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View Full Version : How should I play my Lawful Evil Rogue?



Templarkommando
2016-05-07, 09:46 PM
First, this is not a question about mechanics nearly so much as it is a question about how you think I should roleplay a character.

Okay, we're playing Pathfinder and my half-elf rogue is level 2. My concept is that the character is a skill monkey crossed with Frank Underwood from House of Cards. Let me give you kind of a rundown of what my character has done RP-wise to give you something more of a picture.

In the first session, my character was trying out to be a member of a mercenary/A-Team type group called the Gray Guard. In addition to the mercenary and A-Team style aspects, it's also something of a police academy. So, one of the teachers approaches my character on the day of the final and tells him that he could better his chances for being accepted if he were to let other test-takers die. This is intensely suspicious to my character, and so I immediately set out investigating this teacher. I waited around her office after she left to see if anything developed and then went in and rifled through her desk. I found a lot of letters, but the most important one was a letter that had been sent from a local Lord that is something of a black sheep. I had my dirt. The problem now was that I needed to confront her and lay out my blackmail scheme. Students were all supposed to be locked away in the dormitory at this point, so if anyone spotted me I would be sent to the dorm with marks against me. To avoid this, I first considered disguising myself as a peasant, but soon discovered that peasants weren't being let into the area where the teacher was waiting for the tests to begin. So, I sneaked into the barracks and borrowed a guard uniform in order to approach her. Just as she was getting out of a meeting, I told her (while disguised) that I had a message for her, but that I couldn't give it to her while anyone else was around. We waited for the other teachers and staff to clear off at which point I revealed myself and the fact that I had evidence that she was receiving overtures from a person that wasn't well liked by the Gray Guard, and that for the low low price of her absolute and unwavering loyalty, no one would ever need to find out. This did not sit well with her, and she sneered at me and told me that I had made a grave mistake by betraying her. I went back to the barracks to return the armor that I had borrowed and then returned stealthily to the student dorm to discover that she had ordered me murdered, but that her lackeys had instead targeted the wrong student. He was dead on my characters' bed from poison. In a panic, I quickly sent for the Lord Steward of the castle that we were in and I confessed everything that I had done. It just so happened that a local Paladin was visiting the castle, and while he severely disliked my character after casting detect evil, in his best judgment I hadn't actually broken any of the keeps' laws. (I guess that blackmail isn't a thing here... I dunno) The Pally cast detect truth on me and I told him the whole story from the beginning and then he asked me some questions. All of these I answered truthfully.

The end result was that the evil teacher was jailed and that my character joined the Gray Guard with everyone being suspicious of him. Basically, the Baron that rules the keep believes that he has the resources to control my character, and that I may have gotten away with the blackmail attempt given slightly different circumstances - I'm guessing that he needs a good spy or two. Let me put down some of my character's plans right now:

1. Don't betray good people. Not because it's good and right, but because good people are less likely to betray you.

2. Consolidate my abilities until I can increase my own political power (whatever form that might take).

3. Look like a force of righteousness while not necessarily being one. (as per Machiavelli)

4. Perform any services required of me by my temporal masters in order to increase my own standing.

5. An adventuring party is a means to power. For this reason (among others) my plan is to be generally benevolent to my fellows.

So.. here's my question... What specifically would you do while playing this character? How would you achieve some political power? How would you earn the trust of your party members and overlords? How would you blackmail or extort people into working for you?

Gildedragon
2016-05-07, 10:51 PM
To begin with: your word is adamant, you are trustworthy because if you say you are doing something it is as good as done: no excuses, just results.
Power will come as you are trusted more and more, as you establish a net of favors and trust. You've done so much that you can go into their office and say "You know, you and I, we have history together. How many times have I saved your hide? pulled off the impossible? Made secrets and problems go away? ... Look I need <favor>. Thanks, and, by the way. That job you asked me to do, just finished it this morning" and they will not say no, because you know all their secrets and you are indispensable.

Blackmail and extortion are only a small factor. first appeal to their self interest. You can make their problems go away.
But for extorting: present the price for having their secret being kept as a small one "just let me know who comes visit the dutchess... and anything you might hear, and I make sure no one finds out you've been stealing the silver to pay for your aunt's medicine. In fact, there's a couple gold in it for you if the information is juicy"

MintyNinja
2016-05-08, 07:31 PM
If you're roleplaying a mastermind then don't keep many details written down IC. But keep an extensive log of what you've done for who OOC. Review it every so often and add gathered information here. That way you might find solutions to complicated problems in the most unexpected of people. Maybe use your influence to the good of the group once in a while, just so they don't think about trying to curtail your influence.

Don't be afraid to trade up your favors. An example of this would be using a favor from one source to create a favor from a more powerful source. That's why you have the favors in the first place.

Honest Tiefling
2016-05-08, 07:54 PM
So.. here's my question... What specifically would you do while playing this character? How would you achieve some political power? How would you earn the trust of your party members and overlords? How would you blackmail or extort people into working for you?

