Are you fascinated by Evil?

[TrailblazingScot]

Originally posted by Mojotronica
Back in my embarrassing role-playing days, I'd always meet other kids who liked playing evil characters, and they'd brag about how "Chaotic" and "Evil" they were, and then they'd save the villages and all along with the good guys. It's like the label evil had become divorced from it's meaning.

In D&D my characters would always start good or neutral alignments...always chaotic however.


But, they'd always become evil, whether it due to a "gem of power" or fireballing a ship and then fireballing the gangplank as sailors try to flee back to shore (not to mention a whole host of other events).

As you say, in D&D people mix good characters with evil ones and think that is fine...my bard Armstrong when he became evil eventually killed the Warrior of the group by chopping off his head (that warrior hand thrown me into too many fights, like against werewolves -which I killed with a flute to the eye). The good characters eventually got angry with my character and tied him up in a dragons cave to die, but I escaped only to foolishly become brave and enter a city of mind-flayers alone and get mind-flayed


People like to associate with being evil (at least in fantasy) as it is liberating experience, you can think or in D&D "do" things you wouldn't do because of the tiresome consequences associated with doing evil when you are a small fish in a big sea. In D&D, I'd end up becoming evil generally due to the wealthiest people to rob were in my own party

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Evil is as evil does. One is not particularly fascinated with oneself; such behaviour is for the lower orders.

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

The thing about evil is they always have the tactical high ground [because they can stoop lower with impunity].

That was probably a bad word choice

In reality, I suppose we think of evil [Darth Vader for instance] in terms of "way cool outlaw foe" instead of "guy who blows up planets of innocent people". Evil means atrocity. When we see the acts behind the costume, we usually lose enthusiasm. Ever seen an evil villain in a film personally garotte or rape someone? No, that's always the job for underlings. The Moriarty keeps his hands clean, playing chess in his study