So when you play an evil character, what do you do to make yourself original and avoiding the forever hated "edgelord" status?
>>46068568
Just play a ruthless and clannish individual. You are friendly and loyal with your party and certain NPCs but view strangers as threats and/or worthless.
Be the one who suggests the callous option, the ends justifies the means type. Have no problem with slitting throats to protect yourself and the party and accept the fact that sometimes you'll have to go behind their back to protect them, to do the things that they aren't willing or capable of doing.
When I was a kid I knew two brothers, one was an absolute sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly. As a result he was bullied mercilessly until his older brother stepped in and beat the bullies half to death with a baseball bat.
His brother, if he'd pursued a proportional response would have been viewed as a hero. But he didnt, he put two kids in comas because he was just a bigger bully who happened to have a soft spot for his little brother.
You are your parties moral muscle, willing to do the things they won't or can't in order to achieve your shared goals.
>>46068568
I don't play "evil" characters because alignment systems in Traditional Games are warped author-soapboxing garbage anyway.
>>46068568
Give myself relatively believable goals.
>Bastard of a nobleman passed over for inheritance in favour of his male cousin since he is a bastard
>His goal is to claim the lands and titles he views are his by right no matter what.
If his cousin must die so be it. If the Kingdom must fall into a civil war to give him an opening he will do it. If a foreign monarch is offering his rightful titles if he assists him in conquering his homeland he will do it.
How do you play an evil character without being an edgelord?
With just the right amount of levity, just the right amount of personal ambition, just the right amount of self-awareness, just the right amount of ambivilance to things good people care about.
And a lot of care in ways that are not healthy.
You can play it as a dirty cop, you can play it as a code bearing mafioso, you can play a hitman with principles. But always remember, you can do things that aren't right if it suits your agenda. If you care about the risks of being caught, well... that's on you.
>>46068568
I'm a nice guy when I do it, but do evil shit
like eat children or sew two cleric zombies together
just because you commit atrocities against nature doesn't mean you have to be a dick about it
Be willing to geniunely laugh and smile, even at yourself.
Make your party rely on you or like your support so when you do evil shit their stockholm syndrome kicks in.
Have moments where you're more bark than bite.
Giving them real physical flaws like being fat, aged terribly, and/or ugly really helps.
My unaligned pirate prince
>needs to get from point A to point B.
>kidnaps a fisherman at knifepoint and makes him ferry the character around.
>when we get to point A, I make like I am going to kill him.
>instead I pay the man and thank him for his services.
If the guy refused in the first place my character would have killed him then, and there. But since he acted like the good little hireling I treated him as such.
>>46068568
If I ever get around to playing an evil character, I will have them be a good character. They will adhere to whatever laws they come across, they will help out little Timmy who hasn't learned the well is off-limits yet, and they'll go take out the evil cult that's threatening to destroy the world.
Because then people won't believe when I finally do something bad, this guy has a stick up his ass to rival a paladin, it couldn't have been him.
Because then little Timmy will believe that his hero is in the right when they try to topple the kingdom, no one bad would save a child.
Because when the apocalyptic summoning device is destroyed and the pieces buried, no one would think the one who destroyed it would dig it up in the night and work on repairing it in the wee hours.And then it would fall apart because adventurers are paranoid bastards
Just remember that no good actions are below them - if they disregard easier, more lucrative and useful solution for no reason, they are a lunatic. What seperates them from good characters, that the most insidious methods are an option to them.
Also, common sense is not solely lawful quality.
He has some sort of motivation, but he's not exactly sympathetic. But he's certainly not evil to be evil. Extremely selfish, sure.
>>46068568
I've always favored Lawful Evil. Willing to do horrible things for self gain, but not betray the party, unless they betray you first.
>>46068568
Mix historical people together and throw in some poor assumptions, lack of self control or good intentions.
>>46068568
I ignore the hatred and make a character that acts consistently which I enjoy playing.
