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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Rules for Being Evil

    So I figured we might post up some good ideas on how to be evil and what are some rules that one should adhere to. Especially in a mixed group of alignment.

    Rules:

    1) Do not harm/injure the party.
    2) Your backstory and motives should explain why you are with the party.

    I’d say that is a good number one and 2. What else?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    RedKnightGirl

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    d6 Re: Rules for Being Evil

    We need healing so I tolerate an evil cleric.
    9 wisdom true neutral cleric you know you want me in your adventuring party


  3. - Top - End - #3

    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Evil you may be, but cunning you must be. Do not let your evil tendencies be a liability for the party on account of your stupidity. If you are unsure of how stupid is too stupid, use the party Paladin or Cleric as a measuring stick.

  4. - Top - End - #4
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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    An evil character can be a loyal, kind, reliable, accomodating, even generous party member.
    He does not need to, but he can.

    All it takes is to have done even a single seriously Evil action and feel no remorse ( o very little remorse ).
    It's not even necessary to be a criminal for the law.

    Let's take for example Trendan Nash , from the Book of Vile Darkness. He actually does nothing. He simply accepts gold for turning his eyes another way while children disappear under his nose. He's a school director , a cultured, civilized person who would never stab you between the shoulders to pickpocket your purse. And he's rotten to the core.

    Because, and that is a sad truth, Evil is easy.

  5. - Top - End - #5
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    HalflingRangerGuy

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    3> Make an effort. No storytelling, no evil.
    Trust but verify. There's usually a reason why I believe you can't do something.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Orc in the Playground
     
    SamuraiGuy

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    my basic rule about evil PCs is this: Its ok to play an evil character, but it is NOT ok to be evil towards other PLAYERS
    Rule 0: What the DM says goes.
    Rule 0.5: What the DM says goes. And if the DM says enough dumb **** the players go too.

  7. - Top - End - #7
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    Zhorn's Avatar

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    1 - Have a reason why you want to keep your party alive.
    • It's easier to get in and out of major cities without being arrested when the paladin has a use for you.
    • The party is a natural magnet for powerful artefacts/treasure, and you're not giving that up
    • Enemy of my enemy...
    • 'Worthy opponent' combined with 'nobody kills you but me'
    • etc


    and 2 - Give the party a reason to keep you around.
    • When hunting monsters, having a monster in the group helps
    • The vile bloodletting you do allows innocents to stay innocent
    • Your death would result in WORSE conditions for the party
    • A unique skill set that the party highly desires
    • etc


    These two points should go for every party member regardless of alignment. If the character's life would be easier or safer with someone from the party 'removed', then that's where the mistakes were made in forming the party.
    Last edited by Zhorn; 2019-05-17 at 10:20 AM.

  8. - Top - End - #8
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    QuickLyRaiNbow's Avatar

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by blackjack50 View Post
    So I figured we might post up some good ideas on how to be evil and what are some rules that one should adhere to. Especially in a mixed group of alignment.

    Rules:

    1) Do not harm/injure the party.
    2) Your backstory and motives should explain why you are with the party.

    I’d say that is a good number one and 2. What else?
    Don't play Stupid Evil. Your goals as an evil character shouldn't conflict with the party's. That means when they're thinking about doing small acts of Good, you're focused on the big Evil. If they're focused on a big, cosmic good, that's fine; make yourself useful enough and they'll tolerate lots of petty cruelties. There has to be a reason for a character to be Evil other than 'just because'.

    The Dragonlance novels are based on notes from module playthroughs, and they're a decent primer, actually. Raistlin doesn't fight the party; he doesn't work against them; he actively exerts himself and risks his life to help them succeed. He fills gaps that they absolutely need. But every step of the way he's focused - totally focused - on his own personal advancement. And, critically, at the point where his needs completely diverge from those of the party, he becomes an NPC. That's kind of important. Everyone at the table needs to be playing the same game, and often evil characters in a mixed-alignment party lead to situations where one player is trying to play a different campaign.

    (Yes, he's neutral through most of the novels, but part of the point is that he's perpetually on the precipice of falling to evil.)
    In-character problems require in-character solutions. Out-of-character problems require out-of-character solutions.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Titan in the Playground
     
    AssassinGuy

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I think your rules 1 and 2 can be combined into a single rule: What is best for Me in this situation? a vast majority of the time this should be sticking with the party even when you would prefer to do something else, because the party brings strength, protection and legitimacy. Likewise, making enemies of the party is not in your best interests, because theyre powerful and, being adventurers, carry grudges beyond all reason.

