Exterminate the orcs! (or some other cannon fodder monster)

[Tengu_temp]

"Kill the orcs because they're evil" is not something that happens in my games. "Kill the orcs because they're attacking the village you were hired to protect", on the other hand, happens. I run games where characters have a reason to fight their enemies, not random mook bashes - and most of the time, they actually try to parley with intelligent enemies! Usually it doesn't work, until the enemies are starting to lose at least, but sometimes it does. And either way, it's the thought that counts.

In short, I'm very much convinced that most roleplayers, especially new roleplayers, are perfectly happy to play antisocial murderhobos and do horrible things to fictional people completely on their own accord. Genre convention and "obviously evil" species (I mean, goblins and orcs are obviously evil, 'cause they're ugly and stuff. Duh.) can make them more likely to go that way, but even if you start a game with words "you're at the market place of a happy and peaceful village", one of them will go "cool, let's beat someone and take his stuff!"

I agree, because Sturgeon's Law is something that applies to roleplayers as well.