Tips for Villains

[Diamondedge]

I have noticed, very recently with my playing on Layonara, an influx of evil-wanabes. Those people that put dark, black, scary clothes on and growl and glare and yell and scream at all those around them. Exclusion here is Derrick. We love that teddy bear of a man!  Anyways, I think that the people that are trying to RP their way into an evil allignment need a bit of... resource-help. I have gone over this problem with people in my D&D group over and over and over, but it doesn't seem to sink into their heads. Evil does not mean rampant murder, nor does it mean not helping those in need, nor does it mean insulting people in broad daylight, worshipping evil, heathen gods in the town street, sacrificing people in front of large audiences, etc etc, and so forth.  And since my CN thread seems to have disappeared into the sands of time, I think it's high time I write up another under-appreciated article on how to RP allignment effectively.  Thus, without much further delay...  [SIZE=16]Diamondedge's Guide to Villainy![/SIZE]  Evil is Deep  First off, characters do not just wake up and decide they're going to put people to the sword rather randomly. They are not just born with the terrible thoughts of wreaking havoc, causing chaos, and destroying all living things for the greater glory of whatever. They do not decide one day that they don't want to play by the rules anymore, and they do not suddenly decide that they're just going to abandon honour completely.  Evil needs a reason to exist, and it is usually a form of lashing out due to some form of trauma in a character's life. Perhaps their family was murdered, and they were forced to watch. Revenge turned into cold, murderous contempt for anyone that was happy, because why should the Gods gift person A with a happy family life after so brutally taking away person B's happy family life?  Influence of other characters, people, or deities is another sure thing. Corath, for instance, likes followers. However, don't take this as "Corath says to kill, so I kill." There needs to be a reason to follow Corath, too. And it's usually either temptation that does the trick. Sometimes an evil god might offer a character a chance to deal with the wrongs that have been done to them in a way that is far more satisfying than what a goodly god might offer. Solace in the fact that the souls of the deceased have moved on to a better place does not always ease the heart.
  Anyways, basically, evil needs a reason.
  Evil Likes to Hide
  In a land of goodly values and such, where paladins openly walk the streets bravely, high upon their mounts, making all the citizens feel safe and happy, evil does not want to be seen. More wicked and terrifying is the thought of a blackguard posing in the streets as a Paladin, wearing a suit of gold and silver armor and a flowing, royal blue cape, than the idea of a dark-armor wearing, wicked man who's very presence is unnerving. This is because Paladins need to concentrate for only two rounds to realize that there is evil that needs to be smote.
  Evil hangs out in alleys, hides in sewers, cabals in private locales, wears normal, perhaps even stately clothing, and keeps quiet to itself, perhaps even plays along with the good bit, while it exists in lands alongside paladins. Evil strikes from the shadows and retreats immediately. Evil does not walk into the square of town and start insulting people and turning them away while in a good land like Hlint, unless there is already a large amount of discimination against the people being insulted as it is. An example of this is drow. Nobody should be trusting them because of the wicked, evil, sinful reputation of drow in general. Thus, an evil man could get away with saying "Get out of town, wicked, vile creature!" and nobody would really question his morals, so much as agree heartily.
  In short, Evil does not make it's presence openly known in good lands, and rather tries to blend in. I don't think Sinthar Bloodstone's agents walk around in Hlint openly, although I'm almost positive they're there, somewhere, spying on the goodly people of Mistone.
  Villains do NOT triumph
  Villains are meant to lose. If you play an evil character, expect to be foiled again and again. This is simply how the world works. Evil might get it's victories here and there, but ultimately, good will always come out on top. There are several reasons for this; evil does not generally ally itself with anyone, and if it does, it only allies itself until the usefulness of the alliance is used up. Good, on the other hand, will ally itself on a broad scale if it means taking down villains.
  In Synopsis
  Basically, brash scumbags that say "Praise be to Corath, may all you Hlints burn in the fiery pits of the second layer!" or "You stupid ugly fool, you are weak and deserve nothing but to die," or any form of insult, or those that openly declare themselves as evil... do not last. No evil really lasts, but especially not those ones.
  Oh, and just to put down any arguements right here and now, No, evil cannot triumph, ever, and the only time it ever does is when the vast majority of people are apathetic to the concerns of the evil-doing. As such, Sinthar may indeed conquer the entire world, and we'll all have nobody to blame but ourselves, who go "Let's go hunting!" or "Let's go have a party" or "Let's go have a picnic!"
  And now, I rest my case. Use this knowledge, my child, and excel in life.

[xXDenizeNXx]

ummm okay.... where is it?

Edit.
Wow thats deep and also quite true, well done.

[Diamondedge]

Har, sorry. I pushed submit instead of preview. It is now viewable. Enjoy!

