Ways to play an evil character?

[Drizzcon]

Going to be starting an evil campaign and I will be playing the wizard. Our party is all going to be tied together based on mutual need. But I'm not sure how to play my character in rp situations. I don't want to take it super seriously because things can get really creepy and weird at that point, but I don't want to be like a stupid comic book villain. So I'm looking for some ideas and suggestions on how an evil wizard could be played rp wise avoiding the aforementioned issues.

[ArcturusV]

Well... I'd see the major issue being that you're working backwards on it. You're thinking "How do I play Evil?"

The question I'd usually ask is: "WHY am I evil?"

Course you don't want to go too far into creep land, as you said. So my usual solution of "Normal responses turned to 11 on the crazy scale" probably is not something you'd want to do.

Like an Evil Wizard I had. Tragedy took his wife, almost took his daughter. He went insane. Found "religion", thinks his daughter is dead, not his wife, and that his daughter is his wife. And seeks to resurrect his daughter, who he thinks is Soul Trapped somehow, by going out and killing people who have features in common with his former daughter, and using those pieces to construct a golem, free her soul and call it to inhabit the golem (Which would be tough enough that he believes he'd never need fear losing her again).

His situation is Normal enough (Sans things like Witches and Curses being involved in his tragedy). He was a family man who lost his daughter and is grief stricken. Pop psychobabble would probably say he's stuck on that Bargaining Phase, or Denial phase of Grief. But the solution of going out like the boogeyman through villages, carving up people who remind him of his daughter, harvesting their parts and preserving them for use in a patchwork Flesh Golem? Very crazy. And Evil.

But you don't want to go that route I don't think. Least probably not anything that Creepy Evil.

But the formula still stands. Find something that your character would Want, then a reason why he needs to be evil to accomplish it. Easier if he's evil? Evil is the only way that offers the power to do what he needs? His master was Evil and warped his teachings so he thinks of "Evil" stuff as just the natural way to do things? "Oh Sacrificing Orphans... is there NOTHING you can't accomplish?"

So yeah. tl;dr: Find a character driven reason why Evil is acceptable to you, rather than finding a way to make an Evil character work as you wish.

[Kazuel]

You have mastered the arcane arts and reality bends to your will. You have no remorse for those you harm, they are beneath you. No one laments the ant hill that is destroyed when a farmer plows his field. You are the farmer and everyone else is mere ants.

Now just because you have no remorse does not mean you get pleasure from it. You don't go out of your way to destroy the orphanage but you wouldn't hesitate to level it if your enemy were inside.

[MirddinEmris]

Or you can just be realistically evil - be selfish and don't really care about others. Complete lack of compassion without trying to actively "Be Evil" - for example, he don't enjoy slaughtering innocent people, but if it's the most efficient solution...well, what can i do? Also you could care about some people (your party members, for example) and will try to come up with the plans where they don't end up hurt, but just don't give a single fossil about other people. And remember that no sane person older that midteen would call himself "Evil", people usually have justification for every thing they do, no matter how horrible that thing is, sometimes this justifications can be obviously insane and bizarre ("My gods tell me to kill young girls"), sometimes less so ("I did what was best when no other dared so, they will see that i was right"). remember that your character is a person first and alignment second :smallwink:

[Twilightwyrm]

This depends on how evil you want to play this character. There is a Lawful Evil wizard in my campaign who is only evil by virtue of being overly ruthless in both his pursuits, and overly inclined towards killing people/things that get in his way/for minor slights. If you want to be evil, but not exceptionally evil, all you really need to do is remorselessly Belker Claws people that pickpocket/insult you and leave their corpses to rot in an alley.

[Gildedragon]

Going to be starting an evil campaign and I will be playing the wizard. Our party is all going to be tied together based on mutual need. But I'm not sure how to play my character in rp situations. I don't want to take it super seriously because things can get really creepy and weird at that point, but I don't want to be like a stupid comic book villain. So I'm looking for some ideas and suggestions on how an evil wizard could be played rp wise avoiding the aforementioned issues.

