Appendix: Evil PCs
Sometimes players are going to want to run evil player characters. A single player might want to take on the role of the
evil spy or the antihero. A whole group might want a brief change of pace or an entirely new campaign choice. A DungeonMaster should not allow these choices lightly—at least not without considering the implications.
A SINGLE EVIL PC
Go into this territory with your eyes open. The potential for player-versus-player conflict when PCs have opposed alignments
becomes very high. This might not be a bad thing. Sometimes, in fact, it’s fun to have a PC “in on it,” working as a spy or agent for the bad guys.
For example, suppose the PCs are heroes determined to stop a blackguard who is intent on creating an evil school for pupils in the dark arts. The blackguard assigns one of his students to join the heroes, pretending to be their ally, so that he can spy on and eventually betray them. The DMand player work out this ahead of time, and the DM tells the player that it’s quite possible that the character will fail. The other characters might find him out or succeed despite his
efforts, but that that’s all part of the fun.
Or suppose a doppelganger replaces a PC. The DMworks with the player to continue playing the character, who is really now a monster with an agenda of its own. The other characters will probably catch on eventually, and perhaps they’ll even locate and rescue the original character. Conversely, a single player may wish to play an evil character with goals similar to, rather than opposing, those of the rest of the group. Now the conflicts between characters are more likely to be philosophical rather than physical. The evil PC will probably have different methods than the rest ofthe characters. If the DM feels that the players will enjoy this sort of conflict, rather than be distracted and annoyed by it, this can be a solid choice for a long-term campaign.
The player of the evil character may even plan for her character to find redemption in the company of heroes, eventually
changing her alignment. Such a tale can make for great gaming stories long remembered by all.
AN EVIL PARTY
The Dark Lords of the Prophecy rode into town on jet-black coursers. One sat atop a hellish steed whose breath was sulfurous, and its hooves and eyes burned with dark fire. Everyone knew who they were—and knew the doom that the ancient seers warned they could bring. Shutters slammed shut, and shop doors locked. The dark lords dismounted
and strode toward the tavern; woe to the barkeep if he locked the door. While nonstandard, it is not uncommon for a group of players to want to turn the tables for a time and play evil characters. It does not make them bad people, nor does it make
them childish. The DM plays evil nonplayer characters (NPCs) all the time, and the DM is generally as mature as the rest of the players. For most players, the choice simply provides a change of pace.
NONHERO CHARACTERS
Most of the time, players who want to play evil characters reject the traditional notion of the hero. They grow weary of
the sameness of always being the stalwart adventurers who save the town, rescue the prince, and defeat the evil goblins
that threaten the merchant routes through the mountains. They see playing an evil character a way to say no to the simpering mayor asking for help and do as they like instead. Such a group of nonheroes can still partake in most of the adventures that the DM creates. It is merely the motivation for the adventure that has to change. Monetary rewards,
revenge, and other personal goals interest nonheroes. They have no interest in altruism, find no motivation in pity, and
feel no sympathy for the less fortunate.
ANTIHERO CHARACTERS
A good example of the antihero in fantasy literature is Michael Moorcock’s Elric. This tragic figure is evil, but
mostly because of the evil culture from which he comes. Motivated by sympathy for others, and by love, but also by
terrible rage and hate, Elric is a complex character. He does good deeds, but he uses evil methods—not to mention the
terribly evil artifact sword he wields.
An antihero is not terribly different from a traditional player character. The antihero enjoys the good life and often
rails against injustice. But the antihero usually puts himself before others. He freely acts on feelings of vengeance, and
he possesses a different moral code from that of a traditional hero—or no code at all. The antihero kills those that get in
his way or threaten him. He has no interest in redeeming wrongdoers and seeks no redemption for himself. Players attracted to playing antihero characters want to do the things that other PCs do, but they imagine their character
having a real dark side. Some enjoy the unpredictability of the antihero: Will he save the kingdom or destroy it?
VILLAIN CHARACTERS
Some players want to really see what the other side is like. They want to play the characters who instigate the evil plans
rather the heroes who react to them. There are two ways to play real villains.
DETECTING EVIL (Sidebar)
A new character joins the group, and the paladin says “I detect evil.” This can completely ruin a player’s character concept, or the DM’s plans to plant a ringer in the group. There are ways around the problem, however.
• Not all evil characters have an evil aura that registers with the detect evil spell (or similar spell-like abilities). See the spell description in Chapter 11 of the Player’s Handbook for more information.
• Undetectable alignment is a simple 2nd-level spell that throws off detect evil.