[NEXUS7]

This site can help you in your evil ways

http://evil-guide.tripod.com/

[cappyra]

I have noticed, very recently with my playing on Layonara, an influx of evil-wanabes. Those people that put dark, black, scary clothes on and growl and glare and yell and scream at all those around them. Exclusion here is Derrick. We love that teddy bear of a man!

Har!  A dark, twisted, drunken, spikey, dual sword weilding, homicidal Teddy Bear. . .  Har!


I don't wear dark clothes and growl and glare at people because I'm evil...

I do it because it's fun Har!

[DMOE]

cappyra - 3/9/2006  1:15 PM    Har!  A dark, twisted, drunken, spikey, dual sword weilding, homicidal Teddy Bear. . .  Har!   I don't wear dark clothes and growl and glare at people because I'm evil...  I do it because it's fun Har!  

 Aye and we love you for it  :p

[Guardian 452]

The best Evil people in Layo are the ones that we don't know are Evil......



"Those people that put dark, black, scary clothes on and growl and glare and yell and scream at all those around them..........rampant murder, not helping those in need,  insulting people in broad daylight, worshipping evil heathen gods in the town street, sacrificing people in front of large audiences, etc etc, and so forth."[/i]



We should be granted PvP for the ones who think this is how Evil works on Layo. Because many of the above actions then force us to act out of character because our characters are not allowed to act as they should if not for server rules..... if the townsfolk didnt take the matter into their own hands first that is.



G-452

[Deacon]

Very well written, and I agree with you.  At first this is the way I played Caldiir, but over time I have learned, as has he learned, that openly insulthing those around him will gain him nothing.  Besides, playing tricks with other players' minds is more fun than insulting them.  For example, I was roleplaying Caldiir's clumbsy, eccentric disguise so well one day, that a player actually commented that my portrait was weird because I have a human mask on with a drow portrait.  I was honored to have been considered good enough to fool someone into thinking that.

For more on playing evil characters, there is an article written by a PnP Drow player that can be found at the bottom of the page at this link: http://www.geocities.com/venoriksilinrul/RPingDrow.html

[typically_annoying]

hmmm ... interesting!

Wearing dark scary clothes?  Well, I see an awful lot of so-called good people wearing black clothes as well.  Although I'm not evil, I do follow what I would call a dark path.  Yes, I wear black!  But, then I have always worn black, even in the early days of being a goody-two-shoes.

Growling, glaring and yelling?  Funny enough, I have never been threatened at or yelled at my any evil person.  Most try and keep to themselves.  I have, however, been threatened by so-called good people.

As I have said, I am walking a darker path than I was, but ... as of yet I have performed no evil, nor spoken of performing any evil.  I pretty much keep to myself and am indifferent to most people.  I just try and walk by people as though I don't exist.  Yet, lately, you would think I had become a mass-murderer or something.  It is the so-called good people that want to cause the trouble and won't let people be.  Even if they aren't evil!!!

Perhaps they should learn how to play good as well?

Do you need a reason to follow Corath? of course!  But then you do for any god, or you should at least.  People pick a deity and most don't really know why their character would choose that god.  So it's not just evil people that need help.

Corath says kill, so I kill?  Well, actually, if you were a true follower you would!  He demands obedience from his followers and failure is not tolerated.  So a true follower is at the whim of the priests/priestesses really.  But then, how is this different to good?  Paladins kill who they are told!  Are the people you kill, innocent or deserving of death?  Well, that is based on the viewpoint of your deity.  How many thousands or millions of innocent deaths have been caused through history because of religeon?

Ultimately though, why play evil?  Because it is fun and requires much more RP! Your character has to have a more in-depth bio or dev thread to get approved to even start moving that way.  And, yes, you do need to show a reason your character is starting to turn evil and it happens over quite a long period of time.

You can't just point the finger at us evil-wannabes and say we need help!  I see so much poor RP out there, but that is okay because they are good!  So it doesn't matter!

[Leanthar]

Simply because I think it is very important (for future reasons) playing evil does not mean being a jerk or harrassing or griefing players. Nor does it mean PK'ing or ambushing anybody and everybody you see--that is called griefing and should never ever be tolerated.

Playing evil is doing things in the background and following evil/dark orders in a sesible way (IE. trying not to get caught--not doing stupid things in public to draw attention etc.). As soon as one is 'known' as evil socieity will have them (litterally back in the middle ages). So if one is ever allowed to play evil one must do it quiety and in the background, trying to never let people know just how evil they really are.  Even Corath followers should not be stupid enough to slay people in the middle of other people, they would do it in a back alley--out of the way etc. They would not want to draw ire to the church because in the end their one act will make the church weaker if others see their 'evil' ways are done in public.

In essence, playing evil is to play smart, no pk'ing, no griefing, not drawing attention--and doing things in the background, while always keeping the bigger picture in mind (serving whatever larger goal the character may have -- be it temple or organization). One 'evil' act done at the wrong time can (and does) bring down organizations and temples--and that is just stupid--that is not playing evil, its stupid.

