How likely would an evil drow whispers-bard be ill-received in AL?

[Puh Laden]

I've never played AL before but I might have to after moving from college if I want to play or run any games at all. One of the characters I'm strongly considering is a Lawful or Neutral Evil drow bard (eventually whispers) with the idea that she was an assassin or whatever for her noble house but due to house-politics was banished/driven out from drow society (so the Noble background but with the feature replaced with the Pirate's Bad Reputation because she's a drow). After that, she somehow ended up in the Zhentarim or whatever setting-appropriate faction she'd need to be in for her to be AL-legal as an evil character. (Deep down, she might feel like her faction is like the family she never really had, but is in denial -- though I admit I'm not familiar with Zhentarim lore so I don't know if this would be appropriate.)

When I say "evil" I mean she's cold-hearted, and while she'd sometimes be prone to using intimidation tactics, she'd still know when to be diplomatic and a silver-tongued flatterer. I won't use her alignment as an excuse to be abusive to other players or PCs, but she might be to NPCs -- though I may or may not end up being comfortable with even that; I just want to try and see if I can play a character with a strong personality.

All that being said, I want to know, if I show up to play her as my first AL character, how likely am I to make a bad first-impression, and if I should try and save her for a home game instead. I know expectations and assumptions are different all over, but I figure I might as well take a survey.

[Man_Over_Game]

I've never played AL before but I might have to after moving from college if I want to play or run any games at all. One of the characters I'm strongly considering is a Lawful or Neutral Evil drow bard (eventually whispers) with the idea that she was an assassin or whatever for her noble house but due to house-politics was banished/driven out from drow society (so the Noble background but with the feature replaced with the Pirate's Bad Reputation because she's a drow). After that, she somehow ended up in the Zhentarim or whatever setting-appropriate faction she'd need to be in for her to be AL-legal as an evil character. (Deep down, she might feel like her faction is like the family she never really had, but is in denial -- though I admit I'm not familiar with Zhentarim lore so I don't know if this would be appropriate.)

When I say "evil" I mean she's cold-hearted, and while she'd sometimes be prone to using intimidation tactics, she'd still know when to be diplomatic and a silver-tongued flatterer. I won't use her alignment as an excuse to be abusive to other players or PCs, but she might be to NPCs -- though I may or may not end up being comfortable with even that; I just want to try and see if I can play a character with a strong personality.

All that being said, I want to know, if I show up to play her as my first AL character, how likely am I to make a bad first-impression, and if I should try and save her for a home game instead. I know expectations and assumptions are different all over, but I figure I might as well take a survey.

Keep in mind that there are multiple restrictions involved with making an evil character in Adventure League:

You must be:

Lawful
A member of the Zhentarim or Lord's Alliance factions, which requires (as of Season 8):

The Safe Haven Background feature (which can be used from the Faction Agent Background or any custom Background with that feature)



As to whether or not that's acceptable, Lawful Evil is perfectly acceptable in a group of murderhobos, banding together to destroy The Greater Evil.

The real question you need to ask yourself is, what are your actions going to add to the group? It's fine to be an occasional obstacle, or add drama, but just make sure that your actions are adding to the group's fun rather than detracting from it. There is more than one person playing the game, and as long as your antics are designed to add fun rather than frustration (even if that means your version of "fun" occasionally means drama), then go for it. Your goal should not be oriented around being an ***hole.

[Fryy]

You can't play a character with a CE or NE alignment. LE is allowed. PVP is not allowed.

The AL modules are mostly railroad format.
So, add whatever fluff you want, but don't grief the DM by trying to take the adventure too far off the rails.

[Puh Laden]

Keep in mind that there are multiple restrictions involved with making an evil character in Adventure League:

You must be:

Lawful
A member of the Zhentarim or Lord's Alliance factions, which requires (as of Season 8):

The Safe Haven Background feature (which can be used from the Faction Agent Background or any custom Background with that feature)



As to whether or not that's acceptable, Lawful Evil is perfectly acceptable in a group of murderhobos, banding together to destroy The Greater Evil.

