*sigh*
So tired of listening to posers/lamers acting at being evil. Some lessons to be learned:
1. Evil does not advertise itself as such in order to gain attention.
2. Folks who are truly evil - chances are, you won\'t know it until it\'s too late.
3. Evil does not normally band together in a \"loyal\" group for achieving goals (unless it\'s lawful evil, but then, everyone\'s motives are not neccesarily the same, and \"loyal\" is entirely subjective)
4. Folks who claim to be evil for evil\'s sake just irk me. Some hero needs to come along and remove them from our collective misery.
And, for your further edification, some excerpts from a d20 supplement aptly entitled \"Evil\":
\"Chaotic evil is lazy evil: it gets things done in the simplest possible way. Chaotic evil can also be considered \'efficient evil.\' Coveting your neighbor\'s house? Conk him over the head and move in! Don\'t like the adventurers creeping into your dungeon? Waste \'em! Nothing troubling you at the moment? Take a nap! Like every other alignment, chaotic evil types tend to hang out together because they understand one another. These groups don\'t have a lot of rules or formal structures. The boss is the boss because he gets things done and is strong enough to bend others to his will. The underlings want to be in charge, and one of them will probably get ambitious enough to attack the leader eventually... assuming the leader doesn\'t crush him first.\"
\"Chaotic evil is the cycle gang who kicks down your door, steals your stuff, burns your house and deep-fries your puppy dog - then leaves. Lawful evil is a faceless bureaucracy that seizes your house through eminent domain laws, confiscates your property with a court-ordered foreclosure, puts your puppy dog to sleep because he wasn\'t registered, and then offers to rent your old house back to you at a reasonable rate. Lawful evil is organized. Violence is the last resort, after it\'s tried blackmail, bribery, threats and devious backroom political maneuvering. Chaotic evil hates to back down from an open fight. Lawful evil hates open fights: it would much rather sneak into your bedroom, cast a sleep spell on you to make sure you\'re really out, then put a pillow over your face. So much tidier.\"
\"In many games, the neutral evil character is rightfully described as \'Neutral Me.\' Their number one goal is not simply to acquire power, or riches, but to grasp anything that they desire. After they have gained it, they may as well forget about it and move on - once its usefulness is finished, or the thrill of the acquisition is gone. Chaotic evil wants it now. Lawful evil wants it all. Neutral evil simply wants it, and will go to any lengths, including patience, outright bartering, or even working with a good party to get it. The neutral evil villains do occasionally keep their word and stick to contracts - when it is in their best interest.\"
[excerpts Copyright 2001 Alderac Entertainment Group, Inc.]
Some other thoughts:
If you\'re going to RP \"evil\", take a good look into the mindset. Go into a public place and step out of your normal societal role, and closely observe the \"sheep\" around you. Notice how they\'re so wrapped up in their own little worlds: on their cellphones, talking with a friend, or wondering what to buy. It takes little effort to reach out and take/disrupt a life. More effort is required to achieve mass destruction (blowing up a mall, for instance), with the greater reward/satisfaction as a result. The villains make the adventure. Exploring a rich, immersive environment with no \"true bad guys\" (AI or player) will doom any game. I go through my tedious life day by day, with no desire to repeat that in a virtual environment. If you\'re going to portray \"evil\", at least do it right.
