason but fun]
...and decides to show them what real evil is capable of.


Doesn't WtW slowly fill the world with insects which indescriminantly bite any living flesh they find? Or am I thinking of a different elder evil?
Usually having the elder evil start doing things like that will force the party to deal with the threat.
IE-If they are attacked every day by insect swarms and giant insects due to WtW, then yeah, they aren't likely to be friendly to it in the first place.

[Wise Green Bean]

Ya know, if I were the high priest of an elder god and saw a bunch of stupid, powerful, potentially dangerous to my master adventurers running around, it might occur to me what excellent sacrifices they'd make...and I doubt the big worm will be to chuffed after the 'heroes' trash the temple.