I'm definitely going to be looking up and double-checking the rules for playing evil in AL before I play (doubly-so when Ghosts of Saltmarsh in the Greyhawk setting goes into AL -- will they have different factions or will they just say the AL version is in Forgotten Realms?);
I was mostly wondering how likely I'd make a bad first-impression, whether due to playing lawful evil, female drow as a man, drow-at-all, whispers bard, or any other reason. My personality tends to be harmony-seeking, you see (though I've been getting more authenticity-seeking as well lately).

[darknite]

What others have said is true. Play your character and have fun, but follow Wheaton's Rule and all should be fine!

[1Pirate]

You might want to ask yourself what you want out of the "evil" part of her alignment. I think you could still get what you say you want from some of the other "neutral" alignments(and depending how she feels deep down, even from some of the "good" alignments).

[Puh Laden]

What others have said is true. Play your character and have fun, but follow Wheaton's Rule and all should be fine!

Thanks. I guess I'm just kind of nervous because I've only ever played with friends before (and we've all been the same religion because we attend a religious school), and I think there'll probably at least be a brief experience of culture shock. (And I'm used to DMing and being "in charge," but I do have some characters I really want to play.)

EDIT:
You might want to ask yourself what you want out of the "evil" part of her alignment. I think you could still get what you say you want from some of the other "neutral" alignments(and depending how she feels deep down, even from some of the "good" alignments).

Mostly her motivation for adventure. She's in it for riches and rank, not about a personal code (LN), just staying free (CN), or just doing whatever her gut seems to think is best at the time (N). She's also not about helping others for the sake of helping them. Either LE or NE works for her (though it'd be less of an "honorable" LE and more of an "expedient" LE)

[Man_Over_Game]

Thanks. I guess I'm just kind of nervous because I've only ever played with friends before (and we've all been the same religion because we attend a religious school), and I think there'll probably at least be a brief experience of culture shock. (And I'm used to DMing and being "in charge," but I do have some characters I really want to play.)

EDIT:

Mostly her motivation for adventure. She's in it for riches and rank, not about a personal code (LN), just staying free (CN), or just doing whatever her gut seems to think is best at the time (N). She's also not about helping others for the sake of helping them. Either LE or NE works for her (though it'd be less of an "honorable" LE and more of an "expedient" LE)

I'd say that fighting for power and wealth is a perfectly neutral thing to do.

I think the difference between Evil Power and Neutral Power is that an Evil character gains power by treating people as obstacles or resources. A "superior" is simply someone who has temporarily stolen your rank. A Neutral person wants power to establish themselves in the world, whether that means changing the world in their image, or just simply ensuring the best person is in place for the right job.

Picture what you'd expect a high ranking general to be in a boring army. I'd expect him to be Lawful Neutral or just Neutral, and that sounds about right based on what you've described.

[Bel-Torac]

Factions are pretty much gone in AL unless you really want to be part of one, I heard they were causing too much conflict. Hardcover adventures like ghosts of saltmarsh will allow a little more freedom than one shot modules off dmsguild. There are factions in that adventure, but you'll find out about them if you make it that far.

I wouldn't focus too much on alignment in 5e your character is fine as some kind of neutral or lawful evil. Just remember no pvp, wheatons rule, teamwork, and don't kill every npc you see unless everything is hostile. Play the game first and make adjustments if needed.

[Kintar]

You'll be perceived at Al as just another "edgy Driztt". The rules won't let you do anything evil, so you'll instead try to show your "cold hearted" evil side by saying things like, "let's kill them all, they mean nothing to me" but since this is Al and it's like playing an MMORPG, everybody was already going to kill them.

If there's older people then you at the table, they'll just roll their eyes at you. If there's younger people they will rally around you as there newest champion and try to introduce you to their reskinned mind flayer-which is actually a halfling build for the innate lucky, but they tell everyone at the table that they are a mindflayer, and the guy who claimed he did the ToA ritual with his last DM and now plays a yuanti pureblood. You'll think it's not so bad, until you get sick of the unwashed BO that your new mini party exudes.