So....read in to that what you will... but IF (IF) Layonara ever allows evil to be reached easier than it does now those will be some of the key things we will look for.

[miltonyorkcastle]

oi oi oi, no need to get defensive, Typic.  I think, for once, Diamond was trying to be helpful rather than a... you-know-what...  at least, for the most part *snickers*  

It is true that the RP of the relationship between good and evil is often a little, shall we say, shallow...  and from both sides.  RP is the mimic of life, and, well, in the lives of us that play this game, we don't have much in the way of truly evil people that we deal with.  99% of people are neutral range in real life, if you could even seriously define RL people using DnD terms.  So we have little to base off of except what we read, or imagine, save for the select few of us who have lived through some severe personal tragedy beyond that of a close relative dying of cancer (which is tragedy enough to crush most of us, can you imagine worse?  would you even want to?), which is something uncontrollable.  Evil is the deliberate creation of tragedy, and great evil is tragedy on a wide scale  (i.e. Crashing planes into the Twin Towers; the Holocaust).  I would dare to say almost no one here has had first hand experience of such (actually saw the carnage of the Twin Towers or the Holocaust in person).  Yet many of our characters have witnessed first-hand the carnage left in Blood's wake.  

As simple as Diamond laid it out, RPing evil is extremely difficult (as has been stated), since you likely have no first hand example of it to base off of.  And by that same token, RPing the relationship, the reactions, between good and evil is equally difficult.  So, before we jump on poor RP on either side, realize that it's not something you can just read a book on a do well at.  Like anything complicated and difficult, it will take much time and practice, and not everyone here is a 20 year veteran of acting or RP.

Discussions on the topics are always good, however, so long as they remain civil.

[steverimmer]

I think as well that charisma scores should play a part as well. For instance if you have an evilcharacter...a cleric perhaps, with a charisma score that is above average. He's not likely to be publically rude, offensive or off putting to other player characters. In fact he's probably going to be exactly the opposite.   However...a person with very low charisma may exhibit these traits even if he's not evil

[xXDenizeNXx]

I think its actually against the rules to openly worship an evil god according the handbooks laws of layonara isn't it?

[miltonyorkcastle]

heh, how would that work?  could you never speak of your diety?

[DMOE]

steverimmer - 3/9/2006  2:56 PM  I think as well that charisma scores should play a part as well. For instance if you have an evil character...a cleric perhaps, with a charisma score that is above average. He's not likely to be publically rude, offensive or off putting to other player characters. In fact he's probably going to be exactly the opposite.   However...a person with very low charisma may exhibit these traits even if he's not evil

 You know I'd like to see Cha played full stop...not saying that people don't but I am often amazed by how many Cha 10 people describe themselves as stunning or beautiful. Sorry, but at Cha 10..you ain't...your average.  
  Not that there is anything wrong with someone being a low Cha but very attractive and not a nice person or having a lack of people skills...It just needs to be obvious from their RP when you first meet them.

[Spider]

xXDenizeNXx - 3/9/2006  3:03 PM

I think its actually against the rules to openly worship an evil god according the handbooks laws of layonara isn't it?

A little discriminative i think this is,

My character worships what could be considered an evil god,

But she does it for a purpose, a purpose which is not evil.

I think that being evil and worshiping an "evil" god are two different things, it may be the start of going down a path to being evil, but saying you can not worship your diety as somebody else worships theres is a bit harsh.

[miltonyorkcastle]

"harsh" depends on the character.  Some characters are harsh, and some are tolerant.  It would be aweful boring if all were tolerant.

[Spider]

True say, but my point still stands i think.

[typically_annoying]

DMOE - 3/9/2006  3:38 PM

You know I'd like to see Cha played full stop...not saying that people don't but I am often amazed by how many Cha 10 people describe themselves as stunning or beautiful. Sorry, but at Cha 10..you ain't...your average.

Actually, this is wrong ... you could be extremely beautiful, stunning in fact, but have no charisma.  The attribute isn't particularly about the way you look, but the way you are perceieved and your ability to communicate and influence people.

And, yes, Moonlight is stunning!  I picked the head because of it  But she isn't a big communicator and usually just nods, giggles/chuckles or gives short replies.  So she does have a low charisma in how she interacts.  So some of us do try and rp the charisma, but it is hard to do and only realy comes to light in gm events, when Moonlight would fail miserably if she even tried.

[Niles09]

weeee! Zan have a cha of 14 (and not from communicating )

Anyway, this might have been said, but just because you wear black doesn mean you are evil or try acting spooky... It just makes excellent camuflage.

but about evil, I dont hope its going to be a trend, cause its very annyoing not to be able to play with people, because your own char is a total idealist, a bad side of RP if you ask me.