If I have an evil notJapanese warlord character that sets sights on the throne, he's going to be ruthless, distant & using a Katana. If I am roleplaying a hedonistic Slaaneshi nobleman, there will probably be a rape scene (faded to black). If I am playing a secret cannibal & some chain of events causes him to have a hunger for child flesh, I will have him kidnap & eat children. If my character made a pact with a demon who constantly tries to possess him & causes him to be angsty; you be you'll hear the most cringe-worthy dialogue from every sentence I say.
Just make the character act consistently, interestingly & make sure he's not ruining everyone else's enjoyment of the game & you'll be fine.
>>46068568
Play a normal person.
Perhaps a little more self centered.
Also, look at the big picture, but don't soapbox about it. Quietly do what has to be done. Often for the greater good.
>>46068568
It's simple really. Be pragmatic. Be selfish. And have a clear goal.
I'll use my own LE cleric as an example:
He was the youngest child of a noble family and was sent over as their tithe to the church of Asmodeus (his grandfather made a deal with a devil that included the tithe), where he was trained not to become a warrior-priest like many clerics, but to basically become a divine 'lawyer', to 'buy' the souls of people that couldn't risk summoning a devil or just couldn't do it.
Now, that's the character's nature, which is just plain evil. A party wouldn't really work with a soul-broker willingly. But what of his motivation?
That's the thing, he aspires to become a legendary/folk hero. He has to work with the rest of the party and hide his true nature from them, so that he can use them to further his dreams and aspiration.
Sure, he falls into the "evil" category, but his motivations and ambitions can work with his mostly-good party, which appreciates his assistance. (even though it's mostly because he's the only healer.)
I think of a man. Then I take away reason and accountability.
>>46068568
Depends on the setting.
>>46068568
I don't give a fuck about being an Edgelord. I play an idea that seems fun. If it turned out Edgelord me and my friends joke about it.
I'm playing that elven assassin character
>parents during a plague
>joined a kid gang, made friends there
>after he started showing signs of Arcane powers got kidnapped by the Royal Intelligence
>trained to be a kind of arcane assassin
>revolution.exe
>crimes_against_civilians.webm
>half of the Royal Intelligence disappears, other half is killed
>no allegiance to anyone, no family, no roots
>violence is the only thing constant in his life
>decides to use his skills first to make profit, later to support the counterrevolution
Don't be afraid to admit that your character is not a good person. He might be nice, he might have friends, but in the end, the goal doesn't really justify the means.
>>46068699
Good post
>>46068568
Play him as a cartoon villain.
>>46068568
>edgelord
Can we stop using this term now?
You could go with tragedy or you could go with fun.
Peasant kid who's family rose up and got enough money to send their little boy to school so he doesn't have to be a dirt farmer. Grew up thinking the other guys have it better with their big golden fortresses and armies of servants and decided he doesn't just want to be rich he wants their riches.
The kind of warlord who was never wronged in some bloody war or political shenanigans but is just an envious little bastard that seizes opportunity instead of rising up in the ranks normally.
Or theirs the more advisable path of just having an entirely evil party of criminals that commit war crimes because they can and only the leader has any kind of grand vision or noble goal. I'm not saying rape the baby evil but the kind of guys who walk into the tavern and kick everyone out while forcing the owner to serve them beer at sword point and have wanted posters for burning down some nobles castle after he tried to welch on paying them for doing dirty work.
>>46068699
first post best post
>>46068699
I played a Sith like this, he was loyal to the Empire and only wanted to acquire more power. And even though he was ruthless, he never touched the weak or the innocent if they didn't try to attack him of course.
>>46068899
>Marv
>Evil
That man is borderline good by the standards of his world, and neutral by ours, excepting maybe what he did to Kevin, though even that would be justified in many people's view.
>>46068568
Personally I say what people call edgy mostly just mean retarded.
You can be the biggest jerkass as a PC and still be fine. It's when you start talking about using your parents spines as swords and riding on the blood of your foes like a surfboard.
The last time I played a villian I tried to make myself almost as unlikeable as possible. I was playing a text based one piece game taking place around the world with a friend of mine playing our first mate. We decided it would be fun to just make aggressively edgy characters that wanted to rule the world.