• Misdirection and nondetection are arcane spells that also work.
The first is to play them over the top. The player characters are villains who want to conquer the world. They may
be evil monsters, even fiends or undead. The players have irony-tinged fun when their characters battle against paladins
and good-aligned clerics. Perhaps they even fight NPCs similar to the good characters that they played in previous
adventures. Villain characters lie, cheat, and steal to get what they want. Rarely is morality questioned in such a
campaign, except for one simple rule: Everything turns upside down. What was once considered good is now hated, and everything evil is embraced.
Player characters may take part in acts that are awful or grotesque, but ultimately it’s not taken too seriously. Actual
depravity or vile actions are glossed over or occur “offstage.” For example, a villain PC might have an NPC thrown into
the dungeons and turned over to a torturer, but the actual torture acts are not part of the game. Often, players in such a
game feel oddly satisfied when the campaign comes to an end and the villains they have been playing get what’s
coming to them.
The second way to manage a villainous campaign could be called the dark-hearted villain method.These player characters
use the rules and suggestions found in this book. It’s not terribly different from the over-the-top method, except
that things are taken more seriously. The characters worship demons, destroy souls, take slaves, and face some of the
same depraved addictions and fetishes that a NPC villain might face. Many players feel uncomfortable in campaigns
like this, obviously. The DM should not use this approach if not all the players want it.
THE EVIL CAMPAIGN
So how does a DM provide interesting adventures for evil player characters? Is running an evil campaign completely
different from a normal campaign?
Not really. There’s no reason why evil PCs would not go down into dungeons, explore the ruins of the evil necromancer’s
fortress, or fight against the mind flayers attempting to take over the city. The DM can prepare many of the same kinds of adventures for evil characters, but must pay attention to four key differences between an evil campaign
and a traditional D&D campaign.
As mentioned above, the largest difference is motivation. Clearly, evil PCs are not going to want to help others. The characters do nothing out of the goodness of their hearts, because their hearts have none. Greed is the primary motivator for evil PCs. A monetary reward gets a group of evil characters going as quickly as any other motivator. In fact, evil PCs are sometimes easier to motivate than good characters because they rarely question whether the patron paying them has sinister motives of her own. Evil PCs simply do not care.
Revenge is also a strong motivator for evil characters. If the DM wants the evil PCs to fight against raiders and brigands,
he does not show the terrible wrongs that the raids have wrought against the local communities. Instead, the
DM has the brigands attack the evil PCs themselves. Evil PCs are quick to mobilize against an opponent that has
wronged them in some way.
Perhaps the best way to motivate evil PCs is to have the players determine what their evil characters actually want.
An evil character might want to take over a city, become the most powerful wizard in the land, start an assassins’ guild, or
eradicate every lizardfolk in the world. She might have short-term goals as well: decorate her new keep with dragon
skulls, obtain a copy of the book of vile darkness, enslave a powerful devil to do her bidding. Evil characters are motivated
by desire. Find out what those desires are, and you can design adventures that feed into them.
Another difference between evil campaigns and traditional ones is expectations. If you design a temple in which
the evil PCs struggle against troglodyte slavers, do not expect the PCs to treat the troglodytes’ slaves in the same
way that good characters would. Evil characters might not give a moment’s thought to the slaves, leaving them to their
own fate. Villains might take the slaves for their own or ransom them back to their families.
The third difference is implications. Evil characters commit acts that have consequences. It is far more likely
that a group of evil characters will incur the wrath of the local king, the city constabulary, or a nearby order of knighthood
that will hunt them down for their crimes. Soon, the places normally considered safe by PCs—namely, towns and cities—are anything but safe. This means that over the long term, evil characters must become self-sufficient. They have to be able to provide their own places to live outside normal, civilized society. They must learn to work outside standard circles, obtain their needed supplies in a different way, and gain information through new channels. Even if the evil PCs work hard to avoid these implications (using disguises, covering up their evil acts, and so on), the very act of disguising their evil is still a point of departure from a traditional campaign.
The last major difference is interactions. Both with NPCs and in particular with each other, evil characters tend to
interact poorly in social situations. Players playing evil PCs sometimes overstress their characters’ arrogance or brashness.
Such attitudes can get the characters killed rather quickly if they insult the wrong person.
Evil characters often need to learn when arrogance is bad. They can benefit from genteel style and grace now and
again. An evil character does not have to be a brute. Villains can of course be sophisticated and polite—when they need to be. Much of this has to do with the role-playing choices the player makes, but all players of evil characters should
know that they have a gamut of choices to choose from: sophisticated and suave evil scoundrel, brash and boorish
brute, arrogant mastermind, scheming weasel, quiet and ominous killer, and so on.