    Pretty much all your decision making should stem from this thought process. Evil is selfishness and ruthlessness. There needs to be something in it for you, and that something needs to outweigh the costs of obtaining it.
    “Evil is evil. Lesser, greater, middling, it's all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I'm not a pious hermit, I haven't done only good in my life. But if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Kobold

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    I think your rules 1 and 2 can be combined into a single rule: What is best for Me in this situation? Pretty much all your decision making should stem from this thought process. Evil is selfishness and ruthlessness. There needs to be something in it for you, and that something needs to outweigh the costs of obtaining it.
    This.

    And know what your flavor of evil is. Be able to describe it. Be able to say aloud, "I'm evil because I do x."

    I play a character based on Leon from the movie The Professional. My evil is I take orders from others for money to kill people. Killing without monetary reward is like doing pro bono work. My life had little meaning until I met Mathilda, who eventually became the daughter I never had. And Mathilda is played by another PC who I collaborated with OOG to make this happen.

    People who lack moral development tend to portray evil in a cartoony or edge lord way. "I'm evil because I'm a homicidal psychopath."

    Spare us. Don't. You're embarrassing us really really evil types with your backstabby dickery dock! <twirls mustache and grins>

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Goblin

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    I think your rules 1 and 2 can be combined into a single rule: What is best for Me in this situation? a vast majority of the time this should be sticking with the party even when you would prefer to do something else, because the party brings strength, protection and legitimacy. Likewise, making enemies of the party is not in your best interests, because theyre powerful and, being adventurers, carry grudges beyond all reason.

    Pretty much all your decision making should stem from this thought process. Evil is selfishness and ruthlessness. There needs to be something in it for you, and that something needs to outweigh the costs of obtaining it.
    That's how I see it. And there's a lot of room in there. You can be lawful evil, for example, and very invested in upholding the laws of society because you feel it's the best way to get what you want. You can be lawful evil and manipulate the laws of society to favor you and put others in a less favorable situation. You can be neutral evil and interested in your own well-being and not particularly interested in other people. You can be chaotic evil, totally self-interested and chafing at anything that restricts you from achieving your goals. But you can still be smart and capable of working with others because it helps you achieve your goals.

    Characters that screw the party over, whatever their alignment, aren't much fun.

  12. - Top - End - #12
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    Anderlith's Avatar

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Evil is insidious. Encourage your party to be the ones getting their hands dirty not you, you just “can’t” bring yourself to do x which is what you led another character to suggest was the “only” way to solve an issue

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Troll in the Playground
     
    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I would add don’t steal from other pcs; it could annoy their players.

    Also, unless you are 100% certain everyone at the table is fine with it, avoid graphic stuff like torture and rape or other triggering issues.

    Light the lamp not the rat LIGHT THE LAMP NOT THE RAT!!!

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Flumph

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Keltest View Post
    I think your rules 1 and 2 can be combined into a single rule: What is best for Me in this situation? a vast majority of the time this should be sticking with the party even when you would prefer to do something else, because the party brings strength, protection and legitimacy. Likewise, making enemies of the party is not in your best interests, because theyre powerful and, being adventurers, carry grudges beyond all reason.
    I largely agree with the above, and I'll add: You really do not want your rule 1 as a separate rule for an evil party.

    The rule against PVP is simply that you must make a character who is both willing and able to be a useful member of a party and who won't pointlessly back-stab. But one of the most important controls on the actions of an evil character, is that if he's too much of a **** toward the rest of the party; well, the rest of the party is a band of violent thugs who kill people they don't like and take their stuff. You've just made yourself (a) available, (b) very disliked, (c) a legitimate target for any good or lawful party members, and (d) you are rich.

    Tell the players, there's is no glowing sign on your forehead that says "PC", your character gets no extra slack beyond what the other characters would give another friend, acquaintance, or family member; and knowing this, your character is expected and required to play a member of the group that is both useful and helpful enough to the group that the rest of the group has a reason to want him around no matter how selfish and ruthless they are toward the rest of the world.

    Put in an explicit "no PC vs. PC" rule, and all you've done is removed any and all ability to control on a character like the pre-faking character growth Belker.

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Halfling in the Playground
     
    OrcBarbarianGuy

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    Default Rules for Being Evil and surviving

    Really, we aren't just talking about rules for being evil. We are talking about rules for being evil and surviving within a party of other characters.

    I have one rule: Put the party first... until it is time to put yourself first.

