Post by Rick Astley on Feb 8, 2009 13:19:17 GMT -5
Evil can manifest itself in many ways, not just in the form of the psychotic thief who murders his whole party when they are asleep, or the madman who mindlessly rampages and kills innocent big-eyed smiling children. (A bit overdoing it there.)
Evil characters can be sources of a great variety of roleplay, and not necessarily black-and-white in what they do - they could be complex people who failed to live up to their own ideals, or people who would go too far and too extreme for an originally good cause, or simply selfish people who'd spare every coin and keep any source of help to themselves (and for example claiming simply that they have no means to help).
A character can be evil and yet, not seem evil - he might do the same thing as the good character, but for completely different reasons, and with different philosophies backing his reasons up.
Below are a few briefly described philosophies of evil that could help in getting your evil little schemer or sadist a bit more flavor.
Tradition: There is No Evil
A potential cause for evil is simply following the norms and standards of your ancestors and society:
• evil is defined by society according to this philosophy, not the inherent laws of gods or nature
• what might be the darkest taboo in one place might be a perfectly acceptable practice somewhere else (for example: in Thay, slavery is common)
• in border regions and lawless areas where a person has to rely on his own devices, personal acts of revenge are the norm and are considered no more evil than act of self-defense.
• characters might justify their actions with this philosophy, and they could be well correct depending on their individual circumstances.
Religion: Characters holding this philosophy are attracted to small regional or cultural religions and cults.
Common Alignment: Neutral- or Chaotic Evil.
I am Not Evil
Some people recognize that evil exists in the world, but they certainly do not consider themselves in any way evil – no matter how depraved their actions are.
• A character like this still needs to be assigned a correct alignment, no matter what he thinks of himself.
• he occasionally does good things but most often resorts to evil ends to justify his evil means
• he will most likely object that he is evil (the character, not the player)
Religion: Characters with this philosophy often worship gods of good.
Common Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Evil Curse
The character has become evil through some magical agent:
• a curse from a god; a disease such as lycanthropy; through contact with an artifact; or another powerful form of magic.
• in some cases, his outlook with respect to law and chaos doesn’t change.
• The curse is usually resisted at first, slowly giving in to the curse’s evil characteristics.
Religion: The character might try to retain his former religion, but gradually gravitates to a religion that most fits his cursed alignment.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Seduction
The character has been lured with promises of power, glory, wealth or pleasure into performing evil acts.
• He is not proud of his actions, but his desire for these rewards outweighs his dislike of what he has become
• sometimes he might even come to accept his evil nature and relish in it.
• Seduction differs from an evil curse in that the character is not opposed to what is happening to him.
• At first he might not be aware of him acting in an evil manner, but even once he does, he won’t seek to change his ways.
Religion: The character is usually active in an evil religion, since it is most often the religion or his association with it that has seduced him.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Driven to Evil
A character could be driven to evil in several ways:
• his life or circumstances might have been so harsh that he had to commit evil acts to survive
• he might be seeking retribution for some wrong done to him or those he loved.
• He might be fighting fire with fire so to speak, driven to evil just to keep a worse evil at bay.
• This character doesn’t see himself as truly evil, but he doesn’t deny that the things he had done could be considered such.
• He might have some grandiose intention to make up for what he had done.
Religion: Any. This sort of evil is not associated with a particular religion.
Common Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Just Plain Mean
This character is incapable of controlling his violent or anti-social impulses.
• He might be kind (to further his own goals), intelligent or perfectly capable of completing a task,
• but when something sets him off, there is no telling what he will do.
• He usually blames his outbursts on others.
• He doesn’t accept that he has done anything wrong, nor does he feel regret or remorse.
Religion: Any. This sort of evil is not associated with a particular religion.
Common Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Natural Born Evil
The character has been brought up in in a society in which evil is the rule of thumb, and he knows no other way of life:
• He could be born on a battlefield or in an orc den, etc.
• He likely learned to deceive faster than to talk, and committed his first truly vile act before reaching the age of ten.