+1 to arcturus's advice

additional advice:
1) Don't help anyone if there isn't anything in it for you
1a) Always find something. Even if it is "increase my fame and reknown so as to boost my social clout." or "People that are seen as good get trusted more, and trust is power"
2) Taking captives is for chumps. Letting an enemy loose, or showing them mercy, is likely to bite you in the back
2a) Being actively ruthless when your companions are being merciful reflects poorly on you. Speak your two cents about not taking captives. But follow along with the concensus, and say 'I told you so' when mercy inevitably backfires.
2c) Do not advocate mercy, but be measured in your reactions. A loaf of bread thief doesn't necesarily deserve death. But a good scare or a painful curse is punishment enough.
3) Set curses on your gear. if it gets stolen the thief gets something nasty you COULD reverse, but won't (see #1)
4)"Ends justify the means" is not only true, but self evident
5) It is better to be feared than to be loved. But avoid being hated.
5a) Being loved is very useful nonetheless
6)See about getting a white cat familiar, stroke it often while holding it to your chest

[ArcturusV]

Well that or go for the POWAAA route and be an Evil Wizard who likes to harvest his own Agony, sacrifice people instead of pay XP, etc. All very evil stuff. (Heck, Agony requires torturing people for hours/days. Saccing people to use their souls to power magic items is pretty much pinnacle of evil). If you're not concerned with the Why of Evil, so much as the How of Evil. Just doing that is minor enough in the actions and behaviors that you won't go around kicking random orphans or eating puppies just to keep your "EVIL" tag at all times. And it makes you a slightly more effective Wizard while you're at it.

[Rhynn]

It's like any other character, with an extra step (or a specification to a step):

1. What does my character want?
2. What flaw in my character causes him to go too far in pursuit of what he wants?

That's it, pretty much. Hey presto, evil character.

Raistlin wants to be a god, and detests people in general enough to treat them as toys with no value in his pursuit, betraying anyone.

Ted Bundy wants to satisfy his sick urges, and thinks he is so clever he can avoid the consequences and do whatever he wants.

An evil executive wants to be rich and powerful, and fundamentally doesn't respect other people and will do anything to remove obstacles from his way.

A generic serial killer wants that thrill and is unable to control himself.

And so on.

Some make worse PCs in a RPG than others, depending on the campaign set-up.

[Jbr208]

You have mastered the arcane arts and reality bends to your will. You have no remorse for those you harm, they are beneath you. No one laments the ant hill that is destroyed when a farmer plows his field. You are the farmer and everyone else is mere ants.

Now just because you have no remorse does not mean you get pleasure from it. You don't go out of your way to destroy the orphanage but you wouldn't hesitate to level it if your enemy were inside.

This is a great explanation.

Powerful men aren't concerned with the rabble beyond finding ways to make those plebeians benefit their betters. Evil characters can do good things from time to time, but the motivation/long-term plan betrays the act itself. For example an evil wizard saves a village from goblins for the sake of enslaving the village's exceptional artisans. He saved a lot of lives, because it allowed him to gain valuable human capital.

Evil is not always active, a character can self-identify as Evil because of the desires and thoughts in their head without necessarily acting upon the worst of them. These thoughts might leak out when talking about particular subjects, emphasizing particular words/thoughts, or perhaps trying just a little too hard to not appear Evil in public. The latter tends to be important, because the success of many great evil deeds can easily hinge upon the public belief that the perpetrator is Good or working towards a positive end. A key phrase for Evil characters as I know them: "The ends justify the means."

Those are just a couple thoughts I've had when writing characters for RPG's and short stories.

[NeoPhoenix0]

The best evil character i RPed was a CE Sorcerer. He got to be lv 15 and very powerful. He was evil because he did things without consideration for the effects on other people including loss of life. He abused his power to have fun. on the average day he wouldn't go out of his way to cause mayhem and destruction but would tinker and make plans for things he thought were awesome such as a flouting gothic cathedral with a black dragon stain glass window in front and a white dragon stain glass window in the back, he never got around to it. In his adventuring he would do things that he though were fun. If he had to destroy a bridge so people couldn't follow he would fabricate a colossal quarterstaff as a monument to the event. He thought about starting a holiday to himself for the kobalds who treated him like a celebrity. It involved freezing a random village solid on a random day of the year but he never had time for it. In general he would use his power and mastery of the arcane to do a lot of small often insignificant and inane things in stupidly flashy and often funny ways.

Of course he was also very intelligent for a sorcerer and not a person to be treated lightly.

Edit: this person was surprisingly wizard like to, he even had a tower with permanent force wall reinforcement and also crafted magic items. he crafted the party's magic gear and broke the WBL scale but mainly used this to fund inane projects.