What brings many evil campaigns to a crashing halt is evil PCs interacting with the other evil PCs in the group. The
characters often turn against one another, and the whole campaign ends in a big fight. That can be fun, but a short
campaign might not be what the DM or the players really had in mind. The DM should try to set up situations that
encourage the player characters—no matter how evil they are—to work together. And if, at the end of the campaign, it
all comes down to PC against PC, well, that might be fun. And it is, after all, an evil campaign.
EVIL VERSUS EVIL
Just because the PCs are evil does not mean that they’re friends with all the villains in the campaign. In fact, the
opposite is likely. Rarely is evil a monolithic force that unites all the disparate evil factions and groups. More
likely, evil characters find that their goals work at cross purposes with other evil NPCs’ plans. Every time a dastardly
malefactor’s plans reach fruition (and, as a result, the forces of good move to oppose him), the evil character
probably had to face off against one or more other villains to get there.
You could fill a whole campaign with battles between villainous PCs and equally dastardly foes. An evil setting—
such as the dark caverns of the drow—could make this very simple. The PCs know that they cannot really trust anyone,
nor can anyone really expect better from them. The evil of the NPCs can overshadow the evil of the PCs, which is good
if the players are interested in being antiheroes rather than actual villains.
For some players, fighting against malevolent foes might take some of the squeamishness away from playing an evil
character. If the characters do terrible things to despicable beings, it might be more palatable to some players. Of
course, the players to whom it makes no difference aren’t bothered either way.
EVIL VERSUS GOOD
Sometimes, it’s fun to have a character try to destroy something that’s obviously good.Waging war against lammasus,
unicorns, celestials, and paladins is an ironic turnabout. Bringing ruin to the places and people that normal characters
defend makes for unusual adventures. The tables are turned when evil characters face their good counterparts.
The DM runs the heroes and reacts to the actions taken by the villains (the PCs). The players are probably familiar
with the habitats, tactics, and outlooks of the foes they face. Only now their characters can use that information to
make sinister plans.
In this sort of situation, all that is good is bad. All that is holy is distasteful. That which is wholesome and lifeaffirming
is dangerous—these things can threaten and kill an evil character. The light blinds and drives characters
away. They find their solace in darkness. The holy smite of the paladin and the holy sword wielded by the planetar are a real danger to the PCs. They are vulnerable to the same things that saved the lives of the good-aligned characters in
the last campaign.
As nonevil characters gain levels, they become protectors of those weaker than they are. As evil characters, they can
exploit the weak instead as they grow in power. When the PCs become more powerful than anyone in town, they can
lord it over the citizens, terrorizing them or conquering them if they choose. Characters and creatures that aid the less fortunate are fools, and their altruism is a weakness to exploit. Finally, the DM can get more use out of monsters such as
treants, couatls, lillends, and titans. He or she can take a break from running necromancers and blackguards and
instead play woodland-protecting druids, stalwart dwarven defenders, and of course avenging paladins. The DM can
even create unusual combinations such as the rare celestial medusa, a cluster of altruistic beholders, or a half-celestial
umber hulk (all exceptions to the rules, but nevertheless possible).
EVIL PCS GETTING ALONG
(this was a side bar, but it deserves its own section)
Two evil PCs do not have to come to blows just because they are both evil. Evil characters with similar goals or common foes can certainly work together. And there’s no reason to think that evil characters cannot respect something like friendship.
Intelligent evil characters realize, just as nonevil characters do, that they can accomplish more by working together ratherthan working at cross purposes. An evil cleric is better off with an evil fighter companion than alone in the dungeon. An assassin can use the firepower and spells of an evil wizard backing him up.
CONCLUSION
It’s been said before, but it bears repeating. This book is not an attempt to glorify evil, but to define it and quantify it—and in so doing to open up new opportunities in D&D campaigns of all sorts.Whether the PCs prepare for battle against a demon lord or they join ranks with that demon is a decision for the players and DM of each campaign to make for themselves. No matter what that decision is, the material in Book of Vile Darkness will inject added depth and realism into the adventures that spring
from the decision.
It’s unlikely that any single campaign could make use of all the equipment, feats, prestige classes, spells, magic
items, and creatures in this book—and that’s okay. Choose the parts that enhance and contribute to the tone of your
campaign, while keeping in mind that the fundamental goal of any D&D campaign is the enjoyment of those who
take part in it.