• This character hates and fears anything that differs from himself;
• But he is potentially most likely to undergo an alignment shift, once exposed to other cultures.
Religion: The character prefers the shamanistic religion or cult in which he was raised.
Common Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil.
Mad, I Tell You
Because of psychosis, obsession or overpowering phobia, the character is driven to perform acts of incomprehensible evil.
• Even characters dedicated to the philosophy of evil or evil gods often find the actions of this character beyond the pale of acceptable behavior.
• The character could feel remorse for the things he does, but he cannot stop himself from repeating them, for example.
• Or the character might delight in the things he does, without being aware of what he is doing.
Religion: The character might be incapable of participating in organized religion depending on his madness, or he might be the evil leader of a religion or cult. He might even be a patron of a good religion, but hides a terrible secret.
Common Alignment: All, especially those with chaotic tendencies (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Evil Choice
For some reason, the character has chosen to act in an evil manner, one that he admits as evil and for which he feels no remorse.
• This character might be bent on revenge
• He might be simply selfish
• He might just do anything for a certain goal, letting nothing stand in his way.
• He might be a sociopath capable of extreme good and evil, neither of which move him emotionally, and in which he is unable to see a contradiction.
• Characters of this type might blend well easily into society and conceal their alignment.
Religion: Any religion that serves his selfish causes, including good-aligned ones.
Common Alignment: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil.
Better to Rule in Hell than to Serve in Heaven
This character is actively opposed to good:
• This character finds goodness itself to be repellent
• He thinks that being good is a sign of weakness
• He is driven by hate and lust and revels in the thwarting of goodness.
Religion: The most evil and radical religions attract this character.
Common Alignment: Any evil.
The End Justifies the Means
This path follows a slippery slope:
• The character seeks some greater good, like overthrowing a heinous villain or establishing a good church or organization in the face of adversity.
• But nothing will stop him from achieving this goal, even if evil is the only solution he sees.
Religion: The character might belong to any religion, but good-aligned deities rarely look favorably on evil acts.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Evil characters can be sources of a great variety of roleplay, and not necessarily black-and-white in what they do - they could be complex people who failed to live up to their own ideals, or people who would go too far and too extreme for an originally good cause, or simply selfish people who'd spare every coin and keep any source of help to themselves (and for example claiming simply that they have no means to help).
A character can be evil and yet, not seem evil - he might do the same thing as the good character, but for completely different reasons, and with different philosophies backing his reasons up.
Below are a few briefly described philosophies of evil that could help in getting your evil little schemer or sadist a bit more flavor.
Tradition: There is No Evil
A potential cause for evil is simply following the norms and standards of your ancestors and society:
• evil is defined by society according to this philosophy, not the inherent laws of gods or nature
• what might be the darkest taboo in one place might be a perfectly acceptable practice somewhere else (for example: in Thay, slavery is common)
• in border regions and lawless areas where a person has to rely on his own devices, personal acts of revenge are the norm and are considered no more evil than act of self-defense.
• characters might justify their actions with this philosophy, and they could be well correct depending on their individual circumstances.
Religion: Characters holding this philosophy are attracted to small regional or cultural religions and cults.
Common Alignment: Neutral- or Chaotic Evil.
I am Not Evil
Some people recognize that evil exists in the world, but they certainly do not consider themselves in any way evil – no matter how depraved their actions are.
• A character like this still needs to be assigned a correct alignment, no matter what he thinks of himself.
• he occasionally does good things but most often resorts to evil ends to justify his evil means
• he will most likely object that he is evil (the character, not the player)
Religion: Characters with this philosophy often worship gods of good.
Common Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Evil Curse
The character has become evil through some magical agent:
• a curse from a god; a disease such as lycanthropy; through contact with an artifact; or another powerful form of magic.
• in some cases, his outlook with respect to law and chaos doesn’t change.
• The curse is usually resisted at first, slowly giving in to the curse’s evil characteristics.