[Oontarg]

Just throwing in my copper, if you plan on playing an evil character don't

Don't dwell on subjects like how you are torturing an NPC(just say you are). Anything evil you do you don't have elaborate on. It creates an uncomfortable and in my opinion unhealthy game experience .

[Vknight]

"Look around, evil, good, law, chaos heh it does not matter.
I built this library for all the knowledge of the world collections of poetry, stories, art, plays, adventures, scrolls, and spells.
I don't care about your petty Good and its need to destroy those who are evil.
I don't care for the madness caused by Chaos.
I don't care for Law and its demands of codes.
Evil I care not for why rule, destroy what have you of the world?
No, I want one things knowledge, its collection and entirety of all that is, can, and will be."
Valspear, NE Lich, Wizard

Sometimes its not having all the power, all the armies, destruction or conquest.
Sometimes a evil character wants knowledge and will go to extremes for this knowledge.
Valspear is a good example of this his evil only coming from his willingness to start wars to collect documents from a kingdoms ashes. Murder, Revenge are not motives for him no he can wait a century come too your family and call up 'your debt'.

Some villains don't need to be doing something actively evil, just that when given the options they will resort to cruelest and most efficient manner.

[Rhynn]

Don't dwell on subjects like how you are torturing an NPC(just say you are). Anything evil you do you don't have elaborate on. It creates an uncomfortable and in my opinion unhealthy game experience .

That depends on the group. If me and my mates can watch Ichi the Killer together, we can probably go into some specifics about gruesome torture without ill effect. Some people just aren't very bothered by imaginary violence.

[tadkins]

(Posted from the other thread)

Play as a wizard who is willing to go to any lengths to get what they want. Disregard morals, use fear/bully tactics, regularly use evil spells and if possible, prolong the suffering of your enemies.

Definitely be smart about it, though. You might be evil but you're a wizard, the brainiac of the group! Don't be afraid to be discreet, reserved and subtle when the situation calls for it.

[Blightedmarsh]

I am evil; because I am human.
Humans are neutral evil. QED.

People always told you to be true to yourself; that true happiness grows from knowing and being happy in and of your self. Why should you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of other peoples sense of propriety? Particularly when there is no evidence that the alternative is any better; that the beings laying down the laws are any better or know any better. Their way does not make you happy, and if it does not make you happy it isn't right.

[asnys]

You could go for ideology. Your character is (in their eyes) a good, morally upright person. But establishing the glorious People's Republic / overthrowing the tyrannical deities of the multiverse / properly venerating Vecna will require some sacrifices. And it's not like the noble / cleric of Heironeous / blasphemer against Vecna didn't have it coming.

Admittedly, the existence of Detect Evil spells makes it harder to believe yourself LG when you're LE, but people are good at doublethink. And this makes it easier to explain why you're both evil and not back-stabbing your friends at the first opportunity.

[mangosta71]

Your character doesn't have to be a sadistic monster to be evil. You can be the pragmatist in the group. You don't set orphanages on fire, but if you see one burning down your reaction is "It doesn't affect me, and I could get hurt trying to do something about it." You can be compassionate and empathetic, but not willing to risk yourself or spend your time/resources doing anything to actually help. You might even object to torture on the grounds that information gotten that way is unreliable - much better to simply ask, ruthlessly cut the person down if he doesn't answer, then ask his buddy that you captured with him (of course, you'll also kill his buddy after getting what information you can out of him, because you don't want someone with a grudge running around behind you). You also consider your party members valuable resources, only to be expended when the benefits outweigh the costs.

[ArcturusV]

It's not even all that duplicitous. As a Wizard, he would only have a faint aura at best. He could always try Durkon's/Roy's line about "Oh, I'm really a good guy, it's just that I have this magic staff I looted from a monster I killed and he was so evil that it must be making me ping evil".

Plus only the person casting Detect would know. So unless he detected himself in a mirror (I don't even think that works actually), he could always just default to "He's lying, he just doesn't like me because I don't kiss the same butts that he does".

I mean he's a Wizard so there's not going to be some big dramatic thing to prove he's evil, like thinking he's a Lawful Neutral Cleric of St. Cuthbert and losing his cleric powers because he's actually Lawful Evil. Or Paladin Falling, or something overt that he cannot really deny... or at least not look really feeble and pathetic as he denies it.