    I think that encompasses all that has been said so far.

    But, there have been times where I have had to tell players, if your character keeps doing that, the other characters are just going to leave him at the next town.

    -=-=-=-
    As far as DMing an evil character, we had a player who liked to play evil characters and thought it was fun to just kill everything and generally sowed chaos in the group. His PC got killed in the previous session and after an encounter we were to find the player's new character a prisoner chained to a wall in a cell. For the new character he decided to go with Tiefling and spoke a lot in Abbysal and generally taunted us as we were releasing other prisoners and insisted that he was a demon (as if his previous character hadn't been evil enough). Even the evil PCs in the group wanted nothing to do with him, so our characters left without freeing the new PC. So the player says, "Hey this is the introduction of my new character, you can't just leave me!" DM said, "Why not, that is completely in character for all of them. It is up to you to give them a reason to free you and accept you into the party." Sitting and the table and having a character is not a license to do whatever kind of stupid/evil thing you want. The DM can't force the party to accept you.

    -=-=-=-
    As for playing an evil character. One of the greatest joys I had was when we were near the end of OoTA and one of the players says said to me, "Wait a minute. I just realized. You are the most evil of all of us. You've just been using us!"

    No one had realized I was playing an evil character the entire time. From the time my character had engineered not just our escape, but the escape of all the prisoners in the very first session, everyone had me pegged as the good guy. That was fun.
    - BloodOgre
    "And now, a song I wrote about Paladins. It's called, 'Crunchy on the Outside, but Chewy in the Middle'!"

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    DruidGirl

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Similar to what others are saying,

    3) Evil with a Purpose

    If you're an ***hole, like, stealing candy and starting fights in bars, I'd honestly rather call yourself CN. We all know what 'Chaotic Neutral' really means.

    When I hear Evil, I want there to be a reason, a guiding principle. Maybe you want to rule a kingdom without regard to its citizenry, fine. Maybe you want to steal enough gold you can live a life of luxury without work. Maybe you see everyone around you as weak and feel you should be treated as a superior being. All good.

    But if you begrudgingly save the orphans from the fire, refuse to steal from the poor, and are only rude to people because of your internalized trust issues, you are an Anti-Hero-secretly-a-good-guy-please-unlock-my-backstory character, not actually EVIL.

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    1. Make very sure that everyone playing is cool with this being “one of those campaigns”

    2. Agree to whatever rules everyone else wants (don’t agree too easily, that would be obvious)

    3. Ruthlessly break those rules as and when the universe, and whatever twisted code you consider the to pass for ethics demand it. Don’t break faith for the small stuff, it has to be worth your while.

    4. Don’t even blink in the face of their righteous fury
    Last edited by Spiritchaser; 2019-05-17 at 11:45 AM.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Daemon

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Evil doesn't inherently mean Baby-kicker. There's no cruelty requirement to being an individually minded person who has no concern for other people's welfare. The only rules necessary are to avoid creating conflict to the aggravation of the rest of the party.

    1) Don't hurt your party -- you signed up with them because you have common goals. Strength as a team is better for you as an individual and aligns with your best interests. Though when that stops being favorable to you, maybe leave one to die if the calculated risk is too high to save them unless they're vitally important to your success.

    2) Backstory should explain yourself. The party needs to understand your motives and why you're with them if for no other reason than to avoid triggering your character just as you might trigger theirs. You may not agree with their "save the orphanage" plan but you're not going to walk away just because they are good Samaritans. You have other reasons for sticking around and can tolerate grunt work.

    3) Don't be a Menace to South Central while drinking your juice in the hood. There's honestly no reason to pick a fight with every civilian who looks at you funny or to banter hostile words with people who try to be friendly. You're Evil, not Anti-social. Please keep courtesy in mind for your own sake, not for the benefit of society. Making an enemy of everyone you meet is not going to help you in the long run.

    4) Don't kick the baby. As fun as it is to punt him across the room it's most likely not going to fly well with the party. Make decisions as a group, defer to democracy or your leader, and restrain whatever psychopathic impulses happen to bubble up. That doesn't mean you can't do things your way or take extreme measures or favor the "direct" approach. Just make sure it's a safe option before exposing yourself to capital punishment.

    5) Avoid excessive greed. It's a fine thing to take what you want and have not a care. But that thing tends to lose you favor and actually sets you back. Express selfishness, fine. But bargain, deal, and compromise to ensure you don't gain a paltry trinket at the cost of something more significant. Sometimes it's better to, dare I say it, "think of others" -- bleugh -- to understand what may motivate them to become your enemy.