My character was a Devil Fruit using Monk build with the shouting fruit, and a body with edges so sharp he literally cut someone with his nose in the blues. He had trouble with the word no however and went on a berserk path if anyone ever said the word to him
His first mate was a swordsman who put all his points into just being a powerhouse whoburned women and raped churches. He was also fashionable as fuck. He also had a berserk button if anyone ever damaged his clothes.
Together they ran an agro campaign taking over every island they came across, and destroying them if the island didn't just fall over. Oddly enough, while we were hated by a portion of the server we were one of the more successful groups and more than a couple instances of player growth in crew.
Next time I try to run a villian however I'm thinking about making either a director making the world's first reality snuff show on the seas for the World Nobles, or a more punny character named 'Sir Charge', that works as a collections agent that wields a gun that fires electrified gold coins. Thoughts?
Just because you're evil doesn't mean you can't be likable.
>>46068568
>So when you play an evil character, what do you do to make yourself original and avoiding the forever hated "edgelord" status?
Musical numbers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6yZlGoD5rA
Not Frollo's one about having a boner, though.
Seen a lot of advice for LE/NE but let's talk CE for a bit. How can a man who holds nothing sacred fit into a party. Simple, make yourself useful, borderline indispensable to them and don't fuck up anything to important plot wise. It also helps to have a handle the party can grab and check you if you start to offend their delicate senseibilitys.
As an example let me tell you about Donk. He was a half vampire flind gnoll barbarion/fighter. Chaotic evil as shit, greedy, gluttonous with a hell of a temper and rocking a 4 int and nearly a 30 str (dnd 3.5). Donk wanted three things in life, food (and blood cause half vamp) a warm hole to fuck and to kill and eat Yeenoghu, the demon prince of gnolls. As long as he wasn't hungry or angry he was pretty content to lazy about like gnolls do until it was time to kill for shinys. My party was mostly nutral with one CG halfling, astonishingly we got along. I let them (mostly the halfling) guide me around and vented my evil on whatever enemys we found. Ended up helping a lot of good people and making fat stacks despites being a walking murder machine unfit for civilized society. I always warned my party before just going off on a murder spree. Usually say something like "donk hungy/thirsty" a few times. They caught on pretty quick to feed the gnoll before he went off and found his own meal, usually a pesent or homeless guy, whatever was easy (cause gnoll, lazy fuckers) i made it easy to head off my mischief, kept my motivations clear and simple and very rarely had any issues getting along with the party because of it. When playing evil be willing to bend and flex to your partys will a bit. You may be "right" but sometimes its better to be effective. Plus it can lull goody two shoes into a false sense of security thinking they have a handle on you. Also, forget holding grudges, no one likes that guy in or out of game.
>>46068699
>>46068568
Don't be constantly evil. Just take the path of least resistance. You can be a nice guy, you're just a little fucked-up.
You're the guy who does the dirty work, and does it with a smile. If someone says "Clear out the villagers", you're happy to kill them as a way of cutting the Gordian Knot. If there's someone who has information you need and he doesn't want to give it up despite other people cajoling him, you go "Look, you can either give us what we need or start eating your food through a straw. Which is it going to be?"
>>46068568
playing an evil adventurer instantly makes you an Edgelord
All adventurers are evil.
>>46078035
>It's not my fault
>It's in God's plan
>Why make a boner so much stronger than a MAAAAAAAAAN?
>>46082182
Between that and Bells, Hunchback is fantastic.
>>46068568
Be patient. Have a long-term plan that you'll go to any means to achieve, and your goals line up with the party's for the duration of the campaign. Be pragmatic - don't murderrape babies in front of the paladin. Do your evil quietly, where nobody else can see. Don't leave evidence. Also, be indispensable to the party - maybe you're the go-to interrogator that can get a captive to squeal behind closed doors, or you can procure reagents from the black market at need, or you have contacts in twelve starports that will get you in and out no questions asked (for a price). Don't betray the party unless they betray you first. Or if you're playing a CE character, rein yourself in. Only indulge your bloodlust a little, let the party think they're in control until shit hits the fan and you turn a tense hostage situation into a sea of blood and organs.
>>46068568
The same way I play a good character without making it a Goody Two-Shoes. I ignore alignments completely and focus on making them human.