[7thW1ckedness]

-never show mercy when a double-tap can eliminate a problem.

-Dress well. Evil is always dressed well.

[PaucaTerrorem]

Two bits:
Just did a one-off last night due to lack of main party members and our newest, least imaginative, boring player made a NE rogue.
First thing he(she) did was to flirt with a huge orc, get him drunk, rat poison him, and then as the orc was outside hurling his guts onto the fecal pile that served as this towns outhouse our rogue slit the orc's achilles tendon so he couldn't fight in the upcoming contest.
Next night she proceeded to burn the inn down to serve as a distraction while we escaped from the thugs that were trying to break into our room.

He made all of us so proud.

[Rubik]

-Dress well. Evil is always dressed well.Ahem.http://scene.sg/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/the-drew-carey-show-kathy-kinney-2.jpg

Basically, figure out what your motivations are. Make them viable in a party, and ensure that they play well (enough) with others. You're a person, not an alignment.

An example of one of my characters from this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288056):


I made a LE goblin that fit into a party of Good-aligned characters rather well. He had a vile temper and enjoyed humiliating and tormenting others before he killed them (lording his mental superiority over them all the while), but he didn't want to hide in the shadows or be hunted down by the authorities or his enemies.

So what did he do? He joined an adventuring group and pointed them at his targets like a tactical nuclear missile. He tended to make enemies of powerful Evil people because his ego clashed with theirs quite a lot, so it didn't take much to convince the party that it was the right thing to do. He used the frequent fights to vent his rage at the world and even risked himself for his newfound friends on occasion because he knew they risked themselves on his behalf quite a bit more, and giving to others is the best way to get in return (albeit only if it's the right kind of "others").

He even managed to join the BBEG's side and still remained loyal to his party, since she was convinced he'd turned traitor on them when she threatened him and forced him into the role of mole. What she didn't realize was that he was playing both sides off each other for his own personal gain the whole time. Granted, he liked his friends more so they came out ahead more often than not, but he orchestrated situations where it appeared to the BBEG as though he was working against them for her benefit.

The other players (and their characters) found him invaluable, though occasionally a bit trying. Still, even when he managed to collect all the Artifacts of Ultimate Power and slaughtered the BBEG by himself (not using the Artifacts, BTW -- spellcasters FTW), he still attempted to keep in their good graces, as they'd grown on him by that point.

That was a fun campaign.

Basically, the moral of the story is that if he can play an evil character that has goals and motivations, and can act in a way that's beneficial, helpful, and useful to the party, without dragging them down the MUAHAHAHAHAHA path of EEEEEVIL, then you probably ought to consider letting him play evil.

[Blackhawk748]

Basically, the moral of the story is that if he can play an evil character that has goals and motivations, and can act in a way that's beneficial, helpful, and useful to the party, without dragging them down the MUAHAHAHAHAHA path of EEEEEVIL, then you probably ought to consider letting him play evil.

But the MWAHAHAHAHAHA is the best part :smalltongue: Well monologuing is a good skill to have, i find it fun anyway.

I only played an evil character for an extended time once, it was a Lizardfolk Sorcerer who was a necromancer, and he lived in a swamp with a half-leprechaun (who was nuts by the way). we didnt burn down towns, we didnt slaughter orphans, we didnt sacrifice virgins (the leprechaun may have tried at some point though) what we did do is ruthlessly kill anyone who trespassed into MY (not our) swamp. They got one warning then after that i sicked the bone guardians on them (skeletal wolves) or some of my ghouls (who ironically indirectly protected a nearby village by eating goblins and thus keeping their population down) so all in all NE light, but if you walked into his swamp trying to kill him or his minions he would grab you with Telekinesis , slam you into a tree, hurl you into a rock, stuff your head into the muck, pull you out before you drowned, then have you eaten alive by ghouls.

I swear he was a nice enough guy before a group of adventurers tried to kill him because he was "evil"

[Hanuman]

Politician, lexx luthor, mad scientist, inhumane.

[angry_bear]

Just because you're evil, doesn't mean you have to be a jerk. A smile and a handshake is just as effective as torturing a rival into submission.

Don't be afraid to perform some price gouging, and market control (Murdering, intimidating, or enslaving that rival good aligned group) when questing. It can be just as evil as burning a village to the ground for the lulz when done right.