Am I Evil?
Role Playing Evil Characters
2nd Edition AD&D - Campaign of Darkness - The Obsidian Vultures.
- Allan - Ekaterina - vampiress Mage.
- Carl - Quentin - werewolf Bard.
- Tim - Thoven - drow Necromancer.
- Greg - Ashielda - human Mage.
- Ghost - Cograk - half-orc Anti-Paladin.
- Sam - Tori - tiefling Ranger.
Allan - plays a Mage vampiress.
There is always the question of just how to play an 'evil' character. The first thing I'd say is, just because you're evil doesn't mean you have to kill everything you see. There is more than one way to be evil, manipulation, mutilation, torture, intimidation, lying, cheating, stealing, etc.
Don't judge your fellow players on the evil acts they do in the game, keep your sense of humour and remember that they are acting as a character and the scenarios can take the team to some pretty crazy places. Some evil deeds can be made funny, even if they are essential terrible acts.
Party cohesion can be an issue but the same principle applies, just because you're a group of evil characters doesn't mean you have to kill each other the first chance you get.
Learn to bear a grudge against the character, not the player. Perhaps use your party as cannon fodder, let them enter the room first and face the danger first. The gaming side of an 'evil campaign' is basically just like a 'good campaign' in that the missions are essentially the same - you need to acquire a certain article to allow you to do something later on. Or you need to kill someone to further your own plan. Keep it simple, and let the players complicate matters.
Our DM tends to leave it down to the players to decide how evil we wish to be, which allows you the freedom to vent any real life frustrations out on the NPCs. When it came to the mutilation of victims or torture, it was generally described by the players, for example "I want to cut a line down her cheek, and if they won't answer my question, I'll cut off a finger at a time". Playing an evil character, things are bound to happen that will cause controversy such as rape or necrophilia. I think the best policy here is that if the player insists on it happening then to not let it go into detail, then move swiftly on.
I've noticed in the early days of our campaigns that if we started to get a little too out of control, carrying out mass murder or burning a village down, the local watch (usually paladins several levels above us) would turn up forcing us to stop what we were doing and either fight them and get our arses handed to us, or flee the scene. This proved a good way of getting us back on track.
Carl - plays a Bard werewolf.
How does our evil party stay together when they are driven by hatred and a lust for power?
I would say that perspective is really important. Let's look at this through the eyes of Quentin Cassanova, the leader of the mercenary group ‘The Obsidian Vultures,’ who has been with his fellows for many years, pulling through narrow scrapes with paladins, clerics and other evil dudes. Quentin Cassanova is a level 15 bard/werewolf who has remained the leader of the small mercenary group the Obsidian Vultures since it was founded at the start of the campaign. The campaign itself has been run for as long as I can remember, at least four years. During this time, we have managed to keep all the original players together and their first characters alive. What he can achieve with his friends’ help (for they are considered as friends) is far more meaningful and profitable than what he could accomplish on his own. He has formed a close bond in particular with his right hand man, Cograk, and I believe that both of them would risk their lives to save the other despite being evil.
How do I arrive at this conclusion?
In my opinion, playing an evil character doesn’t mean being horrible to everyone else all of the time. In a dangerous environment such as D&D, you must surround yourself with those whom you can trust, or you get yourself killed. Quentin knows everyone in his party has their own agenda, and that his own plans may or may not involve those whom he calls ally, but if they were not together as a whole they just couldn’t achieve what they want to do. The characters are bound by necessity, if Cograk died because Quentin let it happen, or even worse if he orchestrated it, where would he find his next right hand man? Certainly not the next evil Joe who happened along, how could he trust them? He feels he is definitely better off with the devil he knows. Giving space is also important. Just because he is the nominated evil leader doesn’t mean he should make decisions unilaterally for just his own ends. If the other party members don’t get their own agendas fulfilled, they would rebel, possibly attacking him in the process, and that would be detrimental to achieving his own aims. Therefore, Quentin must constantly consider a balance in order to keep everyone under one banner, and ultimately, help himself.
Being a constant figure for his companions also helps. We have all pulled each other out of the fire a few times, and even to die hard evil dudes, this must mean something. As Quentin pulls his rapier out of the back of the guy that was about to batter the necromancer, they have to think, ‘If he wasn’t here, I might be dead – I need him around, at least for a little longer until I get my next undead minion, Golem or protective spell.’ Granted, the necromancer in question is obviously cooking something up to make himself all powerful so that he can stand on his own, at which point he will no longer need the bard and his fellow Vultures, and this falls to Quentin to monitor and to take action if required to ensure his own survival, and that of his other companions. I am not saying that it is all sweetness and light, tough decisions may well have to be made in the long run!
How do we feel about the evil acts that we commit?
It isn’t real, except when it is.
For myself as a player, the many rapes and murders committed by Quentin are just his means to an end. For an evil bard with a lycanthropic curse, he feels an almost constant desire to hunt prey to feed his baser instincts. Like an addiction, he MUST commit these acts, as he is driven in the same way as many real life criminals. An obligation like this removes some of the conscious choice, thereby alleviating some of the blame. He would chose this no matter what I think, so just let it happen. No doubt this is the same excuse for many psychopaths, 'the voices told me to do it.' I do have the choice, however, of the how. Injecting intrigue and comedy, as well as bare faced cheek and a disregard for convention always helps to keep everyone happy. Of course, in real life Quentin would be locked up for his crimes, in D&D he can get away with it as he is powerful enough to resist any kind of repercussion. As a player, I do find things of this ilk to be reprehensible, but I also would like to think that my range as an RP gamer is extended enough to encompass such things, if required. Even considering the things he does, he is still my little Quentin, and after many years, I would have him no other way. I also eagerly look forward to contriving the most ambitious crimes, topping the last with more audacity and reward. Like many, I favour the axiom, ‘Fortune favours the bold!’ But with a small change, ‘Fortune favours the villainous!’
