by Richard Winterton

Created on: December 08, 2009   Last Updated: December 10, 2009

One of the many allures of playing Dungeons & Dragons is the ability to play any kind of character you want. Although the system and sourcebooks encourage you do play as good, there is absolutely nothing that restricts you from playing as an evil character. For those players who like to think of themselves on the opposite side of good, here are a few tips for role-playing as evil.

From the days of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons to D & D 3.5, the game used a system of 9 alignments to determine what a characters moral leaning was. They were Lawful Good/neutral/evil, Neutral Good/evil, Chaotic Good/neutral/evil or True neutral. The most recent edition eliminates the number of alignments down to 5, eliminating Lawful Evil as an alignment. For the sake of argument, however, let us assume that all three original evil alignments still exist.

Lawful Evil characters tend to have some connection to the state or to religious organizations. They tend to follow two basic patterns. On one hand, they might use their connections or authority to commit evil acts or acquire power unfairly. On the other, the State or Deity they worship may be evil itself and they happily enforce his legacy. Keep these two things in mind when role-playing as a LE character. Is the character himself worshiping an evil system, or is the system he propagates is basically good and is he just perverting or subverting it in his actions?

Either way, it's all about power and abuse with Lawful Evil. An Lawful Evil paladin or warrior will have no problem forcing his “right” in the marriage bed of a newlywed couple or torture a prisoner to gain information. A Lawful Evil rogue will happily work to create false evidence and use it against one of his enemies so his goods and confiscated and sold for the cheap. A Lawful Evil character hides behind the law or uses it as a weapon in his quest to acquire power.

Neutral Evil is an incredibly vague alignment. It might be called the “sociopath alignment”, as it represents a character who will do whatever he can to get what he wants. While this also might be used to describe Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil has that extra taste of malevolence. A Neutral Evil character usually has a goal or ambition that is important to him alone. He is not necessarily out to break laws or hurt others, but will do so if such elements prevent him from getting what he wants.

For example, a Neutral Evil Wizard wants to get into a dungeon, but finds it is being

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