Have fun with your evil drow!

[Malifice]

I won't use her alignment as an excuse to be abusive to PCs, but she might be to NPCs

How does your character know the difference between the two?

[Ogeeogelthorpe]

As a fellow whisper bard player I fully endorse your choice, sir. Like one of the other posters said, just follow Wheaton's law and you'll be fine.

I'm currently trying out my first lawful evil in adventurers league and it's a half elf whisper bard/hexblade warlock. His backstory is that he was a Mulmaster aristocrat whose family made their money by dealing in magical artifacts with the Red Wizards. Because of the Red War which he believes was started by the Emerald Enclave his family lost everything so he's got a vendetta and is now a spy for Thay. At the store I'm a regular at I've been fortunate to have good groups so I can play up the spy/deception angle a bit in session. "I'm not a whisper bard! Noooo...I'm a lore bard! That dude's head just exploded from how awesome I am! I don't know what you mean by psychic blades!"

And it's a pretty fun cheese combo. Warlock darkness + devils sight + dissonant whispers + elven accuracy on an op attack = crit fishing with psychic blades. It's nasty. I'm tempted to pair it with great weapon master next.

[Keravath]

As mentioned, evil characters in AL can only be Lawful Evil and must be a member of either the Zhentarim or Lords Alliance faction with the Sage Haven background feature though the background is otherwise flexible.

You are welcome to role play however you like except it is AL ... this means you can't do anything against any other PC. No matter what your alignment or character, you are working with the other folks at the table to solve the current adventure. You can describe it however you like but the bottom line is that you are working with your party so you need to come up with an in character justification that works for you as to why you are working with this particular group at the present time.

If you are playing at a game store then there may be mutliple tables with multiple modules running on any particular night. You will probably have signed up for a tier appropriate (Tier 1 level 1-4, tier 2 level 5-10, tier 3 level 11-16 or tier 4 level 17-20) adventure with a character that you have started in AL from level 1 (you can't create characters for higher tiers ... they have to be played to that level). As a result, the DM, players and characters may all change week to week so you just either go with it or decide that your character is only seeking fame, fortune and power and will work with anyone to achieve these goals (or however you want to spin it).

As for a lawful evil drow whispers bard, most folks won't have any issues with it. However, depending on the age and mix of players and their tolerance you might want to keep an eye on what evil type actions your character might take in regards to NPCs. Torturing prisoners for information might be something your character thinks is a good idea. Some of the other characters might disagree which could result in some cool role playing. However, some of the other PLAYERS might object in which case you'd have to tone it down.

There is a distinction between "player" vs "character" and "in game" vs "out of game" that you need to be aware of since when folks sign up for an AL game they may not have been signing up for trying to deal with an "evil" character being "evil". If the character behavior crosses over to something that makes other players not have fun or makes them uncomfortable in an AL environment then you should be aware of it and just modify the character behavior a bit for that table (the DM should mention it if you don't pick up on it).

That said, I've played a good character in a group mostly composed of lawful evil Zhents through a few adventures and it worked fine though some of the content and actions might not have been acceptable if younger folks had been playing (in which case the players would have just played a little differently ... not a big deal).

[Keravath]

How does your character know the difference between the two?

Umm ... the PCs are the ones they have chosen to adventure with (for whatever reason) and the NPCs are everyone else? :)

[Âmesang]

I think the difference between Evil Power and Neutral Power is that an Evil character gains power by treating people as obstacles or resources.
Whenever I wanted to have a "must play nice with others" evil character, I just had them think of everyone else as tools to be used, pawns to be manipulated, toys to be played with…

…so such a character would have no qualms about defending allies, 'cause who wants to see their toys break?

[KorvinStarmast]

how likely am I to make a bad first-impression, If you have to ask, don't you think that you may already have the answer? The only person to ask about this is the DM for the first game you join.

My advice: have two players created. This Drow one, and one other one that isn't Evil. That way, you have a back up plan already in place.