Why play an evil campaign at all?
Because it exists. Because it needs to be played. Either you do it, or the DM does. If I only ever play the good guy, I ignore a large part of society that carries with it its own peculiarities and experiences. If everyone were good, there would be no need of brave adventurers seeking to make a name for themselves fighting evil. Why should the DM have all of the fun, being the bad guy, putting on an evil laugh, constructing a mad genius to role play, when we can do that for them, and allow them to pit virtuous heroes against us? I mentioned above how important I feel it is to have a full range of alignments to role play. Having an evil character allows me to see both sides of the story, allows me to consider actions that a regular 'good' aligned hero just could not take. Some lord taking too much tax from the peasants? Just sneak into his room at night and slit his throat, and take the gold for myself. Not only do I help myself, but I also help the peasants, an added bonus, perhaps one I can capitalize on before or after the event. Perhaps I am impressing the local women to gain their favours for free, or I have made a name for myself as someone better than my actions may perhaps warrant, whatever, as long as I have the gold and the pleasure of the kill, I'll take what extras I can. It leads to a richer experience in a different way, admittedly down a darker path, but one that is still just as viable.
What keeps the game interesting when you have done everything?
This is an easy one. We have never done everything. No matter how powerful we become, no matter how we resolve a situation, there is always someone more powerful, some other way we could solve an issue. If we encounter a village full of 0-level peasants, there is a question over how much of a challenge they would be to us. This is like a dream come true to us, though. This means we have the freedom to perpetrate all manner of perversions, we can indulge our characters desires for whatever evilness they have in mind. For Quentin, it would be time to get his bard on, sniff round for information on the who and the where, before making a plan to flamboyantly squeeze every last drop of 'action' from them. The other vultures would have their own plans for 'action', depending on their own distinct vileness. We'd all go about our business, playing our characters as we see fit, and chaos would ensue. Sometimes we'd turn up something special, our someone would turn up to try and stop us, then we'd come together and sort them out in our own particular style. Regardless, we would have a good time as players as we laugh at ourselves and each other, contriving more and more ridiculous schemes, but always aware that we have to look out for each other, as the tables can turn on the flip of a coin.
Sam - plays a Ranger tiefling.
I joined this party late. The campaign is well established, as it has been running monthly for a number of years. The characters are seasoned and nuanced, and have greatly augmented and adapted powers that barely comply with the AD&D 2nd Edition rules from which the game is drawn. The party, frankly, needed a boost and a shake-up... and a character capable of ranged damage dealing. Aha, a ranger but how to be overtly evil in nature? I'd been attracted to tieflings in 5th edition as a type and the DM for this Campaign of Darkness (CoD) kindly adapted the racial abilities for 2nd Edition. We worked on her background, her skills, her abilities and best of all, her weapons. Just as a sorcerer in 5th Ed may wield a pact weapon, so my ranger could summon any weapon at will due to her demonic heritage. As for a name...tieflings are named for their personality or background and I'd played a similar demoness in a MUSH many years ago, based on the comic book character Purgatori. So that became the rangers name, and the party shorten it to Tori. She's quite muscular in build with shrivelled wings, a pointed tail, long black horns and scarlet skin. Oh yes, and she's evil alright. Tori doesn't care whom she has to use, to kill, to seduce or charm to get her way. All that matters is that she progresses towards her goal, her ultimate vengeance that burns in her demonic soul. As a 2nd Ed ranger, she also acquired an animal companion - she dragged a small flying monkey from its cage and enforced its fealty under threat of death. The party started out as indifferent to her tagging along, despite her impressive marksmanship in combat. They excluded her from plans and party ideals, since they mostly communicated mind to mind, never speaking. It's only in the last session that the necromancer actually spoke her name. The Bard, Quentin, seems to have taken a shine to her, and Tori enjoys the flattery and the protection he offers, so helps him with his plans and schemes. Tori tolerates the other Vultures, uses their skills to continue her growth and is fast approaching the location for her final showdown. She's murdered, tortured, drunk blood and stood by while the others carried on with their destruction. However, when the necromancer sent a proxy out with the party in the form of a Babau demon, the last straw was broken. This creature was foul, perverse and utterly disgusting. Even a tiefling has standards. A plot was forming to slay this thing, but it was killed by a Death Knight before actions came to be, much to Tori's relief.
I don't find it hard to role play evil characters and in fact, this campaign is my favourite of all the games I play. We keep the atmosphere as light as we can while we go about our evil business. At no point are we affected as players - we're not influenced to do evil deeds IRL. This RP is catharsis perhaps, for the stresses of our own lives. It's been great to be enfolded into this little group and to be accepted as a "newbie" into a long-established campaign. I've read lots of source materials on playing evil, on what evil alignments actually mean and the origins of tieflings specifically. It's been a revelation. Evil isn't what you think it is. Evil role play is what you make it. Long may the evil continue!