  19. - Top - End - #19
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    RedWizardGuy

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I've seen several posters so far that I'd let play evil PCs at my table.

    The only rule I enforce with evil PCs, is shared by every other PC.

    1. Don't be a ****.

    That's literally it.

    I take it for granted that players will find a reason to take part in the adventures. If they can't, or otherwise don't fit, then we retire them (sometimes violently.)

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I have tried to not using alignment in games, and it has been very effective

    Its really always hard to define, and even movies mess it up

    In fictional D&D world, it might be the taking of life without a justifiable cause like: self-defense or killing sentient life when there are other means available for survival or to keep from starving

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    WolfInSheepsClothing

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Kyutaru View Post
    5) Avoid excessive greed. It's a fine thing to take what you want and have not a care. But that thing tends to lose you favor and actually sets you back. Express selfishness, fine. But bargain, deal, and compromise to ensure you don't gain a paltry trinket at the cost of something more significant. Sometimes it's better to, dare I say it, "think of others" -- bleugh -- to understand what may motivate them to become your enemy.
    Of all the rules here, this is one of the most important ones. I see this violated a lot because chaotic characters as much as evil ones will be greedy (or kleptomaniacs) and it makes them mindless and unreasonable party members because they're just going to steal things. The rule should also apply for for keeping game flow in mind, as asking if you can steal the candlesticks from the king's table in the middle of dinner is just annoying#KenderThings

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Orc in the Playground
     
    BlackDragon

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Golden Rule of playing evil characters: make it fun for your party- not just yourself. You can do this several ways.


    Are there NPCs or places the group groans about in or out of character? Find reasons for your character to screw with those in the background and give your friends guilty pleasure in cheering for you. Focus your most evil tendencies on things like this- what your party would like to ruin if they didn't have all those pesky morals in the way.

    Be evil for your teammates' benefit as well as your own. It can be weirdly endearing when you find out the really expensive thing that was just stolen/brutally liberated is the group serial killer's way of showing they care. Try to not do this in a way that will get said recipient killed later.

    Have a dramatic, dark backstory that drove you to villainy? Take one of the less dramatic aspects of it and turn it into a pet peeve that drives you absolutely bonkers. Decades of obsessive studies? You fly off the handle at librarians and shopkeepers who don't properly organize their shelves and make it slightly harder to find things bc what is this flagrant disregard for my time, you rube??? Your idyllic country home burned down? You despise sheep bc someone important to you tried to save their prized livestock first. Find a reason to hate napkins- anything, really.

    The reason this can be fun is it gives your teammates an opportunity to taunt you with random junk for some karma. You get to ham it up, and they get to occasionally derail your schemes by invoking your own dumb hang-ups.

    Looking for a more dramatic bent than these? Come in with a selfish reason to kill one of the main villains or someone who caused a party member pain in their backstory.


    TL;DR: Let your party enjoy having the token evil teammate, and you'll all win.
    Last edited by dragoeniex; 2019-05-17 at 11:47 PM.

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Zombie

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I'm running a LE assassin right now in our game. His condensed backstory is he got his start as an investigator with the city watch. Got tired of the corruption, watching poor people get years of hard labor for petty crimes, and rich people commit serious crimes, pay a fine and walk free the same day. So he quit his job and took up adventuring to build his skill. He's willing to torture for information, or even to punish, and kills without mercy. In his eyes he's making the world a better place by brutally murdering people that deserve it.

    It's all in how you spin it.
    Last edited by Krobar; 2019-05-18 at 12:04 AM.

  24. - Top - End - #24
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    Zombie

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    This is a two way street.

    The Evil character(s)
    1. Be someone the party can trust. This is easy to justify on an evil character as they are strong allies bound in blood and battle.
    2. Don't actively antagonize the party by blatantly performing acts that they won't be able to morally stomach in front of them.

    For the other characters
    1. Don't try to punish the evil characters for acts against your moral code that your character would not be aware of.
    2. Accept that while they should not be performing acts of deliberate, blatant evil within your awareness they are not going to be paragons of virtue. In other words, you're not Jimminey Cricket, don't do a lot of obnoxious preaching/badgering.
    I am the flush of excitement. The blush on the cheek. I am the Rouge!