You don't! See, you already got the paladin keeping an eye on you. And he's probably told everyone in his order of the Holy Stick Up You Know Where. One more slip up and you could end up getting into a lot of trouble. What you need to do is to play low until they find bigger fish to fry. Your master also probably sees you as expendable, which might be one reason you were spared. You keep the loyal spies around you, and you send the crafty ones where they'll need their wits to survive.

You should also convince the paladin that you had other reasons to black mail the teacher. You could have turned her in, but you didn't know who if anyone would listen to your evidence. So you used underhanded tricks to try to get closer to the REAL plot. Someone wants to weaken the kingdom by letting good potential go to waste by having recruits murder each other. Isn't it better to lie and pretend to blackmail (which is so totally what you were doing, really!) to uncover the plot before more recruits are killed off?

Your reputation, at the moment, is crap. You need to convince these people that you're just too valuable to get rid of, especially if you keep pinging Detect evil radar. Get to the point where even the paladin thinks you're too useful to smite. Maybe even tease a bit of the 'I can change' routine in there to string them along.

Templarkommando
2016-05-09, 03:03 AM
I'm liking these answers. Thanks for your input.

Geddy2112
2016-05-09, 01:09 PM
I would be exactly like Frank Underwood-have two faces. You should have the outside that you show the world. Your rules help keep that mask and disguise from being breached. People should know and think of you as no less than the VERY BEST PERSON around. So the best way to gain political power, trust, and people to extort and blackmail is to play by the book. You be the good friend, the helping hand, and eventually you become the trusted confidant. Your friend will let their guard down around you and the dirt will start coming out. You will be the shoulder to cry on and after one too many drinks they talk about an affair they had. Or you are the guy they can call at 2am to bury a body no questions asked. They trust you cause you earned it, and you are sitting on all that trust and clout until you can trade/use it to get ahead. Information, like gold or friendship, is a commodity.

About not betraying and being benevolent, you know as a manager/ruler/despot in training that good help is hard to find. All but the nutter evil psychopaths want allies/pawns/help, even if you just plan on disposing of them later. You also know that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Those trusting fools are lambs to your slaughter, and you gather/kill them with kindness first. Acting as a beacon of righteousness gets more good PR-just like Frank. His campaign promises to be this good noble hero are what the people see, but you know the true power is a shady backroom deal and all of that front is just BS to get power. Doing services asked of you will naturally increase your standing and trust, but also makes you look like you do good and honest work by getting your hands dirty. You are a man of the people who toils, it is true dirt for now, and blood later. Just keep getting people close, and once they realize they are in the web it is too late. E tu, Brute should be the line and reaction every time somebody finds your knife in their back.

Likewise, these people are just cogs in your political machine. The good ones that help you get ahead should not be replaced, but the squeaky wheel always gets the grease and the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. If they are not broken(i.e. serving your goals) then don't fix em(put them 6 feet under). Having blackmail is like repairing a part instead of replacing it.

For the goody-two-shoes detect evil bot, convince him that you do nothing for yourself, and that your goals serve the greater good(as a lawful person, keeping order and centralized power in an organization is kind of this). Say you "did what had to be done for the good of the kingdom". Or say "you had a dark past but are working on it". Really just any BS that keeps him from sniffing around too much. You want him as a pawn preferably. Point him towards other enemies you make-I am sure your not the only evil SOB in the vipers nest. If he kills your competition for you, all the better.
Also since this is PF get a wand of undetectable alignment. You can UMD it with reasonable success, being a rogue and stuff, and a single cast lasts all day. The pally might think you really changed your ways...

Gildedragon
2016-05-09, 01:34 PM
Don't forget (or rather don't let the paladin forget) that there is evil and Evil in the world. Innkeeper that habitually waters down his ale and overcharges just a bit; the trader that ever so slightly tips the scales; the bureaucrat that takes bribes to fast track someone's papers at the expense of others; the vile cultist that murders for the trill of it; and the apothecary that price-gouges life saving medicine... They all read as evil to the paladin, but not all of them are monsters, and quite a few of them are quite trustworthy or even law abiding citizens. Yes you read as evil, because you are willing to crush your enemies in the search of the greater good; because you believe that redemption is rare and that those who perform vile deeds deserve to get as they did onto others and worse; because it what matters is the big picture and if some harm comes to some in pursuit of the greater good, that harm isn't a concern, and if with harm the greater good comes soon, then that harm is necessary.
In short: the paladin has his (perhaps admirable)ideals but not everyone can afford to be as naive as him; you have differences of ideology but similar goals.

goto124
2016-05-10, 01:37 AM
Don't forget (or rather don't let the paladin forget) that there is evil and Evil in the world. Innkeeper that habitually waters down his ale and overcharges just a bit; the trader that ever so slightly tips the scales;

Might as well elaborate that these people have to feed themselves. Sure, the innkeeper's watering down the ale, but the rent's high, he's got a family to feed, and ale ain't easy to make.