Gamer Forge Listener Email - How to Play an Evil Character in a Good and Neutral Group

Gamer Forge Listener Email:

Name: Axel the Mouth

Comments: Gentlemen,

I want to try my hand at playing an evil character in the game I am playing in. How can I play such a character in a group that is mainly good & Neutral character without being killed by the group.

Axel

Gamer Forge Response:

It's sometimes soooo good to be bad! When you're the only one playing the opposite side of the coin, DCR says:

1. Bribery is the easiest way. It's not much of a stretch to imagine that most characters can be bought off to ignore your smaller indiscretions. Send a little coin to your less-than-reputable allies, or give them some of the magic loot in return for looking the other way. While this isn't a foolproof solution, it is one to keep in mind at all times. Bribery can get you out of the small jams when you're about to be discovered. That being said, don't rely on it as your sole method of subtlety. Evil in the midst of good has to work in baby steps as to not draw attention. But more on that, later.
2. Use 'em! Convince others to do your bidding, and everything should be your bidding. This is where the evil character needs to start weighing the decision "Intent vs. action". What's more important, the spreading of your evil, or that you are the one doing the spreading? Some players are more hands-on, and that's totally okay. But this will be a constant struggle. Also, just because you're evil, doesn't mean you're a maniac. Not every action you take has to be something horrible or treacherous. Subtlety can be established by making your evil look like a freak, one-time event. Which leads us to...
3. Always, always, always have a good reason. "The Operative" in the movie Serenity believed that it was absolutely okay to kill children to achieve a better life for everyone. Believed. He believed it was necessary for something that he couldn't even partake in. But he could absolutely justify any atrocity with his belief. It's a bit radical for some players to take a hard line like this, but you are the one who wanted to be evil, thus, this is the consequence of being evil. Going back to the choice of "intent vs. action", remember you won't be getting much evil done if everybody who knows you believes you're evil. The trick isn't to convince the good people that you're not bad. The trick is to convince the good people that whatever you do is right, and they should be okay with letting you do it.

*Bonus XP: This one should be a gimme, but for a great, entertaining example of warping good intentions with evil actions, watch the television show Dexter. A fine example of justification. A villain who just does evil things for no reason gets boring pretty quick. It's funny to make a character do something treacherous to add some spice to the story, but remember that actions carry consequences. One act of evil can snowball into something completely unintended for your character. One evil begets another evil, and so on...