Mmmmmmmmmm... evil...
Where do I start?
Ok, it's obvious that it is very difficult to implement RP'ing an evil character without being misunderstood for OOC griefing. Not that the "tree huggers" are always pleasant. They can get overbearing and annoying at times.
The game also does not make it easy to look and be evil. Even a Klyros, being a fairly good potential with an "evilish" looking expression, has in its description that it is not an evil race despite its appearances. Sheesh! That leaves Diaboli. But yet, in almost every single post concerning their evil ways, some people will jump in and argue to death that they are
"not necessarily evil and can very well be good". That is even after being pointed to a quote that Diaboli are a malicious race from its description. Sheesh! What's wrong with having a truely evil race? It is a fantasy after all... Look at sci-fi and "Aliens" by Giger, for example...
I strongly believe that the best approach to being evil is NPC/quest interaction and simply looking evil through one's gear. For example, create quests that can be solved through different approaches - good and evil. A good character may run an errand for someone to obrain a certain item, while an evil one can slaughter (if they're strong enough) either the initial NPC or one of the key NPCs in a quest to obtain either a final item or a key item in completing a quest. In order to avoid preventing good characters from talking to a key NPC, which could be slaughtered by evil ones, create instances and/or short spawn times.
If that isn't suitable, then create evil NPCs that demand immoral and evil acts in order to obtain an item/gear/etc. Good characters naturally can avoid agreeing to such quests, while evil ones will probably avoid completing sickeningly good and moral quests. Sure, certain items then will not be obtainable but that does not mean that one or the other will be overpowering. Make the items comparable in stats or give different but unique/rare abilities that balance each other. If it's an armor or a weapon piece, make them look evil and good accordingly.
That brings up a point - there is nothing wrong with looking evil. Anything from your face to your armor/clothing. I understand that some people prefer to be a "wolf in sheep's clothing" but I certainly like "wearing my evil" proudly. There is also nothing wrong with picking Black Flame or Laanx as your religions, as both are quite suitable for being evil. In fact, it would be a shame not to see that potential tapped. That's what they are there for. It would be perfectly fine if certain armors/clothing and/or weapons had description such as, "Corrupted Plate of Black Flame" or "Blessed Plate of Talad" and so on. And, of course, you can only wear those specific unique items if you picked an appropriate religion. Atheists can have their own specific gear too. I'm not saying that ALL gear should have those requirements, just some occassional unique or rare items.
All of that also does not mean that being an evil character you have to walk around and laugh manically, like "Muahahahaha!". In fact, I like to keep my cool. Even if there doesn't seem to be a good opportunity to RP an evil character at a time, simply
looking evil is quite satisfying. Don't tell me you wouldn't like looking like this, if you're an evil magic user:
I very much doubt you would mistake this guy as someone to confess your sins to.
There are exceptions, of course. For example, if a female Diaboli 3D model will turn out to be as hot as their description page says, then a devious looking "dominatrix" type character with a whip (the game supports whips, luckily, woohoo!) might be a fun combo.
And don't tell me you'd believe the character below was good, even if he offered to help you carry your basket of flowers:
How about this for a local tour guide?
Once again, I understand that some "evil" RP'ers like to look "good", as in to be deceptive that they're "good" but really are "evil". But in games like these, it's very easy to be mistaken for griefing. You can still tread that path, of course, if you like. But what if I don't feel like explaining and spelling it out that I'm "evil" every time I want to RP? Just the act itself sucks the fun out of it. Sometimes simply looking evil, even if I'm not RP'ing at all, and showing up and intimidating the "good" characters with my looks, without saying a word, is quite satisfying.
It is no wonder that people like evil looking characters because good can get so incredibly boring... (keep in mind, I'm talking "fantasy evil" here, not "real life evil").
Another suggestion would be to have your character physically change in appearance as he commits more evil deeds (no, I'm not talking about the same thing as in the "aging" thread on this forum). For example, your skin color may start changing, your eyes may become more and more red or black etc. Diaboli may have their horns grow out further. Facial expressions can become more and more grim. Bodies can become more twisted in some ways. If more voices, such as during combat, are implimented, then evil characters can develop more evil sounding voices. And so on...
Just to give an example of the above, in an MMO called "Warhammer Online", an Orc starts out green but as he gains in levels, his skin becomes more and more dark, until he reaches the ultimate "Black Orc". Since there are no levels in PS, the changes can be based on the amount of evil deeds, be it through NPC interaction and quests or wearing certain "evil items".
I also would like to see more dark and gritty areas like these to balance the peaceful looking ones (Death Realm is fine but I'm talking about the areas not limited to it):
Take your time to watch this trailer and pay attention to character races in it:
http://www.warhammeronline.com/english/media/video/easterEggs/WAR_Promo_081606.htmlhttp://mythic.fileburst.com/war/media/WAR_Trailer_FINAL_46meg.zip (direct download of the .avi)
Every race in the above trailer is a playable race. As you can see, you certainly won't mistake good and evil in them. Pay specific attention to the last battle scene and the Chaos warrior (hint: the evil looking guy). What I'm referring to here is not the fact that they're fighting but how each race looks, sounds and what they wear. I believe that would make it a lot easier to RP one or the other. Sure, appearances can be deceiving, as I said before, and you can still attempt to play a demonic looking flower collector or angelic looking murderer. But appearances also count, and with truely evil appearances an evil RP would be more expected and understood rather than otherwise.
Take a look at this other trailer and see if you can spot the evil and good easily
http://www.markofchaos.com/videos.php?clip=1#topBasically, my point is what good is evil if you cannot share it with others?
And same goes for good... I personally like sharing it through appearances, when RP doesn't seem like a good option.
It's good to be evil.