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Bugbear in the Playground
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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Zhorn View Post
    1 - Have a reason why you want to keep your party alive.
    • It's easier to get in and out of major cities without being arrested when the paladin has a use for you.
    • The party is a natural magnet for powerful artefacts/treasure, and you're not giving that up
    • Enemy of my enemy...
    • 'Worthy opponent' combined with 'nobody kills you but me'
    • etc


    and 2 - Give the party a reason to keep you around.
    • When hunting monsters, having a monster in the group helps
    • The vile bloodletting you do allows innocents to stay innocent
    • Your death would result in WORSE conditions for the party
    • A unique skill set that the party highly desires
    • etc


    These two points should go for every party member regardless of alignment. If the character's life would be easier or safer with someone from the party 'removed', then that's where the mistakes were made in forming the party.
    I had a Lawful Evil EK in a party with 2 CG PCs and 2 CN PCs.
    How did he keep them from just leaving him in a town and going on without him?
    He was a skilled Herbalist, a fairly effective meat shield, and he took the time to think about how he could design and/or craft things for the rest of the party to be better. The new Hexblade that joined the party after a PC death (DM-player collab) figured out he was a skilled Smith, so he asked for a set of Breastplate armor. Which my guy made during some downtime.

    Sadly, he's retired now, but I'm gonna bring that guy in as an NPC in the homebrew setting I'm slowly working on.
    He'll still be LE, but also the only craftsman skilled enough to make any high-end magic item the party might want.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Dwarf in the Playground
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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I played a Lawful Evil conquest paladin briefly before the campaign ended abruptly due to DM burn out.

    My defining moment came early in the campaign. Our party was traveling down a road when we were approached by a frantic woman claiming to have just escaped from a bandit camp, and begged for help. While the rest of the - mostly X Neutral - party questioned her for details about the camp and any rewards they might expect, I was already halfway to the camp on the basis that:

    1: I was in desperate need of equipment, and I could take theirs.
    2: I needed to get stronger, and slaughtering them would make me stronger.
    3: Killing them would raise my reputation with the locals, earning me favorable treatment.
    4: I'd have to wipe them out anyway once I usurped the crown and ruled these lands anyway, so might as well take care of it now.

    My ultimate goal was to become the hero of the realm, so that when I eventually killed the king and took his crown, everyone from the commonfolk to the army to the nobles would already have been wishing for me to do so for ages.

  27. - Top - End - #27
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    Greywander's Avatar

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    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    I feel like a lot of people are approaching this from the wrong angle. You have to consider the meta-game, and how an evil character can affect it.

    Here's what I would say should be considered as sort of rules:

    1. Fit in with the party.

    Even excluding evil characters, there are an infinite number of party combinations that just don't work. If "it's what my character would do" would lead to your character not being part of the party, you should play a different character. You need to play a character who has a legitimate reason to be working with the party and who the party has a legitimate reason not to kick out, arrest, or kill. You can definitely play an evil character who feels genuine affection and loyalty to the rest of the party, you only disagree on what methods are permissible in accomplishing your goals. For example, I would probably classify Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty as Chaotic Evil, but you can tell he cares about his grandson and looks out for him.

    If your character is such that they might actually betray the party at some point, you have to understand that such a betrayal would mean retiring that character as a PC. The DM might let you reprise that roll a few times as an NPC villain, but you'll need to roll up a new PC to take their place in the party. Ultimately, the story has to follow the party, not your specific character.

    2. Be open with the players, if not the characters. Cooperate with the players, if not the characters.

    You can be secretly working as a double agent, undermining the party's efforts and ultimately working to stab them in the back. However, this should be a secret only to the characters, not the other players. Yes, it won't be as fun when they already know what's going on and don't have to "figure it out", but it's far too easy for the players to feel like they've been taken for a ride and not want to play with you anymore. All betrayal and backstabbery should be done with the consent of the players, and can make for some fun inter-PC drama as you make ability checks to conceal your true plans and the other PCs make occasional ability checks to see if they can catch a clue of what you're up to. This does require players who are good at keeping player-knowledge and character-knowledge separate.

    Let me also take a moment to say that you don't have to betray the party. In fact, it's probably easier to play a character who has a reason to be loyal to the party. Perhaps another character, one with a Good alignment, is a morality pet for the Evil character, and thus they'll follow them anywhere and do anything to protect them (including committing evil acts). Maybe the rest of the party are your actual friends who you would die for, despite your differences of opinion. Etc. See the first point above about fitting in with the party.