Religion: The character might try to retain his former religion, but gradually gravitates to a religion that most fits his cursed alignment.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Seduction
The character has been lured with promises of power, glory, wealth or pleasure into performing evil acts.
• He is not proud of his actions, but his desire for these rewards outweighs his dislike of what he has become
• sometimes he might even come to accept his evil nature and relish in it.
• Seduction differs from an evil curse in that the character is not opposed to what is happening to him.
• At first he might not be aware of him acting in an evil manner, but even once he does, he won’t seek to change his ways.
Religion: The character is usually active in an evil religion, since it is most often the religion or his association with it that has seduced him.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Driven to Evil
A character could be driven to evil in several ways:
• his life or circumstances might have been so harsh that he had to commit evil acts to survive
• he might be seeking retribution for some wrong done to him or those he loved.
• He might be fighting fire with fire so to speak, driven to evil just to keep a worse evil at bay.
• This character doesn’t see himself as truly evil, but he doesn’t deny that the things he had done could be considered such.
• He might have some grandiose intention to make up for what he had done.
Religion: Any. This sort of evil is not associated with a particular religion.
Common Alignment: Neutral Evil.
Just Plain Mean
This character is incapable of controlling his violent or anti-social impulses.
• He might be kind (to further his own goals), intelligent or perfectly capable of completing a task,
• but when something sets him off, there is no telling what he will do.
• He usually blames his outbursts on others.
• He doesn’t accept that he has done anything wrong, nor does he feel regret or remorse.
Religion: Any. This sort of evil is not associated with a particular religion.
Common Alignment: Chaotic Evil.
Natural Born Evil
The character has been brought up in in a society in which evil is the rule of thumb, and he knows no other way of life:
• He could be born on a battlefield or in an orc den, etc.
• He likely learned to deceive faster than to talk, and committed his first truly vile act before reaching the age of ten.
• This character hates and fears anything that differs from himself;
• But he is potentially most likely to undergo an alignment shift, once exposed to other cultures.
Religion: The character prefers the shamanistic religion or cult in which he was raised.
Common Alignment: Chaotic Evil, Lawful Evil.
Mad, I Tell You
Because of psychosis, obsession or overpowering phobia, the character is driven to perform acts of incomprehensible evil.
• Even characters dedicated to the philosophy of evil or evil gods often find the actions of this character beyond the pale of acceptable behavior.
• The character could feel remorse for the things he does, but he cannot stop himself from repeating them, for example.
• Or the character might delight in the things he does, without being aware of what he is doing.
Religion: The character might be incapable of participating in organized religion depending on his madness, or he might be the evil leader of a religion or cult. He might even be a patron of a good religion, but hides a terrible secret.
Common Alignment: All, especially those with chaotic tendencies (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).
Evil Choice
For some reason, the character has chosen to act in an evil manner, one that he admits as evil and for which he feels no remorse.
• This character might be bent on revenge
• He might be simply selfish
• He might just do anything for a certain goal, letting nothing stand in his way.
• He might be a sociopath capable of extreme good and evil, neither of which move him emotionally, and in which he is unable to see a contradiction.
• Characters of this type might blend well easily into society and conceal their alignment.
Religion: Any religion that serves his selfish causes, including good-aligned ones.
Common Alignment: Lawful Evil, Neutral Evil.
Better to Rule in Hell than to Serve in Heaven
This character is actively opposed to good:
• This character finds goodness itself to be repellent
• He thinks that being good is a sign of weakness
• He is driven by hate and lust and revels in the thwarting of goodness.
Religion: The most evil and radical religions attract this character.
Common Alignment: Any evil.
The End Justifies the Means
This path follows a slippery slope:
• The character seeks some greater good, like overthrowing a heinous villain or establishing a good church or organization in the face of adversity.
• But nothing will stop him from achieving this goal, even if evil is the only solution he sees.
Religion: The character might belong to any religion, but good-aligned deities rarely look favorably on evil acts.
Common Alignment: All (meaning any alignment can shift to this form of evil).