    Being evil can also be an asset to the party, from a metagame perspective. It allows your character to take a course of action that would be deemed too immoral for other PCs. You may have to do some kind of song-and-dance in order to take such actions without your party stopping you or getting mad enough at you to kick you out, but it can allow the party to proceed along a path that would otherwise be off-limits to them due to moral constraints. And by cooperating with the other players, it becomes easier to contrive a situation that allows you to get away with such actions. Maybe the paladin just happens to be out walking the wizard's familiar while you interrogate the prisoner. Sure, he's mad when he gets back, but what's done is done and now you've got the info you need. Of course, you should discuss with the other players and agree, out of character, that this is the best way to proceed before carrying out such actions.

    3. Be Evil, not Stupid.

    Evil characters aren't just dark and brooding serial killers. Evil characters can be kind, likable, friendly, silly, charitable. Evil characters often adopt a facade of good in order to conceal their true nature. And often, being Good is simply the optimal way to get what you want. Sometimes, you just have to ask nicely, or do someone a small favor, which is far, far easier than killing everyone while laughing maniacally. What makes an Evil character evil is when a situation presents itself where it is the unethical option that offers the greater gain for the lower cost, and the character has no qualms taking such an option. Evil is cunning, Evil is devious, Evil is seductive. Not brutish, ugly, and violent. And certainly not, "lol random stab".

    For all intents and purposes, you are an otherwise normal person, you just have fewer qualms doing certain morally dubious things, and you may have an overarching goal that others might describe as "evil". You might even be the sort of "villain" that the "heroes" would partner up with in order to defeat a greater evil. Being "evil" doesn't mean you don't have any redeeming qualities, or that you can't have hope for a possible redemption arc.

    Evil acts should be reserved for those times when you've exhausted the easier and less dubious options. Too often it's just not worth dealing with the fallout of an evil act. But sometimes, you don't have any other choice. And if someone's got to do it, and your friends are too self-righteous to get their hands dirty, you might as well do it.

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jul 2017

    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by Greywander View Post
    snip.
    I played a Barbarian that was intended to be the villain that betrays the party at the end of a side campaign to get the Wizard and his player up to speed on the main campaign. DM had a Rogue that was silent, his wife played a Paladin that was the Rogue's sister. The Wizard was a High Elf, and the twins were Tiefling. Important note: Elves and Tieflings were considered to be 'illegal' on account of being magical races, and magic bot in service to the King was not allowed.
    The elite Mage Hunter order was known for wearing red armor.

    My Barbarian was basically an expy of Auron from Final Fantasy X. Red coat and all. Bear Totem, so damned resilient against magic. Rogue and Paladin's players were in on it, the Wizard's wasn't.
    The reaction when my Barb finally revealed that he was a Mage Hunter in training, sent out to prove his devotion and to collect a Bounty.
    Thing is: He was *perfectly open* about being a bounty hunter, and never wore anything but his red coat over his Scale mail.
    And nobody put 2 and 2 together that mayve it wasn't a great idea to have someone that's admitted to hunting bounties around.. When you have a bounty on your head for *existing*.

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Greywander's Avatar

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    Nov 2017

    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    Quote Originally Posted by DarkKnightJin View Post
    Rogue and Paladin's players were in on it, the Wizard's wasn't.
    And this kind of thing can be a lot of fun, but it can also go horribly wrong. It's much easier if you're playing with people you know and have been playing with for a long time, so that even when a twist like this occurs it feels more like a plot twist than a real-life betrayal.

    I guess, know who you're playing with. Some people will be okay with this style of playing, and others will not. If you don't know the players so well, or aren't sure if how they'll react, it might be better to be open with them about your character. Later on, once they're used to you playing a character like that, you might roll up another such character and keep it a secret.

    Keep the drama in the game and off the table.

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    BlueWizardGirl

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
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    Male

    Default Re: Rules for Being Evil

    These are more personal rules and guidelines, note:I have a pet project that is how to role-play chaotic evil with the highest Reputation I can justify
    1. Never ask for money when you know they don't have anything.
    2. Don't get kicked out of town
    3. Survival is still important, let that override vicious tendencies as needed
    4. If people think you are heroic or good, don't correct them
    5. Don't compromise party members, they are valuable resources
    6. If Heroism pays well, It still pays well
    7. If you must kill people, kill people other people don't like or without witnesses
    8. hold grudges, no need for instant retribution
    9. don't forget you can betray bad guys
    10. Be charming, it always helps
    My sig is something witty.

    78% of DM's started their first campaign in a tavern. If you're one of the 22% that didn't, copy and paste this into your signature.

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